Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• At July lull, presidential race is close as ever
• Romney takes summer break before big campaign push
• THE RACE: Obama and Romney taking summer breaks
• Mexico's Pena Nieto to push for quick reforms
• Euro soccer: Spain's victory restores national pride
• Rangel rival challenges primary results
• Stockton, Calif. set for 1st bankruptcy hearing Friday
• At July lull, presidential race is close as ever
• Romney to visit Israel in late July, meet with Netanyahu
• Friends With Benefits: Pro-Obama SuperPAC Running Almost 100% of All Anti-Bain Ads
• Analysis: Mexico's creaky economy to test Pena Nieto's ambitions
• Romney takes summer break before big campaign push
• Diplomacy failing, West faces tough Syria choices
• Syria strikes Damascus suburb; U.N. decries arms flow
• Mitt Romney to Travel to Israel in First Foreign Trip of Candidacy
• Romney planning to visit Israel over summer
• U.N. confirms Saudi dissident, group off al Qaeda list
• Insight: Voice of Mumbai attacks points finger at Pakistan
• Bird flu outbreak hits chicken farms in Mexico
• Stockton, Calif. set for first bankruptcy hearing on Friday
• Romney agrees with Obama on key part of healthcare law
• Afghanistan accuses Pakistan army of rocket attacks
• ap_ann_mitt_romney_jef_ss_120702_ssh.jpg
• EU deal could be positive for Spanish banks: DBRS
• Minority leader: Odds long to undo health care law
• Romney planning to visit Israel over the summer
• U.S., Pakistan deal seen soon on Afghan supply routes
• New Jersey legislators stonewall Christie tax cut
• Enbridge faces $3.7 million fine for 2010 oil spill
• Syrian general, soldiers flee to Turkey: sources
• Career test for kindergarteners in the works
• US edging toward decision on new nuclear arms cuts
• Libya frees detained ICC staff after apology

At July lull, presidential race is close as ever Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:37 PM PDT The presidential race is entering the sultry summer, a final lull before the sprint to Election Day, with President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney neck and neck and no sign that either can break away.

Romney takes summer break before big campaign push Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:15 PM PDT It's a family tradition that spans a decade, as Mitt Romney's clan — all 30 of them — gathers at his New England lakeside compound for a week of home-cooked meals, sporting events and ice cream outings.

THE RACE: Obama and Romney taking summer breaks Posted: 02 Jul 2012 08:50 AM PDT For the past few days, President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney have been mostly out of sight if not exactly out of mind.

Mexico's Pena Nieto to push for quick reforms Posted: 02 Jul 2012 03:01 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto pledged on Monday to focus on energy, labor and tax reforms and said he hopes to strike deals with opponents to help shepherd changes through Congress before he takes office in December. Pena Nieto won Sunday's election with about 38 percent of the vote, good for a lead of about 6 percentage points over his nearest rival, returning his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to power after 12 years in opposition. ...

Euro soccer: Spain's victory restores national pride Posted: 02 Jul 2012 03:01 PM PDT MADRID (Reuters) - Spaniards seized on their European Championship triumph as a source of restored national pride after months of economic anxieties, as celebrations reached fever pitch on Monday with a victory parade in the capital. Across the country many were looking forward to another night of revelry after Spain thrashed Italy 4-0 on Sunday, becoming the first team to win two Euro titles in a row, with a World Cup in between. The team arrived back in Madrid on Monday afternoon. ...

Rangel rival challenges primary results Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:49 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat on Monday challenged the results of the Democratic primary he appeared to have lost to U.S. Representative Charles Rangel, whose lead has slimmed to 802 votes. Rangel, who is 82 years old and has represented Harlem in the House of Representatives since 1971, declared victory following the June 26 Democratic primary. But Espaillat, a Dominican-American with strong Latino support, has raised concerns about the results, saying his campaign has received numerous reports of eligible voters being turned away at the polls. ...

Stockton, Calif. set for 1st bankruptcy hearing Friday Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:40 PM PDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Lawyers for Stockton, California will appear for the first time in a Sacramento court this week to make their case for protecting the city from its creditors in bankruptcy. Stockton, a city of nearly 300,000 in California's Central Valley, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy last week. Its legal team has been scheduled to appear in U.S. bankruptcy court on Friday, July 6, in the first hearing of the city's case (Case No. 2012-32118), one of their lawyers said on Mon day. ...

At July lull, presidential race is close as ever Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:37 PM PDT The presidential race is entering the sultry summer, a final lull before the sprint to Election Day, with President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney neck and neck and no sign that either can break away.

