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During his first year in office, President Barack Obama won praise from environmental groups for a wide range of decisions, from toughening gas mileage rules to spending billions on renewable energy projects. But now there's grumbling on his green flank. A growing number of environmentalists are clashing with the administration over its management of America's struggling wildlife populations and what they call its reluctance to use the nation's most powerful environmental law, the Endangered Species Act, to stand up to industry. Last week, five conservation groups, led by the Sierra Club, sued the federal government after the U.S. Fish and...

NEW YORK – Red and yellow lights shone from the top of the Empire State Building at dusk Wednesday, a tribute to communist China's 60th anniversary that protesters labeled "blatant approval" of totalitarianism and criticized as inappropriate for an icon in the land of the free. The building is routinely lit with different to mark holidays and big events, but opponents questioned whether it's right to commemorate a sensitive political issue, particularly when China has such a poor human rights record. About 20 supporters of Tibet, which China has ruled since shortly after communists took over in 1949, protested outside...

Could the swine flu usher in martial law? An emergency physician from Fort Hood, Texas, weighs in on that possibility. Lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering Senate Bill 2028, a pandemic response bill that will give public health officials and law enforcement complete control over citizens of the Commonwealth. Under the bill, should a pandemic be declared, the aforementioned officials will have authority to quarantine and forcibly immunize citizens. Any citizens resisting will face stiff fines and up to 30 days in prison. The bill also gives authorities the right to seize private property and supplies and redistribute them as they...

WASHINGTON - Advocates of a bill promoting openness in government are fuming that a Republican senator is blocking a vote on the measure. Dozens of journalism and advocacy groups supporting the Open Government Act say it would speed up the government's response to public requests for information under the federal Freedom of Information law. But Sen. Jon Kyl (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., says the Justice Department has "uncharacteristically strong" objections to the bill. In a statement Thursday, he said he will block a vote until both sides can work out the differences. Supporters of the bill are irate. "This...

WASHINGTON - In a critique the White House labeled as "poisonous," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) charged Friday that President Bush is wading too deeply into Iraq and said it should not be "an obligation of the American people in perpetuity." Pelosi said Bush "has dug a hole so deep he can't even see the light on this. It's a tragedy. It's a stark blunder." White House spokeswoman Dana Perino retorted that Pelosi's comments were "poisonous," referring to the portion of Pelosi's statement that asserted Bush is rushing new troops there and betting that Congress won't cut...

The Attorney General's Office says they may show evidence of a felony: unauthorized use of a restricted Web site. By John Shiffman Inquirer Staff Writer In an unusual and little-known case, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has seized four computer hard drives from a Lancaster newspaper as part of a statewide grand-jury investigation into leaks to reporters.The dispute pits the government's desire to solve an alleged felony - computer hacking - against the news media's fear that taking the computers circumvents the First Amendment and the state Shield Law.The state Supreme Court declined last week to take the case, allowing...

The would-be president is messing with ire January 13, 2006 Fans-turned-critics say Hillary Clinton is sacrificing principle in the hunt for votes, writes Anne Summers. It is still more than two years before the major parties in the United States decide upon their candidates for the 2008 presidential elections, and it is widely assumed that the Democratic Party candidate will be the junior senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton. You might expect the political conversation among Democrats to be along the lines of "Is Hillary electable?" (given the preponderance of red states on the American political map) but many...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to reposition his administration after his special election defeat — culminating with this week's appointment of a Democratic activist as his chief of staff — has disheartened some prominent California Republicans and reinvigorated talk of finding a conservative primary challenger next year. "I'm getting more e-mails off of this than I do for Viagra," said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, a grass-roots group, referring to Schwarzenegger's appointment of Susan Kennedy. "Since the special election, where we were very loyal, all we've heard about was a $50-billion bond and looking at clemency...

Bush photos draw ire Lancaster official calls for removal By By JOHN M. SPIDALIERE Lancaster New Era Thursday, December 09, 2004 - David Stoltzfus says there's only one reason he would take down the photos of President George W. Bush he has displayed at his baked-goods stand in Lancaster's Central Market. Bush would have had to have lost the recent election. Instead, he beat Democratic challenger John Kerry to win a second term. "If it were Kerry that won, he'd be up there," says Stoltzfus, who operates the Upper Crust stand. Doesn't matter, says City Councilman Nelson Polite. "It should...

NEW ORLEANS - In 48 hours, Rep. Rodney Alexander (news, bio, voting record) went from Democrat to Republican, friend to foe — or foe to friend, depending on your political persuasion. Democrats reacted to the news by calling the first-term congressman a turncoat and a coward. They must now gain another seat, 12 in all, to win back the House this fall. The count today: Democrats 205, Republicans 229. A new ally, on the other hand, rang him up Friday to say congratulations. President Bush (news - web sites), according to White House spokesman Scott McClellan, welcomed Alexander to the...

TAC PRIMATE FLEXES MUSCLE IN TROUBLED ANGLICAN RING An interview with Archbishop John Hepworth Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion By David W. Virtue BEDFORD, TX--He's been in the top job for little more than a year, but already he is flexing his ecclesiastical muscle and showing that he is made of the right stuff. He is tall, imposing, and has the right bearing for an Anglo-Catholic Archbishop. He travels extensively, hobnobs comfortably with world class religious leaders, is politically astute, and he is positioning himself and his church for major growth around the world over the next decade. Australian-born...