At Brandenburg Gate, Obama Warns 'Our Work Is Not Yet Done'
BERLIN - Speaking at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate, President Obama today challenged Western democracies not to become complacent in the post-Cold War era, saying "our work is not yet done." "Complacency is not the character of great nations. Today's threats are not as stark as...
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:15:23 -0400
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Rep. Michael Burgess Says 15-Week-Old Male Fetuses Pleasure Themselves
ABC News' Brooke Kettler reports: At what age do young boys begin sexual self-exploration? As early as 15 weeks in utero, according to Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas. "Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful," said Burgess, a former...
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:53:27 -0400
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Taliban Agrees to Join Peace Talks
The Taliban said today that they are prepared to sit down for direct peace talks with Afghan and U.S. officials over the future of Afghanistan. The news comes as Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced today that Afghan security forces have taken over the country's...
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:13:20 -0400
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Syria Crisis to Top G-8 Summit Agenda
The civil war in Syria is expected to dominate much of the discussion as President Obama sits down tomorrow with the Group of Eight leaders in Northern Ireland, just days after the White House confirmed the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's...
Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:44:46 -0400
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Sarah Palin on U.S. Decision on Syria: 'Let Allah Sort It Out'
WASHINGTON - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin criticized the Obama administration's decision to supply weapons to the rebels in the civil war in Syria today, arguing that the U.S. should "Let Allah sort it out" until there is a stronger leader in the White House....
Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:15:15 -0400
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Obama making plans to tackle global warming
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is planning a major push using executive powers to tackle the pollution blamed for global warming in an effort to make good on promises he made at the start of his second term. "We know we have to do more - and we will do more," Obama said Wednesday in Berlin.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:16:55 -0400
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House votes to cut food stamps by $2 billion
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House voted on Wednesday to cut food stamps by $2 billion a year as part of a wide-ranging farm bill.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:15:50 -0400
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Compromise among senators eyed on border security
WASHINGTON (AP) - After secretive talks, key senators expressed optimism Wednesday night that they were closing in on a bipartisan agreement to toughen the border security requirements in immigration legislation that also offers a path to citizenship to millions living in the country illegally.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:55:37 -0400
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US calls out China, Russia over human trafficking
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. accused China and Russia of failing to meet minimum standards in fighting human trafficking, ranking them on a par with North Korea and Syria.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:48:21 -0400
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Senate backs Froman as next trade representative
WASHINGTON (AP) - Michael Froman, a senior White House economic adviser and classmate of President Barack Obama at Harvard Law School, on Wednesday won Senate confirmation to be the next U.S. trade representative.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:43:24 -0400
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Senate on Verge of Border-Security Deal
Senate negotiators are on the verge of a breakthrough on border security that is designed to bring a handful of Republicans on board for final passage of a sweeping immigration bill, lawmakers involved in the talks said Wednesday.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:50:50 -0400
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New Probe Sought for 1996 Airline Disaster Off the Coast of Long Island, N.Y
The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday it is being petitioned to reactivate its investigation into the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, which disintegrated shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, killing all 230 on board. The request for a new probe came from former investigators who now claim they were silenced about the real cause of the disaster and that the official findings released by the government were "falsified."
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:52:43 -0400
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Getting Out of Jail and Staying Out
Each year, some 700,000 men and women are released from U.S. prisons. If past statistics hold, about half of them will be re-incarcerated within three years. One of the best indicators that someone has successfully reintegrated into society is stable employment. That can be a challenge even in times of low unemployment. Dedicated social-service organizations and transitional job providers can sometimes find work for individual former prisoners. But no one program has yet cracked the code on how to improve long-term employment outcomes and reduce recidivism for a whole population.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:48:30 -0400
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The Edge: Poll: Americans Divided Over Linking Security, Citizenship in Immigration Bill
The Edge is National Journal's daily look at today in Washington -- and what's coming next. The email features analysis from NJ's top correspondents, the biggest stories of the day -- and always a few surprises. To subscribe, click here.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:35:48 -0400
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Bernanke May Have Just Made the Jobs Report More of a Circus
One of the government's most-hyped economic reports may start getting even more scrutiny thanks to Ben Bernanke. That's because the Federal Reserve chairman made some news on Wednesday: For the first time, he gave a target unemployment rate for when the Fed might fully wind down its monthly multibillion asset purchases.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:22:34 -0400
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Weiner Won't Get Women's Votes but He'll Take Their Money
Anthony Weiner is holding a fundraiser called "Women for Weiner" next week, Politico's Maggie Haberman reports. The politicians who really need "Women for." groups are the ones who have women problems. Weiner is one of those guys, having apologized for tweeting a photo of his crotch, and explained in an excruitiating interview with The New York Times Magazine that he did it because he just wanted people to like him. The New York City mayoral candidate is now going where Herman Cain and Todd Akin have boldly gone before.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:17:42 -0400
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Obama job approval unchanged, views of economy improve
President Barack Obama's job approval rating slipped slightly to 49 percent in June despite controversies over National Security Agency surveillance and the IRS targeting of conservative groups, according to a new poll from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Oh, and fewer Americans are using the word "socialist" now than in early 2009 as a one-word [...]
