Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• Reid says 2 sides still apart on 'fiscal cliff'
• Roberts urges full financial support for the court
• Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite fiscal strain
• Column: Gun debate revives enduring American fight
• Supreme Court: Fiscal Cliff? Don't Look at Us
• House expects to reconvene at noon Tuesday - Representative LaTourette
• N.C. governor grants pardons in divisive civil rights-era case
• Treasury says hitting debt ceiling on Monday
• Combative Obama knocks Republicans, says fiscal deal in sight
• Doctors: Blood clot located in Clinton's head
• Tweets Liken Fiscal Cliff to Y2K
• Clinton suffered clot between brain and skull, doctors say
• Skeptical Senate Democrats seek meeting with Biden on "fiscal cliff" deal: aide
• Report details changes in Benghazi explanations
• Texas health program can exclude Planned Parenthood: judge
• Obama says fiscal cliff deal close, not done
• "Fiscal cliff" tumble looms despite Senate efforts
• Wall Street ends 2012 riding high on "cliff" deal optimism
• Illinois Sen. Kirk to return a year after stroke
• Last Cuban "commuters" retire from jobs at U.S. Navy base
• Texas judge OKs ban on Planned Parenthood funding
• Clinton remains hospitalized with blood clot
• French government may water down 75 pct tax after setback
• House won't vote before midnight on 'cliff' deal
• Clinton's Blood Clot in Her Head Near Right Ear
• House may not vote on any fiscal cliff deal before January 1
• Factbox: Key points in tentative deal to avert "fiscal cliff"
• Rwanda vows to help on Congo at U.N., assails "blame game"
• Analysis: At cliff's edge, old ideas to cap tax breaks are new again
• Egypt detains Israeli army officer in Sinai
• Details of tentative deal averting 'fiscal cliff'
• Monti aims for Italy vote majority, pro-Europe alliance
• Bombs kill 23 across Iraq as sectarian strife grows
• Connecticut attorney general says Newtown legal claim misguided
• Senate should pass tax relief now, McConnell says
• AP Sources: 'Fiscal cliff' deal emerging
• Turkey discussing disarmament with Kurdish leader: aide
• McConnell: 2 sides close on 'fiscal cliff' deal

Reid says 2 sides still apart on 'fiscal cliff' Posted: 31 Dec 2012 08:16 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the two sides are still apart as they race against a midnight deadline for resolving their differences over the "fiscal cliff."

Roberts urges full financial support for the court Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Urging full financial support for the U.S. court system, Chief Justice John Roberts said in his year-end report Monday that the federal judiciary, unlike executive branch agencies, does not have discretionary programs it can eliminate or projects it can postpone.

Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite fiscal strain Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:05 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces. In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt. ...

Column: Gun debate revives enduring American fight Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — On the eve of a new year, a libertarian strain pulses through America — a get-government-out-of-my-personal-life sensibility that cuts across ideologies and is driven by a younger generation's cultural attitudes.

Supreme Court: Fiscal Cliff? Don't Look at Us Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST Acknowledging the "much publicized fiscal cliff" and the country's "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt," Chief Justice John Roberts dedicated the majority of his annual year-end report to a summary of the efforts by the Judiciary Branch of government to contain costs. In the report,...

House expects to reconvene at noon Tuesday - Representative LaTourette Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:58 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives expects to reconvene on Tuesday at noon, Representative Steven LaTourette said, after negotiations to avert the "fiscal cliff" developed slowly on Monday. LaTourette, a Republican, also said that House members have been told to stay close on Monday evening and that they may be called back to continue negotiations. (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Will Dunham)

N.C. governor grants pardons in divisive civil rights-era case Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:56 PM PST WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue pardoned on Monday a mostly African-American group known as the "Wilmington 10" after they were falsely convicted of firebombing a white-owned grocery store in 1971 during a time of bitter racial unrest. Human and civil rights groups had long decried the convictions and prison sentences ranging from 15 to 34 years for the nine black men and one white woman, arguing they were victims of racial prejudice and prosecutorial misconduct. ...

