| Presidential checklist: jockeying for position Posted: 16 May 2014 03:24 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — In the latest prep work for a presidential campaign, Rand Paul is conspicuously courting moderate and establishment Republicans while Ted Cruz keeps up a travel schedule that has 2016 written all over it. Jeb Bush is stirring from something of a political snooze and a half-dozen other credible prospects are getting their voices heard in the din.
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| Top U.S. veterans' healthcare official resigns amid scandal Posted: 16 May 2014 03:08 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top health official at the Department of Veterans Affairs resigned on Friday amid a scandal over allegations of deadly healthcare delays, but critics dismissed the gesture as "damage control" because he planned to retire this year anyway. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement he accepted the resignation of Dr. Robert Petzel, VA undersecretary for health, and acknowledged the need to ensure more timely treatment of America's military veterans. The White House said President Barack Obama supported Shinseki's decision. Petzel's resignation, which came a day after he and Shinseki testified before Congress, appeared unlikely to calm the anger over the scandal, with one critic rejecting the move as "damage control" and the American Legion renewing its call for Shinseki himself to step down.
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| Obama taps senior aide to oversee policy execution Posted: 16 May 2014 01:29 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama appointed a new White House adviser Friday and charged her with overseeing the execution of major policies like health care, underscoring the growing concern in the West Wing about political problems that have arisen because of poor follow-through. |
| Attacks targeting soldiers, militia kill 7 in Iraq Posted: 16 May 2014 10:23 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Separate attacks in Iraq killed five members of an anti-militant Sunni militia and two soldiers Friday as an al-Qaida splinter group claimed responsibility for a series of Baghdad bombings that killed at least 19 people the day before.
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| U.S. TV journalist Barbara Walters bids farewell after 53-year career Posted: 16 May 2014 10:23 AM PDT  By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pioneering U.S. journalist Barbara Walters, who paved the way for women in television news and was the first female to co-anchor a network evening news program, retired on Friday after an illustrious 53-year career. The 84-year-old TV newswoman bid farewell on "The View," the morning talk show she created in 1997 during a career that spanned events ranging from President Richard Nixon's historic journey to China in 1972 to interviews with several generations of celebrities and world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also appeared, as did actor Michael Douglas and TV host and media company owner Oprah Winfrey. "It means being the first ... to knock down the door, to break down the barrier, to pave the road that we all walk on." The show culminated a week of events including a get-together in New York that included former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, director Woody Allen and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
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| 2016 campaign checklist: O'Malley Posted: 16 May 2014 10:04 AM PDT  ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A look at preparations by Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., for a potential 2016 presidential campaign:
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| Cameron: UK's delayed Iraq report due this year Posted: 16 May 2014 09:20 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron says a long-delayed report on the Iraq war should be published by the end of 2014 —five years after the inquiry began. |
| Hagel says US won't let Iran build nuclear weapon Posted: 16 May 2014 08:10 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel pledged to Israeli leaders Friday that the U.S. "will do what we must" to prevent the Jewish state's greatest fear of a nuclear-armed Iran.
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| New attacks in Iraq kill 5 Sunni militiamen Posted: 16 May 2014 05:12 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Separate attacks in Iraq killed five members of an anti-militant Sunni militia on Friday as an al-Qaida splinter group claimed responsibility for a spate of Baghdad bombings that killed at least 19 people the day before.
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| Al-Qaida splinter group claims Iraq capital attack Posted: 16 May 2014 04:05 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — An Al-Qaida splinter group has claimed responsibility for bombings in Baghdad that killed at least 19 people a day earlier. |
| NSA Can ‘Collect-it-All.’ But Then What? Posted: 16 May 2014 02:45 AM PDT  It's the chilling government mantra reported in Glenn Greenwald's new book. Why the agency's unholy fusion of Big Data and Big Brother should have Americans worried.
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| Vets Blow the Whistle on Negligent VA Management Posted: 16 May 2014 02:30 AM PDT  Veterans groups aren't wasting any time waiting for federal investigators to uncover more negligence at VA hospitals across the country. On Thursday, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), launched a whistleblower website to provide VA employees and veterans with the ability to expose wrongdoings within the department. Instead of relying on government auditors to expose any potential wrongdoing, the groups say providing people with a reporting tool to hold the VA accountable is more efficient. VAOversight.org launched just before VA Secretary Eric Shinseki testified before Congress on alleged treatment delays, hidden wait lists and potentially preventable deaths at a VA hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.
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| Congress growing impatient on inquiry in VA deaths Posted: 16 May 2014 01:10 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Patience is wearing thin in Congress as lawmakers confront allegations of treatment delays and falsified patient-appointment reports at health centers run by the Veterans Affairs Department. A former clinic director says dozens of veterans died while awaiting treatment at the Phoenix VA hospital.
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| Thousands flee Iraq government assault on rebel-held Falluja Posted: 16 May 2014 12:11 AM PDT  By Ned Parker, Isra' al-Rubei'i and Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Thousands of civilians have fled Falluja since last week after the Iraqi military intensified shelling in a new bid to crush a five-month old Sunni uprising, killing scores of people in what residents describe as massive indiscriminate bombardment. The mortars, artillery and what residents call "barrel bombs" rained for at least seven days on Falluja - a city that was the nemesis of U.S. troops a decade ago and is now the main battle ground in a war pitting the Shi'ite-led government against rebellious Sunni tribal chiefs and an al Qaeda offshoot. More than 420,000 people have already escaped the two main cities of western Anbar province, Falluja and Ramadi, in fighting since the start of the year. Residents say the new pounding of Falluja's residential neighborhoods appears aimed at driving out all remaining civilians in preparation for an all-out assault to defeat armed groups once and for all.
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| New Probes in Veterans’ Scandal Posted: 15 May 2014 05:14 PM PDT  A few weeks ago, it looked like only one Veterans' Affairs hospital was cooking its books. Since then, five more facilities have been accused of doing the same—and new investigations are just getting started.
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