Yahoo! News: Politics News

---

• Senate leaders offer dour take on 'cliff' talks
• Ag secretary sees common ground on gun control
• Obama wants gun violence measures passed in 2013
• Fiscal deal stalls as clock ticks to deadline
• Merkel says euro zone crisis far from over
• Obama signs renewal of foreign surveillance law
• Senate, House agriculture committees in deal to avert milk price spike
• Pro-marijuana campaign looks ahead after 2012 victories
• Senate confirms Galante as FHA chief despite losses
• Deal reached for stopping spike in milk prices
• Immigration, economic revival head Obama's second-term checklist
• Graham Says No Debt Ceiling Increase Without Entitlement Reform
• Sunni protesters attack Iraq official's convoy, guards wound two
• Attack on Libyan church building kills two
• If cut, fiscal deal will pale against expectations
• Car bomb attempt on Northern Irish policeman foiled
• Major Setback in Last-Ditch 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks
• Democrats, Republicans apart on key "fiscal cliff" issues: Reid
• Ominous Senate Prayer: 'Save Us From Self-inflicted Wounds'
• Obama: Newtown Shooting 'Worst Day' of Presidency
• Bahrain policemen jailed for beating opposition member to death
• Senate leaders still have no fiscal cliff deal, time running out: senior aide
• GOP governors walk balance beam on health law
• Italian Nobel scientist Montalcini dies at 103
• Sudanese police block protest at human rights commission
• Court to rule on legality of Egyptian parliament
• Obama touts Hagel, says no decision on defense secretary job
• Obama skeptical of NRA proposal to put more guns in schools
• No end to Syria war if sides refuse to talk: envoy
• Sunday Sound: Heard on the 'This Week' Roundtable
• Obama Suggests Any 'Cliff' Deal Would Be Small
• Republican Senator says chances very good for limited "fiscal cliff" deal
• Sen. Charles Schumer: More than 50-50 Chance of Reaching Fiscal Cliff Deal
• Obama Suggests Small Cliff Deal Likely
• Turkey's Erdogan tells refugees Syrian rebirth near
• Central African Republic president says ready to share power with rebels
• Pakistan militants kill 41 in mass execution, attack on Shi'ites
• Central African Republic president says ready to form coalition government with rebels

Senate leaders offer dour take on 'cliff' talks Posted: 30 Dec 2012 02:17 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Senate negotiators on the effort to prevent the government from going over the "fiscal cliff" offered a pessimistic assessment Sunday, barely 24 hours before a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every American worker. But negotiations continued, with Vice President Joe Biden taking on a new role.

Ag secretary sees common ground on gun control Posted: 30 Dec 2012 06:44 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the Newtown school shootings have changed the gun control debate and that rural America is ready to be part of a national conversation that he believes could bring people together.

Obama wants gun violence measures passed in 2013 Posted: 30 Dec 2012 01:58 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Recalling the shooting rampage that killed 20 first graders as the worst day of his presidency, President Barack Obama pledged to put his "full weight" behind legislation aimed at preventing gun violence.

Fiscal deal stalls as clock ticks to deadline Posted: 30 Dec 2012 03:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to prevent the economy from tumbling over a "fiscal cliff" stalled on Sunday as Democrats and Republicans remained at loggerheads over a deal that would prevent taxes for all Americans from rising on New Year's Day. One hour before they had hoped to present a plan, Democratic and Republican Senate leaders said they were still unable to reach a compromise that would stop the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the U.S. economy back into recession. ...

Merkel says euro zone crisis far from over Posted: 30 Dec 2012 03:02 PM PST BERLIN (Reuters) - The euro zone sovereign debt crisis is far from over even though reform measures designed to address the roots of the problem are beginning to bear fruit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said in her New Year's address. In a taped interview to be broadcast on Monday evening, Merkel urged Germans to be more patient even though the euro zone crisis has already dragged on for three years. She drew a line linking German prosperity to a prosperous European Union. "For our prosperity and our solidarity we need to strike the right balance," Merkel said. ...

Obama signs renewal of foreign surveillance law Posted: 30 Dec 2012 02:49 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed into law a five-year extension of the U.S. government's authority to monitor the overseas activity of suspected foreign spies and terrorists.

