Free Republic

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama struck down a rule Friday that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family-planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion services. President Obama says he doesn't want family planning to be used as a "political wedge." President Obama says he doesn't want family planning to be used as a "political wedge." Obama said in a statement that family planning aid has been used as a "political wedge issue," adding that he had "no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate." The policy says any organization receiving U.S. family-planning funds from...

Google is expected to announce on Monday that it will withdraw from China on April 10, according to a report in a Beijing-based newspaper that cited an unidentified sales associate who works with the company. "I have received information saying that Google will leave China on April 10, but this information has not at present been confirmed by Google," the China Business News quoted the agent as saying. The report also said Google would reveal its plans for its China-based staff that day.

Breaking: TVNewser has learned that Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) canceled what was to be an appearance on this evening's broadcast of "Larry King Live" a short time ago. The show's staff was told that "under the circumstances" Rangel could not do the interview tonight as planned. Rangel's exclusive had been booked and confirmed, and it was to be he his first interview since stepping down from the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means committee. Rangel is currently the subject of multiple ethics investigations. A CNN spokesperson tells us that producers pushed for more information from Rangel's reps, but "they...

The field in the battle for a New York Senate seat became a little clearer Tuesday when Mortimer B. Zuckerman announced he would not join the race. Mr. Zuckerman, chairman and publisher of the Daily News, said personal and professional reasons were behind his decision not to challenge Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. "I was encouraged by many major political figures in New York to look closely at running for Senate," Mr. Zuckerman said. "However, at this time, it is very difficult to see how I can devote the necessary time to either a campaign, or to working in Washington, if...

This has been a flu season like few others. Normally at this time of year, influenza is rampant in the U.S., prompting hundreds of thousands of people to stay home in the dead of winter with fever, aches and pains. Now, after raging through college campuses and communities last summer and fall, cases of the new H1N1 swine flu virus have dwindled to a trickle, and run-of-the-mill seasonal flu has barely made an appearance. Not one state reported widespread flu illness to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the week ended Feb. 20, the latest data available. The...

Having read Sarah Palin’s book: Going Rogue, Common Sense University is absolutely baffled by what she describes happened during the ten-week Presidential campaign in 2008. As if it was not bad enough that the liberal media, the vast majority of our media, tried everything in the book to dishonor and discredit her with atrocious accusations and slander, her own campaign staff, the so called ‘B’ team did not at all support her and advise her properly. Instead, they treated her like some country hick and micro-managed her every day activities. They set up interviews with the likes of Charlie Gibson...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Harold Ford, a former representative from Tennessee, will not challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the New York Democratic primary, The New York Times reported on Monday. In an opinion piece it said would be published in the Times on Tuesday, the newspaper quoted Ford as writing: "If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary -- a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened." "I refuse to do anything that would help Republicans win a Senate seat in New York, and give the Senate majority to the Republicans,"...

NEW YORK – Add Gatorade to the list of endorsement deals that Tiger Woods has lost. A representative for the drink, sold by PepsiCo Inc., confirmed late Friday that it had ended its relationship with the golfer, who made a lengthy public apology last week for his infidelities. "We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship," a Gatorade spokeswoman said. "We wish him all the best." The spokewoman said Gatorade would continue its relationship with the Tiger Woods Foundation.

New York Gov. David Paterson will drop his bid for election to a full term and plans to make a statement later Friday morning, media reports said. The governor has faced intensifying pressure to abandon his campaign, as a senior aide quit his administration in outrage and the New York political world responded with disgust to allegations the state police and the Democratic governor interfered with a domestic-violence case involving a top aide. Mr. Paterson's administration was plunged into disarray late Wednesday after it was reported by the New York Times that the governor and a member of his security...

The drama did not end with Breitbart slamming all comers at CPAC. Susie (Medea) Benjamin was called out as she and her partner Tighe Barry snuck into the ballroom while Beck was finishing up his speech. Towards the end of Glenn Beck's keynote speech while I was busy tweeting on my @#$%@# netbook, Doug Welch (Stix Blog) mentioned to me that he just saw Code Pink walk through Bloggers Lounge towards steps leading to the floor of the ballroom. I immediately grabbed Doug, notified Caleb Howe and encouraged other bloggers to head out into the ballroom in search of Code...

