Free Republic

President Barack Obama will nominate Federal Reserve vice chair Janet Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the nation’s central bank, the White House said Tuesday. Yellen would be the first woman to head the powerful Fed, taking over at a pivotal time for the economy and the banking industry. … Yellen emerged as the leading candidate after Lawrence Summers, a former Treasury secretary whom Obama was thought to favor, withdrew from consideration last month in the face of rising opposition. Yellen, 67, would likely continue steering Fed policy in the same direction as Bernanke. A close ally of...

Failed California GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina was named on Tuesday as the vice chair of the Republicans' effort to retake the Senate in 2012. ... "I'm pleased to welcome my friend Carly Fiorina to the NRSC team, where her many business and civic achievements will make her an invaluable leader and fundraiser during this critical election cycle," said the committee chair, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, in a statement. "I look forward to working with Carly to elect strong Republican Senators who will finally put a stop to President Obama’s failed tax-and-spend agenda, and instead promote the economic growth...

UNITED NATIONS - Iran's U.N. ambassador on Thursday denounced Israel's election as a vice-chair of the U.N. Disarmament Commission, calling the Jewish state a threat to peace in the Middle East. Ambassador Javad Zarif accused Israel of "violating every single Security Council resolution that has been adopted about the Middle East." He also lashed out at Israeli criticism of Iran's own election as a vice-chair of the commission, noting the Jewish state has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty but "has the audacity to talk about another country having a seat." "That's absolutely ridiculous," he told a group of...