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News (Yahoo! News - Politics):

GOP gets wish: Rangel case in campaign season (AP)

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., puts on his jacket as he leaves his office to go for a vote on the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)AP - Republicans wanted an election-season ethics case against Democratic powerhouse Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. And now, it looks like they have one.




Obama to sell auto bailout good news in Michigan (AP)

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the National Urban League 100th Anniversary Convention in Washington, Thursday, July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - President Barack Obama is going to the heart of the U.S. auto industry to push an important election-year claim: his administration's unpopular auto industry bailout has turned into an economic good-news story.




Share your story: How well is BP handling Gulf oil-spill claims? (The Newsroom)

A beachgoer looks at oil in the water on Orange Beach, Alabama, in June 2010. The X Prize Foundation launches a competition this week promising millions of dollars for winning ways to clean up crude oil from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Joe Raedle)The Newsroom - In the three months since oil first spewed into the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of people throughout the coastal region have lost jobs or seen their incomes slashed. Many businesses are reeling too. BP has pledged to make good on all legitimate claims for damages. But how well is the process going?




Obama Mocks Polls But Spends More On Them ($4.4M) Than Bush Did (Huffington Post)
Huffington Post - With Reporting By Julian Hattem

Immigration Debate: Border Cities See Less Violent Crime (Time.com)
Time.com - The crime rates in large U.S. cities near the border, contrary to the fears that lie behind Arizona's tough new immigration law, are among the lowest in the country

Conservatives doubt Sherrod’s case against Breitbart (The Upshot)
The Upshot - Shirley Sherrod caused liberals to rejoice Thursday by telling a San Diego audience that she'll "definitely" sue conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart. But are things so bad for Breitbart, a media provocateur who appears to thrive off controversy? Despite posting the misleading clip of Sherrod that led to her resignation,  Breitbart hasn't apologized and continues using [...]

Rod Blagojevich's Trial: A Look at the Court's 12 Jurors (Time.com)
Time.com - A brief look at the six men and six women who are tasked with deciding whether the guilt or innocence of the ex-governor of Illinois and his brother

Anthony Weiner Goes Ballistic At GOP For Killing 9/11 Responders Health Care Bill (VIDEO) (Huffington Post)
Huffington Post - House Republicans late Thursday were able to corral enough votes to defeat a bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to those sickened by toxins resulting from the 9/11 attacks.

Zients will be acting OMB chief (Politico)
Politico - A top official tells POLITICO that he will be acting director while Jack Lew awaits confirmation.

Abortion groups caught off guard (Politico)
Politico - A ban on coverage for most elective abortions in new high-risk pools takes them by surprise.

White House urges halt to spilling of war secrets (AP)

Afghan policemen arrest a rioter during clashes between rioters and police following a US embassy vehicle accident with a civilian car in Kabul. Rioting erupted in Kabul when scores of Afghan men set fire to two US embassy vehicles after one collided with a civilian car killing a number of occupants.(AFP/Yuri Cortez)AP - The White House on Friday implored the website WikiLeaks to stop posting secret Afghanistan war documents as the Pentagon pressed its investigation of the leaks, bringing a soldier charged with handing over classified video back to the U.S. for trial.




Obama signs Tribal Law and Order Act (AP)
AP - President Barack Obama has signed a bill giving American Indian tribes more authority to combat crime on their reservations.

China opposes new EU sanctions on Iran (Reuters)
Reuters - China said on Friday that it did not approve of tougher new sanctions imposed by the European Union on Iran, and welcomed Tehran's offer to return to negotiations on a nuclear fuel swap without conditions.

Andy Griffith's new role: pitching health care law (AP)
AP - Actor Andy Griffith has a new role: pitching President Barack Obama's health care law to seniors in a cable television ad paid for by Medicare.

