Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• Obama to take private oath in brief family service
• House nears delayed vote on Superstorm Sandy aid
• NRA shooting game no longer for preschoolers
• Anti-hacking law questioned after death of Internet activist
• Hagel's chances improve, major pro-Israel groups neutral
• Assault Weapon Buy-Back Bill Introduced
• New York enacts gun-control law, first since Newtown attack
• Nebraska governor is latest to propose ending state income tax
• US condemns comments from Egypt's Morsi
• Obama proposing gun limits, faces tough obstacles
• U.S. Supreme Court sinks Florida city over floating home
• Syria's U.N. envoy calls Aleppo attack "a cowardly terrorist act"
• Alberta to deliver austere budget March 7
• U.S. has no plans to send troops to Mali: Panetta
• Ex-SC Gov. Sanford to announce run for Congress
• Retail sales point to firmer consumer spending
• Pakistan turmoil deepens as court orders PM's arrest
• France to stay in Mali until stability restored
• Train carrying army recruits derails in Egypt, 19 killed
• Republicans seek to trim Sandy disaster aid in House vote
• Schumer, Boxer to back Hagel for Pentagon's job
• Govt appeals judge's contraceptive mandate ruling
• St. Louis college student shoots school employee: police
• Amazon fights $234 million tax liability in Tax Court
• Chelsea Clinton headlining inaugural service event
• Obama to unveil gun violence measures Wednesday
• Schumer to back Hagel for Pentagon's top job
• New York state's public pension fund freezes gunmaker investments: DiNapoli
• Court sides with Dish in striking down FCC TV rule
• Japan's Abe turns to Southeast Asia to counter China
• Police: Man says he had explosives in Wis. Capitol
• Explosions kill 83 at Syrian university as exams begin
• Senate appropriations boss to help divvy up shrinking pie
• Leaders of Sudan, South Sudan to meet in second push for peace
• How a feisty Chinese newspaper stood up for press freedom
• Analysis: New China leaders must steady economy in 2013 before driving reform
• Ron Paul's GOP legacy growing in states like Iowa
• U.S. condemns comments by Egypt's Mursi as Islamist leader

Obama to take private oath in brief family service Posted: 15 Jan 2013 12:44 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's private swearing-in will be a brief, sparsely attended ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House.

House nears delayed vote on Superstorm Sandy aid Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:52 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters of $50.7 billion in relief to victims of Superstorm Sandy easily won an early test in the House and pushed for passage Tuesday night as Republican leaders struggled to close out an episode that exposed painful party divisions inside Congress and out.

NRA shooting game no longer for preschoolers Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:25 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — A new shooting game for mobile devices tied to the National Rifle Association is no longer being labeled suitable for preschoolers. "NRA: Practice Range" changed its age recommendation Tuesday from 4 years and up to at least 12 years of age, with an added warning that the game depicts realistic violence.

Anti-hacking law questioned after death of Internet activist Posted: 15 Jan 2013 03:16 PM PST BOSTON (Reuters) - Lie about your identity on Facebook or delete files from your work laptop before you quit and you could run afoul of a 29-year-old U.S. computer security law that some experts say has been changed so often it no longer makes sense. The U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act has come under renewed criticism after last week's suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who could have faced prison time for alleged hacking to download millions of academic articles from a private database through a network at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ...

Hagel's chances improve, major pro-Israel groups neutral Posted: 15 Jan 2013 03:10 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel appears increasingly likely to be confirmed as U.S. defense secretary, thanks to support from two key senators and the lack of an overt campaign against him by mainstream pro-Israel groups. Hagel, whose comments on Israel, Iran and gay rights have sparked opposition to his candidacy, on Tuesday won the backing of Senator Charles Schumer, the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, who had been conspicuously on the fence. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, also weighed in with support. ...

Assault Weapon Buy-Back Bill Introduced Posted: 15 Jan 2013 03:00 PM PST A  Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut,  the state where the mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school occurred last month, has introduced legislation for an assault weapon buy-back program. Rep. Rosa DeLauro  put forward  a bill this week that would provide gun owners with an $1,000  tax credit ...

