News Items

Obama Barely Leads Romney Ahead of Second Debate

As President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney prepare to meet for round two of the debates, a new ABC News-Washington Post poll shows the president barely leading Romney among likely voters.

According to a poll out Monday, President Obama leads Romney 49 to 46 percent among likely voters. Both campaigns know the stakes are huge.

However, there's encouraging news for Romney: 59 percent of his supporters now say they're strongly enthusiastic about him, compared to 55 percent of the president's supporters.

"I think he needs to be hard hitting on some of his issues, and I think he needs to take a more concrete stand," Ohio voter Tiffany Culver said.

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Biden Draws Fire for 'Disrespectful' Debate Style

Many political analysts believe Thursday's debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican rival Paul Ryan was generally even.

But several have criticized Biden for what they called his disrespectful demeanor.

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said that as one who had watched presidential debates for decades, "I don't believe I have ever seen a debate in which one participant was as openly disrespectful of another as Joe Biden was to Paul Ryan."

CNN's analysts believed the debate was a draw. But CNN political commentator...

Biden, Ryan Clash on Foreign Policy, Social Issues

Washington -- It was a fight right from the start. During the only vice-presidential debate of the 2012 election season, Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan held what many pundits are calling a "spirited" debate.
 
The two sparred over Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, abortion, social security, health care, tax cuts and more.
 
Biden won the coin toss and answered the first question, which was on Libya and the recent deaths of four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. Biden took issue with Mitt Romney's initial response to the attack saying Romney politicized it. Ryan fired back saying the White House failed to call the onslaught a terrorist attack. 

For 90 minutes, the two men clashed, often speaking...

Romney Pledges to End Planned Parenthood Funding

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is clarifying his stance on abortion after announcing this week that he has no plans to push for new legislation on the issue.

He explained that he would still take action as president to cut funding of America's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.

"I think I've said time and again. I'm a pro-life candidate. I'll be a pro-life president," Romney said at a campaign stop in Ohio.

He explained that he does intend to take pro-life action, even if not pushing directly for legislation that targets abortion.

"The actions I'll take immediately are to remove funding for Planned Parenthood. It...

Game On! Ryan, Biden Prep to Face Off in VP Debate

The eyes of the nation will be on Danville, Ky., Thursday night as Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., go head-to-head in their first and only vice presidential debate.

With polls still showing a tight race for the White House, the pressure is on both men to turn in a game-winning performance.

Tonight's debate has gained importance since GOP nominee Mitt Romney's strong showing in the first presidential faceoff.

Polls have shifted in Romney's favor since the debate. Ryan wants to build on that momentum, while Biden would like to slow it down.

Both men have been preparing extensively for the big night.

"I...

State Department Contradicts White House on Libya Attack

Members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are holding a hearing to determine if adequate security was in place before the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Today's hearing comes one day after the State Department revealed there were no protests outside the embassy ahead of the incident that left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Conflicting Stories

In a series of interviews more than a week after the attack, President Obama's ambassador to the United Nations said repeatedly the administration believed the violence was unplanned.

"What this began...

Weak Economy Top Issue for Voters ahead of Election

The unemployment rate for September dropped 7.8 percent, the U.S. Labor Department announced Friday.

Prior to September, unemployment had been stuck above 8 percent for more than three-and-a-half years -- the longest stretch since the Great Depression.

For most Americans, the economy is easily the number one issue in the presidential election.

"I need to know that whichever one is actually listening to the average person -- the one who has a fixed income, the one who has minimum wage," voter Carmen Mendoza said.

"The economy always matters to people," another voter, Linden Hunter, said. "That's probably right up there, that's one of the top...

Game Changer? Romney Has Big Night in Denver

President Obama and his challenger for the White House, Mitt Romney, met face to face for the first time on the debate state on Wednesday night at the University of Denver.

The candidates answered questions and drew stark differences in their visions for health care, entitlements, taxes, deficits and job creation. The debate focused on domestic policy and lasted for 90 minutes.

President Obama was on the defensive much of the night, as Romney was assertive in challenging his policies.

"When I walked into the Oval Office, I had more than a trillion-dollar deficit greeting me. And we know where it came from: two wars that were paid for on a credit card; two tax cuts that were not paid for;...

Economic Woes Key in First Presidential Debate

President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney are preparing to take the debate stage in Denver Wednesday.

Fifty million viewers are expected to watch as the race now enters its final weeks and appears to be tightening up.

Biden: Middle Class 'Buried'

With tonight's debate centered on domestic issues, the president will be on the defense, trying to explain how an economy with a persistent unemployment rate above 8 percent has begun to rebound - even though some indicators have shown it slowing down.

Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden, in another gaffe, admitted the middle class has been "buried."

"How they...

Romney, Obama Seek to Lower Debate Expectations

President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney are scaling back campaign plans this week as they gear up for the first of three presidential debates scheduled to take place in Denver, Wednesday.

At a rally last night in Las Vegas, the president tried to lower expectations.

"I know folks in the media are speculating already on who's going to have the best zingers," to which his supporters yelled, "You are!"

"I don't know about that," Obama replied. "Gov. Romney, he's a good debater."

The Romney camp is also trying to manage expectations.

