New York’s business leaders may back new mayor on taxes
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s business leaders may be open to a plan to levy a surcharge on higher earners in what could be a boost to mayor-elect Bill de Blasio when he lobbies the state legislature to approve the measure in next year’s budget.
After Washington GMO label battle, both sides eye national fight
(Reuters) – Both sides of the costly and high-stakes GMO labeling battle in Washington state say they see an even bigger national fight ahead despite the apparent defeat of the mandatory labeling measure by Washington state voters this week.
Washington envoy to press China on currency in Beijing visit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Washington will dispatch its top financial official to Asia to press China on the value of its currency and convince other Asian nations to reach a deal on a free trade pact by year end, officials said on Friday.
Utech to become Obama’s top climate, energy adviser
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Dan Utech, a long-time Washington insider on environmental issues, will become President Barack Obama’s top adviser on energy and climate change, a White House official said on Friday, a role that will involve tough decisions on …
Contrite Obama apologizes for healthcare insurance pledge, website
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama apologized on Thursday to Americans who are losing their healthcare insurance policies, saying in an interview that he regrets “we weren’t as clear as we needed to be” about the reforms of his landmark heal…
Conservative groups keep up pressure amid U.S. budget talks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Influential U.S. conservative groups are lobbying Republican lawmakers on a bipartisan budget negotiating panel to stand firm in opposition to tax increases and any easing of automatic spending cuts known as the “sequester.”
Pentagon offset budget cut impact in key areas -watchdog
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When $37 billion in budget cuts hit the Pentagon abruptly early this year, officials took steps that minimized the impact on key areas like the Afghanistan war but also took action that could raise long-run costs, a watchdog agen…
Obama’s tech expert too busy fixing website to testify
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chief technology officer for the White House is willing to testify to a powerful oversight committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, but Todd Park is still too busy trying to fix the glitch-ridden Obamacare website to a…
Obama says would have rejected any option to replace Biden as VP
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would have rejected any plan to replace Joe Biden with Hillary Clinton as his vice president for the 2012 election.
U.S. veterans agency slashes claims backlog by a third since March
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After growing steadily for years, the backlog of U.S. military veterans’ disability claims is falling sharply – dropping by more than a third since March, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs said on Thursday.
