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Obama to Issue Order Cutting Down on Promotional Goodies

President Barack Obama is coming out against swag. That’s swag, as in the coffee mugs, pens, T-shirts and other public relations articles that federal government agencies buy with taxpayer money to promote their work. The swag ban is part of an executive order the president will sign on Wednesday to cut waste and make government more efficient. Obama has been using his executive powers on modest proposals to promote job creation, assist home owners and consumers, or alleviate spending.

Submited at Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 at 3:00 pm by sofia

White House: No, Jimmy, There’s No Such Thing as UFOs

WASHINGTON — Sorry, E.T. lovers — the White House states it has no evidence that extraterrestrials exist. The White House made the uncommon declaration in response to a feature on its website that grants people to submit petitions that administration officials must respond to if enough people sign on. In this case, more than 5,000 people signed a petition demanding that the White House disclose the government’s knowledge of extraterrestrial beings, and more than 12,000 signed another petition seeking formal ...

Submited at Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 2:00 pm by sofia

Wealth Gap Grows Between Young and Old

The wealth gap between younger and older Americans has stretched to the widest on record, worsened by a prolonged economic downturn that has wiped out job opportunities for young adults and saddled them with housing and college debt. The typical U.S. household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35, according to an analysis of new census data. While people typically accumulate assets as they ...

Submited at Monday, November 7th, 2011 at 2:00 pm by hilman

Sexual Harrassment Claims Off Limits in Gingrich-Cain Debate

THE WOODLANDS, Texas –  Republican presidential contender Herman Cain on Saturday vowed to answer no more questions about decade-old sexual harassment allegations and blamed journalists for the claims that have dogged his campaign. Growing agitated with reporters after a one-on-one debate with rival Newt Gingrich, the former business executive suggested the reporters who asked questions about the allegations were unethical. Asked if he planned to never answer questions about the incidents, he was certain.

Submited at Sunday, November 6th, 2011 at 2:00 pm by samantha

Feds Say They Have ‘Express Authority’ to Investigate Alabama Public Schools Over Immigration

WASHINGTON –  The Justice Department on Friday told Alabama’s attorney general that it has the “express authority” to investigate potential federal civil rights violations in Alabama’s public schools authorized by the state’s controversial new immigration law. Assistant US Attorney General Thomas Perez informed Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange of the federal government’s powers two days after Strange requested that the Justice Department cite what legal authority it had to collect enrollment data on Hispanic students in his state’s public schools.

Submited at Saturday, November 5th, 2011 at 3:00 pm by hilman

New Laws on Concussions Protect Student Athletes

RICHMOND, Va. – Ryan Fitzgerald suffered two concussions in high school that left him with memory loss and problems concentrating. Unable to focus on his schoolwork, he became moody and lashed out at friends. Ultimately, the lifelong athlete and former baseball player at Landstown High School in Virginia Beach concurred with his doctor that he should no longer play organized sports. The reason: he did not want to risk further damage to his brain. In workshops across Virginia, Fitzgerald and ...

Submited at Friday, November 4th, 2011 at 2:00 pm by madison

The Curious Case of the Cain Conspiracy

The Curious Case of the Cain Conspiracy Washington Worries Over Who Zapped the GOP Frontrunner, But They’re Looking in the Wrong Places “We’ve been able to trace it back to the Perry campaign that stirred this up in order to discredit me. The fingerprints of the Rick Perry campaign are all over this, based on our sources.” – Herman Cain speaking at a TheTeaParty.net event on Wednesday. The huge question among Washington hacks and flacks this day is this: Who’s ...

Submited at Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 at 2:00 pm by ethan

Bloomberg to Protesters: Congress, Not Banks, to Blame for Mortgage Crisis

NEW YORK — In a clash of New York City mayors past and present, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor Ed Koch took opposing sides at a panel discussion Tuesday over the Occupy Wall Street protests — with Bloomberg coming to the defense of banks and Koch angrily calling for criminal prosecutions of corporate executives.  “It was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis. It was, plain and simple, Congress,” stated Bloomberg, himself a former executive of a financial ...

Submited at Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 at 2:00 pm by robert

Justice Department Sues South Carolina Over State’s Strict Immigration Law

COLUMBIA, S.C. –  The federal government filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to stop implementation of South Carolina’s tough new immigration law, arguing that the legislation that requires law officers to check suspects’ immigration status is unconstitutional. Federal officials and say officials had met to discuss the issue a week ago. The government wants a judge to stop enforcement of the legislation, which requires that officers call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally following a ...

Submited at Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 at 12:00 pm by ethan

Clinton Cancels Trip After Her Mother Becomes Ill

WASHINGTON –  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has cancelled a trip to London and Turkey for international conferences on cyber security and Afghanistan because of her mom’s illness. Clinton had been scheduled to depart Washington late Monday but decided against the trip when her mother, 92-year-old Dorothy Rodham, became ill. A State Department official states Clinton will remain in Washington. The nature of her mom’s illness was not released. Wednesday’s conference in Istanbul is focused on creating a regional ...

Submited at Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 at 8:00 am by Gillan