Romney to visit Israel in late July, meet with Netanyahu Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:35 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will travel to Israel in late July for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed at fleshing out his foreign policy credentials. Romney will be overseas in late July to attend the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games in London. His campaign often promotes Romney's leadership of the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002 as a key part of his biography as he tries to unseat President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. A former governor of Massachusetts, Romney lacks foreign policy ...

Friends With Benefits: Pro-Obama SuperPAC Running Almost 100% of All Anti-Bain Ads Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:22 PM PDT A new study by the media tracking group Kantar Media's CMAG finds that almost all of the negative TV advertising about Mitt Romney's role at Bain Capital has come from the Democratic Super PAC Priorities USA, not from the Obama campaign. Earlier this summer, a...

Analysis: Mexico's creaky economy to test Pena Nieto's ambitions Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:16 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's creaky domestic economy, riddled with monopolies and inefficiencies, makes the next government's goal of boosting growth to rates last seen in the 1970's seem like a pipe dream. The return to power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in Sunday's presidential election may be Mexico's best chance for significant economic remodeling in a generation. But the checkered history of reforms in Latin America's second-biggest economy, producing failure as often as success, underscores the size of the challenge. ...

Romney takes summer break before big campaign push Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:15 PM PDT It's a family tradition that spans a decade, as Mitt Romney's clan — all 30 of them — gathers at his New England lakeside compound for a week of home-cooked meals, sporting events and ice cream outings.

Diplomacy failing, West faces tough Syria choices Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:12 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - There are few signs diplomacy can stem Syria's worsening conflict, leaving Western leaders - and even more so their Arab and Turkish allies - pushed ever further towards backing Bashar al-Assad's ouster by force. In Geneva on Saturday, world powers attempted a vague show of unity by committing to support for a transitional government. But diplomats led by United Nations envoy Kofi Annan failed to bridge differences between the West and Russia - backed by China - on whether or not that meant that Syria's president must go. ...

Syria strikes Damascus suburb; U.N. decries arms flow Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:10 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian helicopters bombarded a Damascus suburb on Monday and Turkey scrambled warplanes near the border in the north, as the U.N. human rights chief warned that arms supplies to both the government and rebels were deepening the 16-month conflict. Fighting has come to the gates of the capital in recent weeks and is also raging throughout the country as the battle to unseat President Bashar al-Assad increasingly takes on the character of an all-out civil war, fuelled by sectarian hatred. ...

Mitt Romney to Travel to Israel in First Foreign Trip of Candidacy Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:08 PM PDT Mitt Romney will head to Israel this summer, his first foreign trip since becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee earlier this year. The trip is likely to take place after Romney attends the opening ceremonies at the London Olympics on July 27. Romney is also...

Romney planning to visit Israel over summer Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:04 PM PDT Mitt Romney is planning a trip to Israel this summer, an aide to the presumptive GOP nominee confirmed.

U.N. confirms Saudi dissident, group off al Qaeda list Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:04 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council committee has removed Saudi dissident Saad al-Faqih and his Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia from the U.N. al Qaeda sanctions list, Germany's U.N. envoy confirmed on Monday. The move came despite Saudi Arabia's opposition and U.S. concerns about Faqih, U.N. diplomats told Reuters. Reuters reported on Sunday that the decision to delist Faqih came after the 15-nation council's al Qaeda sanctions committee failed to reach a consensus to override the ombudsman of the al Qaeda sanctions list, who recommended removing Faqih. ...

Insight: Voice of Mumbai attacks points finger at Pakistan Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:02 PM PDT NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Forty-eight hours into the bloody assault on Mumbai in November 2008, smoke was billowing from the wreckage of the Taj Mahal hotel and commandos were flushing out the last gunmen holed up in the opulent landmark of India's financial capital. A short distance away in the city's southernmost peninsula, security forces were still battling at Nariman House, a Jewish centre where two of the Islamist militants had taken half a dozen people hostage, including a rabbi and his pregnant wife. ...

Bird flu outbreak hits chicken farms in Mexico Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:01 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An outbreak of avian flu in western Mexico has killed at least 870,000 poultry birds since its detection last month but poses no threat to humans, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. The H7N3 flu was detected in two municipalities in the state of Jalisco, Mexico's largest chicken farming region, and authorities have been working quickly to contain the outbreak, a statement from the ministry said. "There is no risk of infection (in humans) as a result of consuming poultry," said Jose Munoz from the Jalisco state government. ...

Stockton, Calif. set for first bankruptcy hearing on Friday Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:53 PM PDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Lawyers for Stockton, California will appear for the first time in a Sacramento court this week to make their case for protecting the city from its creditors in bankruptcy. Stockton, a city of nearly 300,000 in California's Central Valley, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy last week. Its legal team has been scheduled to appear in U.S. bankruptcy court on Friday, July 6, in the first hearing of the city's case (Case No. 2012-32118), one of their lawyers said on Monday. ...

