US-POLITICS Summary
Sunday, March 28, 2010; 12:55 PM
Obama in first trip to Afghanistan as president
KABUL - Barack Obama arrived unannounced in Afghanistan on Sunday, his first visit to the war zone that could define his presidency since his election as U.S. commander-in-chief. Air Force One landed in darkness at Bagram airfield north of the Afghan capital, and Obama was whisked by helicopter to Hamid Karzai's palace in Kabul, where he was greeted by the Afghan president and a band playing the U.S. national anthem.
Obama makes 15 recess appointments
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Saturday announced he would make 15 recess appointments held up by Republicans, including two top Treasury Department positions and two on the National Labor Relations Board that have been vacant for more than a year. The move intensifies an already bitter partisan atmosphere in Washington and Republicans swiftly condemned the action for sidestepping Congress, which goes into recess for its spring vacation on Monday.
G8 foreign ministers to focus on Iran sanctions
OTTAWA - Canada will press the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations to tighten United Nations sanctions on Iran when it hosts a meeting of foreign ministers from the grouping on Monday and Tuesday. International pressure is building on Tehran to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which Western nations say is aimed at developing the ability to build atomic weapons. Iran denies this, saying it needs nuclear energy to generate electricity.
Obama did not snub Israeli PM: Axelrod
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama did not give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the cold shoulder when they met in the White House last week, a top Obama aide said on Sunday. Obama met the Israeli leader in the White House on Tuesday but did not dine with his visitor and, by keeping the talks closed to the media, also denied Netanyahu the courtesy of a photo-opportunity with the president.
Arab League defers decision on Mideast peace talks
SIRTE, Libya - Arab leaders failed to agree Sunday whether to back indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, making it unlikely the talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process will happen any time soon. The Arab League this month endorsed a plan for so-called proximity talks mediated by the United States, but days later the Palestinians said they were at risk after Israel announced plans to build 1,600 homes in a settlement near east Jerusalem.
Second Obama pick for security post withdraws name
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's second pick to oversee U.S. transportation security has withdrawn from consideration, the White House said. Retired Major General Robert Harding's nomination had raised questions about his past defense contract work that included providing interrogators in Iraq.
Obama to name new Medicare/Medicaid chief: official
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has picked a top health policy expert to run Medicare and Medicaid, an administration official said on Saturday, filling a role at the heart of his historic healthcare reform. Obama plans to nominate Dr. Donald Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services, the official said.
States' leaders clash over healthcare lawsuits
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO - New battles are erupting over recently passed U.S. healthcare reforms, this time within the states, where leaders from both parties are clashing on whether to sue the U.S. government. Only hours after President Barack Obama signed the healthcare plan into law this week, more than a dozen Republican attorneys general of U.S. states -- and one Democrat -- filed lawsuits saying it violated state and individual rights. Others began investigating possible lawsuits.
Obama, Medvedev seal deal on nuclear arms pact
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sealed a landmark arms-control treaty on Friday to slash their countries' nuclear arsenals by a third and will sign it on April 8 in Prague. After months of deadlock and delay, a breakthrough deal on a replacement for the Cold War-era START pact marked Obama's most significant foreign policy achievement since taking office and also bolsters his effort to "reset" ties with Moscow.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032800685.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert
Sunday, March 28, 2010; 12:55 PM
Obama in first trip to Afghanistan as president
KABUL - Barack Obama arrived unannounced in Afghanistan on Sunday, his first visit to the war zone that could define his presidency since his election as U.S. commander-in-chief. Air Force One landed in darkness at Bagram airfield north of the Afghan capital, and Obama was whisked by helicopter to Hamid Karzai's palace in Kabul, where he was greeted by the Afghan president and a band playing the U.S. national anthem.
Obama makes 15 recess appointments
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Saturday announced he would make 15 recess appointments held up by Republicans, including two top Treasury Department positions and two on the National Labor Relations Board that have been vacant for more than a year. The move intensifies an already bitter partisan atmosphere in Washington and Republicans swiftly condemned the action for sidestepping Congress, which goes into recess for its spring vacation on Monday.
G8 foreign ministers to focus on Iran sanctions
OTTAWA - Canada will press the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations to tighten United Nations sanctions on Iran when it hosts a meeting of foreign ministers from the grouping on Monday and Tuesday. International pressure is building on Tehran to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which Western nations say is aimed at developing the ability to build atomic weapons. Iran denies this, saying it needs nuclear energy to generate electricity.
Obama did not snub Israeli PM: Axelrod
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama did not give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the cold shoulder when they met in the White House last week, a top Obama aide said on Sunday. Obama met the Israeli leader in the White House on Tuesday but did not dine with his visitor and, by keeping the talks closed to the media, also denied Netanyahu the courtesy of a photo-opportunity with the president.
Arab League defers decision on Mideast peace talks
SIRTE, Libya - Arab leaders failed to agree Sunday whether to back indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, making it unlikely the talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process will happen any time soon. The Arab League this month endorsed a plan for so-called proximity talks mediated by the United States, but days later the Palestinians said they were at risk after Israel announced plans to build 1,600 homes in a settlement near east Jerusalem.
Second Obama pick for security post withdraws name
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's second pick to oversee U.S. transportation security has withdrawn from consideration, the White House said. Retired Major General Robert Harding's nomination had raised questions about his past defense contract work that included providing interrogators in Iraq.
Obama to name new Medicare/Medicaid chief: official
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has picked a top health policy expert to run Medicare and Medicaid, an administration official said on Saturday, filling a role at the heart of his historic healthcare reform. Obama plans to nominate Dr. Donald Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services, the official said.
States' leaders clash over healthcare lawsuits
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO - New battles are erupting over recently passed U.S. healthcare reforms, this time within the states, where leaders from both parties are clashing on whether to sue the U.S. government. Only hours after President Barack Obama signed the healthcare plan into law this week, more than a dozen Republican attorneys general of U.S. states -- and one Democrat -- filed lawsuits saying it violated state and individual rights. Others began investigating possible lawsuits.
Obama, Medvedev seal deal on nuclear arms pact
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sealed a landmark arms-control treaty on Friday to slash their countries' nuclear arsenals by a third and will sign it on April 8 in Prague. After months of deadlock and delay, a breakthrough deal on a replacement for the Cold War-era START pact marked Obama's most significant foreign policy achievement since taking office and also bolsters his effort to "reset" ties with Moscow.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032800685.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert
