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WASHINGTON – A senior defense official announced a planned series of changes to U.S. force posture in Europe on Thursday that would reduce the number of U.S. troops on the continent by more than 11,000 by 2017. Families of affected troops are being notified Thursday, the officials said. INACTIVATED 170th Infantry Brigade: The unit’s 3,850 soldiers, currently redeploying to Baumholder, Germany, from Afghanistan, will begin moving with their families this summer, the Pentagon said. 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade: 3,850 soldiers, currently in Afghanistan, will redeploy this summer to Germany. Soldiers and their families will begin to move in summer 2013....

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees. In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees;...

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder tried to stall the momentum building behind the Fast and Furious investigation by submitting a letter to Senate and Congressional investigators in which he continued to plead ignorance, and in which he did his best to undercut the progress of the investigation to this point. In the letter, Holder actually had the gall to re-affirm his feigned ignorance of Fast and Furious: “[I have] no recollection of knowing about Fast and Furious or of hearing its name prior to the public controversy about it.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 25, 2011 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings today released a YouTube video unveiling discussion draft legislation to reorganize and reform the Interior Department’s offshore energy oversight. The draft proposal officially abolishes the Minerals Management Service to create three separate agencies and establishes a new Under Secretary of Energy, Lands and Minerals in order to elevate the role of American energy production on public lands within the Interior Department. These reforms will help expand American energy production in order to protect and create American jobs, grow the economy and lower energy costs, while ensuring that...

In front of roughly 200 supporters gathered at a cold, windy Northerly Island, former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun formally announced her candidacy for Chicago mayor Saturday. “I just want to serve,” Braun said. “Government is about the people’s business and my life’s work has been dedicated to making government work for all of the people.” In her 24-minute speech, Braun said that opponent Rahm Emanuel’s television ads about Chicago needing to decide whether to be a great city or a second-tier city “pose a completely false choice.” “Chicago will always be a great city, because its people will tolerate...

TOKYO, June 1 (UPI) -- Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced his decision to step down Wednesday after only eight months in office. The leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, which he helped come to power last September after the August elections, announced his decision at a general assembly of party lawmakers, Kyodo News reported. The prime minister's ruling coalition has seen its public approval ratings plunge in recent months. Things came to a head after the Social Democratic Party, a coalition partner, decided to leave over the government's accord allowing the U.S. Marine base's air station to...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ahead of anticipated tough questioning on Capitol Hill about the Gulf Coast spill, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday the government will tighten requirements for onshore oil and gas drilling. The new measures would not apply to oil rigs at sea. Salazar was expected to testify Tuesday at two Senate oversight hearings investigating the BP oil spill off Louisiana's coast. Last week, President Barack Obama said responsibility for what he described as a badly failed system extended to the federal government and its "cozy" relationship with oil companies.

Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli announced Thursday there was oil in the Darien jungle and he planned to expand the mining industry in Panama while protecting the environment. “Even if you don’t believe it, I am going to say something I shouldn’t say, Panama has oil in the Darien area, we are doing studies and have confirmed it, that the same veins from Colombia reach Panama,” the president said Tuesday. Ricardo Martinelli discussed Panama’s potential energy resources in an address to the Annual Conference of Business Executives organized by the Panamanian Business Executives Association, or APEDE.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki announced Wednesday the creation of a national organization that will work to repeal the Democrats' health care overhaul, which he called a "horrific" and costly bungle. Pataki said his nonprofit group, Revere America, will develop a grassroots network and highlight national opposition to the health care law, which he believes will impose a $500 billion burden on U.S. taxpayers and tighten government control of the health care system

The Bee announced another round of staff cutbacks today due to what its publisher called "a prolonged period of revenue declines." The paper said 25 jobs will be eliminated as of Jan. 29, and the paper hopes almost all of the cuts can be achieved through voluntary buyouts within specific departments. If the paper can't get enough workers to agree to buyouts, then it will resort to layoffs to reach the goal. The cutbacks are the fourth and smallest to hit the newspaper in the last 18 months, and the first since last March. They will affect 2.7 percent of...

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is announcing new efforts to freeze pirate booty, part of a series of diplomatic steps by the Obama administration to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. Clinton said Wednesday the administration would call for immediate meetings of an international counter-piracy task force to expand current naval coordination against pirates. The administration also will send an envoy to a Somali donors conference scheduled for next week in Brussels, and will attempt to organize meetings with officials of Somali's transitional government as well as regional leaders in Somali's semiautonomous Puntland.

