http://www.mail.com/subjects/364-government-politics.html Mail.com - the best personalized free web-based Email en en http://sec-s.uicdn.com/mail.com/2.23/img/mailcom_logo_rss.png http://www.mail.com/subjects/364-government-politics.html http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1862168-obama-offers-faith-groups-birth-control-rule.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a wave of lawsuits over what government can tell religious groups to do, the Obama administration is proposing a compromise for faith-based nonprofits that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans. Some of the lawsuits appear headed for the Supreme Court, threatening another divisive legal battle over Presid... Sat, 02 Feb 2013 07:23:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1862168-obama-offers-faith-groups-birth-control-rule.html 2013-02-02T07:23:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862708-dramatists-liken-venezuela-saga-to-telenovela.html CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A president who vanishes for weeks in a mysterious battle with cancer. Supporters who chant their allegiance in the streets. And in the midst of it all, an announcement by the government that it detected a plot to kill his chosen successor. The long and at times surreal saga surrounding the illness of President Hugo Chavez has ma... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:59:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862708-dramatists-liken-venezuela-saga-to-telenovela.html 2013-02-01T21:59:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861188-clinton-out-kerry-secretary.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton formally resigned Friday as America's secretary of state, capping a four-year tenure that saw her shatter records for the number of countries visited. John Kerry was sworn in to replace her. In a letter sent to President Barack Obama shortly before she left the State Department for the last time in her official cap... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:26:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861188-clinton-out-kerry-secretary.html 2013-02-01T21:26:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1862506-scott-brown-wont-seek-kerrys-senate-seat.html BOSTON (AP) — Former Sen. Scott Brown said Friday he would not run in a special Senate election in Massachusetts, dealing a setback to Republican hopes of winning the seat being vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry. Brown, who electrified his party with an upset win in a 2010 special election but lost his re-election bid in November, ended weeks of in... Sat, 02 Feb 2013 03:58:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1862506-scott-brown-wont-seek-kerrys-senate-seat.html 2013-02-02T03:58:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1862032-healthier-schools-goodbye-candy-greasy-snacks.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Goodbye candy bars and sugary cookies. Hello baked chips and diet sodas. The government for the first time is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful, a change that would ban the sale of almost all candy, high-calorie sports drinks and greasy foods on campus. Under new r... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:27:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/1862032-healthier-schools-goodbye-candy-greasy-snacks.html 2013-02-01T21:27:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861522-palace-egypt-protesters-police-clash.html CAIRO (AP) — Protesters denouncing Egypt's Islamist president hurled stones and firebombs through the gates of his palace gates on Friday, clashing with security forces who fired tear gas and water cannons, as more than a week of political violence came to Mohammed Morsi's symbolic doorstep for the first time. The streets outside the presidential palace w... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:31:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861522-palace-egypt-protesters-police-clash.html 2013-02-01T22:31:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861042-33-die-mexico-oil-company-office-building-blast.html MEXICO CITY (AP) — A blast that collapsed the lower floors of a building in the headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company, crushing at least 33 people beneath tons of rubble and injuring 121, is being looked at as an accident although all lines of investigation remain open, the head of Petroleos Mexicanos said Friday. As hundreds of emergency worke... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:28:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861042-33-die-mexico-oil-company-office-building-blast.html 2013-02-01T23:28:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862552-film-blocked-italy-election-campaign.html ROME (AP) — Producers of a documentary that takes a sharply critical view of the political, economic and social trends in Italy in recent decades are protesting they are victims of censorship after the culture ministry blocked the film's Italian debut during the run-up to elections. "Girlfriend in a Coma" is billed as a documentary on "the decline" of Ita... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:28:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862552-film-blocked-italy-election-campaign.html 2013-02-01T19:28:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861488-suicide-bomber-kills-guard-us-embassy-turkey.html ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — In the second deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic post in five months, a suicide bomber struck the American Embassy in Ankara on Friday, killing a Turkish security guard in what the White House described as a terrorist attack. Washington immediately warned Americans to stay away from all U.S. diplomatic facilities in Turkey and to be... