News Items

GOP Lawmakers Join Hobby Lobby Contraception Fight

Nearly a dozen Republican lawmakers have joined the legal fight against the Obamacare contraception insurance mandate.

Nine senators and two House members challenged the mandate by formally backing Hobby Lobby, a national chain of arts and crafts stores.

Hobby Lobby's owners filed a lawsuit against the government, saying the mandate requires them to choose between their Christian beliefs and providing insurance for abortion-inducing drugs.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, led the group of lawmakers in filing a friend-of-...

Finger-Pointing Heats Up as Sequester Deadline Nears

Federal spending will be slashed across the board starting March 1 unless Congress and the president work out a deal to make more careful cuts to reduce the deficit.

The $85 billion worth of automatic spending cuts are known as the sequester and they focus on accounts that fund federal agencies and departments, including the military.

The situation has the president turning up the pressure on congressional Republicans.

"People will lose their jobs. The unemployment rate might tick up again," President Obama said.

...
Netanyahu: North Korea Proof Sanctions Alone Won't Work

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Without a viable military option, Iran, like North Korea, will achieve its nuclear weapons ambitions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told members of the Jewish Agency's international board of governors during a meeting Monday.

Netanyahu said threats by Western countries to intensify sanctions against North Korea did not deter last week's nuclear test.

"Have sanctions, tough sanctions, stopped North Korea? No," Netanyahu said. "And the fact that they produced a nuclear explosion reverberates everywhere...

Obama Pushes More Taxes in Budget Cuts Deal

President Obama is pushing congressional Republicans to accept more taxes as part of a deal to avoid $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts.

Those cuts, called the sequester, take effect March 1 unless the White House and Congress come up with a deal.

Democrats want to raise money by closing tax loopholes on some businesses, like the oil and gas industries.They also want to tax millionaires at a rate of at least 30 percent.

Republicans say they went along with tax hikes as part of the fiscal cliff deal...

Dr. Ben Carson: Prayer Breakfast Address 'Not Political'

Dr. Ben Carson is still drawing a lot of attention more than a week after his keynote speech at the National Prayer Breakfast.

In his address, Carson spoke out against higher taxes and Obamacare. So far, his 23-minute speech has gotten more than 2 million views on YouTube and catapulted his book America the Beautiful to No. 3 on Amazon.com.

Critics say Carson's remarks were too political for a prayer breakfast. But the Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon told ABC'S "This Week" there was another reason for the strong reaction.

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Justice Department: Home-Schooling not a 'Right'

The U.S. Justice Department says home-schooling is not a fundamental right.

That was the argument the Obama administration made in federal court against an evangelical Christian family from Germany seeking asylum in the United States.

Germany broadly forbids home-schooling. So the Romeike family was forced to flee the country or risk losing their five children to the German government, which was trying to force them to put their children in public schools.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association is working on the Romeike family's behalf...

Security in Question for US Diplomatic Posts

More than half of the U.S. diplomatic posts overseas may not fully meet security standards, according to Undersecretary of State Pat Kennedy.

Patrick told a House appropriations subcommittee that of the 283 diplomatic posts around the world, more than 150 of them have not been updated to meet current security standards.

"There remain approximately 158 posts that have facilities that may not fully meet current security standards," he said.

"Many of these facilities were built or acquired prior to the establishment of...

House GOP Moves to Block Pay Raise for Fed Workers

The House of Representatives is voting to block a pay raise for federal workers proposed by President Obama.

A pay freeze on the nation's 2 million civilian federal workers would save $11 billion.

Democrats, along with some Republicans, say government workers are being unfairly singled out for punishment by lawmakers, saying they've more than done their part to reduce the federal deficit.

But Conservatives say well-compensated federal employees can afford it.

The legislation is expected to...

Senate Republicans Block Hagel Confirmation Vote

Senate Republicans blocked a vote to confirm former Sen. Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense Thursday night.

Democrats say it's the first time a nominee for defense secretary has been filibustered.

But Republicans said they're seeking more information from Hagel and accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., of rushing the vote.

"This is not any attempt to kill this nomination. This is not a filibuster," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. "I realize that's the headline that the majority leader would like...

President Obama's Israel Visit Highlights Chilly Relations

JERUSALEM, Israel -- After five years in office, President Obama will pay his first visit to Israel next month. The state visit comes at a stormy time in the relationship between the two countries.

The president's visit will be a busy one, given the number of threats and concerns facing Israel.