GAZA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Hamas said on Sunday it would cease fire immediately along with other militant groups in the Gaza Strip and give Israel, which already declared a unilateral truce, a week to pull its troops out of the territory.

PARIS (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday announced an overhaul of pensions perks for half a million mainly public sector workers, seen as a key test of his government's reform drive. He promised that the so-called "special regimes" -- which allow state rail and power employees and some other categories of worker to retire early and on higher pensions -- will be reformed in the next "few months". "It is a question of fairness," Sarkozy said in a policy speech before journalists. Two waves of pension reform, in 1993 and 2003, left the system of perks untouched for...

Fred D. Thompson, the soon-to-be-official presidential contender, has come under a good deal of criticism in New Hampshire this week for scheduling his formal announcement for next Thursday morning and thus skipping the Republican debate in Manchester on Wednesday night. But that does not mean that television viewers watching the debate will not see him. Campaign officials said Friday that Mr. Thompson had bought a 30-second spot that would be televised nationally on the Fox News Channel, the network carrying the debate, just as viewers are tuning in at the onset. One campaign official familiar with the decision said the...

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday announced an an international conference this fall to include Israel, the Palestinian authority and some of their Arab neighbors to help restart Mideast peace talks and review progress in building democratic institutions. He said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would preside over the session. Bush said the conference would include representatives from Israel, the Palestinians "and their neighbors in the region" and said participants would include just those governments that support creation of a Palestinian state. Bush also pledged increased U.S. aid to the Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas and called for...

LONDON - The mayor of London on Tuesday announced the city's first comprehensive plan to cut carbon emissions, stressing that global warming must be tackled locally. Cities must seize the initiative on climate change, given the sluggish behavior of national governments, said Mayor Ken Livingstone. "The fight to tackle climate change will either be won in cities such as London or will not be won at all," he said. "Cities are responsible for 75 percent of all the world's carbon emissions, and what London does to cut its emissions — and by working with other cities to do the same...

WASHINGTON, Sep. 4, 2006 – The capture of a top-tier terrorist has left al Qaeda in Iraq in a "serious leadership crisis," an Iraqi government official said here yesterday. Iraqi forces, with coalition support, captured Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi, who is thought to be responsible for the Feb. 22 bombing of a Samarra shrine sacred to Shiia Muslims, said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, national security adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in a nationally televised address. The mosque bombing helped fan the flames of sectarian violence in Iraq. Saeedi – also known as Abu Humam and Abu Rana – was reportedly...

WASHINGTON (Aug. 31) - Consumers can claim a standard $30 to $60 refund next year for a tax on long-distance telephone calls that the government declared invalid, the Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday. Telephone customers had been paying the 3 percent federal excise tax on local and long-distance service. The government this month stopped collecting the tax on long-distance calls after businesses repeatedly fought the tax in court and won. Next year, consumers can use their 2006 tax returns to claim a refund on long-distance telephone taxes paid since March 2003. The standard refund starts at $30 and increases by...

A Fatah terror group, not to be outdone by Hamas, claims to have kidnapped 62-year-old Noach Moskowitz from Rishon LeZion. An earlier kidnapping alert was cancelled an hour after it was issued. A source claiming to be from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, affiliated with Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group, announced Wednesday afternoon that the group is holding a 60-year-old man from Rishon Lezion. Police have confirmed that a 62-year-old man from Rishon LeZion has been missing for two days. In a tragic representation of various sectors of the Israeli public, terrorists apparantly now hold three Israelis: a senior citizen civilian resident...

The lobbying firm whose ties to Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, are under investigation announced Friday it is splitting into two groups. The three Republican named partners - including Lewis' friend and former California congressman Bill Lowery - will continue to lead the existing firm, while the two Democratic partners will form a separate partnership. A statement from Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White attributed the decision to "the current media focus on the firm." "All the partners remain focused on their client work, discussing issues on Capitol Hill, and working with regulatory agencies every single day," the statement said. "We...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy’s newest attack submarine Hawaii will be christened June 17 during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony at General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Conn. The third submarine of the Virginia class, SSN 776 will bear the name Hawaii to recognize the tremendous support the Navy has enjoyed from the people of the 50th state and in honor of the rich heritage of submarines in the Pacific theater. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle will serve as sponsor of SSN 776, the state’s namesake submarine. The ceremony will...

