On Tuesday evening, when President Barack Obama declared before a joint session of Congress that “we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks,” House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi popped like jackrabbits out of their seats for a standing ovation.
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Serb ex-president cleared of war crimes
Former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic has been found not guilty of war crimes in Kosovo by a U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
Sources: Weapons, subsidies, loopholes among budget cuts
After promising the American people his team has already found $2 trillion in budget savings by scouring the federal budget, President Obama is planning to lay out some of the potential spending cuts in great detail when he unveils his first blueprint on Thursday, according to senior administration officials familiar with the budget plans. “My administration has also begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs,” Obama said Tuesday in a speech to a joint session of Congress.
Serb ex-president faces war crimes verdict
A U.N. tribunal is expected to issue verdicts Thursday in the case against former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and five other top Serb officials accused of war crimes committed in 1999 in the Serbian province of Kosovo
Obamas praise Stevie Wonder at White House
To hear Barack Obama tell it, he owes Stevie Wonder plenty. “I think it’s fair to say that had I not been a Stevie Wonder fan, Michelle might not have dated me. We might not have married,” Obama said Wednesday as he and the first lady hosted a concert and award ceremony for Wonder.
China accuses U.S. of interference
China accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs and those of other nations on Thursday after the State Department issued a report sharply critical of Beijing’s human rights record, state-run media reported.
Colombia’s Drug Extraditions: Are They Worth It?
When he was the king of cocaine, the prospect of doing hard time in an American penitentiary was about the only thing that made Pablo Escobar’s blood run cold. Living by the motto “Better a tomb in Colombia than a prison cell in the United States,” Escobar unleashed a wave of car bombings and assassinations that forced the Colombian government to water down extradition laws
State Department scolds China on human rights
The State Department issued a report Wednesday sharply critical of China’s human rights record, despite the Obama administration’s decision to take a different approach to the Asian country. “The government of China’s human rights record remained poor and worsened in some areas,” the report said in reviewing the last year, finding Chinese authorities “committed extrajudicial killings and torture, coerced confessions of prisoners and used forced labor.” The “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” the annual report of human rights around the world, also accused China of “severe cultural and religious repression” of minorities in Tibet and other regions and increasing harassment and detention of dissidents and activists who signed a petition calling for respect of human rights. China limits the rights of citizens to privacy and freedom of speech, assembly, movement and association, the report said.
Jindal earns bad reviews in national debut
It was billed as a "coming out party" for one of the GOP’s most promising young stars. But after nearly universal criticism was heaped on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s high-profile response to President Obama’s address to Congress Tuesday night, the Louisiana Republican may be wishing he had stayed home.
Despite the Crash in Prices, Affordable Housing Still Lacking
When Florida legislators recently struggled to balance the battered state budget, they decided to plug holes with $190 million from a $300 million affordable-housing trust fund. After all, why should a cash-strapped state shell out money for new home construction when there are tons of vacant homes just waiting to be snapped up?