12th District notes: Joyce Murtha out, Critz and Cernic in (Updated) A few more 12th District pieces came into focus Monday. The Fix reports that Joyce Murtha, the late Congressman John Murtha’s widow, won’t be running for the seat he held for decades. This clears the way for anyone who was waiting on her decision. Barbara Hafer, the former state treasurer and auditor general, had said she wouldn’t run if Murtha did. Meanwhile, CQ Politics reports that Murtha’s district director Mark Critz will soon enter the race, adding a candidate intimately familiar with the district into the mix. Former Cambria...

That vague screeching noise you hear in D.C., the slight odor of burning rubber? That's the government trying to brake its anti-Toyota campaign. It may be a little late. The Toyota spectacle has become slightly surreal, as a few uncertain questions about "sudden acceleration" morphed into a media and political firestorm over the safety of its entire fleet. It is also proving an interesting case study in the treacherous politics that accompany government ownership of U.S. industry. Washington's initial enthusiasm in bashing Toyota is beginning to backfire. There's no question that in the first, heady days of recall, at least...

Here's another sign of the shifting political winds on global warming: ConocoPhillips (COP), BP (BP) and Caterpillar (CAT) have decided not to renew their membership in the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a broad alliance of corporations and environmentalists supporting cap-and-trade legislation. “House climate legislation and Senate proposals to date have disadvantaged the transportation sector and its consumers, left domestic refineries unfairly penalized versus international competition, and ignored the critical role that natural gas can play

The two-metre bronze was removed from Menteng Park and taken to nearby Menteng One primary school, which Obama attended in the late 1960s, vice-principal Akhmad Solikhin told AFP. “Workers hired by the school, local government and alumni spent an hour removing the statue with electric equipment,” he added. “We’ll need another two to three days to place the statue at the compound near the school gate so the public can see it when they pass by,” Solikhin added. The decision to move the statue comes after more than 57,000 people joined a page on social networking website Facebook calling for...

A Florida school district has canceled its plans to spend $350,000 in taxpayer money to buy thousands of iPods for parents of special-needs students after it was erroneously reported that federal stimulus funds were covering the costs. Officials in Polk County announced Tuesday their intention to distribute free iPod Nanos to the parents of children with disabilities if they completed a 10-minute survey of just 26 multiple-choice questions about school and teacher quality. But those plans barely lasted a nanosecond, school officials told FoxNews.com. "[W]e're going to be pulling the whole thing," said Nancy Woolcock, assistant superintendent of learning support...

Per Fox, Obama just said that "All ideas are on the table" regarding taxing the middle class/people making less than $200K a year. Developing...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats scrapped a bipartisan jobs bill in favor of one they say is leaner and focused solely on putting Americans back to work, and they're all but daring Republicans to vote against it. The new, stripped-down proposal followed criticism that the bipartisan version wouldn't create many jobs. The switch brought sharp accusations of reneging from Republicans who thought they had a deal, jeopardizing a brief attempt at bipartisan lawmaking. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's latest bill focuses on several popular provisions aimed at boosting job creation, including a new tax break negotiated with Republicans for companies...

A "tea bag" reference in a recent Captain America comic book that has angered the Tea Party movement will be removed by Marvel Comics in future editions, the story's writer told FoxNews.com. In issue No. 602 of Captain America, "Two Americas, Part One," the title hero and The Falcon, a black superhero from New York City, stumble upon a protest rally in Boise, Idaho. They see scores of protesters carrying signs that say "Stop the Socialists!" and "Tea Bag The Libs Before They Tea Bag YOU!" Captain America says the protest appears to be an "anti-tax thing," and The Falcon...

Dubai skyscraper Burj Khalifa closes to public The world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, has closed to the public due to technical problems just a month after it was formally opened. By Richard Spencer in Dubai Published: 6:10PM GMT 08 Feb 2010 The observation deck on the Dubai building's 124th floor, which had been open since the building was formally named on Jan 4, has been closed indefinitely because of unspecified technical problems. At 2,716 feet tall, the tower contains a hotel, apartments and offices. The first occupants of the apartments were due to move in later this month. But...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The world's tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks. Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the closure of the Burj Khalifa's viewing platform—the only part of the half-mile high tower open yet. But a lack of information from the spire's owner left it unclear whether the rest of the largely empty building—including dozens of elevators meant to whisk visitors to the tower's...