WASHINGTON (AP) — Racing the clock, the Senate’s Democratic and Republican leaders closed in on a deal Monday night to avoid an economy-menacing Treasury default and end the two-week partial government shutdown. “We’ve made tremendous progress,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared after an intense day of negotiations with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and […]
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G-20 finance officials express urgent need for U.S. to resolve its budget stalemate
WASHINGTON (AP) — World finance officials said Friday the United States needs to take urgent action to address its budget problems that are creating economic uncertainties for the global economy. Finance ministers and central bank leaders for the Group of 20 major economies wrapped up two days of discussions in Washington with a joint statement […]
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DHHS lays off 56 employees, closes disability benefits office because of federal government shutdown
AUGUSTA — All employees at a disability services office in Winthrop and four more in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services were laid off Monday as a result of the federal government shutdown, Gov. Paul LePage announced Monday evening. The 52 employees at the DHHS Disability Determination Office in Winthrop make Social Security […]
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Boehner to Obama: No debt hike without concessions
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States moved closer to the possibility of the first-ever default on the government’s debt Sunday as Speaker John Boehner adamantly ruled out a House vote on a straightforward bill to boost the borrowing authority without concessions from President Barack Obama. With no resolution in sight, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned […]
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Congress likely to give shutdown workers back pay
WASHINGTON (AP) — A partial government shutdown enters its fifth day, with Congress convening for a session that promises no progress in breaking the impasse but will at least offer back pay to furloughed federal workers. The GOP House is scheduled Saturday to vote on legislation backed by the White House and congressional Democrats that […]
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Key powers reach agreement on UN resolution on eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The five permanent members of the deeply divided U.N. Security Council reached agreement Thursday on a resolution to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, a major step in taking the most controversial weapon off the battlefield of the world’s deadliest current conflict. Senior U.S., Russian, British and French diplomats confirmed the agreement, which […]
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Obama moves to limit power-plant carbon pollution
WASHINGTON (AP) — Linking global warming to public health, disease and extreme weather, the Obama administration pressed ahead Friday with tough requirements to limit carbon pollution from new power plants, despite protests from industry and Republicans that it would dim coal’s future. The proposal, which would set the first national limits on heat-trapping pollution from […]
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Obama nominates Maine justice to federal bench
PORTLAND (AP) — President Barack Obama has nominated Maine supreme court justice Jon Levy to serve on the federal bench. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree praised the White House announcement of Levy to fill a vacancy created when U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal took senior status on July 31st. Michaud and Pingree, along […]
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Summers withdraws name from Fed consideration
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawrence Summers, who was considered the leading candidate to succeed Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman, has withdrawn from consideration, the White House said Sunday. Summers’ withdrawal followed growing resistance from critics, including some members of the Senate committee that would need to back his nomination. His exit could open the door […]
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Syria chemical weapons deal negotiated by U.S., Russia could swing momentum toward ending war
GENEVA (AP) — A diplomatic breakthrough Saturday on securing and destroying Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile averted the threat of U.S. military action for the moment and could swing momentum toward ending a horrific civil war. Marathon negotiations between U.S. and Russian diplomats at a Geneva hotel produced a sweeping agreement that will require one of […]