New York enacts gun-control law, first since Newtown attack Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:56 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed into law one of the nation's toughest gun-control measures and the first to be enacted since the mass shooting last month at an elementary school in neighboring Connecticut. The bill passed the Democratic-led Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, a day after sweeping through the Republican-majority Senate. The bill expands the state's ban on assault weapons, puts limits on ammunition capacity and has new measures to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. ...

Nebraska governor is latest to propose ending state income tax Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:52 PM PST OMAHA (Reuters) - Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman on Tuesday became the second Republican governor in the last week to propose ending his state's income tax, saying he wants to make Nebraska more competitive with its neighbors by eliminating the tax on both individuals and corporations. Heineman said that if a complete elimination of the two taxes could not be passed, he would push to lower rates on both individuals and corporations. He promised to make up the lost revenue by reducing business exemptions to the sales tax. ...

US condemns comments from Egypt's Morsi Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:51 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Tuesday gave a blistering review of remarks that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi made almost three years ago about Jews and called for him to repudiate what it called unacceptable rhetoric.

Obama proposing gun limits, faces tough obstacles Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:49 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is launching the nation's most sweeping effort to curb gun violence in two decades, setting up a legislative fight with a deeply divided Congress that even some of his staunchest allies expect to fall short of its goals.

U.S. Supreme Court sinks Florida city over floating home Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:48 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When is a floating home not a vessel? The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday told a Florida city its argument did not hold water, and that an abode on water was nothing but a home. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that a gray, two-story home that its owner said was permanently moored to a Riviera Beach, Florida, marina was not a vessel, depriving the city of power under U.S. maritime law to seize and destroy it. ...

Syria's U.N. envoy calls Aleppo attack "a cowardly terrorist act" Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:47 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari described as "a cowardly terrorist act" an attack on Tuesday that killed scores of students sitting for exams at Aleppo University in Syria's biggest city. "This act killed 82 students and wounded 162 other students," he told the U.N. Security Council during a debate on counterterrorism. "A cowardly terrorist act targeted the students of Aleppo University." A Syrian opposition group put the death toll from the two explosions that rocked the university at 83. ...

Alberta to deliver austere budget March 7 Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:46 PM PST CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The government of Alberta, which has warned about the impact on public coffers of deeply discounted Canadian oil prices, said on Tuesday it will deliver what is expected to be a miserly budget for the country's top energy-producing province on March 7. Premier Alison Redford's Progressive Conservatives have said weak prices for heavy crude from the Western province's vast oil sands may prevent a return to a hoped-for surplus in the upcoming fiscal year, and that all of Alberta's government departments will have to look for ways to reduce spending. ...

U.S. has no plans to send troops to Mali: Panetta Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:42 PM PST MADRID (Reuters) - The United States is still assessing what military aid to give France in its fight against al Qaeda-affiliated militants in Mali but has no plans to send U.S. troops, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday. "We are discussing in Washington some of the requests that have been made to determine exactly what assistance we can provide," Panetta told a news conference in Madrid with Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Morenes. ...

Ex-SC Gov. Sanford to announce run for Congress Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:40 PM PST CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Nearly four years after his affair with an Argentine woman was exposed, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford plans to announce his return to politics and run for his old congressional seat.

Retail sales point to firmer consumer spending Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:37 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retail sales rose solidly in December as Americans shrugged off the threat of higher taxes and bought automobiles and a range of other goods, suggesting momentum in consumer spending as the year ended. Other data on Tuesday showed inflation pressures remained muted, with wholesale prices declining for a third straight month in December. That should allow the Federal Reserve to stay on its very easy monetary policy path to nurse the recovery. Retail sales increased 0.5 percent after rising 0. ...

Pakistan turmoil deepens as court orders PM's arrest Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:31 PM PST ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister on Tuesday on corruption allegations, ratcheting up pressure on a government that is also facing street protests led by a cleric who has a history of ties to the army. The combination of the arrest order and the mass protest in the capital, Islamabad, led by Muslim cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri, raised fears among politicians that the military was working with the judiciary to force out a civilian leader. ...

