Obama renews calls for nuclear reductions
BERLIN -- Appealing for a new citizen activism in the free world, President Barack Obama renewed his call Wednesday to reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles and to confront climate change, a danger he called "the global threat of our time."
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FLOTUS, daughters visit Ireland, trace family history
UNDATED -- While President Obama was attending the G-8 summit, Malia, Sasha, and Michelle Obama hit the tourist trail, taking in an Irish dancing performance and exploring their Irish roots.
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Obama relying on untested oversight board on NSA
WASHINGTON -- The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence, stymied by congressional infighting and, at times, censorship by government lawyers.
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Pres. Obama: 'Lives have been saved' by NSA programs
BERLIN -- Trying to tamp down concerns about government over-reach, President Barack Obama on Wednesday defended U.S. Internet and phone surveillance programs as narrowly targeted efforts that have saved lives and thwarted at least 50 terror threats.
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US Rep. Capuano bill would limit car 'black boxes'
BOSTON -- U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano is co-sponsoring a bill he says will give car owners more control over so-called "black box" recorders.
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Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.
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CBO: Senate Immigration bill would help economy
WASHINGTON -- Sweeping immigration legislation moving toward a vote in the Senate would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, at the same time it would bestow legal status on an estimated 8 million immigrants living in the United States unlawfully.
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Rural lawmakers push for farm bill votes in House
WASHINGTON -- Farm-state lawmakers are scrambling to win bipartisan support for a five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill on the House floor this week.
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NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence -- a set-piece for supporters of the spying.
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House passes far-reaching anti-abortion bill
WASHINGTON -- The Republican-led House on Tuesday passed a far-reaching anti-abortion bill that conservatives saw as a milestone in their 40-year campaign against legalized abortion and Democrats characterized as yet another example of a GOP war on women.
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4 US troops killed in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON -- Defense officials say four U.S. troops were killed Tuesday at or near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
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Google asks FISA court to lift gag order
WASHINGTON -- Google on Tuesday sharply challenged the federal government's gag order on its Internet surveillance program, citing what it described as a First Amendment right to divulge how many requests it receives from the government for data about its customers in the name of national security.
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Biden vows to `beat the gun lobby' and pass laws
WASHINGTON -- A scrappy Vice President Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to "beat the gun lobby" by ultimately passing stronger firearm laws and said some lawmakers who voted against background checks have privately told him they want another chance.
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Education Dept. offers more time to reach goals
WASHINGTON -- The Education Department is offering states more time to enact promised reforms in exchange for permission to ignore unworkable parts of No Child Left Behind.
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McCaskill endorses Ready for Hillary group
WASHINGTON -- Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says she is supporting a super political action committee encouraging Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for president in 2016.
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Report: Too many teachers, too little quality
WASHINGTON -- The nation's teacher-training programs do not adequately prepare would-be educators for the classroom, even as they produce almost triple the number of graduates needed, according to a survey of more than 1,000 programs released Tuesday.
