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Former President Obama is throwing his support behind President Biden’s push to change the filibuster for voting rights legislation. Obama, in a Wednesday opinion piece for USA Today, said the filibuster is “the only thing standing in the way” of Congress passing federal voting rights reform.

New documentary series investigates the impact of illegal alien criminals on the US; Filmmaker on 'The O'Reilly Factor'

WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive new federal scientific report says global warming is already changing America from sea to rising sea and how Americans live. The government issued Friday a 1,146-page draft report that details in dozens of ways how climate change is already disrupting the health, homes and other facets of daily American life. It warns that those disruptions will increase in the future. The blunt report takes a global environmental issue and explains what it means for different U.S. regions, for various sectors of the economy and for future generations. The National Climate Assessment doesn't say what should...

Scientists and engineers dream about big advances that could change the world, and then they try to create them. On the following pages, Scientific American reveals 10 innovations that could be game changers: an artificial alternative to DNA, oil that cleans water, pacemakers powered by our blood, and more. These are not pie-in-the-sky notions but practical breakthroughs that have been proved or prototyped and are poised to scale up greatly. Each has the potential to make what may now seem impossible possible. —The EditorsNew Life-Forms, No DNA Required Artificial organisms based on man-made molecules could thrive and evolveDNA is passé....

At 7:50 am Friday morning, CNNMoney reported on the embarrassingly small number of jobs the “green” energy industry has contributed to the nation’s workforce. The story was titled “‘Green’ jobs just a small portion of workforce.” -------- “As Kermit knows, it’s not easy being green,” the story began. “There were only 3.1 million green jobs in the U.S. in 2010.” Translation: After receiving billions in federal subsidies ($100 billion from the stimulus program alone), “green” jobs account for only 2.4 percent of the nation’s employment. Seeing as how taxpayer dollars are being thrown at “green” energy projects under the guise...

In urging Congress to extend jobless benefits, President Obama went beyond short-term aid and called on the country to rethink how it looks at unemployment, recognizing the long-term devastating costs of having so many unproductive people on its hands for long periods. Specifically, Obama endorsed a work-sharing plan embraced in Europe that averts layoffs by spreading the pain among co-workers, as well as a more controversial bridge-to-work idea that puts people who are on unemployment benefits into training or temporary work that would set them on a path toward regular jobs. The president also proposed, as part of his $447-billion...

It's official now. You cannot use "Muslim extremism" or "Islamic terrorism." Not because the words don't describe a real phenomenon in the world. An ugly phenomenon. And, alas, an abundant phenomenon. But because the president doesn't like the thought. And he certainly doesn't like the religious adjective. I myself don't mind calling Jewish extremists "Jewish extremists." In fact, calling them Jewish extremists neatly separates the very few from the very many. There are myriad Jewish types: nudniks, for example, of whom there are a lot, and chachomim, of whom there are far fewer, liberals, even radicals, and (now more than...

<p>Your fries may never taste the same again!</p> <p>For the first time in 40 years, Heinz ketchup is changing its famous recipe -- by lowering the salt content in an effort to appeal to more health-conscious consumers, the company said yesterday.</p>

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: – Revelation 22:18 I've seen some incredibly stupid and misguided initiatives by "conservatives" in my day, but this one takes the cake. Because the Bible has been rewritten to conform with the agenda of "liberals," a self-described "conservative" is spearheading an effort to rewrite it to his liking. If you think I'm joking, read on...

CAMP FALLUJAH — Marines from 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment are now on deck and running combat operations in Fallujah after relieving Marines from 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment recently. The battalion arrived late last month to begin turnover of responsibilities with 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment. They officially took charge of Fallujah earlier this month and have since conducted patrols, raids, interdiction and security operations here. The battalion’s journey to Iraq started in earnest months ago, according to Master Sgt. James E. Mitrink, a 42-year-old operations chief from Port Huron, Mich. Starting in April 2006, Marines within the battalion...

Migrants changing Britain, says race chief By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 30/08/2006) Immigration to Britain today is fundamentally different from previous settlements because it is changing the composition of the nation, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality said last night. Trevor Phillips, who provoked controversy last year by challenging the concept of multiculturalism and saying that Britain was "sleepwalking to segregation", said the social significance of the current wave of immigration was being overlooked. More young people were arriving to compete for jobs with settled workers and a growing number of incomers were setting up their...