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:09:17 -0400
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Bloomberg Group Called Tsarnaev a Gun Victim on a List It Copied from Slate
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns organized an event in Concord, New Hampshire, yesterday, during which the names of victims of gun violence since Newtown were read for several hours. Included among those names: Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston bombing suspect killed during a shoot-out with police. But the group suggests it's not their fault. Tsarnaev's name came from a list posted at Slate.com, as Bloomberg's group told The Atlantic Wire on Wednesday afternoon.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:23:55 -0400
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FBI Nails an Alleged KKK Member for Wacky Terrorist Death Ray Plot
One of the FBI's methods of fighting terrorism in America is to have undercover agents or informants recruit Muslims for fake terror groups, give them ideas for fake terror plots, and in some cases, arm them with fake terrorist weapons. For those troubled by these methods, perhaps it will be some comfort to know the FBI also recruits white guys as terrorists. Glendon Scott Crawford has been charged with trying to create a mobile radiation death ray to sell to Jewish groups and the Ku Klux Klan, according to a federal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. ...
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:20:24 -0400
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Letter at auction shows Washington's thoughts about the Constitution
A very rare private letter from George Washington is on the auction block on Friday, but what is priceless to scholars are the first president's private thoughts about the Constitution.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:16:07 -0400
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NYC mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn's memoir so far sells just 100 copies
Christine Quinn is vying to be New York City's first female and first openly gay mayor, but even as polls suggest she still remains the candidate to beat, it appears Quinn will not add the title of "best-selling author" to her resume. The New York Times reports that Quinn's memoir, "With Patience and Fortitude," sold [...]
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:01:06 -0400
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Wikileaks founder Assange: We are helping NSA leaker Snowden
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said on Wednesday that his antisecrecy group has been in touch with National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden's legal team in a bid to help him secure asylum in Iceland. "I feel a great deal of personal sympathy with Mr Snowden," Assange told reporters on a conference call. He joined the [...]
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:35:31 -0400
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The Science of Lisa Murkowski's Gay Marriage Evolution
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has announced her support for same-sex marriage. This used to be a more common thing, back when there were more moderate and Democratic senators who hadn't yet made the announcement. Or who hadn't yet "evolved," as politicians say these days. Thanks to Murkowski, we now have a better sense for how long that evolution takes. And she was right on schedule.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:24:21 -0400
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Sean Hannity Still Thinks Obama Grew Up in Kenya
Sean Hannity, still, incredibly, is officially confused about where President Obama grew up. In a new interview with Playboy, Hannity was asked whether he regrets saying Obama grew up in Kenya. Hannity responded, "But he did grow up in Kenya, and he told The New York Times that he went to a school there and one of the most beautiful things on the planet is Islamic prayer at sunset." Is he trying to hint that Obama's an African Muslim? "I never fueled the myth," Hannity said. ...
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:19:20 -0400
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Obama revisits the promises of 2008 in legacy-minded Berlin speech
BERLIN -- In 2008, some 200,000 people packed the streets near this city's Victory Column and listened raptly to candidate Barack Obama promise to lead a different America on the chaotic global stage - one that would embrace action to fight climate change, shutter the Guantanamo Bay prison for suspected extremists, seek to eliminate the [...]
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:05:20 -0400
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The Taliban Peace Movement
Sami Yousafzai and Ron Moreau on the Taliban's peace initiative.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:02:50 -0400
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The Government Is Spying on America with Drones, Too
FBI director Robert Mueller said the government has used surveillance drones in the U.S. - though "in a very, very minimal way, very seldom" - at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. "It's very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident when you need the capability," Mueller said before the judiciary committee. "It is very narrowly focused on particularized cases and particularized needs." He said he did not know what happens to the images the drones capture.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:35:01 -0400
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Murkowski becomes third GOP senator to support same-sex marriage
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said on Wednesday that she now supports allowing same-sex couples to legally marry, becoming the third U.S. senator in her party to change positions on the issue. "Countless Alaskans and Americans want to give themselves to one another and create a home together. I support marriage equality and support the [...]
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:15:00 -0400
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The same-sex marriage Senate endorsement tracker
The cascade of senators announcing or clarifying their support for same-sex marriage in the past two weeks has somewhat obscured the fact that more than half of the Democrats in the Senate backed the policy before it became fashionable. By the time Vice President Joe Biden abruptly announced his own support for the policy on [...]
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:10:59 -0400
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The Case Against Immigration Reform Just Got a Lot Uglier
"It's easier to frame opposition using the bloodless language of the budget than the combustible language of national character and composition," The Washington Post's Ezra Klein wrote this mornin, but the Congressional Budget Office has refuted argument by finding that immigration reform would cut almost $1 trillion from the federal deficit over the next 20 years.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:53:45 -0400
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In the Heat of Berlin, Obama Signals He's Finally Ready to Act on Climate Change
For those waiting for the president to do something on climate change, Obama has offered two signs that action is imminent. The public sign came during his speech today in Berlin. The more subtle signal came in conversation with groups about to sue him for his inaction.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:31:52 -0400
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West Wing Wednesday: Top 5 constitutional moments
Welcome back for Constitution Daily's West Wing Wednesday, where we walk and talk about everyone's favorite now-on-Netflix political drama and the top constitutional lessons, mistakes, and moments from the show. Today, we're wrapping things up with a look at the top 5 constitutional moments from the show.
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:00:02 -0400
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Americans Want More Information on NSA Surveillance - Could They Get It?
Poll after poll suggests that Americans support the NSA's surveillance tools. But, as demonstrated in a new poll from the Washington Post and ABC News this morning, we are also aware that there are significant details about the programs which remain unclear - 65 percent of Americans want public hearings on their use. Which raises two questions: Could we actually learn more? And: Who do we trust to give us new information?
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:54:35 -0400
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The view of Obama's Berlin visit from the street
Editor's note: Marc Young is a Berlin-based freelance journalist covering President Barack Obama's visit for Yahoo News. Ever since John F. Kennedy made his legendary "Ich bin ein Berliner" address almost 50 years ago to the day, Berlin has been a place to which U.S. presidents come when they have something important to say. In [...]
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:41:11 -0400
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