Romney agrees with Obama on key part of healthcare law Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:51 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama's healthcare law as constitutional last week, it gave a little something to his Republican foes: The court declared that the fee charged to most Americans who refuse to buy health insurance amounts to a tax - and not a penalty, as Obama says. In the heat of a presidential campaign, that's a key distinction. Since Thursday's ruling, many Republicans have accused Obama of imposing a massive "tax" through his healthcare law, saying it disproves the president's claim that he has not raised taxes on the middle class. ...

Afghanistan accuses Pakistan army of rocket attacks Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:47 PM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan accused Pakistan's army on Monday of launching months of rocket attacks on its territory and threatened to report Islamabad to the U.N. Security Council, straining already troubled ties between the neighbors. Kabul has regularly accused elements in Islamabad's government and army of backing militants fighting the U.S.-backed Kabul government - charges denied by Pakistan. ...

ap_ann_mitt_romney_jef_ss_120702_ssh.jpg Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:42 PM PDT Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and wife Ann Romney ride a jet ski on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, N.H. on July 2, 2012, where Romney has a vacation home.

EU deal could be positive for Spanish banks: DBRS Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:37 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ratings agency DBRS said on Monday that a European deal to help the region's banks could be positive for Spain's financial firms, possibly sparing the country a rating cut that would trigger additional collateral at the European Central Bank. Euro zone leaders agreed last week to let their rescue fund inject aid directly into stricken banks from next year, among other measures to deal with the area's debt crisis. ...

Minority leader: Odds long to undo health care law Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:21 PM PDT It's on his to-do list, but U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the odds are against repealing the health care law championed by President Barack Obama.

Romney planning to visit Israel over the summer Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:19 PM PDT Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is planning a trip to Israel this summer.

U.S., Pakistan deal seen soon on Afghan supply routes Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:18 PM PDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The United States and Pakistan are expected to agree soon on the reopening of land routes crucial to supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan, a Pakistani official said on Monday, a move that could ease a seven-month crisis in the two countries' ties. A senior Pakistani security official told Reuters a deal could be announced soon, potentially ending the long stalemate following a U.S. air attack last November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the border with Afghanistan. ...

New Jersey legislators stonewall Christie tax cut Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:15 PM PDT TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie called lawmakers back for a special session on Monday to pass a tax cut plan, but the Democrat-led legislature refused to act. After the special session, lawmakers left the statehouse without voting on Christie's proposal. Christie signed a $31.7 billion budget on Friday and then called lawmakers back on what was to be the first day of their summer vacation after they ended last week's session without enacting any tax cut plan. ...

Enbridge faces $3.7 million fine for 2010 oil spill Posted: 02 Jul 2012 03:08 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pipeline regulator on Monday issued a $3.7 million civil penalty against Enbridge Inc for a July 2010 crude oil spill, the largest fine ever proposed by the agency. The Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said its probe uncovered two dozen regulation violations related to the leak on Enbridge's Line 6B near Marshall, Michigan. "We will hold pipeline operators accountable if they do not follow proper safety procedures to protect the environment and local communities," U.S. ...

Syrian general, soldiers flee to Turkey: sources Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:07 PM PDT ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) - A Syrian general from an artillery division and seven officers were among dozens of soldiers, mostly serving in Homs province, who defected and fled to Turkey on Monday afternoon, a Syrian activist and Free Syrian Army sources told Reuters. Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber said on its website that 85 Syrian soldiers, including the general, were among those who were sent to the Apaydin camp in Turkey's Hatay province. (Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis; Writing By Daren Butler; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Career test for kindergarteners in the works Posted: 02 Jul 2012 12:57 PM PDT A new digital tool to test academic and behavioral skills will target students starting in kindergarten.

US edging toward decision on new nuclear arms cuts Posted: 02 Jul 2012 12:53 PM PDT The Obama administration is edging toward decisions that would further shrink the U.S. nuclear arsenal, possibly to between 1,000 and 1,100 warheads, reflecting new thinking on the role of nuclear weapons in an age of terror, say current and former officials.

Libya frees detained ICC staff after apology Posted: 02 Jul 2012 12:49 PM PDT ZINTAN, Libya (Reuters) - Libya freed four officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, whose detention since early June on spying allegations had plunged the interim government into its biggest diplomatic controversy since last year's revolution. Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor and Lebanese-born interpreter Helene Assaf were held in the town of Zintan and accused of smuggling documents and hidden recording devices to Muammar Gaddafi's captured son Saif al-Islam. Two male ICC staff who were travelling with Taylor and Assaf stayed with them. ...

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