"President Obama is a very gifted speaker," vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan...

Romney Hits Pennsylvania, Obama Pushes Voter Registration in NC

President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney are hitting battleground states hard as the first presidential debate draws near.

Romney is campaigning in Philadelphia. No Republican presidential candidate has won Pennsylvania in nearly a quarter century.
    
Meanwhile, the Obama campaign is pushing voter registration in North Carolina.
    
Campaign workers have registered more than 250,000 new voters since April 2011.
    
President Obama won North Carolina by just 14,000 votes in 2008.
    
So far, polls show Romney leading in the state.

Presidential Candidates to Talk Jobs in Battleground States

President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney will continue talking jobs and the economy in the battleground state of Virginia Thursday, where early voting has already begun. 

On Wednesday, the candidates squared off in Ohio, hoping to snag the swing state's 18 electoral votes.

"I'm not fighting to create Democratic jobs or Republican jobs," Obama told an Ohio crowd. I'm fighting to create American jobs."

Republican challenger Mitt Romney threw a few jabs of his own.

"Let me ask you this," Romney addressed a Buckeye State audience. "Do you really want four more years of 23 million people struggling to find a job?"

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Ahmadinejad to UN: 'Uncivilized Zionists' Threaten Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called once again for the end of Israel as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday.

U.N. schedulers chose Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, to hear from the world leader most committed to Israel's destruction.

Israeli Jews were finishing the most solemn day of the year, getting ready to wind up 24 hours of fasting and prayer, when Ahmadinejad stepped to the podium.

With U.S. and Israeli representatives boycotting the speech, Ahmadenijad said his country is threatened by "uncivilized Zionists."

"And the self-proclaimed centers of power who have entrusted themselves to...

Make or Break: Romney, Obama Vie for Must-Win Ohio

Both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney are competing in the battleground state of Ohio Wednesday in order to win the state's 18 electoral votes. 

Losing Ohio would force both candidates to pick up all the other battleground states to secure the 270 votes necessary to win the White House.
   
Obama is scheduled to address state university students at two rallies Wednesday, while Romney will stop in major metropolitan areas on a bus tour.
   
The candidates are expected to clash over China. 

The Obama campaign is hitting Romney for investments in Chinese companies. 

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Israeli Leaders Protest Ahmadinejad's UN Speech

More than 120 presidents, prime ministers and monarchs will attend the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York.

The annual meeting comes as war rages in Syria, deadly protests spread across the Middle East and tensions ramp up between Iran and Israel.

Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the assembly with heated rhetoric despite a warning by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon against incendiary speech.

"Fundamentally, we do not take seriously threats of the Zionists," Ahmadinejad said. "We believe the Zionists see themselves at a dead end and they want to find an adventure to get out of this dead end. While we...

Obama, Romney Sharpen Attacks Ahead of Debates

This is the last full week of campaigning before the presidential debates begin, and both candidates are stepping up their attacks.

Speaking at a campaign event in Denver Sunday, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney vowed that as president he would breathe life back into the nation's ailing economy.

"It's very clear that we can't afford four more years like the last four years," Romney said Sunday. "That's why we're going to get change finally in Washington that the people of America deserve."

President Obama, meanwhile, criticized Romney, saying he believed in "top-down economics."

"My opponent, he believes in top-down economics, thinks...

Ryan: Birth Control Mandate 'Assault on Liberty'

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is condemning President Obama's contraceptive mandate for employers.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Orlando, Ryan called the requirement that employers offer birth control coverage "an assault on religious liberty."

Numerous Catholic and Protestant institutions have filed suit over the mandate, which also covers abortion-inducing drugs.

Ryan promises to reverse the mandate if he and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney are elected.'

 

White House on Hot Seat over Libya Consulate Attack

The White House is changing its story on the events that led up to the Sept. 11 U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, and the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

In the days after the attack, the Obama administration insisted protests over an anti-Muslim film were to blame. But for the first time Thursday, the White House called the assault a "terrorist attack" with possible links to al Qaeda.

It's something Republicans point out they've been saying all along. The issue was raised earlier this week at a Senate hearing.

"Let me begin by asking you if you think Ambassador Stevens and the three other Americans died as a result of a terrorist attack," Sen. Joe...

Health Care Mandate Could Penalize 6 Million

President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is expected to hit nearly 6 million Americans with a tax penalty, most in the middle class.

The prediction from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is much higher than expected. An earlier estimate projected 4 million people would be affected by the mandate, which goes into effect in 2016.

Anyone without health insurance at that time will be charged. The average penalty is $1,200.

Republicans are still working to repeal the health care law, even after the Supreme Court said the insurance mandate is constitutional.

"The bad news and broken promises from Obamacare just keep piling up," said...

Obama Approval Ratings Up; Race Still Close

President Obama's approval rating is back above 50 percent for the first time since May.

A new Associated Press-GfK poll found that Americans are feeling better about the country's future and the president's job performance.

But the poll also shows that Republican challenger Mitt Romney remains neck-and-neck with the president in the race for the White House.

Obama is supported by 47 percent of likely voters and Romney by 46 percent.

Meanwhile, Romney has continued to take heat over his remarks that most Obama supporters see themselves as 'victims' who rely on government support.

But the president is coming under...