TheRepublic.com - Political issues News

Anthony Weiner launches bid to become NYC mayor

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:14:00 -0400

NEW YORK - Anthony Weiner's run for a renaissance is officially on.

Under scrutiny, Va. gov's mansion a dichotomy

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:43:28 -0400

RICHMOND, Virginia - An embezzling case that began with a chef being accused of stealing food from Virginia's Executive Mansion and morphed into a political scandal involving two of the state's most powerful politicians has some people wondering: What goes on behind the wide double doors of the governor's house?

Republican divisions may hinder party's momentum

Wed, 22 May 2013 04:22:42 -0400

WASHINGTON - A string of unrelated events are highlighting divisions among Republicans just when they'd like to show a united front and take full advantage of President Barack Obama's latest political problems.

SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Sotomayor at Yale

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:11:53 -0400

WASHINGTON - Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the author of a unanimous decision delivered at the Supreme Court on Monday, but Sotomayor was hundreds of miles from Washington when the court convened.

Ark. treasurer resigns amid charges she took cash

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:02:40 -0400

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas - Arkansas' state treasurer resigned Tuesday after being accused of accepting at least $36,000 cash in exchange for steering business to an investment broker, bowing to bipartisan calls to step down or face removal from office.

Kan. lawmakers give final approval to gun bill

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:44:30 -0400

TOPEKA, Kansas - Kansas legislators gave final approval Tuesday to restrictions on using state funds to promote or oppose gun-control policies, despite criticism that the new law would violate public officials' free speech rights.

Senate defers gun bill ban on federal oversight

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:32:53 -0400

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Senators postponed a vote Tuesday on a controversial bill that would prohibit enforcement in Louisiana of any federal bans on assault weapons, after opponents called the measure unconstitutional.

Key senator to let Myanmar sanctions bill lapse

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:14:11 -0400

WASHINGTON - Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, easing up on his long-held tough stance on Myanmar, said Tuesday he planned to allow key sanctions legislation against the Southeast Asian nation to lapse because of the country's progress toward democracy.

Deal on bin Laden evidence in WikiLeaks case

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:02:31 -0400

FORT MEADE, Maryland - Lawyers in the court-martial of an Army private who sent more than 700,000 classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks said Tuesday they have reached a deal that may eliminate the need for testimony from a member of the military team that killed Osama bin Laden. Prosecutors also agreed to accept Pfc. Bradley Manning's guilty plea to a lesser version of one of the 22 counts he faces.

Ala. legislators' view of session depends on party

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:47:43 -0400

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Shortly after the Legislature's 2013 session ended, the public address system in the Senate began playing a recording of Otis Redding singing the bluesy lyric, "They call me Mr. Pitiful."

White House: Reporters shouldn't be prosecuted

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:43:39 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama believes journalists shouldn't be prosecuted for doing their jobs, the White House said Tuesday, showing solidarity with First Amendment advocates alarmed by a pair of high-profile federal probes into national security leaks.

Activists rally in Phoenix over IRS scrutiny

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:41:07 -0400

PHOENIX - About 70 tea party activists waving signs and small American flags marched outside Phoenix's main Internal Revenue Service office Tuesday to protest the agency's extra scrutiny of conservative groups.

Tea party activists rally at Denver IRS office

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:51:58 -0400

DENVER - Tea party activists rallied outside the Internal Revenue Service office in Denver on Tuesday to protest IRS scrutiny of conservative groups.

Protesters rally over IRS' tea party scrutiny

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:48:41 -0400

CINCINNATI - Tea party activists waving flags and signs, singing patriotic songs and chanting anti-IRS slogans held rallies outside federal buildings across the country Tuesday to protest the agency's extra scrutiny of conservative groups.

Calif. to post raw campaign filings online daily

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:36:23 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has agreed to expand the way her office presents campaign finance data online after initially rejecting the request from a coalition of good-government groups, research organizations and newspapers, her spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Top figures barred from Iran's June ballot

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:18:02 -0400

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's election overseers removed potential wild-card candidates from the presidential race Tuesday, blocking a top aide of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a former president who revived hopes of reformers.

Lawyer: Colorado parolee made woman turn over gun

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:29:53 -0400

CENTENNIAL, Colorado - The woman accused of providing the gun used to kill Colorado's prisons chief was forced by the "wicked" parolee Evan Ebel to turn over the weapon, her attorney said Tuesday.

SC Gov Haley: Finish work on ethics bill this year

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:22 -0400

COLUMBIA, South Carolina - Gov. Nikki Haley called on legislators Tuesday to get a bill strengthening the state's weak ethics laws to her desk, saying elected officials need to prove to voters that they work for them.

With high-tech guns, users could disable remotely

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:43:22 -0400

SAN JOSE, California - A high-tech startup is wading into the gun control debate with a wireless controller that would allow gun owners to know when their weapon is being moved - and disable it remotely.

Court: US can keep bin Laden photos under wraps

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:24:46 -0400

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court Tuesday backed the U.S. government's decision not to release photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden during and after a raid in which the terrorist leader was killed by U.S. commandos.

Georgian ex-PM detained on abuse of office charge

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:32:17 -0400

TBILISI, Georgia - Allies of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili - a former prime minister and a provincial governor - were charged on Tuesday with embezzlement and abuse of office in another sign of an ongoing power struggle between the country's top two officials.

Elbert County sheriff placing officers in schools

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:22:17 -0400

DENVER - Elbert County Sheriff Shayne Heap, who has fought anti-gun legislation in the state, plans to put armed reserve officers in some county schools for the upcoming school year.

North Dakota legislators pick 41 interim studies

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:56:04 -0400

BISMARCK, North Dakota - North Dakota lawmakers will be studying 41 issues over the next two years, including property taxes and the effects of federal health care legislation.

Mo. life sentence for juveniles still in flux

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:51:03 -0400

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri - Prison sentences for Missouri juveniles convicted of first-degree murder remain uncertain because lawmakers did not pass a new sentencing scheme before adjourning.

Protesters at capitol call to repeal NY gun law

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:27:20 -0400

ALBANY, New York - A few hundred people have gathered at New York's state capitol building in Albany to press for repeal of the state's tough new gun laws.