McClatchy DC

House could vote this summer on extending Bush-era tax cuts

The plan announced Friday by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., is likely to have strong support in the House, but stall in the Democratic-dominated Senate. President Barack Obama has said he only wants the cuts extended for most people earning less than $250,000.

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MCCLATCHY DC

Justice Dept.: Two Sen. Ted Stevens trial prosecutors acted with reckless misconduct

The Justice Department's internal watchdog office has concluded that two federal prosecutors acted with reckless misconduct in the botched case against then-Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and should be suspended without pay but not fired.

1 day ago
MCCLATCHY DC

U.S. attorney's office assails Calif. Gov. Brown's wildfire-liability plan

Gov. Jerry Brown tucked provisions into his budget that would limit payouts in wildfire liability cases, potentially saving timber companies and other major California landowners hundreds of millions of dollars as federal prosecutors pursue record-high damages in court.

1 day ago
MCCLATCHY DC

S.C. Gov. Haley says House Speaker Harrell is pushing ethics probe

Gov. Nikki Haley’s office Thursday all but accused House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, of a political vendetta. Meanwhile, Harrell’s office accused Haley of attempting to short-circuit a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether the governor broke state law.

1 day ago
MCCLATCHY DC

'Golfer-in-chief' Obama nears 100th round of his presidency

Most modern U.S. presidents have played golf, but it's touchy, since many people view it as an expensive, elite sport. President Barack Obama plays golf a lot, but he won't let the news media see him do it.

1 day ago
MCCLATCHY DC

Josh Earnest went from baseball in Kansas City to hardball at White House

The 37-year-old Earnest, who grew up in Kansas City, Mo., is the principal deputy White House press secretary. Before Earnest even sets foot inside the White House gates and enters the West Wing, it’s his job to know what’s been said over the past 12 hours, who said it and what the...

1 day ago
MCCLATCHY DC

Secret Service chief says there’s no culture of misbehavior

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan apologized Wednesday before a Senate panel for the prostitution scandal that’s embarrassed his agency, but he said he didn’t believe that it had arisen from an agency culture of misbehavior.

2 days ago
MCCLATCHY DC

Violence Against Women Act stalled as Congress bickers

The federal reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act has fallen victim to political bickering, with the House of Representatives and the Senate refusing even to consider the versions passed by each other.

2 days ago
MCCLATCHY DC

Obama dominates global summits, but do U.S. voters care?

President Barack Obama dominated the world stage over the weekend, but U.S. voters aren’t focused much on that.

3 days ago
MCCLATCHY DC

Obama, Romney 'shake the trees' in California

Even for a president who has lost some of his luster, donor-rich California remains a generous state. President Barack Obama and his supporters raised some $59 million in large donations from the Golden State through April, just $3 million less than Obama and then-rival Hillary Rodham Clinton raised...

3 days ago
MCCLATCHY DC

Florida Democrats break with Obama on Castro visa issue

Florida’s top Congressional Democrats broke with President Barack Obama on Tuesday over his administration’s decision to issue Fidel Castro’s niece a visa to attend a conference this week in San Francisco.

3 days ago