Topic: Barack Obama
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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Playing the IRS card: Six presidents who used the IRS to bash political foes
Since the advent of the federal income tax about a century ago, several presidents – or their zealous underlings – have directed the IRS to use its formidable police powers to harass or punish enemies, political rivals, and administration critics. Here are six infamous episodes.
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Briefing
IRS 101: Seven questions about the tea party scandal
How the tables have turned: The Internal Revenue Service is the one under the microscope now, as revelations emerged Friday that the agency wrongly targeted conservative groups seeking nonprofit status. Here’s an accounting of what has happened, along with the ramifications.
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3 priorities for Pakistan's new government
After 14 years, Nawaz Sharif is back at the helm in Pakistan. The nuclear-armed country faces a welter of problems, from terrorism to tensions with Afghanistan, India, and the United States. To move Pakistan forward, Mr. Sharif must focus on three priorities.
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Five ways to improve Obama's pre-k plan
President Obama’s Preschool for All plan is well intentioned but includes features that are not justified by research and won’t help it pass in Congress. The plan must make the following five adjustments.
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5 myths about amnesty for illegal immigrants in Senate bill
Under a bipartisan Senate immigration bill, immigrants who have come to the United States illegally are given a "path to citizenship." On close inspection, each of the following five claims about the requirements for illegal immigrants to earn amnesty are not what they seem.
All Content
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IRS scandal: Reinvigorated tea party eager to seize moment (+video)
With the Justice Department investigating whether IRS employees criminally misused their power by targeting conservative groups, tea party leaders see the scandal as a teaching tool about what tyranny looks like.
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The Monitor's View: How to avoid another Justice raid on reporter phone records
The secret combing of AP phone records by Justice in pursuit of a security leak shows the need to better define the overlapping roles of government and the press in their mutual desire to protect the American people.
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Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul show progress remains elusive
Talks in Istanbul today over Iran's nuclear program and sanctions that have crippled its economy yielded little in the way of progress.
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Decoder Wire Five ways the IRS scandal will change Washington (+video)
Whatever comes of the investigations into the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, the scandal promises to have broad repercussions in Washington, potentially through the 2014 midterms.
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Opinion: As North Korea heats up, South Korea and Japan should warm ties
Cooperation on missile defense between South Korea and Japan would help blunt threats from North Korea. But Japanese officials' recent insensitivity to Imperial Japan's painful role in World War II, including forcing South Koreans to become 'comfort women,' works against cooperation.
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Why Obama agenda group faces pushback from some Democrats
Organizing for Action, an issue-advocacy group that spun off from President Obama's reelection campaign, is going after some Democrats and competing for fundraising dollars.
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IRS report shows why tea party scandal was almost inevitable (+video)
When all the shouting about the IRS targeting of tea party groups dies down, Congress or the IRS will realize that the relevant tax law is devilishly hard to enforce fairly.
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Obama's 'juice' squeezed by scandals?
The burst of controversy out of the IRS and Justice Department, in addition to lingering GOP pressure over Benghazi, has sidelined attention to President Obama's agenda.
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Briefing
IRS 101: Seven questions about the tea party scandal
How the tables have turned: The Internal Revenue Service is the one under the microscope now, as revelations emerged Friday that the agency wrongly targeted conservative groups seeking nonprofit status. Here’s an accounting of what has happened, along with the ramifications.
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Will government probe of AP phone records cost Eric Holder his job?
Attorney General Eric Holder has alienated Republicans before. But the Justice Department's seizure of AP phone records is generating bipartisan concern.
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Decoder Wire Are IRS, Benghazi flaps affecting Obama's standing with US public? (+video)
Republicans might have good reason to believe that President Obama will be affected more by the IRS scandal than by new revelations about the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya.
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The New Economy Bloomberg snooping: Just looking at data can break the law
The Federal Reserve and the US Treasury are investigating whether Bloomberg reporters used the company's terminals to glean inappropriate information about officials' data use. Just viewing the information can be a felony, under federal law.
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3 priorities for Pakistan's new government
After 14 years, Nawaz Sharif is back at the helm in Pakistan. The nuclear-armed country faces a welter of problems, from terrorism to tensions with Afghanistan, India, and the United States. To move Pakistan forward, Mr. Sharif must focus on three priorities.
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Five ways to improve Obama's pre-k plan
President Obama’s Preschool for All plan is well intentioned but includes features that are not justified by research and won’t help it pass in Congress. The plan must make the following five adjustments.
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Terrorism & Security Syrian rebel's video surfaces amid intensified pressure for action on Syria
The gruesome video shocked the international community. With concerns about arming the rebels, attention is turning to greater humanitarian aid as a way to help in the increasingly violent war.
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Why wind farms kill eagles with federal impunity
Oil companies are prosecuted when a bird drowns in a waste pit. But the Obama administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind-energy company for similar protected bird deaths. An estimated 573,000 birds are killed by US wind farms each year.
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British PM Cameron visits Boston, offers condolences
British Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, visited the Boston Marathon bombings memorial on Tuesday morning to offer his condolences and discuss lessons that can be learned from the deadly bombings.
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Obama bemoans partisanship at Democratic fundraiser
While raising money to pay off the DNC's debts from his 2012 campaign, President Obama said he had hoped his election (or re-election!) would end partisan stalemates.
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Officials seize AP's phone logs: What are they looking for?
The Associated Press is now in the news as well as covering it: Justice Department officials secretly obtained two months of telephone records from AP reporters and editors.
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US and Britain cling to diplomacy as way forward on Syria (+video)
At the White House, the US and British leaders called talks with Russia 'very constructive,' but Obama cautioned that given 'what we’re seeing in Syria, it’s very hard to put things back together.'
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IRS tea party scandal is 'un-American' and a 'travesty,' lawmakers fume
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are vowing to hold people accountable and explore legislative changes to ensure the IRS mends its ways after singling out tea party and other conservative groups.
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Decoder Wire IRS tea party scandal: How bad for Obama? (+video)
President Obama himself has slammed the reported IRS actions regarding tea party and other conservative groups. But inevitably, Republicans will attempt to link the White House to this activity.
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5 myths about amnesty for illegal immigrants in Senate bill
Under a bipartisan Senate immigration bill, immigrants who have come to the United States illegally are given a "path to citizenship." On close inspection, each of the following five claims about the requirements for illegal immigrants to earn amnesty are not what they seem.
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Terrorism & Security A flurry of diplomacy over Syria, but will it amount to progress?
There is concern over a Russian missile shipment to the Assad regime, but cautious optimism persists in some Western capitals over a planned international conference on Syria.
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Robert Gates: Obama made right decisions night of Benghazi attack
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates says those urging a military response the night of the Benghazi attack have 'a cartoonish impression of military capabilities.' Republicans in Congress want to grill former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of a special inquiry.
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