The Washington Times

Blacks Help Push Maryland Toward Gay Marriage

The nation's changing views on same-sex marriage and new support from black leaders could put Maryland on track toward becoming the first state to cast a public vote in favor of gay marriage, according to a poll released Thursday. The survey from liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling showed 57 percent of Maryland voters would vote for gay marriage if it is put to referendum this fall and just 37 percent would vote against it - a stark departure from past polls by the firm and other groups tha...

Europe's Economic Woes Out of Sight for U.S. Consumers

The Old World's worries are not necessarily bad news for the New World's economy - at least in the short term. While a total economic and financial meltdown in Europe would pose trouble for the U.S., right now Americans are getting a big lift as the European debt crisis relieves pressure on global oil prices and drives interest rates to record lows.

In Twist, Romney Camp Plays Clinton Card Against Obama

An unlikely battle for Bubba's legacy has broken out in the presidential race, with GOP candidate Mitt Romney praising Bill Clinton's presidency as a bank-shot way to argue that President Obama has "discarded" his Democratic predecessor's wisdom about the end of big government. Prominent Republicans from the time may remember things differently, but Mr. Romney's praise of the last Democratic president could appeal to independent voters who remember the prosperity and budget surpluses of the l...

Key Figure in Lavish Las Vegas Junket Exits Gsa ; Neely Headed Agency Region

Jeffrey Neely, the central figure in a lavish taxpayer-funded Las Vegas convention that saw magic acts and federal workers sipping martinis on a red carpet, has left the General Services Administration (GSA). The departure comes as scrutiny on the 2010 conference intensifies and weeks after Mr. Neely, a GSA regional commissioner, refused to testify before Congress, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Senate Wants Patients to Buy American ; Opposition to Drugs From Canada Widens

No, Canada. More than a decade after the first skirmishes over allowing American consumers to buy cheaper prescription drugs from the Great White North, the issue is still a loser - and by wider margins than ever.

U.S. Troops Winning War Against Ieds of Taliban ; Dogs and Devices Sniff Out Top Killer

The U.S. military is on a path toward significantly fewer battlefield deaths in Afghanistan this year because it has become better at detecting the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops: the improvised explosive device (IED). With the 2009 surge forces leaving the country and Afghan troops preparing to take over more of the fighting, U.S. forces are averaging about 23 fatalities each month. That number would bring the death toll to about 276 this year, compared with 317 in 2009, 499 in 2010 and 418 las...

Inside the Beltway

THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE Inquiring minds want to know: When Rolling Thunder roars through the nation's capital this weekend, will President Obama meet with the group's national executive director, Artie Muller, as former President George W. Bush did in years past? If there were a public- opinion poll on it, the majority of respondents likely might agree that the chances are good Mr. Obama would meet Mr. Muller for a cordial few minutes, given that the affable leather-clad leader represents about a...

Number of High-School Students with Jobs at 20-Year Low

Did somebody say McJobless? The American job market is no place for students as the number of employed high schoolers has hit its lowest level in more than 20 years, according to new figures from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Romney Downplays Value of Small Class Size ; Teachers at Campaign Stop, Democrats Challenge Him

Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney's plans for reshaping K-12 education has injected an old debate into the presidential race: Do smaller classroom sizes produce better students? Speaking to teachers and educational leaders of a West Philadelphia charter school on Thursday, the former Massachusetts governor said that his experience has taught him that a good education is not necessarily tied to class size, but rather a school having the right mix of strong teachers, parental involvement and ...

Senate Defeats Bills On Lower Student Loan Rates

The Senate on Thursday blocked President Obama's student loan interest-rate reduction plan and also shot down a GOP proposal, leaving the chamber without a solution and little more than a month to go before rates are scheduled to double. Unless Congress acts, new subsidized student loans will carry an interest rate of 6.8 percent - twice the current 3.4 percent rate - beginning in July.

Government Steps Up Its Mortgage Fraud Probe

The Justice Department has expanded its ongoing effort to uncover the mortgage fraud and abuse that helped precipitate the 2008 financial crisis, offering "substantial financial help" to corporate insiders willing to serve as whistleblowers. The department's Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) working group announced new resources Thursday in an ongoing effort to investigate misconduct, including the launch of a website to report fraud, the creation of a coordination team to facilit...