Treasury says hitting debt ceiling on Monday Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:54 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury said it would hit a legal limit on borrowing on Monday but was launching new measures to keep the nation from defaulting on its debt. A Treasury official said the federal government was hitting its $16.4 trillion ceiling on borrowing. The government is facing a crunch on the debt ceiling because the issue has become tangled up in talks to avoid some $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to begin in early January. Failing to raise the debt ceiling could cause the government to default on its debt. ...

Combative Obama knocks Republicans, says fiscal deal in sight Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:47 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in remarks that needled Republicans and resembled a victory lap, said on Monday an agreement with Congress to avoid a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts was in sight. The Democratic president appeared at a White House event in the early afternoon with cheering supporters to press for lawmakers to complete a deal that would extend tax cuts for the middle class, raise rates for high earners and extend unemployment insurance for people seeking work. ...

Doctors: Blood clot located in Clinton's head Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:44 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton developed a blood clot in her head but did not suffer a stroke or neurological damage, her doctors said Monday. They say they are confident that she will make a full recovery.

Tweets Liken Fiscal Cliff to Y2K Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:44 PM PST Remember Dec. 31, 1999, when the Y2K bug caused airplanes and satellites to fall from the sky, physically crashing into financial centers that had already crashed figuratively after important banking computers caught fire, and how all elevators were stuck between floors everywhere? Or when, earlier...

Clinton suffered clot between brain and skull, doctors say Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:24 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered a blood clot in a vein between her brain and skull behind her right ear but is expected to make a full recovery, her doctors said on Monday in a statement released by the State Department. Clinton did not suffer a stroke or neurological damage as a result of the clot, the doctors said, adding that "she is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family and her staff. ...

Skeptical Senate Democrats seek meeting with Biden on "fiscal cliff" deal: aide Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:18 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Skeptical U.S. Senate Democrats requested a meeting on Monday with Vice President Joe Biden about the tentative deal on the "fiscal cliff" that he is forging with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a Democratic Senate aide said. With the deal apparently short of needed support, Democrats are hopeful that Biden will meet with them, but have not yet received a commitment, the aide said. Some Democrats complain that Biden went too far to find common ground with McConnell. ...

Report details changes in Benghazi explanations Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:09 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies — but not the White House — made major changes in talking points that led to the Obama administration's confusing explanations of the attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, a Senate report concluded Monday.

Texas health program can exclude Planned Parenthood: judge Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:06 PM PST SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas won a court victory on Monday in its effort to stop state funds under a health program for low-income women from going to clinics affiliated with Planned Parenthood, a group that provides abortions at some of its facilities. A Texas judge allowed the state to go ahead with a revamped program for poor women, the Women's Health Program, that does not include Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood said it does not provide abortions at clinics that participate in the state women's health program. ...

Obama says fiscal cliff deal close, not done Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:54 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Agonizingly close to a New Year's Eve compromise, the White House and congressional Republicans agreed Monday to block across-the-board tax increases set for midnight, but held up a final deal as they haggled away the final hours of 2012 in a dispute over spending cuts.

"Fiscal cliff" tumble looms despite Senate efforts Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:52 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States looked on track to tumble over the "fiscal cliff" at midnight on Monday, at least for a day, as lawmakers remained reluctant to back last-minute efforts by Senate leaders to avert severe tax increases and spending cuts. The U.S. House of Representatives might not vote on any "fiscal cliff" plan before midnight, possibly pushing a legislative decision into New Year's Day, when financial markets will be closed, said a Republican aide. ...

