Caroline, Schmaroline: Pick Me Instead

Xi Jinping, China's next president, to meet with Obama

(NEWSER) - The man slated to be China's next president began his US tour today, meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office before having lunch with Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Biden will serve as Xi Jinping's host in Washington, the New York Times reports. Other stops on the agenda: a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, and a high-level trip to the Pentagon, where he'll get an honor guard salute and meet with Leon Panetta and the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey. More»

She rejects comparisons to Libya as 'false analogy'

(AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the Security Council today that UN action to end the violence in Syria would be different from the NATO-led efforts in Libya that resulted in the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi. "I know that some members here may be concerned that the Security Council is headed toward another Libya," she said. "That is a false analogy." Her remarks were apparently directed at Russia, which says it worries that a draft measure aimed at Syria, currently before the council, could lead to military action and regime change. More»

Investigates possible ties between teens in Le Roy, NY, and chemical spill

(NEWSER) - A handful of teens at a New York state high school are suffering from a mysterious illness—and Erin Brockovich is on the case. Some 15 Le Roy teens, mostly girls, have displayed facial and verbal tics, including sudden outbursts, USA Today reports; the environmental activist is investigating a possible link to a 1970 chemical spill in the area. That year, a derailed train dropped a ton of cyanide and 35,000 gallons of industrial chemical trichloroethene. More»

She reiterates she doesn't want second term at State

(NEWSER) - Doesn't sound like Hillary Clinton is having second thoughts about stepping down as secretary of state if President Obama wins a second term. “I’ve made it clear that I will certainly stay on until the president nominates someone and that transition can occur,” she told State Department staffers today, according to Bloomberg . "But I think after 20 years, and it will be 20 years, of being on the high wire of American politics and all of the challenges that come with that, it would be probably a good idea to just find out how tired I am." More»

Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell top the list

(NEWSER) - Who are the real power brokers in Washington? GQ names the top 50 in its biennial list of the most powerful people in DC—although, the magazine notes, "People with the last names Obama and Biden not included." The top five:

• Eric Cantor: The House majority leader is definitely the Democrats' least favorite Republican; you can thank him for Washington's hyper-partisanship and inability to compromise. GQ notes that he is widely expected to follow—or even push aside—John Boehner as speaker of the House.
• Mitch McConnell: "Even Cantor has to go through this guy eventually," thanks to his position as Senate minority leader.