Politics & Government

Study: Commuting Adversely Affects Political Engagement

12:04pm December 17, 2013

Researchers think an increase in commuting may be partly to blame for widespread political disengagement among many Americans. As stressed-out commuters disengage, they leave the political arena to the most partisan voters.

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Gov. Scott Walker Recounts First-Term Battles In New Book

12:51pm December 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

The Wisconsin Republican survived a recall effort last year after signing legislation that eliminated collective bargaining rights for most of the state's public employees. He writes about the political battle in Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge.

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Obama Concedes Botched Insurance Website Rollout Cost Time

12:51pm December 12, 2013

by Scott Horsley

The Obama administration is asking for people who've been turned off by the government's problem-plagued insurance website to come back. Officials say the website is working better now, though it's still far from fixed.

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Politics & Government

NC Congressman Mel Watt Confirmed to Lead Federal Housing Regulation Agency.

1:32pm December 11, 2013

by Keri Brown

North Carolina Congressman Mel Watt will lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Senate voted 57-40 on Tuesday to end a Republican filibuster against Representative Watt.

Politics & Government

House, Senate Negotiators Announce Deal To Avert Another Shutdown

12:30pm December 11, 2013

by Tamara Keith

House and Senate negotiators said late Thursday that they reached a budget deal. The agreement would restore some of the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, and includes some relatively small deficit reduction over the next two years. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., hammered out the deal, which they characterized as a step in the right direction that would avoid another government shutdown in mid-January if both the House and Senate approve the budget.

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Protesters gather outside ALEC headquarters in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 2012, to protest stand-your-ground laws in the wake of the Trayvon Martin killing.

How ALEC Serves As A 'Dating Service' For Politicians And Corporations

12:07pm December 11, 2013

Leaked internal documents reveal new insights into the goals and finances of the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC brings together state legislators and representatives of corporations to develop model bills that lawmakers try to pass in their state legislatures.

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Politics & Government

Greensboro Councilman Aims for a U.S. Congressional Seat

11:17am December 11, 2013

Greensboro councilman Zack Matheny is running for North Carolina's 6th District seat.

Inside these cylinders lies uranium that was once part of a Soviet nuclear weapon. Today it's being used in the US as fuel for commercial nuclear reactors.

Megatons To Megawatts: Russian Warheads Fuel U.S. Power Plants

10:10am December 11, 2013

by Geoff Brumfiel

Once the Cold War ended, much of Russia's surplus uranium from thousands of decommissioned weapons wound up in crumbling military facilities. In 1993, the U.S. Department of Energy made a deal to have the material converted to fuel for U.S. power plants. The last shipment arrives today.

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Sen. Murray On Budget Deal: A 'Compromise' With 'Smarter Cuts'

10:10am December 11, 2013

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan announced a bipartisan budget proposal Tuesday. For more details on the plan, Steve Inskeep speaks with Murray, who led her party in the negotiations.

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Congress Tries To Craft Budget Deal Before Holiday Break

10:45am December 10, 2013

by Tamara Keith

The Senate is back from vacation and trying to get a budget deal completed. The House plans to leave town for the year at the end of the week, which means the heat is on to settle on spending levels for 2014 and 2015. Democrats would also like to insert money for extended unemployment benefits, which expire at the end of December. If nothing else, negotiators want to agree on a "topline" spending amount to avoid another government shutdown when the current stopgap spending measure expires Jan. 15.

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