News

  February 13, 2012, 4:11 pm

Supreme Court Justice Breyer robbed by man with machete

By Alicia M. Cohn

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed at his vacation home in the Caribbean last week, according to reports published Monday.

A masked man wielding a machete confronted Breyer, along with his wife and guests, last Thursday evening in his vacation home on the West Indies island of Nevis, according to The Associated Press.

The intruder took about $1,000 in cash, but there were no injuries, according to reports. Local police are investigating, and according to local news site The St. Kitt's-Nevis Observer, an FBI agent arrived on the island Friday.

—This post was updated at 4:52 p.m.

Archived under: News
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 4:01 pm

Santorum campaigns in Washington state as marriage bill signed into law

By Justin Sink

Rick Santorum will be campaigning Monday in Washington as gay-rights activists in the state celebrate Gov. Chris Gregoire signing into law a bill that legalizes same-sex marriage.

Santorum, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, plans to meet with a group of voters who oppose the new law in Olympia in advance of an evening rally at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. Santorum also plans to meet with the Republican caucuses of the state legislature, according to The Seattle Times.

The meeting with those opposed to the new law prompted Occupy protesters in Washington state to plan a protest of Santorum's event at the history museum.

Read more...
Archived under: News, GOP Presidential Primary
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 2:47 pm

Lawmaker thought of Whitney Houston's mother

By Daniel Strauss

When Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) heard about singer Whitney Houston's death, he "immediately" thought about Houston's mother, Cissy, he said.

"The most difficult thing in all of this is saying goodbye to relatively young people. No parent wants to attend the funeral of their child," Towns said in a statement on Monday.

"For them, it is a heart-wrenching experience to know that your beloved daughter or son’s life has been cut short. So when I learned of the death of Whitney Houston my mind and heart immediately went to Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother."

Towns went on to mention Cissy Houston's own career and that she won a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album.

"Cissy has lost her daughter and there is little that can comfort her now. Only her faith in God will sustain her through this tragic experience," Towns said later on in the statement. "I will pray her strength and dust off some of my Cissy Houston recordings."

On Monday, police said that Whitney Houston was found dead underwater in a bathtub at a Beverly Hills Hotel. Houston's death was announced on Saturday; she was found earlier that day.

Coroner officials say it's too soon to pronounce the cause of death.

Archived under: News
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 1:06 pm

Poll: Both trail, but Romney better than Santorum against Obama

By Justin Sink

A spate of new tracking polls from Rasmussen show encouraging signs for President Obama's reelection chances, with the president hitting 50 percent approval among likely voters and leading both Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups.

But Romney is once again outperforming Santorum when faced up against the president, providing the former Massachusetts governor a boost in an increasingly important electability argument he must make against the former Pennsylvania senator, according to a poll released Monday by Rasmussen.

Obama leads Romney 48 percent to 42 percent in a hypothetical match-up, for a net lead of six percentage points. But faced up against Santorum, Obama leads 49 percent to 41 percent, giving him an eight-point edge.

Read more...
Archived under: News
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 12:55 pm

GOP senator pans revised birth-control rule as 'more of the same'

By Daniel Strauss

The Obama administration's revised birth-control mandate for religious employers is "more of the same," according to a Senate Republican leader.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, on Monday said he sees no distinction between the original birth-control mandate and the revised rule the White House announced Friday. 

"President Obama last week announced what he called a compromise, which I don't see how you could see it as anything but more of the same," Blunt said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Read more...
Archived under: News, Health reform implementation
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 12:31 pm

GOP Gov. McDonnell warns Santorum not to demean military women

By Alicia M. Cohn

McDonnell, a Romney supporter, criticized Santorum Monday for his comments on allowing women to serve in combat.

Read more...
Archived under: News, Policy & Strategy
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 11:41 am

Michelle Obama says it's the president's job to plan Valentine's Day

By Alicia M. Cohn

First lady Michelle Obama spoke about a little-known aspect of the president’s job over the weekend, saying he has “something” scheduled for the couple on Valentine’s Day.

Read more...
Archived under: News, In the News, Administration
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 11:25 am

Santorum overtakes Romney in Michigan

By Daniel Strauss

Two new polls show Santorum leading the GOP field in Michigan, a state long considered a lock for Romney.

Read more...
Archived under: News, Polls
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 11:11 am

National Review calls on Gingrich to bow out of presidential race

By Justin Sink

The National Review is calling on Newt Gingrich to drop out of the Republican presidential race, arguing the former House Speaker should clear the way for Rick Santorum to seize the mantle as the Anti-Romney choice for conservatives.

"It is not clear whether Gingrich remains in the race because he still believes he could become president next year or because he wants to avenge his wounded pride: an ambiguity that suggests the problem with him as a leader. When he led Santorum in the polls, he urged the Pennsylvanian to leave the race. On his own arguments the proper course for him now is to endorse Santorum and exit," the editors of the influential conservative online magazine wrote in an op-ed posted Monday.

The editorial is the latest blow to Gingrich's campaign, reeling after a series of tough losses following his surprise win in South Carolina. Santorum's trio of victories in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado have elevated him above Gingrich as Mitt Romney's main competition, while Gingrich's financial woes have thrown the long-term viability of his campaign into some doubt.