Justice Will Be 'Flexible' On Rules for Pools ; Case-by-Case Analysis for Installing Ramps

The Justice Department promised Thursday to be "flexible" in enforcing new rules ordering public pools to pay for lifts or ramps for the disabled - backing away from what some pool operators had said was an invitation to a flood of lawsuits against small businesses It marked the latest retreat for the department, which earlier this year ruled the Americans With Disabilities Act applied to pools open to the public, such as community recreation centers and hotels, which would have to invest in ...

Obama Returns to Iowa to Stump ; Urges Congress to Act On Energy

On his second visit in a month to the battleground state of Iowa, President Obama accused congressional Republicans on Thursday of risking a slowdown in the economic recovery. Mr. Obama toured a plant in Newton, Iowa, that manufactures blades for wind turbines and called on lawmakers to extend tax credits for clean-energy companies - part of his multibillion- dollar "to do" list he has promoted in recent weeks.

Stop-Smoking Efforts Don't See Money ; States Spent Only 3% of $243.8 Billion They Received From Tobacco Companies

States have collected billions of dollars from tobacco companies but spent only 3 percent of it to combat smoking - a less-than- robust response to the high costs of health care associated with smoking, a federal report released Thursday says. Of the $243.8 billion in tobacco money received from 1998 to 2010 from a landmark tobacco settlement and excise taxes, states spent only $8.1 billion, or 3.3 percent, on "tobacco control," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its Morbi...

The Corner of Wall & Main: Searching for Light in Tunnel of Gloom

The turbulence that began as we entered the current quarter turned into a relatively steep drop in the first half of May. That continued with the S&P 500 on track to fall 3 percent this week as the key issues over the past few weeks - Greece exiting the eurozone or not; slowing global growth; and rising concern over U.S. debt, spending and the pending fiscal cliff at year's end - remained at the top of the news. The latest readings on the European and Chinese economies from Markit Economics w...

Rights Report Hails Arab Spring, Scolds North Korea, Syria

Human rights conditions remain dismal in North Korea and Iran and got worse in China, where "efforts to silence political activists and public-interest lawyers were stepped up" last year, according the State Department's annual reports on human rights released Thursday. The reports on 199 nations point to human rights progress in Colombia and Myanmar and praise the popular uprisings in the Middle East that led to the ousting of longtime dictators in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

U.S. Efforts On Web Said Frustrating to Al Qaeda ; Sites Hacked to Throw Recruiters Off Message

U.S. efforts to counter al Qaeda recruiting online are bearing fruit, and the terrorist group is urging its members not to believe what they read on the Web, according to the State Department. "We can tell that our efforts are starting to have an impact because we monitor the extremists venting their frustration and asking their supporters not to believe everything they read on the Internet," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a U.S. Special Operations Command conference in Tampa,...

Embassy Row

MIXED MESSAGES The United States is getting tired of mixed messages from North Korea, a U.S. envoy said Thursday, warning the secretive, communist nation against further "provocations" such as its failed rocket launch last month.

Ice Deports Bosnian-Serb Police Officer Charged in Genocide

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deported a former Bosnian-Serb police commander wanted in his native country for genocide and atrocities against thousands of Bosnian Muslims, capping what ICE officials called a successful effort to investigate the case and remove him from the United States. Dejan Radojkovic, 61, arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Thursday morning aboard a commercial aircraft. He was turned over immediately to law enforcement officials there.

Campaign Payments Nab 2nd Gray Aide ; Howard Brooks Pleads Guilty, Says He Lied to Fbi

A second aide to D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray's 2010 campaign pleaded guilty Thursday to lying about furtive payments he made to another candidate and in the process revealed that there were at least several thousand dollars in unattributed donations to the Gray team. Howard L. Brooks, 64, who worked on the Gray campaign's finances, admitted that he lied five times during a meeting with FBI agents on April 6, 2011, when he claimed he had not given minor mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown a series...