New U.S. homeland security chief steps out of Pentagon shadows into spotlight
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When anti-war activists projected a movie about drones onto the brick front of Jeh Johnson’s home in November, President Barack Obama’s nominee to become homeland security secretary did not try to pull the plug.
Perry, Cruz battle to be star of Lone Star State’s Republican Party
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Neither U.S. Senator Ted Cruz nor Governor Rick Perry are on the ballot in Tuesday’s run-off elections in Texas, but that doesn’t mean the two larger-than-life politicians who share a penchant for cowboy boots are not central …
After Washington chats, drillers hopeful U.S. will ease oil export ban
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Recent meetings between U.S. oil producers and Commerce Department officials have fueled industry hopes that the Obama administration may soon begin to ease a longstanding ban on oil exports.
In big public push, White House seeks to smooth way for carbon curbs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Last month, Washington’s top environment advocate went to the Cleveland Clinic to talk about how President Barack Obama’s landmark efforts to crack down on power-plant carbon emissions would ease a range of respiratory illnesses….
Despite Obama’s new rules, no end in sight for drone war
WASHINGTON/SANAA (Reuters) – When a barrage of drone-fired missiles hit al Qaeda cells in Yemen in mid-April and killed dozens of militants, the results were strikingly different from a mistaken U.S. attack on a Yemeni wedding convoy just four months e…
Obama to tap rising Democratic star Castro for Cabinet post
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will shuffle his cabinet on Friday, nominating San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro as secretary of housing and urban development and naming outgoing HUD chief Shaun Donovan as his new budget director, a White H…
Obama urges Democrats to vote in midterms, attacks Republicans
CHICAGO (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Democrats to vote in November elections, saying the chance to pass immigration reform is at risk if Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress.
U.S. Senate confirms court nominee who wrote drone memo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed the nomination of David Barron as a federal appeals court judge following controversy over a memorandum he wrote for the Obama administration authorizing drone strikes against U.S. citizens.
U.S. Senate panel backs plan for alternative to Russian rocket engine
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday approved a plan that would add $100 million to the U.S. military budget to start work on a new U.S. rocket engine and eliminate reliance on a Russian-made engine u…
Congress heads toward showdown over 2015 defense priorities
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers in Congress headed toward a showdown over Pentagon spending on Thursday after the House and Senate advanced competing versions of the annual defense policy bill that differ on everything from spending priorities to clos…
