Bunnell teacher to be inducted into national hall of fame

The following is the full text of President Obama’s victory speech on Wednesday (Transcript courtesy of the Federal News Service). PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. (Sustained cheers, applause.) Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. (Cheers, applause.) It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people. (Cheers, applause.) Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and … [Read more...] about Transcript of President Obama’s Election Night Speech

WASHINGTON — In this always-on, always-connected world, what good is a Fitbit with no GPS or an iPad that can’t connect to the cloud? Hint: Ask President Obama. Mr. Obama is the first true gadget geek to occupy the Oval Office, and yet his eagerness to take part in the personal technology revolution is hampered by the secrecy and security challenges that are daily requirements of his job. What counts as must-have features for many people — high-definition cameras, powerful microphones, cloud-connected wireless radios and precise GPS location transmitters — are potential threats when the leader of the free world wants to carry them around. And so using the latest devices means more than merely ordering one on Amazon for delivery to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It means accepting the compromises imposed by White House technology experts, whose mission is to secure the president’s communications, and by the Secret Service agents who protect him. “I am not allowed, for … [Read more...] about For Gadget Geek in the Oval Office, High Tech Has Its Limits

PARIS — France faces a day of reckoning Monday as the Parliament holds a key vote on no-confidence motions that could potentially lead to the government's collapse, after days of fiery protests over a pension plan . President Emmanuel Macron's long-promised plan to raise the national retirement age from 62 to 64 has sparked weeks of national strikes and demonstrations, and police have clashed with protesters in cities across the country. Police said some 4,000 protesters gathered in the Place d’Italie in southern Paris on Saturday, many chanting “Macron, resign!” as trash bins were set alight and officers responded by firing tear gas. More than 160 people were arrested across the country, the Interior Ministry said Sunday. Lawmakers have tabled two no-confidence motions against Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and her government in the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French Parliament which drives through new laws. Borne, Macron’s appointed majority leader, … [Read more...] about Macron’s government faces no-confidence vote over contentious pension plan

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday rejected an attempt by lawmakers to force his hand on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, using his veto pen to sweep aside one of the first major challenges to his authority by the new Republican Congress. With no fanfare and a 104-word letter to the Senate , Mr. Obama vetoed legislation to authorize construction of a 1,179-mile pipeline that would carry 800,000 barrels of heavy petroleum a day from the oil sands of Alberta to ports and refineries on the Gulf Coast. In exercising the unique power of the Oval Office for only the third time since his election in 2008, Mr. Obama accused lawmakers of seeking to circumvent the administration’s approval process for the pipeline by cutting short “consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest.” By rejecting the legislation, Mr. Obama retains the right to make a final judgment on the pipeline on his own timeline. But he did little to calm the political debate over Keystone, which has … [Read more...] about Obama Vetoes Bill Pushing Pipeline Approval

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 OAKLAND, Calif. - For more than a decade, the district attorney for Alameda County, where this city is the center of gravity, prosecuted crime the old-fashioned way, with stiff sentences and the reliable support of law-enforcement unions at election time. That changed sharply in November. Nancy O'Malley, the incumbent, declined to seek reelection amid the strengthening national push to reexamine who is punished and for how long. In her place, voters chose Pamela Price, a civil rights lawyer, who four years and a pandemic earlier had lost her challenge to O'Malley. Now, a woman who made a living taking on the local justice system is running it. "They elected me with a mandate," Price, the first Black woman to serve as Oakland district attorney, said in an interview. "And, to me, the right prosecutor for the moment is one who is not wedded to the status quo." Price … [Read more...] about Oakland’s new prosecutor tests voters’ views of crime and punishment

WASHINGTON — The State Department released a report on Friday concluding that the Keystone XL pipeline would not substantially worsen carbon pollution, leaving an opening for President Obama to approve the politically divisive project. The department’s long-awaited environmental impact statement appears to indicate that the project could pass the criteria Mr. Obama set forth in a speech last summer when he said he would approve the 1,700-mile pipeline if it would not “significantly exacerbate” the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Although the pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada to the Gulf Coast, the report appears to indicate that if it were not built, carbon-heavy oil would still be extracted at the same rate from pristine Alberta forest and transported to refineries by rail instead. The report sets up a difficult decision for Secretary of State John Kerry, who now must make a recommendation on the international project to Mr. Obama. Mr. Kerry, who … [Read more...] about Report Opens Way to Approval for Keystone Pipeline