Tracking Your Taxes: Defense Bill Pays for Prostate Screenings, Sprinkler System

Just last week, Obama broke a promise to veto pork-barrel bills as he signed into law the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill — a $636 billion behemoth loaded with $4.2 billion dollars of pork.

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U.S. Imposing New Duties on Chinese Steel Imports

The U.S. government is imposing new duties on imports of steel pipes from China, the latest sign of trade tensions between the two countries. 

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Fingerpointing Begins in Aftermath of Failed Terror Attack

Intelligence and diplomatic officials have crouched into defense mode in the wake of the failed Christmas Day terror attack, as lawmakers start to point fingers and the administration bellows that the president demands “accountability.” 

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Government Moves Toward New Aid for Auto Finance Firm GMAC, Source Says

The government was moving ahead Wednesday on a fresh multibillion dollar cash infusion to stabilize auto financing company GMAC Financial Services, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. 

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RAW DATA: Former Gitmo Detainees Who Returned to Terrorism

The following is a partial list, based on information made public by the Pentagon, of former Guantanamo detainees thought to have returned to the battlefield.

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Administration Rejects Calls to Reconsider Guantanamo Closure Plan

The Obama administration is pushing back against calls to halt or delay closing the Guantanamo Bay prison in light of the failed Christmas Day terror attack, suggesting that shutting down the prison will undermine terrorist recruitment in the very network that claimed responsibility for last week’s plot. 

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U.S. Knew of Airline Terror Plot Before Christmas

The U.S. government had intelligence from Yemen before Christmas that leaders of a branch of Al Qaeda there were talking about “a Nigerian” being prepared for a terrorist attack.

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Obama Rethinks Protection of U.S. Secrets

Move by the president is expected to declassify more than 400 million pages of Cold War-era documents and curb the number of government records hidden from the public.

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Terror Plot Provides Snapshot of Struggle Between Security, Privacy

The attempted attack on a Detroit-bound flight last week, along with the events preceding and following it, has provided a snapshot of the ongoing struggle to balance civil liberties and national security. 

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GOP California Congressman Radanovich Will Retire Next Year

Democrats hope to make some gains in California next year by targeting congressional districts won by President Barack Obama in 2008, but the 19th Congressional District in the state’s Central Valley, was not part of that effort.

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