Read more...
Archived under: News, GOP Presidential Primary
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
  February 13, 2012, 11:05 am

Sen. Inhofe says Santorum has 'better' record on defense, economy, energy

By Daniel Strauss

Rick Santorum received some kind words from Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Monday.

Speaking on local radio station WABC, Inhofe praised Santorum's record on defense, the economy, energy and regulatory policy.

"In terms of the candidates that are there right now, I’d certainly say Rick Santorum has a better record addressing the four major issues that concern me," Inhofe said on WABC.

Read more...

Archived under: News
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
12345678910Next >End »
 
Blog Briefing Room Twitter - Click to follow
bloglogo

More Briefing Room »

More Congress Blog »

More Pundits Blog »

More Twitter Room »

More Hillicon Valley »

More E2-Wire (Energy) »

More Ballot Box »

More On The Money »

More Healthwatch »

More Floor Action »

More Transportation »

More DEFCON Hill »

Briefing Room Blog Roll

The Hill
ABC News: The Note
AMERICAblog
Barack Obama
Beat The Press
Bill Press
BuzzFlash
Capitol Briefing
Capitol Games
The Caucus (NYT)
Clive Crook
Comments From Left Field
CNN Political Ticker
The Corner (NRO)
Crooks and Liars
The Daily Beast
Daily Caller
Daily Kos
DCCC: The Stakeholder
DNC: Kicking Ass
DSCC: From The Roots
Drudge Report
Eschaton
Extreme Mortman
Ezra Klein
firedoglake
FishbowlDC
The Fix (WashPost)
The Foundry
Gateway Pundit
Glenn Greenwald
Hendrik Hertzberg
Hillary Clinton
Hot Air
Hotline on Call
Huffington Post
Human Events
Instapundit
James Fallows
John McCain
Judicial Watch: Corruption Chronicles
Kaus Files
Left Coaster
Lefty Blogs
Lucianne
Majority AP
Marc Ambinder
Matt Lewis
Matthew Yglesias
Megan McArdle
Michelle Malkin
Minority Report
The Moderate Voice
MSNBC First Read
MyDD
The Nation
National Review
The New Republic
NewsBusters
Newsmax
The NRCC Blog
NRSC Blog
Open Left
Page (Mark Halperin)
The Plank (TNR)
Political Animal
Political Wire
Politicker
Politico's Ben Smith
Politico's Jonathan Martin
Politico's The Crypt
Power Line
Reason
RedState
Right Wing News
RNC Blog
Ross Douthat
Rush Limbaugh
SCOTUSblog
Senate Guru
The Stump (TNR)
The Swamp (Tribune)
Swampland
Swing State Project
Talk Left
TalkingPointsMemo
TAPPED
Tech Policy Summit
techPresident
TechRepublican
The Right Angle
Think Progress
Top of the Ticket (LA Times)
Townhall
TPMCafe
TPMMuckraker
The Trail (WashPost)
Truthdig
USA Today On Politics
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Blog
VF Daily
Washington Wire (WSJ)
Weekly Standard
Wonkette
Yeas and Nays

Briefing Room Blog Topics

 Blog Summaries » Day's End Round-Up »
 Energy & Environment » Midday Blog Roundup »
 Morning Read » News »
  Campaigns »   Administration »
   Civil Rights »   Congressional Campaigns »
   Corporate Governance »   Defense »
   Economy & Budget »   Foreign Policy »
   Healthcare »   Homeland Security »
   Immigration »   Labor »
   Law and Courts »   Lobbyists »
   Presidential Campaigns »   Technology »
   Telecom and IT »   Trade and Agriculture »
  Energy & Environment »  Lawmaker News »
   Administration »   Campaigns »
   Civil Rights »   Corporate Governance »
   Defense »   Economy & Budget »
   Energy & Environment »   Foreign Policy »
   Healthcare »   Homeland Security »
   Immigration »   Labor »
   Lobbyists »   Technology »
   Telecom and IT »   Trade and Agriculture »
  Legislation »   Administration »
   Campaigns »   Civil Rights »
   Corporate Governance »   Defense »
   Economy & Budget »   Energy & Environment »
   Foreign Policy »   Healthcare »
   Homeland Security »   Immigration »
   Labor »   Lobbyists »
   Technology »   Telecom and IT »
   Trade and Agriculture »  Lobbying »
   Administration »   Campaigns »
   Civil Rights »   Corporate Governance »
   Defense »   Economy & Budget »
   Energy & Environment »   Foreign Policy »
   Healthcare »   Homeland Security »
   Immigration »   Labor »
   Lobbyists »   Technology »
   Telecom and IT »   Trade and Agriculture »
  Other »   Administration »
   Campaigns »   Civil Rights »
   Congressional Campaigns »   Corporate Governance »
   Defense »   Economy & Budget »
   Energy & Environment »   Foreign Policy »
   Healthcare »   Homeland Security »
   Immigration »   Labor »
   Lobbyists »   Presidential Campaigns »
   Technology »   Telecom and IT »
   Trade and Agriculture »  Oversight »
   Administration »   Campaigns »
   Civil Rights »   Corporate Governance »
   Defense »   Economy & Budget »
   Energy & Environment »   Foreign Policy »
   Healthcare »   Homeland Security »
   Immigration »   Labor »
   Lobbyists »   Technology »
   Telecom and IT »   Trade and Agriculture »

Get latest news from The Hill direct to your inbox, RSS reader and mobile devices.