Obama defends deal that freed soldier amid growing demands for hearings
WASHINGTON/WARSAW (Reuters) – President Barack Obama defended on Tuesday the prisoner swap deal that freed a U.S. soldier from Taliban captivity in Afghanistan, and the Army pledged to investigate the circumstances of his capture after fellow soldiers …
Obama to name Berkeley economist to White House council
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will nominate Maurice Obstfeld, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, to serve on the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the White House said on Tuesday.
McConnell plans Senate effort to preempt EPA carbon crackdown
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday introduced a bill that would try to block newly proposed government regulations that seek to curb carbon emissions from U.S. power plants.
Northrop wins $9.9 billion contract for B-2 bomber sustainment
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Northrop Grumman Corp has won a five-year contract valued at up to $9.9 billion from the U.S. Air Force to modernize and support the B-2 stealth bomber, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday.
U.S. reconstitutes group to fight homegrown extremists
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is reviving a law enforcement group to investigate those it designates as domestic terrorists, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
U.S., citing new hope for Somalia, to name Somalia ambassador
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States, seeing new hope for Somalia, will appoint a new ambassador to Mogadishu for the first time since closing its embassy there 23 years ago as the East African country descended into chaos, a senior U.S. government…
Tax ‘extenders’ bill will await November elections: Senator Reid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An effort to renew $85 billion in tax breaks for individuals and businesses is stalled in the U.S. Senate until after the November congressional elections, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday.
Hagel called to testify at House hearing over Bergdahl swap
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Representative Buck McKeon, chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said on Tuesday he had invited Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to testify at a hearing on June 11 on the transfer of Taliban detainee…
Former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, admits to bribery scheme
CHARLOTTE N.C. (Reuters) – The former mayor of Charlotte pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal public corruption charge that brought his arrest and resignation after a brief stint as the elected leader of North Carolina’s largest city.
U.S. condemns Syrian presidential election as ‘a disgrace’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States condemned the Syrian presidential election held on Tuesday as “a disgrace” carried out by a government of President Bashar al-Assad that is “detached from reality” amid the country’s brutal civil war.