5 Best Friday Columns (The Atlantic Wire)
The Atlantic Wire - Paul Krugman on Obama's Tentative Centrism While the current President rode into office on a "wave of progressive enthusiasm," the New York Times columnist writes he has since been far "more centrist and conventional than his fervent supporters imagined." This isn't necessarily a good thing, argues The New York Times opinion columnist, and Obama's choices can't always be blamed on Republican obstructionism. He concludes: "The point is that Mr. Obama’s attempts to avoid confrontation have been counterproductive. His opponents remain filled with a passionate intensity, while his supporters, having received no respect, lack all conviction. And in a midterm election...[that] could spell catastrophe."Peggy Noonan on the Competent Chris Christie In what has recently become a trend among conservative pundits, the Wall Street Journal columnist gives a ringing endorsement for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie saying that, "He's going to break through in a big way." While the Democrats are campaigning against the GOP's "populist spirit" (the Tea Party) in the lead up to the November midterms, their biggest worry should be worried about Christie's courageous and, more importantly, competent style of governance. She enthuses, "But Mr. Christie's way is also closer than most national Republicans have come—or Democrats will come—to satisfying the public desire that someone step forward, define the problem, apply common sense, devise a way through, do what's needed."David Brooks on the Long Slow Decade The New York Times columnist fears the impact of the recession will be felt for years to come. "What we have is not just a cycle but a condition," writes Brooks. "We could look back on the period between 1980 and 2006 as the long boom and the period between 2007 and 2014 or so as the nasty crawl." So, how to the spur economic growth? Brooks sees good plans on both sides of the aisle. For Democrats, it's what Brooks calls the "Moon Shot Approach"--an economy buoyed by a strong infrastructure and tax breaks for key sectors. Republicans see hope in the "Unleash America" school of thinking--it's defined by "a free-market and entrepreneurial vision of their country." Both approaches, Brooks says, are better than the inevitable "nativist and antiglobalist visions that will be arising" in coming years.Patrick Kennedy on a Brain Disorders Battle Writing in the Boston Globe, the Rhode Island congressman says the recent 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act should inspire politicians to demand the same protections for those with brain disorders. "Approximately 100 million Americans have some form of traumatic brain injury," writes Kennedy. "Millions more suffer from Alzheimer’s, autism, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy." Yet only 5 percent of the NIH budget is spent researching neuroscience. Kennedy argues America must respond to the rise in brain disorders with "the same kind of urgency...as we did with AIDS."Steven Pearlstein on the New Division of Labor "The only surprise is that anyone is surprised by the lack of private-sector hiring," concludes the Washington Post columnist. "It is only in the world of Chamber of Commerce propaganda that businesses exist to create jobs." Writing in response to the recent news that corporate profits have soared while little new job opportunities have been created, Pearlstein isn't optimistic that most employers will soon be adding full-time employees. "There are lots of theories why this is happening," he writes. "With consumers cutting back on debt-financed spending, cutting expenses has been the most obvious way for businesses to increase their profits." In effect, the profits are addition by subtraction.

Hope Exists for Immigration 'Down Payment' (CQPolitics.com)
CQPolitics.com - There's not a prayer that comprehensive immigration reform will pass Congress this year, but there's a slim one that a smaller "down payment" measure might. And it should.

Senate panel grills former Arlington cemetery officials (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Two former top officials of Arlington National Cemetery faced hostile questioning on Capitol Hill Thursday about years of negligence that led to unmarked and mismarked graves and mishandled remains.

Recess Lesson: 'There Is No Private' Anymore (CQPolitics.com)
CQPolitics.com - These are things that strike fear in the hearts of Members of Congress hitting the campaign trail this August recess: angry voters, bad poll numbers, damaging political ads by opponents. But perhaps most of all, they fear the unflattering video clip.

House ethics panel charges Rangel on 13 counts (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — A special House of Representatives subcommittee on Thursday outlined 13 counts of ethics violations against Rep. Charles Rangel, the former chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. The charges place his political career in jeopardy and could put Democrats on the defensive as November's elections approach.

What People Are Saying

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