Senate, House agriculture committees in deal to avert milk price spike Posted: 30 Dec 2012 02:19 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Farm-state lawmakers have agreed to a one-year extension of the expiring farm law that, if enacted, would head off a possible doubling of retail milk prices to $7 or more a gallon in early 2013. The extension would end a 32-month attempt to update farm subsidies dating from the Depression era, when farmers were crushed by low prices and huge crop surpluses, to meet today's high-wire challenges of tight food supplies, high operating costs and volatile markets. ...

Pro-marijuana campaign looks ahead after 2012 victories Posted: 30 Dec 2012 02:14 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After a decades-long campaign to legalize marijuana hit a high mark in 2012 with victories in Washington state and Colorado, its energized and deep-pocketed backers are mapping out a strategy for the next round of ballot-box battles. They have their sights set on ballot measures in 2014 or 2016 in states such as California and Oregon, which were among the first in the country to allow marijuana for medical use. Although those states more recently rejected broader legalization, drug-law reform groups remain undeterred. ...

Senate confirms Galante as FHA chief despite losses Posted: 30 Dec 2012 02:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Sunday confirmed the head of the Federal Housing Administration in her position despite mounting losses the mortgage funding agency that some fear could eventually lead to a taxpayer bailout. In a 69-24 vote, the Senate confirmed Carol Galante as an assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Galante, a former affordable housing developer in San Francisco, had been running the FHA in an acting capacity since July 2011. The FHA, a key source of mortgage funding for first-time home buyers and those with modest incomes, backs $1. ...

Deal reached for stopping spike in milk prices Posted: 30 Dec 2012 01:46 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The top leaders in both parties on the House and Senate Agriculture committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in October, a move that could head off a possible doubling of milk prices next month.

Immigration, economic revival head Obama's second-term checklist Posted: 30 Dec 2012 01:30 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is pledging to focus in his second term on immigration reform, boosting economic growth through infrastructure repair and energy policies that nod to environmental protection. The president is mired in a difficult fight with congressional Republicans to avoid sharp spending cuts and steep tax increases collectively referred to as the "fiscal cliff." However, he still has a longer-term to-do list for his remaining four years in office, he said in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that was broadcast on Sunday. ...

Graham Says No Debt Ceiling Increase Without Entitlement Reform Posted: 30 Dec 2012 12:57 PM PST Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said today that he would vote no to raise the debt ceiling, if concessions to reform Social Security and Medicare were not made, despite a previous statement by Graham to suggest that most Republicans were never willing to stomach a U.S. default...

Sunni protesters attack Iraq official's convoy, guards wound two Posted: 30 Dec 2012 12:07 PM PST RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Bodyguards for Iraq's deputy prime minister wounded two people when they fired warning shots at Sunni protesters who pelted his convoy with bottles and stones on Sunday, witnesses said. The incident took place in the city of Ramadi in the western province of Anbar, to where Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq had travelled to address people in an attempt to defuse sectarian tensions. ...

Attack on Libyan church building kills two Posted: 30 Dec 2012 12:00 PM PST TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An explosion on Sunday at a building belonging to a Coptic church in western Libya killed two Egyptian men and wounded two others, a military spokesman said. Attackers threw a homemade bomb at an administration building belonging to the Egyptian Coptic church in Dafniya, close to the western city of Misrata, said Ibrahim Rajab of Misrata military council. The Egyptian consul in the city, Tareq Dahrouj, said he had visited the church and the building where the two church workers were killed early on Sunday. ...

If cut, fiscal deal will pale against expectations Posted: 30 Dec 2012 11:50 AM PST The top Senate negotiators on the effort to prevent the government from going over the "fiscal cliff" offered a pessimistic assessment Sunday barely 24 hours before a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every worker.

Car bomb attempt on Northern Irish policeman foiled Posted: 30 Dec 2012 11:47 AM PST BELFAST (Reuters) - An attempt by militant nationalists to kill a Northern Irish policeman was foiled when a booby trap bomb was found under his car, police said on Sunday. The attack was the latest by splinter groups of Irish republicans opposed to British rule of the province and a 1998 peace agreement that ended 30 years of sectarian conflict. It came two months after the first murder of a prison officer in almost 20 years and followed two weeks of rioting by pro-British loyalists protesting against restrictions on the flying of Britain's union flag from Belfast City Hall. ...

Major Setback in Last-Ditch 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks Posted: 30 Dec 2012 11:46 AM PST Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid on Sunday rejected the latest offer from Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, pushing the country that much closer to the fiscal cliff as the senators scrambled to find a bipartisan deal before automatic tax cuts and spending hikes kick in for...

