US defence review says military planners should factor climate change into long-term strategyThe Pentagon will for the first time rank global warming as a destabilising force, adding fuel to conflict and putting US troops at risk around the world, in a major strategy review to be presented to Congress tomorrow. The quadrennial defence review, prepared [...]
Obama just spoke to and took questions from the House Republican Caucus at their retreat in Baltimore. I don’t know if any of you had occasion to see this. Whichever side you’re on, this was fascinating television. I don’t recall ever seeing this before in my life. You will be unsurprised to learn that I [...]
Barack Obama will also propose a tripling of government funding for new nuclear reactors to more than $54bnBarack Obama used his presidential authority to help advance his climate change agenda today, announcing that the US federal government and agencies would cut their giant carbon footprints by 28% by 2020.The announcement was held up by administration [...]
• Campaign tour to give details of economic plan• Allies welcome fresh focus on boosting employmentBarack Obama flew out of Washington today on the first leg of a campaign to sell to disenchanted voters the job creation programme he set out in his state of the union address.Obama used Wednesday’s speech to mark a significant [...]
Barack Obama must move quickly if he is to repeal the law denying gay Americans the right to serve in the armed forcesPresident Obama announced in his first state of the union address last night that this year he will “work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans [...]
If you watch cable teevee and listen to the pundits and, oh, read Tomasky’s commenters, you’d think Obama was finished, and of course you’d know — for a fact — that this November’s elections were going to be a wipeout for him. So I was interested to see this, from yesterday’s NBC/Wall St. Journal poll. [...]
In his state of the union address, Obama seemed willing to trade nuclear power and offshore drilling for climate bill votesA guest blog by Suzanne Goldenberg, the Guardian’s US environment correspondentGreens probably didn’t reckon the “change you can believe in” would mean building more nuclear power plants when Barack Obama was first elected. But that [...]
President Obama pledges to help pass ‘comprehensive’ climate change law, but also backed nuclear power and drillingBarack Obama put himself firmly behind the effort to get a climate change bill through Congress last night – but said it must include a new generation of nuclear power.The brief passage on energy and climate in Obama’s state [...]
The US president’s first state of the union speech• Datablog: how did Obama’s speech compare to past presidents? As wordlesMadam Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:Our Constitution declares that from time to time, the President shall give to Congress information about the state of our union. For 220 [...]
Follow President Obama’s first state of the union address to Congress, and the reaction, here11.32pm: The final word on the Alito reaction comes from Linda Greenhouse, the ex-NYT reporter who covered the court brilliantly for many years:Justice Alito shook his head as if to rebut the president’s characterization of the Citizens United decision, and seemed [...]