"The three things that both the White House [and the Israeli government] are stressing before the visit is number one, Iran; number two, Syria; and number three, the Palestinians," Jerusalem Post diplomatic reporter Herb Keinon told CBN News.

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Showdown Brewing over Hagel Confirmation

A showdown is brewing in the Senate over the vote to confirm former Sen. Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense.

A vote is expected Friday, and Democrats hold a 55-45 edge over the Republicans.

However, it takes 60 votes to end debate and hold a vote. Some Republicans, like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, are suggesting they'll block it.

Graham said he wants President Obama to answer questions about his activities on the night of the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead.

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Political Gridlock Affecting U.S. Military Readiness

Top military brass told a Senate panel on Tuesday that political gridlock in Washington is affecting the readiness of America's military.

Under the so-called sequester that goes into effect March 1, the Pentagon faces $46 billion in budget cuts, on top of nearly $500 billion in cuts already in place.

Officials say there's also no budget in place for the current fiscal year.

"The cloud of uncertainty hanging over our nation's defense affairs is already having lasting and irreversible effects," Deputy Secretary of...

Senator Rubio Tackles 'Bottlegate,' State of the Union

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio gave the GOP response to the president's State of the Union address, while Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul spoke out on behalf of the Tea Party.

Both accused the president of continuing to push big government spending and tax increases.

Rubio gave his response in both English and Spanish. He accused the president of hurting, not helping the middle class with deficit spending and tax hikes.

"The idea that more taxes and more government spending is the best way to help hardworking middle class taxpayers -- that's an old idea that's failed every time it's been tried," he said.

Rubio said America needs an accountable, efficient government that allows small...

Senate Committee Approves Hagel Nomination

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved moving President Obama's controversial defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel to a full Senate vote, despite Republican demands for more financial information from him.

The panel voted along party lines 14-11. Republicans have threatened to delay a vote on his nomination.

Hagel faces charges he's received compensation from foreign governments and from an organization called the Friends of Hamas.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told reporters in Jerusalem Monday that...

Senate Committee to Vote on Hagel Appointment

The Senate Armed Services Committee is voting Tuesday on President Obama's nominee for defense secretary, former Sen. Chuck Hagel.

Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., rejected Republican demands for more financial information on Hagel.

Hagel faces charges he's received compensation from foreign governments and from an organization called the Friends of Hamas.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told reporters in Jerusalem Monday that Hagel needs to clear up the rumors.

During the...

Senator Graham Vows to Delay Obama Nominees

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he'll delay confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominees to head up the Pentagon and the CIA.

The leading Republican senator vowed to hold up confirmation of former Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense secretary and chief counterterrorism advisor John Brennan as CIA director until the White House provides more information about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The Sept. 11 attack left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stephens.

"I don't...

Report: Media Gives Obama Pass on High Gas Prices

A new report says the media have given President Obama a pass when it comes to rising gas prices.

During the Bush years, the nightly news ran a huge number of negative stories over rising fuel costs.

The Business and Media Institute found that between Jan. 20 and Feb. 20 in 2008, there were 97 stories about "rocketing" gas prices.

During the same period in 2012, as Obama faced re-election, there were only 21....

Senate Postpones Vote on Hagel Nomination

The Senate postponed a vote on former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of defense after Republicans raised questions about who paid for some of his speeches and consulting work.

Lawmakers want to know if Hagel got any money directly or indirectly from foreign sources. They also want to know why Hagel has refused to answer those questions.

"This committee, and the American people, have a right to know if a nominee for secretary of defense has received compensation, directly or indirectly, from foreign sources,"...

Obama Urges Congress to Delay Spending Cuts

President Obama is pushing Congress to delay those deep spending cuts that will hit the military and other domestic programs in less than a month.

This would be the second time Washington has "kicked the can" down the road to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The "sequester" was supposed to kick in Jan. 1 but the president and Congress reached a deal to avert the cuts until March 1. He now wants lawmakers to come up with another short-term measure.

"They should at least pass a smaller package of spending cuts and tax...

Obama seeks another short-term fix to looming defense cuts

President Obama is urging another short-term fix to avoid automatic spending cuts set to hit March 1, calling on Congress to come up with an alternative package containing tens of billions of dollars in spending cuts and tax revenue. Republican leaders, though, quickly raised concern that the president was setting the stage for another round of tax hikes. 

"There is no reason that the jobs of thousands of Americans ... not to mention the growth of the entire economy, should be put in jeopardy just because folks in Washington couldn't come together," Obama said Tuesday, during a brief statement at the...