Noontime News Roundup – February 11, 2012
Noontime News is a snapshot of our RSS feeds from the noon (Eastern time) hour.
Obama budget projects $1.3 trillion deficit this year
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama expects the federal budget deficit to reach $1.33 trillion this year, administration officials said Friday evening, the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits.
The deficit already was projected to top $1 trillion when Obama took office in January 2009, as tax revenues dropped because of the Great Recession and spending spiked to bail out banks and auto companies. It eventually reached $1.55 trillion for 2009, followed by $1.37 trillion in fiscal 2010 and $1.36 trillion in fiscal 2011
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U.S. officials: Al Qaida behind Syria bombings
WASHINGTON — The Iraqi branch of al Qaida, seeking to exploit the bloody turmoil in Syria to reassert its potency, carried out two recent bombings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and likely was behind suicide bombings Friday that killed at least 28 people in the largest city, Aleppo, U.S. officials told McClatchy.
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S.C. Sen. DeMint: No compromises with Obama, Democrats
U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint kicked off a three-day gathering of conservative activists Thursday, telling thousands of cheering supporters that the divided Republican presidential contest is good for the party and will produce a stronger nominee to take on President Barack Obama.
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Requirements for consumer health-insurance summaries unveiled
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has unveiled final regulations detailing the new summaries that the 2010 federal health law requires health insurance plans to give to consumers to help them make informed coverage choices.
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Westboro Church Tweets cancel of Tacoma trip for Powell service
Westboro Baptist Church may not be coming for the Powell boys’ service after all. A Tweet sent from leader Fred Phelps Jr’s Twitter account says “Washington trip now cancelled.”
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REPORT: By A Nearly 2 To 1 Margin, Cable Networks Call On Men Over Women To Comment On Birth Control
President Obama’s regulation mandating that health insurance plans offer free birth control is an issue that most directly affects women. And yet, the cable news chatter over this controversy has been driven mostly by men, according to a new ThinkProgress analysis.
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Gov. Scott Walker To Use Foreclosure Settlement Money To Balance His Budget, Not Help Homeowners
Yesterday, 49 states joined the federal government in announcing a $26 billion settlement with five of the nation’s biggest banks over the banks’ foreclosure fraud abuses. The money from the settlement is meant to aid homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure or who find themselves underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth.
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