Democrats, Republicans apart on key "fiscal cliff" issues: Reid Posted: 30 Dec 2012 11:27 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday that Democrats and Republicans still had key differences in talks to avert a looming year-end "fiscal cliff," and he had not been able to make a counteroffer to the latest Republican proposal. "I've had a number of conversations with the president and at this stage we're not able to make a counteroffer," Reid said on the Senate floor. He said that as the day wears on, Democrats may be able to make such an offer. "I think that the Republican leader has shown absolutely good faith. ...

Ominous Senate Prayer: 'Save Us From Self-inflicted Wounds' Posted: 30 Dec 2012 11:24 AM PST The Senate today opened its first session in the days between Christmas and New Years since 1962 with an ominous prayer, as Congress and President Obama scramble to come up with a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. "Let us feel your presence today on...

Obama: Newtown Shooting 'Worst Day' of Presidency Posted: 30 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST President Obama said the Newton, Conn., shootings on December 14 were the "worst day" of his time in office. Recollecting the tragic shooting deaths of 20 first graders and six adults at a Newtown, Conn. elementary school on NBC's "Meet the Press," the president had been...

Bahrain policemen jailed for beating opposition member to death Posted: 30 Dec 2012 10:33 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Two Bahraini policemen were sentenced to jail for seven years each on Sunday for beating to death a Shi'ite opposition activist in custody during last year's crackdown on protesters. The sentences, reported by state news agency BNA, were criticized as too lenient by critics and may do little to blunt international criticism of human rights abuses since Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers quelled a Shi'ite-led uprising last year. ...

Senate leaders still have no fiscal cliff deal, time running out: senior aide Posted: 30 Dec 2012 10:29 AM PST (Reuters) - Senate leaders have not yet been able to reach a deal to a avert a "fiscal cliff," and with time running out, it is uncertain if they will get one, a senior Senate aide said on Sunday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have been aiming to reach an agreement by 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) so that they can present it to previously scheduled closed-door meetings of their respective Democratic and Republican colleagues in an attempt to beat a New Year's Day deadline. ...

GOP governors walk balance beam on health law Posted: 30 Dec 2012 10:25 AM PST ATLANTA (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who made a fortune as a health care executive, long opposed President Barack Obama's remake of the health insurance market. After the Democratic president won re-election, the Republican governor softened his tone. He said he wanted to "have a conversation" with the administration about implementing the 2010 law. With a federal deadline approaching, he also said while Florida won't set up the exchange for individuals to buy private insurance policies, the feds can do it.

Italian Nobel scientist Montalcini dies at 103 Posted: 30 Dec 2012 10:13 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Rita Levi Montalcini, joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and an Italian Senator for Life, died on Sunday at the age of 103, her family said. The first Nobel laureate to reach 100 years of age, she won the prize in 1986 with American Stanley Cohen for their discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that makes developing cells grow by stimulating surrounding nerve tissue. Her research helped in the treatment of spinal cord injuries and has increased understanding of cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's and conditions such as dementia and autism. ...

Sudanese police block protest at human rights commission Posted: 30 Dec 2012 09:58 AM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese security forces on Sunday blocked activists trying to deliver a petition criticizing the government to the country's human rights commission, drawing a rare rebuke from the state-appointed body. Sudan has avoided mass "Arab Spring" protests that unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia, but President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who seized power in 1989, has faced dissent over a severe economic crisis and corruption. ...

Court to rule on legality of Egyptian parliament Posted: 30 Dec 2012 09:26 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's highest court is to examine the legitimacy of the upper house of parliament, a case likely to increase the legal uncertainty of the country's political transition and leave it without a legislature. The Supreme Constitutional Court has already forced the lower house to dissolve under a June ruling that said an electoral law used to elect both chambers - and which resulted in an Islamist dominated parliament - was unfair. ...

Obama touts Hagel, says no decision on defense secretary job Posted: 30 Dec 2012 09:11 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama offered strong support for former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as the potential next U.S. defense secretary but said in remarks aired on Sunday that he had not yet decided on a nominee for the Pentagon post. Hagel is considered a leading candidate to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, but the former Nebraska lawmaker has come under criticism for his record on Israel and for a comment that being gay was an inhibiting factor for being an ambassador. "I've served with Chuck Hagel. I know him. He is a patriot. ...

