Political News from Yahoo

Eric Cantor’s Caucus Thwarts His Push for an Alternative Agenda

Readers of It’s Even Worse Than It Looks know that I have not always treated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor kindly. I have excoriated him for engineering the debt-ceiling crisis in 2011 as a hostage-taking exercise, and then blowing up the talks between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner that could have led to a grand bargain. Cantor himself recently took credit for the latter in a profile written by Ryan Lizza in The New Yorker. He told Lizza “that it was a ‘fair assessment’ that he talked Boehner out of accepting Obama’s deal. ...

Obama aims to halt perception of passive president

WASHINGTON (AP) — Faced with a trio of controversies, President Barack Obama is trying to halt a perception spreading among both White House opponents and allies that he has been passive and disengaged as unexpected developments consume his second term.


Next Stops for Farm Bill: Senate and House Floors

The House Agriculture Committee prides itself on bipartisanship, but when the panel met Wednesday to consider a new farm bill, the deep cultural divides between its Republican majority and Democratic minority members were in full relief.

Obama Forces Out Acting IRS Commis.; Bachmann on the Air; Tancredo Mulling Another CO GOV Bid

Wake-Up Call! is Hotline's daily morning briefing on campaigns and elections. Click here to subscribe.WHAT'S NEWSPres. Obama said late Wednesday he was "angry" that the IRS singled out conservative groups for extra vetting and announced that the agency's acting commis. had been forced out (National Journal).In an effort to calm the swirl of controversy about the reaction to last year's attacks on U.S. ...

House to take up student loan fix

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a better deal at first, but student loan rates could steadily climb and cost students more over the long haul under the plan House Republicans are considering.

Senate panel considers labor board nominees

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration wants quick confirmation of five nominees to fill seats on the National Labor Relations Board, which has been mired for months in a controversy over recess appointments.

Joint Chiefs chairman cites 'crisis' over assaults

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sexual assault in the U.S. military is costing the armed services the confidence of women in uniform that the problem can be solved, the nation's top military officer warns.


Deep divide in Congress over domestic food aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have laid the groundwork this week for reducing the size of the federal food stamp program, approving farm bills that would shrink the food aid and alter the way people qualify for it.


GOP demands more despite Benghazi email release

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House release of some 100 pages of emails and notes about the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year has failed to satisfy congressional Republicans, who are demanding more information.


Ouster of IRS official isn't ending investigations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't look for the outcry over the Internal Revenue Service's improper targeting of tea party groups to subside with the ouster of the agency's acting commissioner.


Scandals Tailor-Made For Republican Base

When a president's party has a difficult time in midterm elections, it's usually because the campaign has become about the president himself. As Democrats look towards an already-challenging midterm election cycle in 2014, they can thank, or blame, President Obama for handing Republicans several opportunities to focus voter attention -- and anger -- at the White House. ...

Ex-SC Gov. Sanford reclaims House seat in comeback

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor whose extramarital affair derailed his political career, returned to Congress on Wednesday with his Argentine "soul mate" at his side.

Woman: China police ask to ax White House petition

BEIJING (AP) — Upset about plans for a petrochemical plant near her hometown in China, a woman turned to a new method that Chinese are using to air their complaints: she posted a petition on the White House's website. Then, Chinese police asked her to remove it.

Obama's assets worth between $1.8M and $6.8M

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama held assets last year that were worth between $1.8 million and nearly $7 million, according to federal financial disclosure forms the White House released Wednesday.

Obama tries to regain control amid controversies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under mounting pressure, President Barack Obama on Wednesday released a trove of documents related to the Benghazi attack and forced out the top official at the Internal Revenue Service following revelations that the agency targeted conservative political groups. The moves were aimed at halting a perception spreading among both White House opponents and allies that the president has been passive and disengaged as controversies consume his second term.


Obama news conference Thursday with Turkish PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he's ready for more questions at a news conference Thursday about revelations that the IRS singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny.

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