Posts in May 2010

One of the most far-reaching pieces of the Senate’s Wall Street reform bill has powerful enemies. The White House doesn’t like it. FDIC chief Sheila Bair doesn’t like it. Obama adviser Paul Volcker–the patron saint of financial reform–doesn’t like it. And neither do a number... [+]

Tony Smithers has been answering a lot of questions lately about marijuana. Over coffee at Ramone’s Bakery & Cafe, he was polite but mildly irked to be fielding queries about a substance the federal government outlaws. Smithers, the Humboldt County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s executive... [+]

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan urged President Bill Clinton to take centrist stances in several battles over issues like abortion and family leave when other administration officials or allies were pressing for a more aggressively liberal approach, according to documents at the Clinton Presidential Library.... [+]

It’s become a significant siphon on conservative fundraising, intensified amid grassroots anger on the right in the age of Obama: direct mail or direct email outfits hit up conservatives around the country for small donations to beat the liberal agenda, or to support an unknown... [+]

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), who was defeated Saturday, was the first incumbent to lose his party’s nomination this year. But he almost certainly won’t be the last in this unusually volatile election year. Last week alone, Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) squeaked through a crowded GOP... [+]

The Senate today voted overwhelmingly to adopt an amendment, authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), forcing a comprehensive review of the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending activities. The amendment passed by a 96-0 vote. Though the measure was always popular, it faced extraordinary opposition from the... [+]

Oil services contractor Halliburton Inc. says it safely finished a cementing operation 20 hours before a Gulf of Mexico rig went up in flames. In testimony prepared for a congressional hearing Tuesday, Halliburton says it completed work on the well according to accepted industry practice... [+]

President Barack Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the president’s thinking said Sunday night. The move positions the court to have three female justices for the first time in history. The source spoke on condition of... [+]