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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: US government

US government stories: 18 news summaries

 Race for Better Light Bulb 
 Heats Up 

Philips bids for US government's $10M 'L Prize'

Sep 25, 09 10:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dutch electronics giant Philips has created an LED light bulb that, if it lives up to its billing, could claim the US government’s coveted “L Prize.” More important, the new bulb could inherit the 60-watt bulb’s throne. The Energy Department is offering $10 million—and a... More »

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compact fluorescent bulbs • electronics • Netherlands • light bulb • US government • Philips • LEDs • fluorescent light bulbs • low-energy light bulbs • Energy Dept.

(Newser) - Government agencies have been warned not to hold meetings in cities employees might actually enjoy visiting, the Wall Street Journal reports. Places like Reno, Orlando, and Las Vegas are all considered untouchable. “We do have guidance that says avoid locations … that give the appearance of being lavish,”... More »

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Las Vegas • US government • Orlando • Reno • business travelers

(Newser) - North Korean hackers have been fingered for the July 4 cyberattack that took down the websites of the Treasury, Secret Service, and other US government agencies, reports the AP. Another cyberattack hit sites in South Korea, including the president's website, and intelligence officials there said today that the North was... More »

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North Korea • South Korea • cyberwarfare • cyberattack • hacker • US government • website • denial of service attack

(AP) - Warren Buffett said today the US government is taking the correct actions to help the economy recover. "The government is doing the right things," Buffett said before the opening of Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. "They're acting in a countercyclical manner." But he said he can't... More »

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Warren Buffett • shareholders • recession • US government • Berkshire Hathaway • Oracle of Omaha • Obama administration

OPINION

Conservatives Must 'Obstruct and Delay' Obama: Kristol

GOP can check rush toward big government

Feb 26, 09 11:57 AM CST
(Newser) - The “day of reckoning” has come for Republicans, writes William Kristol in the Washington Post. On Tuesday, President Obama delivered “the most unabashedly liberal and big-government speech” since Lyndon Johnson, and seems poised to undo the whole Reagan agenda. “Conservatives can’t win politically right now,”... More »

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Barack Obama • Lyndon Johnson • conservative • US government • FDR • President Obama • conservative movement • William Kristol • Republicans

US Choice:
Put Money
in Startups
or Big Three

Tesla needs aid for new electric sedan

Jan 17, 09 1:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Small upstart Tesla wants to build on the success of its bold electric sports car—the pricey Roadster—by building a tamer sedan for the masses. But to do so, it needs a big infusion of cash from the Obama administration, which is looking to boost clean energy. The situation,... More »

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DaimlerChrysler • Ford • green energy • US government • electric cars • Chevrolet Volt • Tesla Motors • cars

Obama Names New 'Chief Performance Officer'

Picks a consultant to be budget watchdog

Jan 7, 09 9:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Warning that the nation faces “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come” even if the economy begins to recover soon, Barack Obama said today he will create a “chief performance officer” position to ensure "efficiency, transparency, and accountability" in the budget process, and he named Nancy Killefer to... More »

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Barack Obama • US government • budget deficit • President Obama

Poll: Americans Back Economic Intervention

A growing majority blames financial crisis on deregulation

Dec 11, 08 6:14 AM CST
(Newser) - A clear majority of Americans approve of Washington taking firm steps to intervene in the nation's struggling economy, a Los Angeles Times poll finds. Two-thirds favor tighter restrictions on financial institutions and 60% back help for homeowners facing foreclosure. A huge 87% blamed deregulation for the economic crisis—up 25% ... More »

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foreclosure • US government • US economy • financial institutions • free markets • bailout • deregulation • financial crisis

(Newser) - Federal aid may be on the way to facilitate a GM-Chrysler merger, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Department of Energy aims to loan General Motors $5 billion so the merged company can afford layoffs, plant closings, and other integration costs. It could also help GM drum up more investment... More »

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Chrysler • General Motors • merger • US government • loan

OPINION

Conservatives Are Right: Government Doesn't Work ...

