White House reverses, says Obama met uncle and lived with him during law school
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama lived briefly with his Kenyan-born uncle while attending law school, the White House said on Thursday, reversing earlier statements that there was no record of the two men ever having met.
California Governor Jerry Brown would easily win re-election: poll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California Governor Jerry Brown has earned the highest approval ratings of his current tenure and is on track to easily win re-election if he decides to run again next year, according to a Field Poll released on Thursday.
U.S. charges Russian diplomats with healthcare fraud
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors have charged 49 current and former Russian diplomats and their family members with participating in a scheme to get health benefits intended for the poor by lying about their income.
U.S. says China air defense zone unacceptable, shouldn’t be implemented
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said on Thursday that China’s new air defense zone over the East China Sea was “unacceptable” and urged Beijing not to implement it, but stopped short of calling for it to rescind its declaration.
Key U.S. senator questions insistence on timing of Afghan deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An influential Democratic senator questioned on Thursday the Obama administration’s insistence that Afghan President Hamid Karzai sign a security deal by the end of 2013, suggesting that Washington wait for a “more reliable” lead…
Boehner blasts lack of farm-bill progress, supports extension
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – House Speaker John Boehner, in his gloomiest assessment yet, lamented the lack of “real progress” toward a compromise $500 billion farm bill and said on Thursday the House would try to head off a potential doubling of milk prices…
U.S. assures Israel that core Iran sanctions still in place
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that core sanctions against Iran would remain in place despite its interim nuclear deal with world powers.
House passes tech backed bill to rein in ‘patent trolls’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill aimed at reining in “patent trolls,” companies that buy or license patents from others, then extract licensing fees or file infringement lawsuits viewed by many as frivolou…
Republicans in U.S. Congress try to be more ‘sensitive’ about women
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representative Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he wants his fellow Republicans to be more “sensitive” as they seek to appeal to women voters in next year’s congressional elections.
White House says 240,000 jobs lost in 2014 without jobless benefits extension
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House piled pressure on Republicans on Thursday to extend U.S. jobless benefits with a report that estimated a failure to take action could lead to a loss of 240,000 jobs in 2014.