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:24:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861488-suicide-bomber-kills-guard-us-embassy-turkey.html 2013-02-01T19:24:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/us/1862142-authorities-release-photo-accused-ala-abductor.html MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) — After four anxious days, only the slimmest of details has come to light in a police standoff with an Alabama man who is accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in a bunker, a sign of just how delicate the negotiations are. Police have used a ventilation pipe to the underground bunker to talk to the man and deliver the boy med... Sat, 02 Feb 2013 02:12:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1862142-authorities-release-photo-accused-ala-abductor.html 2013-02-02T02:12:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1862762-cuba-us-spar-blame-poor-ties.html HAVANA (AP) — A senior Cuban official sharply criticized U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday for suggesting Cuba was stuck in the past, saying the only anachronistic element of the relationship is Washington's half-century-old economic embargo. Josefina Vidal, the head of the Foreign Ministry's North American affairs division, said Obama was poorly info... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:04:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1862762-cuba-us-spar-blame-poor-ties.html 2013-02-01T19:04:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861288-syrian-rebels-slam-assad-inaction-israeli-raid.html BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition leaders and rebels on Friday slammed President Bashar Assad for not responding to a rare Israeli airstrike near Damascus, calling it proof of his weakness and acquiescence to the Jewish State. The opposition's sharp reaction underlines how those seeking to topple the Syrian leader might be more prepared to tangle with Israe... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:03:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861288-syrian-rebels-slam-assad-inaction-israeli-raid.html 2013-02-01T19:03:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1862736-chicago-takes-leading-role-national-gun-debate.html CHICAGO (AP) — They are counting the dead from gunfire again in Chicago, a city awash in weapons despite having one of the strictest gun-control ordinances in the nation. After a year in which Chicago's death toll surpassed 500, the bloodshed has continued in 2013 at a rate of more than one killing a day. It was the city's deadliest January in more than a... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:33:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1862736-chicago-takes-leading-role-national-gun-debate.html 2013-02-01T20:33:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862752-review-politics-old-style-humor-fiorello.html NEW YORK (AP) — What goes around comes around. It's a key principle in politics, and apparently in musical theater, too. In the 1940s Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia saved the building that would become New York City Center from the wrecking ball. And so in 1994, when the Encores! series began there, it opened with a revival of "Fiorello!," the 1959 musical abou... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:02:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862752-review-politics-old-style-humor-fiorello.html 2013-02-01T19:02:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1828252-priest-sheik-marriage-lebanon.html BEIRUT (AP) — She was an English language tutor with an easy smile and an independent streak. He was a gym receptionist who wanted to better himself. They met for English lessons, swapped views on life and fell in love. Three months ago, a notary married them before their friends and family — but not in the eyes of the Lebanese government. The government ... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:01:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1828252-priest-sheik-marriage-lebanon.html 2013-02-01T19:01:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861220-white-house-hagel-will-win-senate-confirmation.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Friday dismissed criticism of Chuck Hagel's hesitant congressional testimony and insisted that it expects the Senate to confirm him as defense secretary. One day after Hagel was roughed up in a grueling confirmation hearing, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Hagel did a "fine job" and the Obama administration would... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:56:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861220-white-house-hagel-will-win-senate-confirmation.html 2013-02-01T18:56:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/us/1861142-police-chief-sign-fear-slain-attorney.html KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) — Authorities don't know whether a Texas prosecutor who had extensive experience with organized crime feared for his life before he was fatally shot, but they're poring through the cases he handled for leads to his killer, officials said Friday. No arrests have been made since Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was gunned down Thur... Sat, 02 Feb 2013 00:46:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1861142-police-chief-sign-fear-slain-attorney.html 2013-02-02T00:46:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1862654-harkin-campaign-aide-iowa-donor-list.html IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's campaign fundraiser gave Iowa State University a list of possible donors to his namesake research institute, records show, though university officials have promised the powerful Democrat would have no influence over the center. The Harkin Institute of Public Policy would house the papers of the senator, who re... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:10:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1862654-harkin-campaign-aide-iowa-donor-list.html 2013-02-01T20:10:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861444-koch-yorks-feisty-mayor-dies-88.html NEW YORK (AP) — When Ed Koch was mayor, it seemed as if all of New York was being run by a deli counterman. Koch was funny, irritable, opinionated, often rude and prone to yelling. And it worked, for a while at least. With a Bronx-born combination of chutzpah and humor, Koch steered New York back from the brink of financial ruin and infused the city with ... Sat, 02 Feb 2013 00:03:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861444-koch-yorks-feisty-mayor-dies-88.html 2013-02-02T00:03:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/1862624-clinton-formally-resigns-secretary.