There are two claims in this report that should give everyone a clue where the “wolf recovery” project in Washington State is headed: 1.  Last year, the department estimated 51 to 101 wolves were in the state. This year, the minimum increased to 52, based on the number of wolves seen by department staff. “I do believe the number is […]

1. Senators strike a deal on renewing jobless benefits Senate negotiators announced on Thursday that they had reached a bipartisan deal to restore emergency long-term unemployment benefits to more than two million Americans. The bill would provide benefits through May, with retroactive payments to those whose coverage lapsed in December. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said the House would consider […]

Written by  Dave Bohon One of the largest congregations in the beleaguered Presbyterian Church USA has voted to leave the denomination over doctrinal issues and the church’s philosophy of evangelistic outreach. Over 90 percent of the 4,000-member Menlo Park Presbyterian Church near San Francisco voted to sever ties with the denomination, even though the move will cost the church $8.89 […]

By Amanda Becker and Carlyn Kolker (Reuters) – If the Obama administration follows through on overtime pay reforms, businesses will have to realign payroll policies for millions of salaried workers and a flurry of lawsuits could follow asking courts to clarify the new standards. Legal battles over overtime pay are already common. Workers often sue for unpaid wages, claiming they […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The leaders of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s new legislative framework to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not determine whether their investors can share in the companies’ renewed profitability, the panel’s top Republican said on Thursday in a televised interview. Private shareholders, including Perry Capital and Fairholme Capital Management, had sued the government over […]

By STEVE PEOPLES BOSTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is exploring a U.S. Senate bid in New Hampshire as high-profile Republicans from across the country gather in the state with an eye on the 2016 presidential contest. Friday marks the first day of the two-day Northeast Republican Leadership Conference, which features prospective presidential candidates and other GOP heavyweights […]

A Gift for a Vote WASHINGTON (AP) — Chalk up one partisan election-year battle that senators seem likely to resolve when they return from recess later this month — the fight over renewing expired benefits for the long-term unemployed. Bipartisan Senate negotiators said Thursday that they’d struck a $9.7 billion compromise over the issue, agreeing to a five-month extension paid […]

By PHILIP ELLIOTT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is proposing new rules designed to protect students at for-profit colleges from amassing huge debt they can’t pay off — and still pass judicial muster after a previous version was thrown out by a federal judge. The proposed regulations would penalize programs that produce graduates without the training needed to find […]

By JOSH LEDERMAN WASHINGTON (AP) — With prospects for real immigration reform fading, President Barack Obama is yielding to pressure from some of his staunchest allies and looking for ways to act without Congress to ease the suffering caused by deportation. An Oval Office meeting with three Latino lawmakers brought about a late-night announcement from the White House on Thursday: […]

Obama to sign bill relieving homeowners from big flood insurance hikes set out in 2012 law By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is set to sign into law a bipartisan bill relieving homeowners living in flood-prone neighborhoods from big increases in their insurance bills. The legislation, which cleared Congress on Thursday, reverses much of a […]

By Scott Bomboy This week, the House of Representatives approved a bill to fast track civil lawsuits filed by Congress against President Barack Obama for allegedly abusing his powers. The bill does raise some interesting constitutional questions, but it also faces steep challenges. Before the constitutional questions, there is the basic political question of how the bill, proposed as the […]

Even though the national Republican Party has officially rejected the Obama administration-pushed Common Core nationalization of education, a handful of GOP figures in Wisconsin are being accused of sabotaging legislation that would have created a panel to review the controversial standards — and potentially kill them. As the national and statewide uprising against the dubious new federally backed education regime […]

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder better warn his agents that soon they could be arrested and jailed if they try to enforce certain federal gun restrictions in the state of Missouri. On March 6, that happy possibility took one step closer to reality when the Missouri House of Representatives General Laws Committee approved a bill to thwart the Obama administration’s […]

After a close battle that featured several late nights, the Oklahoma State House of Representatives has decided not to vote to apply for a constitutional convention (con-con) under the authority of Article V of the Constitution. Put simply, the votes needed to approve the con-con application were not there, and it’s now dead for this year’s legislative session in Oklahoma. […]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An independent commission led by a former U.S. surgeon general has concluded there “is no compelling medical reason” for the U.S. armed forces to prohibit transgender Americans from serving and that President Barack Obama could lift the decades-old ban without approval from Congress, according to a report being released Thursday. The report said Department of Defense […]

Another anti-gun bill mandating (this time) the registration of every firearm in the state of Illinois (plus permission slips to purchase ammunition) was introduced last month by self-proclaimed LGBT activist and progressive Democrat Kelly Cassidy. Representing state district 14, Cassidy’s bill is called simply: “Firearms Registration Act.” Cassidy’s goal is simple: She wants the Illinois State Police to know where every […]

The Obama administration will not delay ObamaCare’s individual mandate or the March 31 deadline for enrolling in the new healthcare law, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday. Sebelius ruled out the changes during testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee, where Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) noted the administration has made dozens of other changes or delays […]

If the U.S. does not sign a bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan by September to allow U.S. troops to stay there after 2014, “an orderly withdrawal” of all U.S. troops would be at risk, said the top U.S. commander there on Wednesday. “The risk of an orderly withdrawal begins to be high in September,” Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, commander of […]

The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday will look to start filling several holes on the Federal Reserve Board as it vets a trio of picks for the central bank. The Fed’s board of governors has seven spots, and three of them are currently vacant thanks to Wednesday’s confirmation of Sarah Bloom Raskin to join the Treasury Department. At the top of […]

by Catherine Briggs  / LifeSiteNews.com SEATTLE, WA, March 12, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The former vice principal of Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Washington, is suing the Archdiocese of Seattle and the school for wrongful termination and discrimination after he was reportedly forced to resign as a result of his same-sex “marriage.” Mark Zmuda, who had been at the school […]