National News

You know a politician is looking for applause when he speaks in front of a crowd of college students and says he's there to help them pay back their student loans.... 

Abercrombie jumps the gun to claim credit for something that wasn't his doing ....

The top five states ranked by per capita in 2011 were: California, Hawaii, Florida, Nevada, and the District of Columbia ....

Private clinics and pharmacies have whispered among themselves for months about suspending services due to non-payment of millions....

...today Congress has the opportunity to do something about it....

April 29 marks the third year in which the U.S. Senate has not passed a budget -- a staggering dereliction of duty, particularly given the country's near-$16 trillion debt. But that's not the Senate's only blockbuster failure ....

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They died April 19, in southwestern Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when the UH-60 Black Hawk they were in crashed.

The proposal, which is known as the "People's Rights Amendment," would amend the Constitution and hold that constitutional rights are only for "natural persons," meaning that corporations and legal entities would no longer enjoy the freedoms the Constitution guarantees....

• Senate: Cloture Motion; Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012
• House: Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012
• House: Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II
• House: Small Business Tax Cut Act

The latest example came last week when Democratic leadership in the Senate again passed the buck on enacting a budget -- on April 29, it will have been three years since the Senate last passed a budget resolution....

To turn out their vote this fall, Hawaii Democrats are claiming that Hawaii will decide the balance of power in the US Senate. But in reality Hawaii's Senate election will determine whether the Aloha State will have a voice on the majority side of the aisle or will suffer decades of obscurity with low-seniority Senators of the minority party .... 

The Hawaii harassment statute, which Fisher had violated ... includes not just violent touching but “any slight touching of another person in a manner which is known to be offensive to that person.”

"If there is an issue under water, you literally have to pull the whole cable up, and that's very expensive."

the true cause of what burst America's housing bubble is still debated, two of the culprits -- housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are still going strong ....

...many of the protections put in place to help shield our nation’s heroes—specifically the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)— have been violated in a disturbing number of cases within the past several years....

The case arose from allegations of theft and fraud at a now-defunct nonprofit legal services corporation in American Samoa called the U’una’i Legal Services Corporation (ULSC). ULSC was the only nonprofit organization in American Samoa that was dedicated to providing free legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual abuse.

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"I'm glad to see this small business bill pass the House, with the support of 18 Democrats, and disappointed that Congresswoman Hanabusa voted against it," stated Former Congressman Charles K. Djou....

...government waste, fraud and abuse isn't limited to just one agency. Look no further than the Department of Energy (DOE) whose inspector general said yesterday that he's overseeing 250 to 300 open criminal investigations....

U.S. and British officials were deeply suspicious of this outfit, observing that the AASF – though backed by singer (ands Communist Party member) Harry Belafonte and actor Sidney Poitier – had links to a Kenyan nationalist leader….

High gas prices are not a president's friend, especially in an election year, so it's not surprising that President Barack Obama is trying his darndest to shift the blame for record-high fuel prices onto something other than his failed energy policies....

American households can expect to face an average tax increase of $3,800 ... 70 percent of Taxmageddon's impact will fall directly on low-income and middle-income families, leaving them with $346 billion less to spend.

Bishops from California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah began their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican with prayers for courage in defending religious freedom and in sharing faith in the risen Lord.

Tibet's spiritual leader says China's 'totalitarian' policies sparked Tibetan self-immolations....

Forty-eight years after President Johnson declared war on poverty, the number of poor people in the United States remains stubbornly high....

The U.S. Senate could vote today on the gimmicky distraction known as the Buffett Rule ....

I will advocate for meaningful, comprehensive tax reform that brings down the rate for all taxpayers while retaining the most important deductions such as the mortgage interest and charitable contributions. Through these reforms, we will actually collect more revenue with a much broader tax base ....

In the same week that Gov. Linda Lingle hosted Sen. Susan Collins, one of the nation’s most bipartisan leaders, Mazie Hirono has opted to campaign with Congressman Barney Frank - the poster child for the hyper-partisanship in Washington, D.C....

The annual Rich States Poor States report is out. Hawaii ranks 15^th for economic performance and 46^th for economic outlook.

Jong-un "is more likely than his father Kim Jong-il to miscalculate during a crisis, unaware that Seoul is more likely to retaliate to a military clash than in the past."

Immediately after the launch, South Korea issued an order urging residents near the inter-Korean border to seek shelter to protect themselves from any debris that might fall from the rocket, Yonhap said....

US Army retiree Rosie Fualaau Tago Lancaster, who will be making a second bid, and Aumua Amata Radewagen, who has entered numerous times, will be challenging the incumbent congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin....

No one except Faleomavaega knows which demands had been 'met,' as Bahrain today remains governed by an undemocratic monarchy which tortures and imprisons its citizens with impunity....

Blas's resolution asks Congresswoman Madeline Bordallo to introduce legislation exempting the non-contiguous states and territories from the provisions of the Jones Act....

... a Supreme Court decision protected out-of-state businesses from revenue-hungry states. But a new bill working its way through Congress would change all that ....

The national yearly cost for assisted living has increased 5.7 percent a year over the past five years, while long term care costs in Hawaii have increased 13.4 percent a year....

President Obama traveled to Florida yesterday to distract the nation from its real problems by laying out his case for the Buffett Rule, a plan to drastically raise taxes on successful Americans and small businesses....

“Horizon Lines moves forward today from a stronger financial position that will enable us to better focus on customers in our core Jones Act trades and to invest in the future of our business....

Sen. Rick Santorum announced from Gettysburg, PA that he is suspending his Presidential campaign. He did not make an endorsement.

Think fueling up your car at $4 a gallon is rough? How would you feel about paying more than $6.50? Add on top of that massive job losses and a drastic drop in U.S. economic productivity....

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the State of Maryland for unanimously passing legislation this weekend to bar companies active in Iran from doing business with the State of Maryland.

As of the end of February, the Hawaii GOP had $29,000 in the bank in federal funds and was carrying over $100,000 in debt.

An investigation by the inspector general of the General Services Administration found rampant abuse of an employee awards program of the agency’s Pacific Rim region, the same region that has come under fire for spending more than $800,000 on a Las Vegas training conference for 300 employees. 

From 2005 to 2009, median household wealth among Hispanics fell by 66%, compared with a drop of 53% among blacks and 16% among non-Hispanic whites....

"... S1409, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act, would create greater oversight and accountability in federal spending .... "

A zero score would indicate that the Member of Congress approved every spending proposal and opposed every pro-taxpayer reform....

We are left to guess the initial refining partner – though it is not difficult to surmise that Tesoro has been the test partner to date, and presumably would be the first to license and deploy the process....

Under the accounting rules mandated in the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA), the Bank is allowed to treat its loan guarantees as risk-free in consideration of potential losses.