TheRepublic.com - United States government News

Judge denies Bulger's bid for name of informant

Sun, 26 May 2013 00:19:04 -0400

BOSTON - A federal judge in the trial of reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger has denied a request by his lawyers to order prosecutors to name a confidential informant they hope can help undermine the credibility of two key government witnesses.

Search for pilot in deadly NY Angel Flight ongoing

Sun, 26 May 2013 00:08:28 -0400

EPHRATAH, New York - The search for the pilot of a volunteer Angel Flight that crashed in upstate New York, killing at least two people, ended unsuccessfully Saturday, a town official said.

Mo. highway buckles after rail cars hit overpass

Sat, 25 May 2013 20:32:27 -0400

CHAFFEE, Missouri - A highway overpass in southeast Missouri collapsed early Saturday when rail cars slammed into one of the bridge's pillars after a cargo train collision, authorities said. Seven people were injured, though none seriously.

Senate OK's $100B Texas budget on final weekend

Sat, 25 May 2013 19:39:14 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Starting the final weekend of a legislative session that may be the last under Gov. Rick Perry, the Texas Senate passed a roughly $100 billion state budget Saturday that mostly reverses historic spending cuts to public schools and squeezes most of the revenue spoils of a resurgent Texas economy.

Shell says Kulluk left Dutch Harbor to avoid taxes

Sat, 25 May 2013 18:54:06 -0400

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A Royal Dutch Shell official testified Saturday that tax avoidance was the main reason for having the Kulluk oil drilling rig leave Dutch Harbor in December - 10 days before its grounding off a remote Alaska island.

House, Senate reach testing, charter schools deal

Sat, 25 May 2013 18:25:11 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - House and Senate negotiators said Saturday they have reached a deal to overhaul high school standardized testing and curriculum standards while also dramatically increasing the number of charter schools allowed to operate in Texas.

Dems divided on big issues as end of session nears

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:38:14 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois Democrats seemed poised to rule almost unchallenged in the state Capitol after winning super majorities in the House and Senate last fall. But as intraparty divisions have surfaced, things haven't been that simple.

Nebraska Gov. Heineman opts out of US Senate bid

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:06:54 -0400

LINCOLN, Nebraska - Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman announced Saturday that he will not run for U.S. Senate, creating a wide-open race to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns.

Thousands of bridges at risk of freak collapse

Sat, 25 May 2013 16:29:33 -0400

SEATTLE - Thousands of bridges around the U.S. may be one freak accident or mistake away from collapse, even if the spans are deemed structurally sound.

Political landscape changes with improving economy

Sat, 25 May 2013 16:16:33 -0400

WASHINGTON - Alleged misbehavior by the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies gives the GOP something else to talk about and investigate as the economy clearly, if slowly, recovers on President Barack Obama's watch, robbing Republicans of a central argument against Democrats.

Kerry makes 1st official sub-Saharan Africa trip

Sat, 25 May 2013 16:08:28 -0400

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Making his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday demanded that Nigeria respect human rights as it cracks down on Islamist extremists and pledged to work hard in the coming months to ease tensions between Sudan and South Sudan.

Obama refocuses terror threat to pre-9/11 level

Sat, 25 May 2013 15:09:40 -0400

WASHINGTON - Some call it wishful thinking, but President Barack Obama has all but declared an end to the global war on terror.

Deaths at Atlanta VA hospital prompt scrutiny

Sat, 25 May 2013 14:30:22 -0400

ATLANTA - One patient with a history of substance abuse and suicidal thoughts was left alone in a waiting room inside the Atlanta VA Medical Center, where he obtained drugs from a hospital visitor and later died of an overdose.

Obama's drone rules provide limits, ambiguity

Sat, 25 May 2013 13:57:30 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama left plenty of ambiguity in new policy guidelines that he says will restrict how and when the U.S. can launch targeted drone strikes, leaving himself significant power over how and when the weapons can be deployed.

Park service review Brown Foundation report

Sat, 25 May 2013 13:52:12 -0400

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - The National Park Service is reviewing a report that could lead to penalties being levied against a foundation led by the daughter of the lead plaintiff in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case.

Hagel: Cadets must stamp out sex assault scourge

Sat, 25 May 2013 13:28:35 -0400

WEST POINT, New York - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that they must stamp out the scourge of sexual assault in the military.

Maine senators oppose border crossing fees

Sat, 25 May 2013 12:57:20 -0400

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine's two senators are joining other members of Congress in opposing border crossing fee along the northern and southwestern borders.

Small craft advisory issued for Arkansas River

Sat, 25 May 2013 12:55:38 -0400

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas - The Army Corps of Engineers has issued a small craft advisory for the Arkansas River in Arkansas.

Budget season may bring passage of other Pa. laws

Sat, 25 May 2013 12:30:23 -0400

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania - State lawmakers will soon return to the Pennsylvania Capitol with the state budget as the top order of business, accompanied by three marquee issues: liquor system privatization, public pension changes and transportation infrastructure funding.

Holocaust survivor, liberator meet for first time

Sat, 25 May 2013 12:14:48 -0400

WAPPINGERS FALLS, New York - Moshe Avital (MOH'-shee A'-vih-tahl), a Holocaust survivor, and Barry Lewis, an Army veteran, have plenty of fallen friends to honor on Memorial Day.

Alaska recreational boating deaths up in '12

Sat, 25 May 2013 11:32:46 -0400

KETCHIKAN, Alaska - Recreational boating accidents claimed 22 lives in Alaska during 2012, resulting in the Last Frontier having the highest fatality rate in the United States.

Community outreach key to Obama counterterror plan

Sat, 25 May 2013 11:03:50 -0400

WASHINGTON - Within hours of the Boston Marathon blasts, government officials and Boston Muslims called each other to offer assistance, calls that were the fruits of years of cultivating such relationships in an effort to ultimately prevent the very type of attack Boston experienced April 15.

Corps takes flood study to St. James

Sat, 25 May 2013 10:35:42 -0400

LUTCHER, Louisiana - St. James Parish residents are getting a look at an Army Corps of Engineers plan to reduce storm-surge risk from area lakes.

Key senators tightly control immigration debate

Sat, 25 May 2013 09:53:32 -0400

WASHINGTON - For all the soothing words she heard from fellow Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii never had a chance to win a relatively modest change to far-reaching immigration legislation.

Va. butterfly garden has strict no-touch rules

Sat, 25 May 2013 09:17:15 -0400

ROANOKE, Virginia - Don't touch the butterflies.