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 19, 2006 – America Supports You welcomed a new corporate team member today during the Joint Service Open House here for Armed Forces Day weekend. The Connect and Join booth, part of the Joint Service Open House held at Andrews Air Force Base, offered some projects suggested on its Web site. Lindsey Stinger helps her daughter, Grace, 3, with a piece of sand art. Her other daughter, Caroline, 5 (left) and two sons, Jack, 8, and Michael, 5 (far right) also enjoyed peeling paper shapes off large sticker sheets and applying colored sand...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (NNS) -- Viewers and listeners of the American Forces Network (AFN) may experience brief programming interruptions from Feb. 28 through March 12 as the spring "sun outage" period occurs. These seasonal outages, which take place each spring and fall, affect all satellite communications, including the AFN radio and television services distributed by the AFN Broadcast Center from the Defense Media Center (DMC) at Riverside, Calif. Sun outage-related programming interruptions are characterized by a complete loss of signal for as much as several minutes. The interruptions occur when the sun's position aligns with broadcast satellites and Earth-station receivers. The...

HAVANA - President Fidel Castro announced a long-awaited renovation of Cuba's energy system to combat blackouts that have afflicted the island nation for the past two summers. Castro said Cuba would decentralize its power system, gradually replacing five massive thermoelectric plants with smaller, regional plants supplemented by solar and wind power. He outlined the plan in a speech delivered Tuesday night and published Wednesday in state newspapers. Because the thermoelectrical plants in Cuba are so large, mechanical difficulties in any one can affect large areas populated by millions of people. Many of last summer's blackouts were caused by problems at...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Dec. 23, 2005 – The United States will have two fewer brigades in Iraq in 2006, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today. Rumsfeld announced before a cheering group of Marines that the United States will drop from 17 to 15 brigades in the coming year. The change will drop the number of Americans in the country under the 138,000-level baseline, officials said. The decision reflects the proper balance between coalition and Iraqi forces, the secretary said. The coalition footprint must be large enough to help maintain security and allow the Iraq forces to train up,...

Judicial society announces Greensboro location Michelle Cater Rash The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area - 3:09 PM EST Monday The American Judicature Society formally announced Monday that its new Institute of Forensic Science and Public Policy will be coming to downtown Greensboro. Close to 100 city leaders, attorneys and judges gathered in the former City Club on the top floor of the Jefferson Pilot building for the announcement. The institute will be a think tank to look at forensic science standards for use by law enforcement agencies, attorneys and courts. The institute will be advised by the society's...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2005 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today announced the next major units to deploy to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He emphasized that rotation planning remains flexible and will be based on conditions on the ground, not political pressures or artificial timetables. Today's announcement affects about 92,000 servicemembers -- more than 65,000 from the active component and 26,000 from the Guard and Reserve -- who will begin their scheduled rotation in mid-2006, according to Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Defense Department spokesman. Major units to deploy include: Division Headquarters and 3rd Brigade, 25th...

DoD Announces Recommended Holiday Mail Dates             The Department of Defense announced today the recommended mailing dates to ensure that holiday cards and packages for service members arrive overseas in time for the holiday season.               "To ensure delivery … to military APO/FPO addresses overseas and to international addresses, we suggest mail be sent by the recommended dates provided by the U.S. Postal Service," said Mark DeDomenic, the assistant deputy director and chief of operations for the Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA).  "Beat the last minute rush by bringing your mail to your post office by these suggested dates.”...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Secretary of State Bruce McPherson announced new requirements for electronic voting machines Wednesday and said he would create a unit in his office to test and certify the machines. "We must take these fundamental steps to guarantee public confidence in our voting process," McPherson said in a speech to the California Black Chamber of Commerce. He laid out 10 requirements that the machines must meet for use in California elections, starting in 2006, including approval by an independent testing unit certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Other requirements include providing state election officials with full information...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Civilian volunteers disclosed Friday that they have been patrolling California's southern border for months in an effort to spot illegal immigrants and drug smugglers crossing from Mexico. A group called Friends of the Border Patrol says it its volunteers have been keeping watch since June on a 100-mile stretch of the border from the Pacific Ocean to Calexico in the Imperial Valley, according to Andy Ramirez, the lead organizer. Ramirez has said volunteers patrol on private property at least 1,000 yards from the border, hoping to avoid boisterous protesters. He declined to divulge the number of...

