Are companies excluding jobless from applying?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Are some companies weeding out job applicants just because they are unemployed? After news accounts about the practice and requests from concerned lawmakers, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has jumped in, trying to figure out whether it’s a widespread tactic that could violate federal job discrimination laws. Commissioners at an EEOC hearing [...]

Sen. Feinstein endorses Janice Hahn for Congress

A Los Angeles city councilwoman running for Congress got a boost today from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California’s senior senator and a fellow Democrat. Feinstein endorsed Janice Hahn for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Rep. Jane Harman, a Democrat who announced last week that she will leave Congress to run the Woodrow Wilson Center [...]

U.S. State Department starts Farsi Twitter feed

(CNN) — The U.S. State Department launched a new Farsi-language Twitter feed Sunday in a bid to connect with internet users in Iran. “US State Dept recognizes historic role of social media among Iranians. We want to join in your conversations,” the department said in its first tweet. The feed was launched just one day [...]

Sens. Graham, Schumer to try again on immigration

The news that Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have started to have very early talks about reviving a bipartisan effort on immigration is getting panned in some quarters. The Anniston Star, an Alabama newspaper, writes today on its editorial page that Graham and Schumer “deserve either a medal or a long rest [...]

Sarah Palin declines to keynote conservative event

Sarah Palin has declined an invitation to speak next week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, skipping the popular gathering of activists for the fourth time. The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee was asked to give the keynote address on the closing night of the conference, but Palin has a scheduling conflict. The event, organized [...]

RNC chairman asks Florida to stick with 2012 primary plan

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus urged Florida lawmakers today not to push for an early presidential primary in 2012. Under RNC rules, four states — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — have dibs on holding the first presidential contests next February. Priebus urged the Florida Legislature to “do everything they can to [...]

Tea Party groups target Senate Democrats on health care repeal

All Democrats voted against the GOP effort to repeal the nation’s health care law. Our original post is here: Will any Senate Democrat vote today with Republicans to repeal the nation’s health care law? The Tea Party Express and FreedomWorks, a group run by former House majority leader Dick Armey, call on supporters to call [...]

Debt-ridden GOP raises money on new Reagan website

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has vowed the GOP will reduce its $23 million debt through a lot of hard work — and Ronald Reagan is doing his part. The RNC has established a website to honor the late president and mark the 100th anniversary of his birth (on Sunday, Feb. 6). The website [...]

White House Develops Plan to Revamp Trade Agencies

The White House is looking at combining a set of agencies involved in trade and exports as it works to implement President Barack Obama’s State of the Union call to “merge, consolidate and reorganize the federal government.” White House officials in recent months seriously considered a plan to combine parts of the Commerce Department with [...]

Obama Faces Heavy Lift With State of the Union Address

President Obama’s challenge for his State of the Union speech Tuesday night might not be to pick all the right words, but to manage expectations — both for its practical outcome and his ability to turn the political tide his way. Analysts say the annual ritual isn’t all that consequential in the long-term. “State of [...]