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NEWS ABOUT: Claire McCaskill

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Arlington Cemetery Missing $12M

Senator Claire McCaskill faults 'gross incompetence'

(Newser) - Add this to the many , many , many problems of Arlington National Cemetery: About $12 million is missing, reports the Washington Post . Federal auditors say they can't find a trace of the money, allocated between 2004 and 2010. The news emerged at a Senate hearing yesterday, and Claire McCaskill has... More »

Lawmakers Ignore Earmark Ban

So two lawmakers are out to ban them by law

(Newser) - Remember that informal ban on earmarks lawmakers agreed to last year to great fanfare? Well, they’ve been doing their best to ignore it, the Washington Post reports. Lawmakers have tried to slap hundreds of earmarks on at least 10 bills this summer and fall. While some have insisted their... More »

Congress: US Wasting Billions in War on Drugs

Pair of reports blast counter-narcotics spending in Latin America

(Newser) - The Obama administration has essentially no evidence that the billions spent combating the drug trade in Latin America have done anything to stem the flow of narcotics into the US, according to a pair of scathing new congressional reports. “We are wasting tax dollars and throwing money at a... More »

GOP Files Ethics Complaint on McCaskill

They want investigation into use of tax money for flight

(Newser) - Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is the target of a GOP-filed ethics complaint over her personal plane, Politico reports. McCaskill has acknowledged that she mistakenly used taxpayer money to cover the cost of one purely political trip last year, and she reimbursed the Treasury Department for it last week. Today, Missouri... More »

Rebel Senate Dems Eye Health Care Repeal

Centrists target individual mandate

(Newser) - A group of centrist Senate Democrats is looking into ways to repeal the new health care law's individual mandate—the heart of health care reform, and a key target for Republicans. West Virginia's Joe Manchin and at least three other senators—all from states President Obama lost in 2008 and... More »

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Here to Stay: Graham

Lame duck session will sit on the issue, says senator

(Newser) - The military's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays isn't going away anytime soon, predicts South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. "There is no groundswell of opposition coming from our military. I don’t think there’s anywhere near the votes to repeal DADT on the Republican side,... More »

McCain: Time for Regime Change in Korea

Plus, pols debate the fate of DADT, START, and more

(Newser) - North Korea is beating its war drum, and John McCain wants to beat them over the head with it: "It's time we talked about regime change in North Korea—and I do not mean military action—but I do believe that this is a very unstable regime," the... More »

John McCain Is Congress's Twitter King

Arizona senator's following 46 times greater than nearest rival

(Newser) - John McCain is leading the charge of tweeting lawmakers, with 46 times more Twitter followers—a cool 1.7 million —than his nearest competitor, Missouri Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill. McCain’s popularity also illustrates Republicans’ quick embrace of the social network; twice as many of them tweet, compared to... More »

Bunning Hijacks Senate With Jobless Filibuster

'I'm trying to make a point to the people of the United States'

(Newser) - Jim Bunning held the Senate hostage last night, filibustering a move to extend federal unemployment benefits, which will otherwise expire on Sunday, for 30 days. The clash lasted until just before midnight, with Bunning complaining that Democrats had forced him to miss the Kentucky-South Carolina basketball game. But “I'll... More »

Tobacco, Oil, Bank Lobbyists Crowd Dem Senators' Retreat

Miami guest list doesn't quite jibe with anti-'fat cat' rhetoric

(Newser) - Lobbyists for some of the industries most often blasted by Democrats—oil, big tobacco, banks—made up a good chunk of the guest list at a Miami retreat featuring a dozen Senate Democrats. A $30,000 contribution to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is typical, reports Politico , which scored a... More »

Obama Loves Brainy Women

And unlike Bill, he's not looking over their shoulders for bimbos

(Newser) - Unlike the Clinton White House, which courted Hollywood, Obama hasn't had movie stars in the Lincoln bedroom—he's the star, Maureen Dowd says in a chat with movie columnist Patrick Goldstein. Dowd says Obama reminds her of a gorgeous actress who insists on being taken seriously for her brains, not... More »

WH Terror Counsel: 'System Didn't Work'

Napolitano's comment haunts your Sunday dial this week, too

(Newser) - Forget Janet Napolitano, the system that let a would-be Nigerian suicide bomber aboard a Detroit-bound flight didn't work, White House Counterterrorism Adviser John Brennan told State of the Union today—though "every other day the system has worked this year." "There was no smoking gun. There was... More »

Senate Sends Obama $1.1T Spending Bill

3 Republicans vote yea, 3 Dems vote nay

(Newser) - Working on a second consecutive weekend, the Senate passed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill today, with the support of three Republicans but the opposition of three Democrats. The measure has already cleared the House and now advances to President Obama, who is expected to sign it. With pressing... More »

Wilson: 'I Am Not Going to Apologize Again'

Gibbs denies Obama opposition motivated by race

(Newser) - Responding to threats by Democrats demanding he apologize to President Obama on the House floor, Rep. Joe Wilson was adamant today: “I am not going to apologize again.” The South Carolina Republican told Fox News Sunday, “I apologized to the president on Wednesday night. I believe that... More »

McCain Tops 1M Twitter Followers

(Newser) - Sen. John McCain, often ridiculed during last year’s campaign after admitting he was a tech “illiterate,” has passed 1 million followers on Twitter, USA Today reports. “Not too bad for an old guy,” the Republican, 72, said in a statement released by his office. He’... More »

Tracking Washington's Twitterati

Rove, McCaskill, others make microblogging look useful

(Newser) - To the unconverted, Twitter seems about as useful as a Snuggie, writes Patrick Gavin in Politico, but some DC movers and shakers are making the microblogging site work for them. Here’s his top 10:
  1. Karl Rove: More than 11,000 have signed up for quick glimpses into Bush’
... More »

After Obama, Which Minority's On Deck?

If Barack can do it, anyone can—except Muslims, gays, atheists ...

(Newser) - A self-described “black man with a funny name” is now the most powerful person on the planet. So which minority group will next see one of its own in the Oval Office? Mark Oppenheimer considers the contenders in Slate:
  • Women: Not technically a minority, which means that if “
... More »

Dean Will Step Down as DNC Chairman

Obama ally likely to take Democratic party leadership

(Newser) - Howard Dean will step down as chairman of the Democratic National Committee at the end of his term in January, the Huffington Post reports. Although the success of Dean’s “50-state strategy” fueled speculation that he would stay on, the post is likely to go to an Obama insider... More »

On Talk Shows, Dems Slam Palin

As negative coverage of VP nom grows, Democrats go negative on Sunday shows

(Newser) - Smelling blood, Democrats —with help from a surprise Republican —continued to rail on Sarah Palin on the Sunday talk shows, accusing the Republican VP pick of stretching the truth about her experience, Politico reports. The highlights:
  • “She doesn’t know anything, and she is not ready to
... More »

In Senate, Pranks Mix With Politics

Democrats Nelson, McCaskill channel Ashton Kutcher

(Newser) - The prank war started when Ben Nelson took advantage of Claire McCaskill's inexperience and got his fellow Democrat even more nervous about her 2007 Senate swearing-in than she already was. The action since then has been sporadic but inventive. McClatchy returns from Capitol Hill with tales of the lawmakers' dueling... More »

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