Obama picks loyalist Susan Rice as national security adviser
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama chose close confidante Susan Rice as his new national security adviser on Wednesday, increasing White House control over foreign policy and defying Republican critics of her handling of last year’s deadly a…
U.S., Venezuela to find ways to forge positive relations: Kerry
ANTIGUA, Guatemala (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday he and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua had agreed to find new ways to forge positive relations between their two countries, long at political loggerheads.
Political elite attend U.S. Senator Lautenberg’s funeral
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, whose death has sparked a battle over his seat in the Senate, was remembered at his funeral on Wednesday as a tenacious fighter who battled tirelessly for the causes he championed.
Missouri governor vetoes bill halving corporate tax rate
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on Wednesday vetoed legislation to sharply reduce corporate taxes that lawmakers said would help Missouri compete with neighboring Kansas and other states, saying the reductions would jeopar…
IRS puts two employees on leave for taking conference gifts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, already battling political scandal and accusations of lavish spending, has put two employees on administrative leave for accepting gifts of food and other items at an agency conference, accordin…
Senate Republicans push tougher border plans in U.S. immigration bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two leading Republican senators on Wednesday unveiled proposals requiring much tighter security on the U.S.-Mexico border before undocumented immigrants could gain legal status under the broad immigration bill the Senate is consi…
U.S. business groups complain about India trade practices
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Leading U.S. business groups on Wednesday urged President Barack Obama to act against what they said were “unacceptable” Indian trade practices that have hurt U.S. exports in areas ranging from pharmaceuticals to electronics.
House panel echoes Senate, rejects Obama’s food aid reform
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives panel in charge of agricultural funding rejected on Wednesday the Obama administration’s request for a sweeping change to food aid programs that have been in place since the Cold War.
Obama’s U.N. pick Power not always diplomatic
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has selected as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and academic who in 2008 called Hillary Clinton – at the time a political rival of Obama – “a monster.”
Senior Republican pushes tougher border plan for immigration bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The second-ranking Senate Republican on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to significantly tighten security on the U.S.-Mexico border before giving undocumented workers legal status in the broad immigration bill being considered in t…