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U.S. joins allies in attack on Libyan air-defenses

President Obama authorized a missile attack on Moammar Gadhafi's air-defense systems on Saturday, igniting U.S. involvement in the largest international military offensive in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq. "This is not an outcome the U.S. or any of our partners sought," Obama said from Brazil, where he is starting a five-day visit to Latin America. "But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy." Read More

Unions still waiting for Obama to step up

President Obama has stayed on the sidelines during raging political battles about the role of public employees unions in cash-strapped states, a debate that shows no signs of slowing before the 2012 election and which now has labor leaders pressing for more involvement from the White House on their behalf. Read More

Petraeus calls Iranian aid to Taliban a 'big concern'

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said Iranian aid to Taliban insurgents, in the form of financing, weaponry and training, is a "big concern" that military officials are watching closely. Speaking to a few reporters at the Newseum Friday, Petraeus said Iranian security services, mainly the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, have been strengthened after the unrest following the Iranian elections. Read More

Union equates lavish benefits to black civil rights

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, speaks at the Keep the Promise rally, a rally to protest pension reform in Maryland, Monday, March 14, 2011, in Annapolis, Md. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed changes to address a troubling$19 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and$16 billion in retiree health liabilities. It would require increased contributions from state employees.-Nick Wass/AP
"Madison is just the beginning!" AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka told a union rally in Annapolis on Monday. "Like that old song goes, 'You ain't seen n-n-n-n-nothing yet!' " Read More

Obama: Japan's nuclear woes no threat to U.S.

In his most comprehensive remarks on the Japanese crisis, President Obama on Thursday sought to curtail fears that nuclear contamination would spread to the United States and to reassure Americans about the soundness of domestic nuclear plants. Read More

U.N. Authorizes no-fly zone over Libya

U.N. Security Council members voted Thursday evening on resolution 1973 to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and authorize "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from attacks by Moammar Gadhafi's forces. Read More

CIA consultant freed after U.S. pays 'blood money' in Pakistan

After paying $2.3 million in "blood money" to the families of two dead Pakistani men, Raymond Davis was escorted out of Pakistan on Wednesday, the same day he was convicted of the killings by a regional court. Davis, who has been detained since Jan. 27, told Pakistani authorities that the two men in Lahore were armed and had threatened his life in an attempt to rob him. U.S. officials said Davis had diplomatic immunity and demanded his return. Read More

Libya interventionists trust government, not people

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, talks about the revolution in Libya on CBS's"Face the Nation."-AP File
President Obama isn't the only one undecided on whether the United States should intervene in Libya's civil war. The Republican base, including the Tea Party movement, also has yet to stake out a position on a third U.S. war in the Muslim world. Read More

Obama's openness falling short of campaign promise

He won an award for making government more transparent, but President Obama is nowhere near keeping his pledge to "usher in a new era of open government," according to government watchdogs. Obama rode into office two years ago as a self-proclaimed reformer, vowing to kick down the walls of secrecy that defined George W. Bush's presidency. Read More

The Framers never imagined a New Hampshire primary

Sarah Palin is a leading contender to challenge President Obama in 2012.-AP File
The weakest part of our political system is the presidential nomination process. And it's not coincidental that it's the part of the federal system that finds least guidance in the Constitution. There is no provision in the Constitution that says that Iowa and New Hampshire vote first. The idea of giving any two states a preferred position in the process of choosing a president would surely have struck the Framers as unfair. Read More
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