Rep. Waxman Hospitalized

In climate change debate, Shimkus points to God's promise to Noah

(NEWSER) - A leading contender to chair the House Energy Committee has plucked his position on climate change straight from the pages of Genesis. People shouldn't worry about the planet being destroyed, Rep. John Shimkus testified last year, because God promised Noah after the flood that he wouldn't destroy the planet again. "As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease," the Illinois Republican said confidently, quoting Chapter 8, Verse 22 of Genesis. More»

Rhode Island Congressman blasts media for Afghanistan Coverage

(NEWSER) - Patrick Kennedy blasted the media on the floor of the House this afternoon, calling the focus on the likes of Eric Massa rather than the war in Afghanistan "despicable." The lame-duck Rhode Island Democrat was speaking—and eventually shouting—in favor of a Dennis Kucinich-sponsored resolution requiring President Obama to pull American troops out of Afghanistan. More»

President's miscalculations include scale, momentum

(NEWSER) - Scott Brown’s Senate victory in Massachusetts is the final nail in the coffin of the Obama administration’s first-year political strategy, John F. Harris and Carol E. Lee write for Politico . The miscalculations cover “three major counts":

• Believing 2008 was a game-changer: The Obama team thought the "election represented something seismic." But "the assumption that Obama would be swimming mostly with the current rather than often against it on issues such as health care, financial regulation and global warming was naive in retrospect."

President joins 110 world leaders in bid to end 'crisis'

(NEWSER) - President Obama arrived in Copenhagen this morning for the final day of the UN climate change conference as diplomats scrambled to salvage an agreement from the talks. A political agreement drawn up overnight by a group of countries was rejected this morning. The clashes between Western and developing nations that have overshadowed the two-week summit are still unresolved, say frustrated participants. French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared after meeting with Obama this morning that China was holding up progress in negotiations. More»

President rallies Democrats as House debates bill

(NEWSER) - President Obama rallied the Democratic troops today and told the nation that "this is our moment to deliver" on health care reform. In a brief Rose Garden address that took place as the House debated its long-awaited bill, Obama again stressed the need for reform and urged lawmakers to "answer the call of history." Representatives are expected to vote on the final measure sometime today, and Nancy Pelosi sounds confident, notes Politico . More»