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Sebelius accuses GOP of using ‘politics of obstruction’ on health care
CNSNews, “Sebelius Accuses GOP of Using ‘Politics of Obstruction’ on Health Care”
by Penny Starr
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told physicians and others at the American Medical Association conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday that President Barack Obama will not start from scratch on health care legislation and will “move forward” to get a bill passed.
“The president’s intent is to speak on Wednesday, tomorrow, about his preferred pathway forward, to continue to work with members of Congress,” Sebelius said. “He is very serious about continuing the dialogue and including the best ideas, whether they come from Republicans or Democrats, in the proposal as it moves forward, but to continue to move forward.”
She said there was “overlap” of what Republicans and Democrats want in health care legislation, including the elimination of waste and fraud in the government-run Medicare and Medicaid programs, but Sebelius said Obama and Democrats are still dedicated to universal health care.
CNSNews article continues here.
Sen. Jim Bunning blocks legislation, citing a need to control federal debt
NPR, “Bunning Defends His Position”
by Mark Memmott
On the floor of the Senate, Republican Jim Bunning of Kentucky just defended the position he’s taken that has delayed an extension of jobless benefits for the nation’s unemployed and has forced the furlough of about 2,000 federal workers.
Saying that he has blocked votes on the legislation to underscore his opposition to the ongoing growth in federal debt, Bunning read a letter from “Robert in Louisville,” who told the senator that even though he hasn’t been working regularly in the past two years he supports what Bunning is doing.
“This country is sooner or later going to implode because of the massive amount of debt run up over the past 40 or 50 years,” Robert wrote, according to Bunning.
NPR article continues here.
Supreme Court considers reach of gun rights
Fox News, “Supreme Court Considers Reach of Gun Rights”
by Lee Ross
The Supreme Court appeared poised Tuesday to issue a ruling that will expand to the states the high court’s historic 2008 ruling that individuals have a federally protected right to keep and bear arms.
If so, the decision would mark another hallmark victory for gun rights advocates and likely strike down Chicago’s handgun ban that is similar to the Washington D.C. law already invalidated by the justices.
The biggest questions before the court seemed to be how, rather than whether, to issue such a ruling and whether some regulation of firearms could survive. On the latter point, Justice Antonin Scalia said the majority opinion he wrote in the 2008 case “said as much.”
Fox News article continues here.
Apple sues rival HTC as phone competition rises
Yahoo! News (AP), “Apple sues rival HTC as phone competition rises”
by Rachel Metz
As Apple Inc.’s iPhone faces stiffer competition in the lucrative market for smart phones, the company is going after one of its main rivals with patent lawsuits claiming theft of touch screen technology and other features.
The complaints, which Apple filed Tuesday, cover a slew of models made by Taiwanese phone maker HTC Corp., including the Nexus One, G1 and myTouch 3G — all using the free, rival Android mobile operating software from Google Inc. Non-Android phones include HTC’s Touch series.
But consumers shouldn’t worry about buying or using any of those phones. Patent cases can take months or years to resolve — sometimes longer than the life of these phones — and agreements over licensing and royalty payments often emerge.
Yahoo! News (AP) article continues here.
Obama plans to eliminate ‘thousands’ of U.S. nuclear warheads
Newsmax, “Obama Plans to Eliminate ‘Thousands’ of U.S. Nuclear Warheads”
by Jim Meyers
The Obama administration is formulating a new nuclear weapons policy that would include the elimination of thousands of warheads and the possible withdrawal of all tactical warheads from Europe.
Obama is also under pressure to abandon the Bush Doctrine allowing preemptive action, including the use of nuclear weapons, against any nation threatening American security, The New York Times reported on Monday. The new strategy will be included in a document called the Nuclear Posture Review, which every president must complete.
“It will be clear in the document that there will be very dramatic reductions — in the thousands — as related to the stockpile,” a senior administration official told the Times. Many of those warheads are in storage.
Newsmax article continues here.
Pelosi not willing to can Rangel: He didn’t jeopardize national security
The Hill, “Pelosi: Rangel’s ethics admonishment ‘is not good’”
by Kim Hart
Rep. Charlie Rangel’s admonishment for violating House gift rules “is not good,” but his actions did not put the nation at risk in any material way, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday.
Pelosi said it is not her place to interfere in any investigations of the matter and said she would not get involved politically.
“But the fact is, is that what Mr. Rangel has been admonished for is not good,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It was a violation of the rules of the House. It was not a–something that jeopardized our country in any way.”
The Hill article continues here.
Brooklyn ACORN charges dropped
NY Daily News, “B’klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution”
by Scott Shifrel
Brooklyn prosecutors on Monday cleared ACORN of criminal wrongdoing after a four-month probe that began when undercover conservative activists filmed workers giving what appeared to be illegal advice on how to hide money.
While the video by James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles seemed to show three ACORN workers advising a prostitute how to hide ill-gotten gains, the unedited version was not as clear, according to a law enforcement source.
“They edited the tape to meet their agenda,” said the source.
O’Keefe and Giles – who visited ACORN offices in several cities, including its Brooklyn headquarters – stirred controversy when they posted the videos on their Web site.
NY Daily News article continues here.
Islamic radicals ‘infiltrate’ the Labour Party
Telegraph, “Islamic radicals ‘infiltrate’ the Labour Party”
by Andrew Gilligan
The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) — which believes in jihad and sharia law, and wants to turn Britain and Europe into an Islamic state — has placed sympathisers in elected office and claims, correctly, to be able to achieve “mass mobilisation” of voters.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Jim Fitzpatrick, the Environment Minister, said the IFE had become, in effect, a secret party within Labour and other political parties.
“They are acting almost as an entryist organisation, placing people within the political parties, recruiting members to those political parties, trying to get individuals selected and elected so they can exercise political influence and power, whether it’s at local government level or national level,” he said.
Telegraph article continues here.
Medvedev demands Russian olympics officials resign after poor Vancouver showing
Fox News, “Medvedev Demands Russian Olympics Officials Resign After Poor Vancouver Showing”
President Dmitry Medvedev called Monday for officials in charge of preparing Russian athletes for the Winter Olympics to resign after the country suffered its worst-ever performance in Vancouver.
Russia, long accustomed to boosting national pride with sporting success, was left scrambling for explanations for its dismal Olympics performance just four years before it hosts the Winter Games.
The Russian squad recorded its worst ever performance in Vancouver, finishing 11th in the Games’ medal table and clinching only three gold medals and 15 overall.
Fox News article continues here.
Huge quake hits Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific
Yahoo! News (AP), “Huge quake hits Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific”
by Roberto Candia and Eva Vergara
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Chile on Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.
Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about by the magnitude-8.8 quake as if shaken by a giant. At least 147 people were killed, according to Carmen Fernandez, director of the National Emergency Agency.
The quake shook buildings in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, and was felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil — 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to the east. About 13 million people live in the area where shaking was strong to severe, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Yahoo! News (AP) article continues here.