News Items

Obama Urges Congress to Delay Spending Cuts

President Obama is pushing Congress to delay those deep spending cuts that will hit the military and other domestic programs in less than a month.

This would be the second time Washington has "kicked the can" down the road to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The "sequester" was supposed to kick in Jan. 1 but the president and Congress reached a deal to avert the cuts until March 1. He now wants lawmakers to come up with another short-term measure.

"They should at least pass a smaller package of spending cuts and tax...

Obama seeks another short-term fix to looming defense cuts

President Obama is urging another short-term fix to avoid automatic spending cuts set to hit March 1, calling on Congress to come up with an alternative package containing tens of billions of dollars in spending cuts and tax revenue. Republican leaders, though, quickly raised concern that the president was setting the stage for another round of tax hikes. 

"There is no reason that the jobs of thousands of Americans ... not to mention the growth of the entire economy, should be put in jeopardy just because folks in Washington couldn't come together," Obama said Tuesday, during a brief statement at the...

GOP Slams White House for Budget Delay

Republicans are criticizing the White House for not meeting Monday's deadline to produce a federal budget.

For the third straight year, the Obama administration hasn't produced a spending plan on time, and it is the fourth delay in the last five years.

"President Obama missed a great opportunity today to help our economy," Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "This was supposed to be the day he submitted his budget to the Congress. But it's not coming. It's going to be late. Some reports say it could be a month late."

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Obama, Reid: End Tax Loopholes to Cut Deficit

President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Washington needs more taxes as part of a plan to reduce the budget deficit.

The president told CBS News the government can close loopholes and limit some deductions to raise more money. Along with that, he called for "smart" spending cuts.

Reid agreed, telling ABC News that upcoming talks on the budget must include discussions about closing tax loopholes.

"Washington cannot continually operate under a cloud of crisis," the Nevada lawmaker said...

Jobs Council Expires as High Unemployment Persists

President Obama has decided to let his Jobs Council expire even as 12 million Americans remain out of work.

There's also growing concern about the U.S. economy which shrank at an annual rate of .1 percent in the fourth quarter.

The president created the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in January 2011 when unemployment hovered around 9 percent. It's now 7.9 percent, up a tenth of a point from 7.8 percent in December.

Obama's executive order establishing the council expired Thursday. It was originally created...

GOP Senators Interrogate Hagel on Israel, Iran

Chuck Hagel spent nearly eight hours in the hot seat Thursday in a bruising confirmation hearing for President Obama's nominee for secretary of defense.

Hagel is a Vietnam veteran and a former GOP senator, but it's his former Republican colleagues who are the most critical of his nomination.

One of his most outspoken critics, fellow Vietnam War veteran Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., questioned Hagel's stance on the 2007 Iraq surge.

"Were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most...

Former Senator Chuck Hagel Faces Republican Critics

Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's nominee for defense secretary, faces tough questions as his confirmation hearing gets underway Thursday.

Republicans are concerned about some of his past comments on Israel, Iran, and nuclear weapons.

Six Republicans have announced they will oppose Hagel's nomination. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top GOP lawmaker on the committee, said they are "too philosophically opposed" on defense spending, nuclear weapons and the Middle East.

Other critics are...

Economic Report May Hurt Obama's Social Agenda

A new report this week showing the economy actually shrank in the fourth quarter of 2012 could hurt President Obama's social agenda.

The president made gun control and immigration reform top priorities in the first weeks of his second term.

Now, the economy and the anticipated consequences of upcoming spending cuts are threatening his plans.

Political analysts say despite the president's momentum and improving poll numbers, bad...

Justice Scalia: Constitution is 'Dead, Dead, Dead'

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said it's a mistake to consider the U.S. Constitution a "living" document. According to the 76-year-old justice, it's "dead, dead, dead."

Those who believe the Constitution is a "living" document mean it's flexible and changes with the times. Scalia said the best way to interpret the Constitution is via its original meaning.

Scalia told a group of students at Southern Methodist University a judge has to follow the law and the Constitution and not his own beliefs, noting that his legal decisions...

Weak Growth Masking a Solid Economic Recovery?

The nation's economic growth rate may be slow, but the U.S. housing and stock markets are soaring.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at its highest level in five years Tuesday, nearly hitting the 14,000 mark and only 200 points away from its all-time high.

The ongoing surge in the stock market is good news for American investors. The average 401k retirement account is up about 20 percent over the last year.

"These worst case scenarios that people were looking at in 2008, they can start to say, 'Alright, we'...

