Archive for November, 2010

Politics is serious business — but not all of the time. From the halls of Congress to the campaign trail to the international stage, there’s always something that gets a laugh or a second glance. Here are some of the things you might have missed:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed landmark legislation to pay for some $4.6 billion in settlements with American Indians and black farmers who say they faced discrimination and mistreatment from the government.

Lawmakers voted 256-152 to…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking greater cooperation but with no quick fixes in sight, President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans vowed on Tuesday to work toward resolving their sharply different views about tax cuts before year’s end.

“The…

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg praised a former Guantanamo Bay detainee for lobbying European governments to accept former inmates of the American military prison, according to a leaked diplomatic cable.

One of more than 290 cables…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama agrees with a Pentagon survey that overturning the military’s ban on gay service members would not disrupt unit cohesion. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama continues to believe that…

The Senate today passed the Food Safety Modernization Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. By a vote of 73-25, this measure would overhaul America’s food safety system to help ensure consumers are not at risk. In short, this measure would:    Give the FDA the authority to recall unsafe foods if companies fail to voluntarily recall products on their own;  Institute a system of tracking food; Require food importers to verify a supplier’s food safety standards and prohibit food importation by suppliers that don’t verify their activities; Expand America’s current food facility registration laws and grant the FDA the authority to inspect those facilities to ensure they are adhering to food safety standards; …

Gov.-elect Terry Branstad said Tuesday that he wants to reopen contract talks with Iowa’s largest state employee union and is proposing a pay freeze just weeks after a tentative agreement was reached with outgoing-Gov. Chet Culver.

Branstad, in an…

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican Leader John Boehner says a small bipartisan group of lawmakers will start meeting with Obama administration officials to negotiate a deal to extend Bush era tax cuts that expire at the end of the year.

Boehner…