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton has formally resigned as America's 67th secretary of state, capping a four-year tenure in the office that saw her shatter previous records for countries visited. In a letter sent to President Barack Obama on Friday shortly before she was to leave the State Department for the last time in her official capacity, Clin... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:23:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/1862624-clinton-formally-resigns-secretary.html 2013-02-01T18:23:00Z http://www.mail.com/sports/football/1862532-obama-hoping-close-match-super-bowl.html WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is hoping for a close game in this year's Super Bowl. White House spokesman Jay Carney says the president will watch Sunday's game and expects it to be highly entertaining, even though his beloved Chicago Bears aren't playing. Obama hasn't said who he's rooting for when the 49ers and the Ravens square off. Last yea... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:06:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/sports/football/1862532-obama-hoping-close-match-super-bowl.html 2013-02-01T18:06:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1862528-oil-bottleneck-rockies-cheaper-gasoline.html CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A boom in domestic oil drilling has helped lower U.S. gasoline prices, though the steepest drops have missed California commuters, Midwestern farmers and even New York commodities traders who know all about oil and gasoline pricing. You have to be in the Rocky Mountains to see the lowest prices — ideally in Casper, the Wyoming city o... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:35:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1862528-oil-bottleneck-rockies-cheaper-gasoline.html 2013-02-01T17:35:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862536-what-school-foods-what-foods.html The Agriculture Department is proposing new nutritional rules that would apply to most all foods sold in schools. The rule would apply to "a la carte" lines in school cafeterias, vending machines, snack bars and any other food sold regularly on campus. It wouldn't apply to fundraisers, after-school concession stands, class parties or foods brought from home. Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:13:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862536-what-school-foods-what-foods.html 2013-02-01T22:13:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1861730-apnewsbreak-feds-warming-imperils-wolverines.html BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The tenacious wolverine, a snow-loving carnivore sometimes called the "mountain devil," could soon join the list of species threatened by climate change — a dubious distinction putting it in the ranks of the polar bear and several other animals the government says will lose crucial habitat as temperatures rise. Federal wildlife offi... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:32:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1861730-apnewsbreak-feds-warming-imperils-wolverines.html 2013-02-01T22:32:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861250-marine-survey-lists-concerns-women-combat.html SAN DIEGO (AP) — Male Marines listed being falsely accused of sexual harassment or assault as a top concern in a survey about moving women into combat jobs, and thousands indicated the change could prompt them to leave the service altogether. The anonymous online questionnaire by the Marine Corps surveyed 53,000 troops last summer, with the results provid... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:21:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1861250-marine-survey-lists-concerns-women-combat.html 2013-02-01T23:21:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861756-milan-court-convicts-3-americans-cia-kidnapping.html MILAN (AP) — A Milan appeals court on Friday vacated acquittals for a former CIA station chief and two other Americans, and instead convicted them in the 2003 abduction of an Egyptian terror suspect from a Milan street as part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. The decision means that all 26 Americans tried in absentia for the abduction now hav... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:07:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/1861756-milan-court-convicts-3-americans-cia-kidnapping.html 2013-02-01T17:07:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1861702-report-us-job-market-surprisingly-strong.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. job market is proving surprisingly strong and raising hopes that the economy will be resilient enough this year to withstand a budget standoff in Washington and potentially deep cuts in federal spending. Employers added 157,000 jobs last month, and hiring turned out to be healthier than previously thought at the end of 2012 just... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:15:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1861702-report-us-job-market-surprisingly-strong.html 2013-02-01T23:15:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862450-nbc-news-president-steve-capus-stepping.html NEW YORK (AP) — NBC News President Steve Capus, who presided over years of strong ratings at the news division and expanded digital offerings but was hurt by the downfall of the "Today" show, said Friday that he was resigning. The Philadelphia-area native joined NBC News 20 years ago and produced various newscasts for Brian Williams before being appointed... Sat, 02 Feb 2013 01:17:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1862450-nbc-news-president-steve-capus-stepping.html 2013-02-02T01:17:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/1862254-russian-wwii-vet-recalls-battle-stalingrad.html MOSCOW (AP) — The Soviet soldiers used their own bodies as shields, covering women and children escaping on ferry boats from a Nazi bombardment that killed 40,000 civilians in a single day. It was the height of the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II. "They were all hit in the back," said 90-year-old Alexei Stefanov. "But ... Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:36:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/1862254-russian-wwii-vet-recalls-battle-stalingrad.html 2013-02-01T16:36:00Z