Obama skeptical of NRA proposal to put more guns in schools Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:57 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Sunday he hopes to get new U.S. gun control measures passed during the first year of his second term and is skeptical of a proposal by the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby to put armed guards in schools. Obama assigned Vice President Joe Biden to lead a task force to come up with proposals on guns at the beginning of 2013 after the massacre of 20 children and six adults by a gunman at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, this month. "I'd like to get it done in the first year. ...

No end to Syria war if sides refuse to talk: envoy Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:56 AM PST AZAZ, Syria/CAIRO (Reuters) - The international peace negotiator for Syria pleaded with outside countries on Sunday to push the warring parties to the table for talks, warning that the country would become a failed state ruled by warlords unless diplomacy is given a chance. Lakhdar Brahimi, who inherited the seemingly impossible task of bringing an end to the war after his predecessor Kofi Annan resigned in frustration in July, has launched an intensified diplomatic campaign to win backing for a peace plan. He spent five days this week in Damascus, where he met President Bashar al-Assad. ...

Sunday Sound: Heard on the 'This Week' Roundtable Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:56 AM PST Below are some of the notable comments made by the Powerhouse Roundtable Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Roundtable guests included included former Vermont Governor and Founder of Democracy For America Howard Dean; Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, President and CEO of the Financial...

Obama Suggests Any 'Cliff' Deal Would Be Small Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:55 AM PST With less than two days remaining for Congress to reach a budget agreement that would avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," President Obama today suggested that a small deal remains the best hope to avoid the perilous package of spending cuts and tax increases. In an...

Republican Senator says chances very good for limited "fiscal cliff" deal Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:49 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that chances for a limited "fiscal cliff" deal in the next 48 hours were "exceedingly good," as talks to avoid tax increases and spending cuts on New Year's Day went down to the wire. "I think people don't want to go over the cliff if we can avoid it," Graham, a leading conservative, said on Fox News Sunday. ...

Sen. Charles Schumer: More than 50-50 Chance of Reaching Fiscal Cliff Deal Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:46 AM PST Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called Congress' failure to reach an agreement on a fiscal cliff deal "embarrassing," but said he believed there was a better than 50-50 chance of a compromise before taxes rise on a majority of Americans. Schumer said Sunday on ABC News'...

Obama Suggests Small Cliff Deal Likely Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:42 AM PST With less than two days remaining for Congress to reach a budget agreement that would avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," President Obama today suggested that a small deal remains the best hope to avoid the perilous package of spending cuts and tax increases. In an...

Turkey's Erdogan tells refugees Syrian rebirth near Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:41 AM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a crowd of thousands of Syrian refugees on Sunday their country was preparing for a "sacred birth" that would replace President Bashar al-Assad with the will of the Syrian people. Refugee camps in Turkey host 150,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict across the border, and Erdogan visited one of them on Sunday, telling the people there they should regard Turkey as their "second home" and that help was at hand. "We can see very clearly that God's help is close. ...

Central African Republic president says ready to share power with rebels Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:40 AM PST BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's embattled President Francois Bozize said on Sunday he was ready to share power with the leaders of a rebellion that has swept aside government defenses to within striking distance of the capital. The three-week old onslaught by the rebel alliance Seleka has highlighted the instability of the landlocked former French colony, which remains one of the least developed nations on the planet despite its rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds. ...

Pakistan militants kill 41 in mass execution, attack on Shi'ites Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:36 AM PST PESHWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani militants, who have escalated attacks in recent weeks, killed at least 41 people in two separate incidents, officials said on Sunday, challenging assertions that military offensives have broken the back of hardline Islamist groups. The United States has long pressured nuclear-armed ally Pakistan to crack down harder on both homegrown militants groups such as the Taliban and others which are based on its soil and attack Western forces in Afghanistan. ...

Central African Republic president says ready to form coalition government with rebels Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:35 AM PST BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic President Francois Bozize said on Sunday he was ready to form a coalition government with the Seleka rebel alliance and would not stand for re-election in 2016. He told a news conference following a meeting with African Union Chairman Thomas Yayi Boni in the capital Bangui that he was ready for peace talks in Gabon, without conditions. A three-week-old Seleka rebellion has advanced to within 75 km (45 miles) of Bangui, posing the most serious threat yet to Bozize's nearly 10 years in charge of the turbulent and resource-rich former French colony. ...

You are subscribed to email updates from Politics News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610