Kerry Secretary State Nomination Clears Senate Panel

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has been confirmed as the next secretary of state.

On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the Democratic lawmaker with no opposition.

The five-term Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate is President Obama's choice to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is stepping down after four years.

Kerry has served on the foreign relations panel for 28 years and led the committee for the past four.

The 69-...

Chambliss Retiring from Senate, Citing Gridlock

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss has announced he is retiring from the U.S. Senate.

Speaking at the University of Georgia Chapel Monday, the Republican lawmaker said he has grown frustrated with Washington and what he calls the ugly political climate there.

Chambliss has devoted his time in the Senate to seeking solutions to America's debt crisis. But he said he has seen little success.

"I have worked very hard on the...number one issue facing our country, and we've made some progress, but we haven't gotten there....

Netanyahu Talks to US Congressmen about Syria

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a delegation of U.S. congressmen Monday Israel is closely monitoring developments in Syria, particularly the country's chemical weapons stockpile.

Netanyahu said the chemical weapons are a big concern. Beleaguered President Bashar Assad could use them against his own people or transfer them to Hezbollah, Iran's Lebanese-based proxy.

The other major concern is what Syria will look like if and when Assad is deposed. Will a new regime be controlled by Islamists affiliated...

Obama Recess Appointments Ruled Unconstitutional

A federal appeals court has ruled that some of President Obama's appointments made last year violate the U.S. Constitution.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled unanimously the president's "recess" appointments were made while the Senate was technically still in session.

The president said the Senate was away on a 20-day holiday recess when he made the appointments.

The vacancies were on the National Labor Relations Board. Senate Republicans had spent months blocking them...

Senators Unveil Framework for Immigration Reform

Senators from both sides of the aisle have come together to lay the groundwork for sweeping immigration reform.

The legislation includes a path to citizenship for the country's roughly 11 million illegal immigrants and plans to strengthen border security.
    
The four Democrats and four Republicans behind the idea are unveiling their plan Monday.

"We can't go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told ABC's "This Week."

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said, "Americans support it in poll after poll. Secondly, Latino voters expect it.  Thirdly,...

Iranian Judge Sentences US Pastor to Eight Years

Pastor Saeed Abidini, an American imprisoned in Iran for his faith, was sentenced Sunday to eight years in prison.

According to the American Center for Law and Justice, Pastor Saeed was verbally sentenced by Iran's notorious "hanging judge" to eight years. He will serve his time in Evin Prison, known as one of the most brutal.

“This is a real travesty – a mockery of justice,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ, who represents Pastor Saeed’s wife and children living in the U.S.

“From the very beginning, Iranian authorities have lied about all aspects of this case, even releasing rumors of his expected release," he continued. "Iran has not...

Tens of Thousands Expected at March for Life

Pro-lifers from around the country are gathering in Washington, D.C., Friday for the annual March for Life.
    
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invented a nationwide right to abortion.
    
"This is a time to think about the 55 million Americans who have died in the last four decades as a result of legal abortion in the United States, so it's a somber moment," Jeanne Monahan, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, told NBC Washington.
    
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No Spending Cuts, No Paychecks for Congress

House Republicans have decided not to use the debt ceiling as a negotiating tactic right now.

They will vote Wednesday to raise America's borrowing limit without forcing a showdown over spending cuts.

Over the past few years the GOP has refused to raise the debt ceiling to try to force President Obama to rein in his annual trillion-dollar deficits.

Critics accused them of holding America's economy hostage by using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip.

But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio...

Netanyahu Wins, But Left Makes Unexpected Gains

TEL AVIV, Israel -- More Israelis went to the polls Tuesday than in more than a decade. They voted for a change in the government, but it's not the change most people anticipated.

Israeli TV channels released their exit polls at 10 p.m. local time. As expected, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's combined Likud-Beiteinu party received the most seats. But center-left parties received many more seats than anticipated.

The emergence of Yair Lapid and his center-left party will have a major impact on how Netanyahu will form the next Israeli government. It also...

Episcopal Pastor to Replace Giglio at Inauguration

The pastor of the Episcopal parish closest to the White House will give the benediction at President Obama's inauguration Monday.

Rev. Luis Leon of Saint John's Church replaces Atlanta evangelical Pastor Louie Giglio, who withdrew last week over a controversial sermon he gave in the 1990s criticizing gay relationships.

A spokeswoman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee said the person chosen to give the benediction would reflect the administration's position.

The Episcopal parish blesses gay and lesbian unions...