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via Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune Mark Kirk will formally endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s bid for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday, sources close to the political operation of the first-term Illinois Republican senator said Sunday. Kirk, the state’s highest-ranking Republican officeholder, will join more than 50 members of Congress who already have endorsed … Continue reading
via Rafael Wober, AP, ABC News North Koreans marched by the thousands Monday to their capital’s landmarks to mourn Kim Jong Il, many crying uncontrollably and flailing their arms in grief over the death of their “Dear Leader.” North Korean state media proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, a “Great Successor,” while a vigilant … Continue reading
via Jackie Calmes, The New York Times From the House that Newt Gingrich once ran through the Washington establishment to state capitals across the nation, some Republicans are going public with their concerns that Mr. Gingrich would be a weak general election candidate and a drag on the party’s fortunes if he won the presidential nomination. “Since … Continue reading
via Bill Austin, Bloomberg Kim Jong Il, the second-generation North Korean dictator who defied global condemnation to build nuclear weapons while his people starved, has died, Yonhap News reported. He was 70. The news came in a radio broadcast at noon local time, Yonhap reported, citing North Korea’s official media. Kim probably had a stroke in … Continue reading
via Maeve Reston, Chicago Tribune Seeking to recapture his momentum in the GOP presidential race, Mitt Romney campaigned in South Carolina touting the coveted endorsement of Gov. Nikki Haley, a tea party favorite who he hopes will help boost his support among conservative voters in the South. “We’ve been hoping for this for a long, … Continue reading
via Margery A. Beck, AP, Yahoo News The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children. He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn’t be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up … Continue reading
via Declan McCullagh, CNET News A marathon congressional hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act, which detoured through discussions of Twitter-borne insults and the popular meme “The Internet is for Porn,” was expected to resume sometime in 2012. But Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said Friday on Twitter that the hearing will continue Wednesday … Continue reading
via Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today The war in Iraq ended officially Thursday with a flag-lowering ceremony in which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said a free, democratic Iraq was worth the sacrifice in American lives. “The cost was high — in blood and treasure for the United States and also for the Iraqi people,” Panetta … Continue reading
via Igor Volsky, ThinkProgress During an interview with the Boston Herald on Wednesday, Mitt Romney reiterated his support for a federal amendment to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but also said that he would establish three different tiers of marriage specifically for gay people: Expressed support for a constitutional … Continue reading
via Josh Gerstein, Politico President Barack Obama does not plan to veto a defense bill seeking to direct more terrorism suspects into military custody, the White House signaled Wednesday afternoon. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement that changes lawmakers made to the legislation to accomodate White House concerns were sufficient to avoid a veto. The … Continue reading
via Christina Wilkie, The Huffington Post It’s the type of coincidence every politician dreads. On Tuesday, political commenters reported that one of Romney’s go-to campaign catch-phrases, “Keep America American,” was a central theme of Ku Klux Klan publications in the 1920s, and served as a rallying cry for the white supremacist group’s campaign of violence … Continue reading
via Marie Diamond, ThinkProgress Federal imprisonment for unpaid debt has been illegal in the U.S. since 1833. It’s a practice people associate more with the age of Dickens than modern-day America. But as more Americans struggle to pay their bills in the wake of the recession, collection agencies are using harsher methods to get their … Continue reading
via Beth Duff-Brown and Nigel Duara, AP, The Washington Post West Coast ports tried to get back to business as usual Tuesday as they tallied their losses after anti-Wall Street protests that blocked trucks and curbed business along busy waterfronts. Long lines of trucks waited outside port gates and some workers reported early to clear … Continue reading
via Charles C. Krulak and Joseph P. Hoar, The New York Times In his inaugural address, President Obama called on us to “reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” We agree. Now, to protect both, he must veto the National Defense Authorization Act that Congress is expected to pass this week. … Continue reading
via Rosalind Rossi, Chicago Sun-Times Chicago Public Schools should begin the school day with clubs or extracurricular activities to encourage kids to show up on time. It should double the physical education students get — even if it means merely having kids climb stairs or take a brisk walk through the halls. And to ensure … Continue reading
Facebook via Greg Hoard, Slate Facebook on Tuesday launched a new program that makes it easier for anyone expressing suicidal thoughts to get help. The Associated Press reports that the social-networking giant has added a feature that allows users to instantly connect with crisis counselors through its chat messaging system. The new service works like so: If … Continue reading
via Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune Home-improvement giant Lowe’s may need to do a fix-it job on its own image after pulling its advertisements from a new reality TV show about American Muslim families. Lowe’s stopped running commercials on TLC’s “All-American Muslim,” bowing to pressure from a conservative Florida group that threatened to boycott the retailer … Continue reading
via Arthur Delaney, The Huffington Post Since Republicans proposed drug testing the unemployed last week, both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington have been quiet on the controversial proposal. Spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have repeatedly referred questions on specific parts of a broader Republican jobs … Continue reading
via Hindustan Times With the profile of HIV-AIDS undergoing transformation from a life-threatening emergency to a manageable chronic infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged South-East Asian countries to focus on eliminating the infection, particularly among children, by 2015. “We are coming out of a transformative decade for the HIV-AIDS epidemic. With innovative treatment regimens, improved … Continue reading
via E.D. Kain, Forbes In 2008, during the aftershocks of the housing market and financial collapse and the fall of Lehman Brothers, and amidst the increasingly frightening din of anti-Obama sentiment that was coming to define the presidential campaign between him and rival John McCain, it was nevertheless difficult to not feel a swell of … Continue reading
via Mead Gruver, The Seattle Times The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday for the first time that fracking — a method of improving the productivity of oil and gas wells — may be to blame for causing groundwater pollution. The draft finding could have significant implications while states try to determine how to … Continue reading
via Jenniger Brandel, WBEZ Chicago previewed the city’s new branding campaign on Thursday, designed to attract tourists. Enough with the “Second City,” the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau wants everyone to know this town is “second to none.” “We’re shedding that humility, but we’re going to do it in a respectful way so that it … Continue reading
via E.D. Kain, Forbes If Obama does one thing for the remainder of his presidency let it be a veto of the National Defense Authorization Act – a law recently passed by the Senate currently which would place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door … Continue reading
via Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune Congressman Joe Walsh told supporters Thursday night he plans to seek re-election in the 8th Congressional District, a change of heart from three months ago. The decision means Walsh is likely to win the Republican primary but face a stiff general election challenge from a Democratic field that includes Iraq … Continue reading
via Sam Stein, The Huffington Post In a major victory for gay rights activists, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday that a voter initiative banning same-sex marriage in California violated the Constitution’s equal protection and due process rights clauses. After a five-month wait, 9th Circuit District Court Judge Vaughn Walker offered a 136-page decision in … Continue reading
The Brandt Standard 