France to stay in Mali until stability restored Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:27 PM PST BAMAKO/DUBAI (Reuters) - France pledged on Tuesday to keep troops in Mali until stability returned to the West African country, raising the specter of a long campaign against al Qaeda-linked rebels who held their ground despite a fifth day of air strikes. Paris has poured hundreds of soldiers into Mali and carried out 50 bombing raids since Friday in the Islamist-controlled northern half of the country, which Western and regional states fear could become a base for terrorist attacks in Africa and Europe. ...

Train carrying army recruits derails in Egypt, 19 killed Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:18 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - A military train carrying young recruits to an army camp derailed in a Cairo suburb on Tuesday, killing 19 people and injuring 107, Egypt's health ministry spokesman said. The train was traveling from Upper Egypt to Cairo when it derailed in the Giza neighborhood of Badrashin, a security source said, adding that the train was a military vehicle carrying conscripted youth on their way to an army camp. The injured passengers were taken to hospitals, Ahmed Omar, the health ministry spokesman, told the state news agency MENA. ...

Republicans seek to trim Sandy disaster aid in House vote Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:15 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fight over federal aid to victims of Superstorm Sandy resumed on Tuesday with the House of Representatives set to vote on $50.7 billion in additional money that some Republicans want to reduce. The aid package has been caught up for months in congressional brawling over deficit reduction, tax rates and the U.S. government debt limit. House lawmakers will consider the aid in two parts - an initial $17 billion to cover immediate emergency funding needs for devastated East Coast communities and an amendment to add $33.7 billion in longer-term reconstruction funds. ...

Schumer, Boxer to back Hagel for Pentagon's job Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:14 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Hagel secured the backing of two of the staunchest pro-Israel Senate Democrats in a clear boost to the Republican's prospects of becoming President Barack Obama's next defense secretary.

Govt appeals judge's contraceptive mandate ruling Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:13 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is appealing a judge's order that is temporarily preventing the government from forcing a Christian publishing company to provide its employees with certain contraceptives under the new health care law.

St. Louis college student shoots school employee: police Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:12 PM PST ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A student armed with a pistol opened fire at a college in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday, shooting a school employee and then turning the gun on himself, police said. Both men are expected to survive the incident, which occurred at about 2 p.m. local time at the Stevens Institute of Business & Arts, according to St. Louis Police Department spokesman David Marzullo. The student, in his early 20s, shot a man in his 40s, who is believed to be a school administrator, in the torso, Marzullo said. St. ...

Amazon fights $234 million tax liability in Tax Court Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Online retailer Amazon Inc is fighting the U.S. Internal Revenue Service over a $234 million international tax bill, a dispute similar to others in which the agency has struggled to collect corporate taxes. The case, filed on December 28 in U.S. Tax Court in Washington, has implications for other technology companies with software assets that may prove difficult to value for tax purposes. The IRS informed Amazon in November 2012 of what the agency said were unpaid taxes for 2005 and 2006. ...

Chelsea Clinton headlining inaugural service event Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton has signed on to help promote President Barack Obama's inaugural kick-off event to get Americans across the country engaged in serving their communities.

Obama to unveil gun violence measures Wednesday Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will propose an assault weapons ban and better background checks for gun buyers on Wednesday as part of a package of proposals to curb gun violence one month after the Newtown school massacre. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who led a task force that made recommendations on the issue, will present the measures at a White House event attended by children from around the country who wrote letters to the president about gun violence and school safety. ...

Schumer to back Hagel for Pentagon's top job Posted: 15 Jan 2013 02:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Hagel secured the backing of two of the staunchest pro-Israel Senate Democrats in a clear boost to the Republican's prospects of becoming President Barack Obama's next defense secretary.