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 23, on the South Steps of the California State Capitol, State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-23) announced her introduction of SB 840 the California Health Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA) to the California Legislature. Senate Pro Tempore Don Perata has joined as a co-author as have Senator Deborah Ortiz, chair of the Senate Health Committee and Assemblymember Wilma Chan, chair of the Assembly Health Committee who are both principle co-authors. The bill will cover every Californian with comprehensive health insurance and guarantee their right to choose their own physician, while containing healthcare cost inflation. By slashing...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - As she prepared to announce her candidacy for her late husband's congressional seat, Doris Matsui was endorsed Wednesday by Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi. "Doris has advocated for the people of Sacramento for more than 25 years. She knows the 5th District inside and out, and has worked effectively on its behalf," Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said in a statement. "Doris and Bob Matsui shared a love for the people of Sacramento, and Doris will build upon Bob's outstanding work in Congress." Doris Matsui summoned reporters to her home to announce she was running in a March 8...

NEWARK, N.J. - Four years after spending more than $60 million of his own money to get elected to the Senate, Democrat Jon S. Corzine announced Thursday that he is running for governor in 2005. The former investment banker, whose political intentions have been widely reported in recent days, becomes the first Democrat to officially enter the race. Polls have shown Corzine would be the early front-runner. "I believe I can do more for the state of New Jersey and its citizens as governor," the freshman senator said. He said he left private life for the Senate to press for...

WASHINGTON (AP) - An advocacy group announced a lawsuit Wednesday over legislation to restore California's aging Spanish missions, arguing that the law violates the principle of separation of church and state. Americans United for Separation of Church and State said it would file suit against Interior Secretary Gale Norton on behalf of four California residents. Norton's department would distribute $10 million in federal funding under the law, which President Bush signed on Tuesday. "The act on its face advances religion in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," says the lawsuit, which seeks to...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California's senior senator has added her voice to a growing chorus of criticism following the announcement by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that he had cleared the way for a giant casino to be built in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. In a statement released Saturday, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein called a proposed deal allowing the 259-member Lytton Band of Pomo Indians to construct the nation's largest urban casino "unconscionable" and urged the state legislature to reject it. "I find the proposed casino agreement reached by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Lytton Band of Pomo...

CHICAGO (AFP) - The Tribune Company announced a shake-up in the leadership ranks of its Newsday and Hoy newspapers in the wake of a circulation scandal. The media titan, the second-largest US media group, said it is replacing the publishers of its Long Island paper Newsday and its Spanish-language counterpart as it moves to restore credibility in the titles. Newsday COO Timothy Knight will take over as chief executive officer (CEO) and publisher of the newspaper effective August 15. He suceeds Raymond Jansen, who has served as Newsday publisher since 1994, and who moved up his retirement date in light...

SA announces apartheid pay-outs By Barnaby Phillips BBC Southern Africa Correspondent There have been reconciliation celebrations in South Africa this month South Africa has started paying reparations to thousands of victims of apartheid, the government says. They were identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which spent seven years examining the crimes committed under apartheid. The government is giving a one-off payment equivalent to about $4,500 to the victims of apartheid. The TRC examined decades of human rights abuses and identified about 20,000 victims earlier this year. Slow processThe government says it has processed payments for 9,000 people, but more...

AOPA and IAOPA reiterate opposition to deadly force against civilian aircraft. Aug. 19 — The White House announced today the resumption of the "Airbridge Denial Program" with Colombia, the U.S. drug interdiction program allowing the use of deadly force against civilian aircraft. This is the first of the "Airbridge" programs to resume after the tragic shoot-down of a missionary aircraft in Peru in 2001. While the White House said that Colombia now has "appropriate procedures to protect against loss of innocent life, AOPA and the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations reiterated opposition to the use of deadly...

Miller Brewing Co. - faced with declining revenue and market share - is eliminating about 200 jobs, mainly at its Milwaukee corporate headquarters, the company announced Monday. The layoffs, which had been expected, will take place by September, said company spokesman Michael Hennick. Along with the job reduction, some positions will be given new roles, he said. The idea is to create a smaller, more focused corporate structure, Hennick said. Miller has 950 employees in its corporate headquarters and 825 at its Milwaukee brewery. The company has 6,000 employees nationwide. The majority of the jobs to be eliminated are at...