White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough made clear in a speech to a left-leaning Israel advocacy group that President Barack Obama isn’t letting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off the hook for his dismissal of a two-state solution.
That stance, as well as Netanyahu’s suggestion also made in the closing days before last week’s Israeli elections that he’d approved settlements in contested territory in Jerusalem for the strategic purpose of changing the borders are “so very troubling,” McDonough told J Street’s annual conference in Washington. He called the pro-Israel group, which opposes some of Netanyahu’s policies, “our partner.”
Barack Obama’s top aide says Israeli ‘occupation’ must end
NRA accuses campus police chiefs of misusing tax dollars by opposing guns on campus
Florida NRA leader Marion Hammer is accusing campus police chiefs from Florida's public universities of using tax dollars to lobby because they spoke in Tallahassee against a bill allowing guns on campuses.
Police chiefs from several Florida campuses appeared in legislative committee meetings in Tallahassee in uniform this week and opposed the bill during public comment periods. In a memo, Hammer asked NRA members to send emails to state officials objecting to what she called tax-funded lobbying.
U.S. to set fracking standards on federal land
The Obama administration on Friday is due to unveil rules for oil companies that frack on federal land, included beefed-up safety measures, but won't likely require strict oversight as environmental groups want, according to sources.
The standards have been in the works for more than three years and gone through several drafts with environmentalists and the energy industry fighting over its scope.
Much Rests On The Enhanced Large Hadron Collider
Get ready to look at the universe through a new window.
Later this month, the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, the behemoth particle accelerator operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), will be back in action after a two-year hiatus.
The pause was intentional, giving technicians and engineers time to ramp up the collision energy by almost a factor of two. In particle collisions, the higher the energy, the bigger the payoff, as the energy of the colliding particles gets translated into the masses of the debris, following the E=mc2 prescription.
Afghanistan gave CIA money to al Qaeda for diplomat's ransom
About $1 million provided by the CIA to a secret Afghan government fund ended up in the hands of al Qaeda in 2010 when it was used to pay a ransom for an Afghan diplomat, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had at first been concerned about the payment, fearing the CIA knew about the money and had tainted it with poison, radiation or a tracking device, the Times said, and suggested it be converted to another currency.
Influence Game: Meat industry fights new dietary proposal
The meat industry is seeing red. Meat companies have tried to rehabilitate an image tarnished in recent years by health and environmental concerns. Now the industry is swiftly and aggressively working to discredit a proposal for new dietary guidelines that recommends people eat less red and processed meat.
The proposal last month by a government advisory committee also relegates the health benefits of lean meat to a footnote to the main recommendations.
Petition to prosecute 47 GOP senators over open Iran letter reaches goal
A petition asking to prosecute the 47 U.S. Republican senators, who sent a heavily criticized open letter to Iran's leadership, has reached the goal to require a White House response.
The petition was published on March 9 and reached more than 200,000 signatures in three days, well above the requirement of 100,000, which requires the White House to respond.
The petition cited the 1799 Logan Act, which can carry an imprisonment sentence for up to three years.
Fukushima victims speak. Will anyone listen?
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northeastern Japan triggered a tsunami that led to the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
While immediate health consequences are yet to be determined, more than 159,000 people were evicted from areas deemed too radioactive for human habitation. The World Health Organization has warned about “increased risk of certain cancers” for people in the most contaminated areas.
47 GOP Senators: Iran nuclear deal could be temporary
A letter signed by 47 Republican Senators warned Iran any deal over nuclear weapons could last only as long as the Obama administration.
The open letter, by which Senators are attempting to get involved ongoing talks between Western countries and Iran to curtail Iran's nuclear program, prominently mentioned an agreement without congressional approval could be rescinded by the next President.
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