Obama administration

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Shinseki: VA Has 'Systemic' Problems

He moves to fire senior leaders of Phoenix hospital

(Newser) - Eric Shinseki has begun the process to fire the senior leaders of the infamous Phoenix VA medical center, he announced today, as he apologized for his department's lapses. When the crisis broke, Shinseki said he believed the problem was isolated. "I no longer believe that. It is systemic,...

VA Boss Writes Op-Ed Amidst Howls for His Head

Democrats join in bashing Shinseki

(Newser) - The calls for Eric Shinseki to resign are getting deafening, but the Veterans Affairs secretary doesn't sound like a man on the edge in an op-ed posted this morning at USA Today . Shinseki writes that yesterday's revelations "are reprehensible to me and to this department, and we...

Secret Tapes of Gitmo Force-Feedings Do Exist

Well, at least tapes of one detainee being force-fed

(Newser) - In an unprecedented ruling, non-government officials have been given the go-ahead to view secret recordings that depict force-feedings at Guantanamo Bay—a ruling that by its nature establishes the fact that these tapes actually do exist, reports the Guardian . A federal judge yesterday ruled that lawyers for Abu Wa’el...

White House Report: Climate Change Is Here, and It's Dire

National Climate Assessment paints picture of increasingly severe weather

(Newser) - Americans are already experiencing the harmful effects of climate change, and those effects will get worse unless something is done, according to a new National Climate Assessment issued today. The report cites increased instances of extreme weather, droughts, and heat waves as evidence of climate change's impact, and presents...

White House Tells Colleges How to Deal With Rape

Task force presents university guidelines, launches website

(Newser) - The White House has pulled together its two cents on how US colleges should step up their fight against rape, with an Obama administration task force yesterday issuing guidelines for action. Among them: survey students anonymously on sexual assault, do a better job of keeping reported assaults confidential, and teach...

Rumsfeld: 'A Trained Ape' Could Do What Obama Can't

Rumsfeld savages president for declining relations with Afghanistan

(Newser) - Well, we're sure no one will take this the wrong way. Last night Donald Rumsfeld savaged the Obama administration's handling of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who yesterday came out in support of Russia's Crimea invasion. "Our relationship with Karzai and with Afghanistan was absolutely first rate...

Analysis: Obama's Transparency Push a Flop

Feds cited national security to withhold information a record 8,496 times

(Newser) - The Obama administration pledged to boost transparency in the White House from the get-go, but it hasn't exactly been a promise kept. In virtually every category, the government's efforts to be more open about its activities in 2013 were their worst since Barack Obama first took office, the...

EPA's New Rule Will Make Gas Pricier, Earth-Healthier

Oil refiners will need to cut gasoline's sulfur content some 60%

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency is today putting in place a new rule to drastically cut sulfur from gasoline, a measure it says will ultimately save lives, the New York Times reports. Sulfur in gasoline renders vehicle pollution control systems less effective, boosting smog-causing emissions associated with heart and lung disease,...

33K Pages of Clinton Files Are Still Hidden —Why?

Withholding period ended in January 2013

(Newser) - It's been more than a year since the legal justification for secrecy expired on a collection of roughly 33,000 pages of documents from the Clinton presidency. But the files in question—which are held at the Clinton Presidential Library and are reportedly related in part to scandals such...

Obama Cracks Down on US Ivory Sales

Sellers will now have to prove their ivory is legit

(Newser) - The Obama administration today announced a ban on nearly all ivory imports, exports, and sales, along with rules designed to make skirting the ban especially difficult. Under the new rules, all commercial imports of African elephant ivory are banned, including antiques. Most domestic sales will be banned as well; there...

US' New Afghanistan Plan: Forget Karzai

Military revising exit plan to give Obama room to negotiate with the next guy

(Newser) - The US military is changing its Afghan exit strategy to give President Obama a chance to negotiate a security deal with whoever succeeds Hamid Karzai, the Wall Street Journal reports. Obama is increasingly frustrated with Karzai, with whom he pointedly hasn't spoken since last summer. "If he's...

Obama Losing Allies in Climate Groups

But the fossil-fuel industry isn't a big fan right now either

(Newser) - President Obama may be stuck between a melting icecap and a hard place. Environmental groups have grown weary of the administration's "all of the above" energy strategy—which has seen it hold tight to domestic natural gas, oil, and coal production even as it works to limit coal-fired...

US Bending on Environment for Sake of Big Trade Deal
US Bending on Environment for Sake of Big Trade Deal
wikileaks reveal
Jan 15, 2014 10:35 AM CST

US Bending on Environment for Sake of Big Trade Deal

Countries' 'red lines' said to clash

(Newser) - As a dozen Pacific Rim nations continue three years of talks on a major trade deal, the US seems to be bending on environmental regulations accompanying the deal. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, central to President Obama's goals in the region, features a contentious chapter on environmental rules; a Nov. 24...

Surveillance Court Digs in Over Planned NSA Reform

Obama's plan due Friday

(Newser) - President Obama is preparing to announce plans to rein in NSA intelligence-gathering on Friday, the New York Times reports. As expected , he'll tighten rules on telephone data collection, extend privacy protections to non-citizens, and urge the creation of an independent privacy advocate for the government's secret surveillance court....

Negotiator Sees No Hope for Afghan Deal by Deadline

Relations worsen as US accidentally kills 4-year-old child

(Newser) - The US isn't going to get the security deal it wants in Afghanistan on the timetable that it wants it in, the Obama administration's top negotiator has privately warned Washington. In a classified cable, Ambassador James Cunningham said that Hamid Karzai would likely stick to his on-again off-again...

In First for Obama, Deportations Drop

ICE says focus on criminals has brought numbers down

(Newser) - Immigration officials sent 368,644 people packing in the last fiscal year, a 10% drop from the record 409,849 deported in 2012, the government announced last week. It's the lowest figure ever recorded under President Obama, who has seen deportations rise every year he's been in office,...

Senate OKs New Homeland Security Chief

Jeh C. Johnson confirmed with help from new filibuster rules

(Newser) - Democrats used their newly initiated lower threshold for defeating filibusters yesterday to win Senate confirmation of President Obama's nomination of former top Pentagon lawyer Jeh C. Johnson to be secretary of Homeland Security. On a 57-37 vote, Democrats broke a GOP blockade against Johnson before the Senate minutes later...

Obama Seeks New Corporate Powers in Trade Pact

US corporations would be able to challenge foreign laws: memos

(Newser) - The Obama administration is trying to grant US corporations formidable new powers in a trade pact with 11 other countries—including the ability to challenge laws and regulations abroad. In memos obtained by the Huffington Post (see them here and here ) the US is also pressing other members of...

Iran: We're Going to Produce Way More Oil

Even if it means tanking global crude prices

(Newser) - Following an initial nuclear deal between Tehran and the West, Iran is planning to ramp up its oil production, its oil minister says. "We will produce 4 million even if the price drops to $20," says Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. That's about a sixth of the current price,...

&#39;Fixed&#39; ObamaCare Is Really &#39;Mission Accomplished&#39;
This Is Obama's 'Mission Accomplished' Moment
OPINION
Dec 2, 2013 12:29 PM CST

This Is Obama's 'Mission Accomplished' Moment

WSJ , Daily Caller compare launch to Iraq

(Newser) - We've already heard ObamaCare compared to Hurricane Katrina ; now, as the site proclaims improvements , pundits are drawing parallels to the Iraq War. In the Wall Street Journal , editors write that "the only thing missing from Sunday's relentlessly upbeat progress report was President Obama in front of a...

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