... Especially when conservatives run it

Oct 8, 08 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Conservatives believe that government doesn’t work. They may be on to something, because "our conservative Republican government has bungled most of the big tasks that have fallen to it," writes Thomas Frank in the Wall Street Journal. Yet the GOP candidates tell us "the only answer"... More »

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conservative • US government • Election 2008 • bailout • Sarah Palin

Nuke Blunder Last Straw for Booted Air Force Brass

Secretary Wynne, chief of staff Moseley long at odds with Pentagon

Jun 5, 08 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Secretary of the Air Force and the service's chief of staff were forced to resign today on the heels of a report highly critical of the handling of nuclear weapons and technology, the Air Force Times reports. More »

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nuclear weapons • US government • US Air Force • nuclear arsenal • bureaucratic blunders • B-52s • T. Michael Moseley • Michael W. Wynne • ouster

US Imports its Drug-Sniffing Dogs for $4,500 Each

American breeders outraged over European preference

May 23, 08 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US government purchases hundreds of untrained bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs from Europe every year for as much as $4,535 each, quadruple the price of American dogs, a new federal report says. Domestic breeders and spending watchdogs are angered by the government's penchant for expensive foreign purebreds. "What... More »

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homeland security • US government • spending • dog • bomb-sniffing dogs • dog breeders • canines

US Plans to Widen DNA Database

Will take samples from illegal immigrants, felony arrestees

Apr 16, 08 9:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US plans to significantly widen its law-enforcement database by taking DNA samples from illegal immigrants picked up by federal authorities and from all people arrested for federal offenses, the Washington Post reports. The feds currently collect genetic information only from those convicted of federal crimes. The expanded policy follows... More »

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FBI • crime • DNA • ACLU • felony • US government • arrest • illegal immigration • DNA database • civil liberties • DNA evidence

35.5 Million Americans Going Hungry

Rising costs, stagnant wages threaten even worse news next year

Nov 15, 07 1:50 AM CST
(Newser) - US programs failed to make a dent in the number of Americans going hungry last year, and activists warned that rising costs and stagnant wages threaten to increase the army of citizens struggling to put food on the table. Nearly 13 percent of households—35.5 million Americans, with 12.... More »

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food • FDA • hunger • hunger alleviation • US government • food banks

Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback

Emissions concerns, government incentives may spur new growth

Oct 8, 07 9:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - As natural gas prices fluctuate, concern over greenhouse gas emissions mounts, and demand for electricity increases, nuclear power may be making a comeback. Although no new plant has been completed since 1996, the NRC expects applications for as many as 32 new reactors in the next 2 years. The Washington ... More »

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energy • nuclear power • US government • uranium • clean energy

Mortgage Mess Was 100% Avoidable

Lax oversight has huge cost, American Prospect editor writes

Aug 29, 07 7:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Blame for the current economic disaster should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the US government, for deregulation that allowed speculators to cash in, writes the American Prospect’s Robert Kuttner. Helping boost "ordinary people" into the "propertied class" has fallen out of favor in Washington, with... More »

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subprime mortgages • Ronald Reagan • US government • US economy • Franklin D. Roosevelt • mortgage lender

Injured Veterans Sue US

Class action suit targets VA for 'shameful failures' in treatment

Jul 24, 07 4:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two veterans groups representing troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the US government for "shameful failures" in medical treatment, Reuters reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs is swamped with a backlog of 600,000 health claims and is "abandoning" soldiers returning home, the class-action... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • veterans • veterans' health care • lawsuit • Department of Veterans Affairs • army hospitals • US government • US Army • soldier • medical treatment • Iraq veterans • Iraq war

Miss USA Serves Her Country

Mexico City crowd's negative reaction meant for Washington, not beauty queen

May 30, 07 11:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - The boos that rained down on Miss USA during the Miss Universe pageant weren't meant for her—the Mexico City crowd was venting its frustration with the US government, organizers and observers say. Rachel Smith didn't help her case by falling sash-over-teakettle during the evening gown competition, but the spectators... More »

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immigration • Mexico City • Miss Universe • Miss USA • Rachel Smith • US government

18 Stories


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