Wall Street ends 2012 riding high on "cliff" deal optimism Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:38 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out 2012 with their strongest day in more than a month, putting the S&P 500 up 13.4 percent for the year, as lawmakers in Washington closed in on a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. The S&P 500's gain for the year marks its best performance since 2009, as stocks navigated through debt crises in Europe and the United States that dominated the headlines. Still, with numerous issues involving budget talks unresolved, markets could still be open to a shock should the deal break down unexpectedly. ...

Illinois Sen. Kirk to return a year after stroke Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:37 PM PST CHICAGO (AP) — Nearly a year after a stroke left him barely able to move the left side of his body, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is expected to climb the 45 steps to the Senate's front door this week — a walk that's significant not just for Illinois' junior senator, but also for medical researchers and hundreds of thousands of stroke patients.

Last Cuban "commuters" retire from jobs at U.S. Navy base Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:37 PM PST (Reuters) - The last two Cuban workers at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba retired on Monday from jobs they began more than five decades ago when the United States and its reluctant host enjoyed friendlier relations. Harry Henry, an 82-year-old office supply technician, and Luis La Rosa, a 79-year-old welder, had worked on the U.S. base in southeast Cuba since they were teenagers. They were among thousands of Cuban laborers who once commuted to the base each day, back when U.S. sailors spent their shore leave on Cuban-controlled territory outside the base. ...

Texas judge OKs ban on Planned Parenthood funding Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:28 PM PST AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas can cut off funding to Planned Parenthood's family planning programs for poor women, a state judge ruled Monday, requiring thousands to find new state-approved doctors for their annual exams, cancer screenings and birth control.

Clinton remains hospitalized with blood clot Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:25 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spent a second day at a New York hospital on Monday, under observation for a blood clot, stemming from a concussion she sustained while battling a stomach virus.

French government may water down 75 pct tax after setback Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:23 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - The derailment of President Francois Hollande's 75 percent millionaires' tax presents a chance to water down a scheme which hurt France's image with investors but the Socialist leader is unlikely to give up without a fight. Hollande pledged to press ahead with a redrafted tax on the wealthy next year after the Constitutional Council's decision on Saturday to strike down the emblematic rate on income over 1 million euros ($1.32 million). ...

House won't vote before midnight on 'cliff' deal Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:20 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The House will miss the midnight Monday deadline lawmakers set for voting to avoid the "fiscal cliff."

Clinton's Blood Clot in Her Head Near Right Ear Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:19 PM PST Members of Congress wished Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a speedy recovery today, while pressing their call for her to testify before Congress about the U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi. "We just want to say how much Secretary Clinton is in our prayers this morning...

House may not vote on any fiscal cliff deal before January 1 Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:19 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives may not vote on any Senate-passed "fiscal cliff" deal until after Monday's midnight EST deadline, a Republican leadership aide said. The aide said any negative fallout from delaying a vote until Tuesday, New Year's Day, would be minimal since financial markets would be closed. The aide noted, "We still don't have a bill from the Senate and we want members to read it before they vote on it." (Reporting by Thomas Ferraro and David Lawder; Editing by Will Dunham)

Factbox: Key points in tentative deal to avert "fiscal cliff" Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:16 PM PST (Reuters) - Hours before a deadline for $600 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts, U.S. Senate leaders on Monday were working out the details of a deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff." President Barack Obama cautioned there were still "issues left to resolve" in the tentative deal, which still needs approval from the Senate as well as the Republican-led House of Representatives. Here are details of the deal as it stood at midday on Monday, according to a source familiar with the talks: * Postpones the $1. ...

Rwanda vows to help on Congo at U.N., assails "blame game" Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rwanda warned on Monday it will not tolerate attempts to blame it for a rebel insurgency in eastern Congo but vowed to use its two-year U.N. Security Council stint to help put an end to the conflict that has destabilized its much larger neighbor. Rwanda - along with Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg and South Korea - was elected in October as a temporary member of the 15-nation U.N. Security Council for 2013-14. ...