Environmentalists trying to push a green agenda through the Legislature will face a decidedly different atmosphere in 2007. The Senate has long been the friendlier of California's two legislative houses to environmental legislation, but Tuesday's primary elections swept a small cohort of pro-business Democrats into the upper house. That, combined with the replacement of moderate Assembly Democrats with more liberal counterparts, looks to have shifted the legislative landscape for environmental legislation. "The Senate is less green and the Assembly has gotten more green," said Bill Magavern, the Sierra Club's senior legislative representative. According to the California League of Conservation Voters...

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2006 – The U.S. military footprint in Europe is significantly changed from just a decade ago. Gone are dozens of American enclaves -- some self-contained communities complete with schools, shopping centers and housing complexes -- located throughout Western Europe, but primarily in Germany. In their place soon will be small regional training centers in Romania and Bulgaria, through which U.S. combat brigades will rotate on training and regional-security-cooperation missions. Transformation has been a dramatic process in U.S. European Command. In an interview yesterday with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service, Army Gen. William E. "Kip"...

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2006 – The Army Reserve is no longer simply a force in reserve, but a vital part of the country's defense that's making big changes to meet its current and future challenges, the commander of U.S. Army Reserve Command said here today. Army Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, commander of U.S. Army Reserve Command, foreground, and (from left) Army Reserve Command Sgt. Maj. Michele Jones and Amy Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Juanita Wilson cut a ceremonial birthday cake April 21 commemorating the Army Reserve's 98th birthday. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2006 – Morphing threats have created the need for change in the U.S. intelligence community, a top Defense Department intelligence official said here March 14. The National Security Act of 1947 was born from what President Harry S. Truman considered the failure at Pearl Harbor, Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and warfighting support, said at the 17th Annual National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low-intensity Conflict Symposium and Exhibition. The act remained largely unchanged until the fall of 2004, he said. At that time, changes to the act created the position of...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2006 – U.S. military members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other dangerous locales will soon receive revamped armored vests that provide more side protection, senior officials said here today. The vest changes are designed to prove effective in protecting servicemembers from shrapnel fragments, especially those who man gun turrets atop vehicles, Maj. Gen. Stephen Speakes, the Army's director of force development, said during a teleconference call with military analysts. "What we're seeing, obviously, is continuing evolutions in the nature of the threat that we face," Speakes said. The shrapnel-producing improvised explosive devices and other terrorist weapons encountered...

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 11, 2006 – The days of the weekend warrior are over, a top defense official said here yesterday. Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, said the country has entered the era of an operational reserve force vs. a strategic one. Hall spoke at WEST 2006, a technology, communication and national security conference co-sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and the U.S. Naval Institute. Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 500,000 reserve component servicemembers have been mobilized, Hall said. Mobilized guardsmen and reservists currently number 130,000. Though the number of mobilized...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2006 – The Army will continue to improve body armor issued to soldiers, and will begin manufacturing side-panel inserts to the Interceptor ballistic armor, officials said here today. The side panels, which weigh 3 pounds, will be made of the same material as the small-arms protective inserts. Army Col. Thomas Spoehr is in charge of fielding body armor. He said the Interceptor body armor now issued to servicemembers protects against most of the threats they face in Iraq and Afghanistan today. "It's the best body armor in the world," Spoehr said. And the proof is in the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 28, 2005 — Last week Iraqi Prime Minister al-Ja'fari, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and I announced the decision not to deploy two brigades scheduled to come to Iraq early next year. The 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based out of Fort Riley, Kansas, was originally scheduled to deploy to central Iraq in December to replace the 29th Brigade Combat Team. Additionally, the Baumholder, Germany-based 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, was to deploy to the Iraqi province of Diyala in November to replace the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. The 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division will remain in...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Dec. 16, 2005 – Nothing makes Army Lt. Col. Jamie Gayton more angry than someone saying coalition projects in East Baghdad have no effect. "We are making a difference every day in the lives of average Iraqis," said Gayton, the commander of 2-3 Brigade Troops Battalion and responsible for coalition projects in East Baghdad. Sadr City is a part of the area of operations for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, a unit of the 3rd Infantry Division. Hundreds of projects in the area of 2.6 million people have changed life in the neighborhoods. When Americans...