Paul Ryan announces candidacy for House Speaker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Republican congressman Paul Ryan formally announced his candidacy for speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday after he nailed down crucial endorsements from Republican factions.
Jockeying begins in race to succeed Sacramento’s NBA star mayor
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – Politicians in California’s capital are jostling to fill the shoes of its charismatic mayor, Kevin Johnson, after the former basketball star who revitalized his home town with a potent mix of boosterism and economic devel…
Obama vetoes defense bill, sends it back to Congress
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vetoed a sweeping $612 billion defense policy bill on Thursday, returning the measure to the Republican-controlled Congress because of the way it uses money meant for war spending to avoid automatic budget …
Clinton defends her Benghazi record in face of Republican criticism
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday deflected harsh Republican criticism of her handling of the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, and urged her questioners in Congress to put U.S. national security ahead of…
U.S. House members push to return North Korea to terrorism list
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of the U.S. House of Representatives called on Thursday for the return of North Korea to Washington’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism,” subject to strict controls on trade and other restrictions.
Carson steals lead from Trump in key state of Iowa: survey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ben Carson has pushed past rival Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump among party voters in the key early voting state of Iowa, a Quinnipiac University opinion poll released on Thursday showed.
Senator urges Obama admin to detail any oil swaps with Mexico
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – One of the U.S. Senate’s top advocates for lifting the ban on domestic crude exports urged the Commerce Department on Thursday to disclose whether any oil swaps with Mexico have actually been finalized after the agency approved t…
White House cites debt limit urgency; Congress struggles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House and congressional leaders on Thursday cited the urgency of enacting legislation to avoid a default on U.S. debt, but Republicans were still struggling over how to pass any bill.
Puerto Rico faces humanitarian crisis without federal action: Treasury
NEW YORK/SAN JUAN (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary counselor Antonio Weiss warned that Puerto Rico faces a humanitarian crisis without federal action, as he appealed to Congress to help the debt-ridden U.S. territory, in comments to a Senate committ…
New Jersey to vote on override of Christie gun control bill veto
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New Jersey Senate will vote on Thursday whether to override Governor Chris Christie’s veto of a bill that requires courts and law enforcement to exchange information before people trying to purchase a firearm can have their med…