Politics & Government

Lack Of Up-To-Date Research Complicates Gun Debate

3:27pm January 14, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

Vice President Joe Biden says his task force on reducing gun violence is facing an unexpected obstacle: slim or outdated research on weapons. Public health research dried up more than a decade ago after Congress restricted the use of some federal money to pay for those studies.

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Construction was under way on Capitol Hill in November for President Obama's Inauguration Day ceremonies.

Politics & Government

Critics Decry Looser Rules For Inauguration Fundraising

3:27pm January 14, 2013

by Peter Overby

President Obama has changed course from 2009, allowing bigger donations and corporate money. Advocates for overhauling campaign finance laws wonder what happened to the president's old pledge to change the way Washington works.

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In News Conference, Obama Calls For Raising Debt Ceiling

3:27pm January 14, 2013

On Monday, President Obama repeated his call to Congress to raise the U.S. Treasury's borrowing limit.

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Politics & Government

The Accomplishments, Shortcomings Of Obama's First Term

3:00pm January 14, 2013

President Obama will be officially sworn in and begin his second term as the 44th President of the United States on Jan. 20. As Washington gears up for Inauguration Day, people across the country and the world are reflecting on what was gained and lost during Obama's first term.

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Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, has retired. He'll start working with the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and policy organization, on issues of faith and gay rights.

Retired Bishop Gene Robinson On Being Gay And Loving God

2:25pm January 14, 2013

The first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church will start work with the Center for American Progress, focusing on issues of faith and gay rights. "Gay is not something we do," he says. "It's something we are." His book God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage was published in September.

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Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., speaks at the White House on Monday after President Obama nominated him to replace Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Politics & Government

Lobbying Battle Over Hagel Under Way Before Obama's Nod

9:03am January 13, 2013

by Peter Overby

The fight over the former GOP senator's nomination to be the next defense secretary might be bigger than any other Cabinet nomination in recent history. Chuck Hagel's friends and foes are preparing for modern combat on TV and the Internet.

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Obama To Pick New Pentagon, CIA Leaders

9:01am January 13, 2013

Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan is expected to be chosen as CIA director. And it's expected that Chuck Hagel will be announced to replace retiring Defense secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon.

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Politics & Government

NC Governor Pat McCrory Inaugurated in Public Ceremony

1:42pm January 12, 2013

What Would Obama Do (If There's No Debt Ceiling Deal)?

12:08pm January 12, 2013

by John Ydstie

President Obama says he won't negotiate about the borrowing limit. He says the Congress must raise the debt ceiling to pay for spending it's already OK'd. But Republicans say they'll use the threat of default to get more spending cuts from the White House. Obama still has some options if he and Congress can't reach an agreement.

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No, this isn't worth $1 trillion. It's a commemorative coin minted in the U.K. in 2008. But some have suggested the president's image should be on it if he orders up a $1 trillion coin.

Crazy Or Canny? Talk Grows About $1 Trillion Platinum Coin

1:15pm January 11, 2013

by Mark Memmott

In theory, some say, President Obama could have a $1 trillion coin made and that would head off the next big battle over the federal government's debt ceiling.

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