Author: Calvin Woodward
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NATIONAL ELECTION ROUNDUP: Republicans promise an era of limited government
WASHINGTON — Emboldened by a commanding House majority and Senate gains, Republican leaders vowed Wednesday to deliver on their “golden opportunity” to roll back the size of government and President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. “Change course we will,” said Ohio Rep. John Boehner, the speaker-in-waiting, describing Tuesday’s midterm elections as a mandate to…
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Oops: Campaign season of gaffes and gotchas
WASHINGTON — Memo to novice political candidates: Know thy Constitution. Don’t tell Hispanics they look Asian. Pay special attention to what you say when you are in front of cameras. Which you almost always are. Expect your chitchat to go viral. And, really, try your best to stay out of court. Now relax. Be yourself…
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How a containable accident suddenly became a crisis
WASHINGTON — Suddenly, everything changed. For days, as an oil spill spread in the Gulf of Mexico, BP assured the government the plume was manageable, not catastrophic. Federal authorities were content to let the company handle the mess while keeping an eye on the operation. But then government scientists realized the leak was five times…
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Obama close to health law success that eluded past presidents
WASHINGTON • Rarely does the government, that big, clumsy, poorly regarded oaf, pull off anything short of war that touches all lives with one act, one stroke of a president’s pen. Such a moment now seems near. After a year of riotous argument, decades of failure and a century of spoiled hopes, the United States is…
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Lawmakers critical of inquiry into Fort Hood shootings
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers on Wednesday criticized leaders of an internal Pentagon inquiry into the deadly Fort Hood shootings for refusing to discuss why the accused gunman moved through the U.S military’s ranks despite repeated concerns over his performance and behavior. During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Togo West and Vern Clark said Defense…
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Republicans rebuke administration over airline security
WASHINGTON — Investigators piecing together a brazen attempt to bring down a trans-Atlantic airliner said Sunday the suspect tucked a small bag holding his deadly concoction on his body, using an explosive that would have been easily detected with the right airport equipment.His success in smuggling and partially igniting the material on Friday’s flight to…
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FACT CHECK: Obama drops iffy line on health plan
WASHINGTON — The change was subtle, but significant. In his speech to Congress on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama gave a more accurate — and less reassuring — account of the impact of his proposed health care overall than he has done in the past. It went by in a blink. He told Americans…
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Holocaust museum closed for day to mark shooting
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum was shuttered Thursday with its flags at half-staff as it mourned a guard who died stopping a rifle attack by a gunman authorities identified as an 88-year-old white supremacist. James von Brunn, a Holocaust denier who once tried to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve Board, is…
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A look at clashing claims by Obama, Cheney
WASHINGTON – Two tough speeches conveying two radically different views of America’s fight against terrorism and the nation’s values unfolded Thursday in separate halls, minutes apart. President Barack Obama spoke with characteristic nuance in contending the problems he’s inherited are not easy to sort out. There were no shades of gray in the words of…
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Three shots rang out in the night, three pirates dead
Ordered to shoot to kill, snipers on the swaying stern of the U.S. destroyer had one improbable chance to get it right.Anything less than direct hits killing three pirates with three bullets would have placed the American hostage, merchant Capt. Richard Phillips, in mortal danger, if not sealed his fate.Navy SEALs are trained for an…