Politics
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House OK's anti-domestic violence law
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed Republican legislation to renew an anti-domestic violence law. Democrats and advocacy groups say the GOP's reauthorization of the Violence Against Women doesn't go far enough to protect battered immigrants, Native Americans or gays. They favor the Senate version. ©2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
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Senate Democrats reject House GOP budget plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats controlling the Senate have rejected for the second consecutive year a budget plan passed by House Republicans. The vote came after a daylong debate Wednesday in which Democrats blasted Republicans for refusing to consider tax increases as part of a solution to trillion-dollar deficits. Republicans in turn attacked Democrats for not offering a budget at all
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Romney hits Obama on debt
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Mitt Romney is criticizing President Barack Obama's record on debt as he campaigns in Florida, a critical battleground state. Speaking to supporters, Romney on Wednesday said he is the candidate who "will stop the spending and borrowing inferno." He was campaigning in Florida for the first time since becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Romney
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Biden attacks Romney tenure as venture capitalist
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is pouncing on Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney in swing state Ohio, casting him as a corporate raider more interested in making profits than in the needs of workers. In a speech set for delivery Wednesday in Youngstown, Ohio, Biden strikes hard at Romney, picking up on an attack line set this week
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Kerrey ready to hit the road in Senate campaign
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey says he's looking forward to traveling the state as part of his campaign for the U.S. Senate. The Nebraska Democrat told an Omaha television station that the state is all about "grass-roots democracy." He cited the need to solve the nation's deficit problems as a reason to run again for the job
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White House threatens veto of House defense bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is threatening a veto of the House Armed Services Committee's version of next year's defense budget that totals $642 billion. In a statement Tuesday, the administration criticized the overall amount of the legislation, which is $8 billion more than President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans agreed to last year. The administration also said the
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Bush offers tepid endorsement of Romney
WASHINGTON (AP) — George W. Bush is backing presumptive Republican White House nominee Mitt Romney. The former president offered a four-word endorsement of Romney as the doors of his elevator were closing after a speech Tuesday in Washington. Bush said: "I'm for Mitt Romney," ABC News caught up with Bush after the speech, prompting his unscripted — but not surprising
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Anti-Romney ads highlight campaign-super PAC link
NEW YORK (AP) — It looks like President Barack Obama's allies got the hint. An independent group with deep ties to the president's re-election campaign is launching a new TV ad hitting Mitt Romney's business practices. It comes just 24 hours after the Obama team debuted its own ad attacking the Republican's work at a private equity firm. The back-to-back
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Obama assets valued between $2.6M and $8.3M
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hold assets worth between nearly $2.6 million and nearly $8.3 million. The White House released financial disclosure documents Tuesday showing the couple's assets for last year. The first family's assets were valued between $1.8 million and nearly $12 million in 2010. The disclosure form requires
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Obama, bipartisan leaders to meet at White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will host bipartisan congressional leaders at the White House Wednesday to discuss economic proposals Obama wants Congress to act on this year. Republicans will be represented at the meeting by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. They will be joined by two Democrats, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate
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Romney uses Oregon primary to pad delegate total
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won most of the delegates in the Oregon primary, leaving him 153 delegates shy of the number of delegates needed to win the Republican nomination for president. He should get there by the end of the month. Romney won at least 18 of the 25 delegates at stake in Oregon, with one
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Endorsements slow as Romney closes in
Tom Raum, Associated Press writer As Mitt Romney closes in on nailing down the Republican presidential nomination, endorsements from prominent Republicans are slowing to a trickle. And some endorsements come with noticeable reservations. That's because most top Republicans have already endorsed him. And those who haven't probably don't plan to. Some endorsements have been tepid. Former President George W. Bush,
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Rosenblum defeats Holton to take Oregon AG Democratic primary
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — With 76 percent of the votes counted in Oregon's primary, Democratic attorney general candidate Ellen Rosenblum has defeated former U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton 64 percent to 36 percent. Rosenblum's victory came with the help of marijuana activists. Holton has criticized Oregon's medical marijuana law and had overseen raids on medical marijuana grows. In the race for
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Hales, Smith to face off in November
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Thousands of last-minute voters flooded the ballot boxes for Oregon's primary election Tuesday. For City of Portland mayor, no one candidate took a majority. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the tally was as follows to replace Portland Mayor Sam Adams: • Charlie Hales at 38 percent (36,070 votes) • Jefferson Smith at 31 percent (21,107 votes) •
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Paul: 'We will no longer spend resources'
Philip Elliott, Associated Press writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas and a favorite of tea partyers, effectively ended his presidential campaign Monday but urged his fervent supporters to continue working at the state party level to cause havoc for presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. In an email to supporters, Paul urged his libertarian-leaning backers to remain
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JPMorgan goof becoming a campaign issue
Tom Raum, Associated Press writer JPMorgan Chase's $2 billion-plus trading blunder is reverberating on the presidential campaign trail by rekindling calls for tighter oversight of the nation's biggest financial institutions. That plays into President Barack Obama's efforts to paint presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney as a heartless robber baron. Republicans, including Romney, have challenged proposals for tighter regulation. Obama has
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McCain briefed again on Colombia scandal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain says the latest briefing he received from the Defense Department on the Secret Service prostitution scandal was a "dramatic improvement." The Arizona Republican wouldn't comment on the details of the private briefing Tuesday, but he says Defense Department officials provided more information on the investigation than they have in the past. The prostitution scandal
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Twitter plays outsized role in 2012 campaign
Beth Fouhy, Associated Press writer NEW YORK (AP) — (at)BarackObama is on Twitter. So is (at)MittRomney. And so are all the voters following the 2012 presidential contest, whether they know it or not. Candidates, strategists, journalists and political junkies have flocked to Twitter, the social networking hub where information from the mundane to the momentous is shared through 140-character microbursts
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Clinton hopes to see female U.S. president
KOLKATA, India (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday she has no desire to make another run for the White House but hopes to see an American woman president in her lifetime. Politely turning aside questions about her political intentions at a town hall event in Kolkata, Clinton said she really wanted to see "that final
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Oregon attorney general's race takes center stage
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's Democratic primary for attorney general is grabbing the most attention Tuesday, the day ballots are due. The race pits former U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton against retired state appeals court judge Ellen Rosenblum. The two candidates have sparred over their experience, Oregon roots and the state's medical marijuana law. Holton was a federal prosecutor for 15