Analysis: At cliff's edge, old ideas to cap tax breaks are new again Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:57 PM PST (Reuters) - Imposing overall caps on how much high-income people in the United States can claim on their tax returns in deductions, exemptions and other tax breaks is an idea whose time may have come - again. In the whirl of "fiscal cliff" talks, bipartisan backing has grown for imposing, or in some cases reinstating, caps on tax breaks for top earners. On Monday, Republicans threw their support behind several approaches to do just that in a framework to step away from the fiscal cliff of $600 billion in new taxes and spending cuts set to take effect on January 1. ...

Egypt detains Israeli army officer in Sinai Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:48 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have detained an Israeli army officer in the Taba region of the Sinai peninsula after he snuck through a border crossing and took photographs of security property and talked to drivers, security sources said. "The Israeli officer was arrested by national security forces on December 29. State security is now interrogating him," a national state security officer told Reuters. The state news agency MENA said the arrested man is a Tel Aviv resident of Russian origin named Andrea Chetekov. ...

Details of tentative deal averting 'fiscal cliff' Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:42 PM PST Highlights of a tentative agreement Monday between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect in the new year. The measure would raise taxes by about $600 billion over 10 years. Still unresolved is how to avert across-the-board spending cuts set to begin slashing the budgets of the Pentagon and numerous domestic agencies.

Monti aims for Italy vote majority, pro-Europe alliance Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Monday he was aiming to win a majority in a parliamentary election in February and would seek alliances with parties agreeing with his pro-Europe agenda. While not explicitly saying so, Monti appeared to indicate he was open to an alliance with the centre left - led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who polls say is on track to win the election - although not until after the vote. The statement came a day after Bersani pressured Monti to choose sides. ...

Bombs kill 23 across Iraq as sectarian strife grows Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:29 PM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed and 87 wounded in attacks across Iraq on Monday, police said, underlining sectarian and ethnic divisions that threaten to further destabilize the country a year after U.S. troops left. Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been on the rise this year. Militants strike almost daily and have staged at least one big attack a month. The latest violence followed more than a week of protests against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by thousands of people from the minority Sunni community. ...

Connecticut attorney general says Newtown legal claim misguided Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:12 PM PST (Reuters) - A $100 million claim filed against the state of Connecticut in the wake of a school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead two weeks ago is misguided, Connecticut's attorney general said in a statement on Monday. Last week, a New Haven-based attorney filed an intention to sue the state on behalf of a 6-year-old survivor of the December 14 attack - the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Under Connecticut law, any claim against the state must be approved by the state claims commissioner before it can move forward. ...

Senate should pass tax relief now, McConnell says Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that agreements with Democrats have been reached on all of the tax issues in an emerging "fiscal cliff" deal, and the Senate should not delay in passing these. McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor, said he agreed with President Barack Obama that Congress' most immediate priority is preventing a tax hike for the majority of Americans on Tuesday. Obama "suggested that action on the sequester (automatic spending cuts) is something we can continue to work on in the coming months. So I agree. ...

AP Sources: 'Fiscal cliff' deal emerging Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Working with Congress against a midnight deadline, President Barack Obama said Monday that a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" was in sight but not yet finalized. The emerging deal would raise tax rates on family income over $450,000 and individual income over $400,000 a year, increase the estate tax rate and extend unemployment benefits for one year.

Turkey discussing disarmament with Kurdish leader: aide Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:02 PM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has begun discussing disarmament with Kurdish militants after concluding that it is unlikely to defeat them militarily, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser said on Monday. The government has been in talks in recent months with Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), to end a hunger strike by jailed PKK members, but Monday's comment was the first confirmation that attempts to negotiate a wider peace settlement were on the agenda. "The main aim for the government is to disarm them. ...

McConnell: 2 sides close on 'fiscal cliff' deal Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:59 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he and the White House have agreed on preventing tax hikes that the "fiscal cliff" will trigger after midnight. And he says they are very close to an overall deal that would also prevent budget-wide spending cuts.

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