New York state's public pension fund freezes gunmaker investments: DiNapoli Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:50 PM PST (Reuters) - New York state's $150 billion public pension fund will stop buying shares of publicly-traded firearms manufacturers, including Sturm Ruger & Company Inc, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Tuesday. The state pension fund holds an index fund of 45,325 shares of Sturm Ruger valued at about $2.2 million, he said in a statement. Public pension funds have been examining and in some cases divesting their firearms holdings in the wake of the deadly Connecticut grade-school shooting in December. (Reporting by Hilary Russ)

Court sides with Dish in striking down FCC TV rule Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:49 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An appeals court struck down a rule on Tuesday that had been issued by the U.S. telecommunications regulator to allow customers to watch cable and satellite TV on "plug and play" televisions, replacing set top boxes. Satellite TV company Dish Network Corp objected to the rule because it included prescriptions on encrypting programming that prevented Dish and others from, for example, making deals with studios to play new movies on a pay-per-view basis. At the request of Dish, the U.S. ...

Japan's Abe turns to Southeast Asia to counter China Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:42 PM PST TOKYO/JAKARTA (Reuters) - The last time he was prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe's inaugural foreign trip was to China. In the job again 7 years later and relations with Beijing now chilly, Abe is turning first this time to the rising economic stars of Southeast Asia. A hawkish Abe wants them to help counterbalance the growing economic and military might of China at a time when Japan needs new sources of growth for its languishing economy and is debating whether to make its own military more muscular. ...

Police: Man says he had explosives in Wis. Capitol Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:42 PM PST MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police have arrested a man who allegedly threatened the Wisconsin Capitol on his Facebook page and then told officers he had a molotov cocktail in his backpack after entering the building.

Explosions kill 83 at Syrian university as exams begin Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:34 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two explosions tore through one of Syria's biggest universities on the first day of student exams on Tuesday, killing 83 people and wounding dozens, a monitoring group said. Bloodshed has disrupted civilian life across Syria since a violent government crackdown in early 2011 on peaceful demonstrations for democratic reform turned the unrest into an armed insurgency bent on overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. ...

Senate appropriations boss to help divvy up shrinking pie Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:33 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Last year when NASA researchers in Baltimore discovered the fleeting glimmer of an exploding star, they named it "Supernova Mikulski," after one of their chief patrons in the U.S. Congress. Known for years as a champion of so-called pork-barrel politics, Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski has steered government money to many pet projects, from astronomy research to new buildings on military bases, protecting federal agency operations in her home state. ...

Leaders of Sudan, South Sudan to meet in second push for peace Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:13 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan will hold their second summit in a month on January 24, a Sudanese official said on Tuesday, in a fresh bid to defuse tensions over oil, territory and other disputes. The neighbors came close to war in April in the worst border clashes since South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011. After mediation from the African Union, both agreed in September to resume oil exports from the landlocked South through Sudan, a lifeline for both struggling economies. ...

How a feisty Chinese newspaper stood up for press freedom Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:10 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - Journalists at the Beijing News were at home late one night last week when their mobile phones started ringing. Colleagues in the newsroom were telling them of a showdown between the newspaper's management and propaganda department officials. That afternoon, propaganda officials had come to see publisher Dai Zigeng and editor-in-chief Wang Yuechun to demand that the paper heed a government directive to publish an editorial by the nationalist Global Times, denouncing protests against censorship at another paper, the Southern Weekly. But the Beijing News was resisting. ...

Analysis: New China leaders must steady economy in 2013 before driving reform Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:05 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new leaders must stabilise the economy this year to keep employment high while avoiding a surge in housing prices and inflation that could undermine reforms needed to overhaul the country's export-oriented growth model. Without stability, incoming President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, who are set to be confirmed in March, have no chance of delivering a slew of reforms they say are needed now to tackle a host of financial, industrial and income imbalances that threaten China's future. ...

Ron Paul's GOP legacy growing in states like Iowa Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:04 PM PST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ron Paul is exiting the political stage, but his legions of followers insist they are only getting started.

U.S. condemns comments by Egypt's Mursi as Islamist leader Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:01 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday strongly condemned disparaging comments about Jews that Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi was reported to have made almost three years ago when he was a Muslim Brotherhood leader, and urged him to repudiate his remarks. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the language Mursi used was "deeply offensive" and that U.S. officials had raised concerns with the Egyptian government on the matter. ...

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