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Dem senator presses Pentagon on Guantanamo feeding

UPDATED 17:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013 | DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee says she opposes the force-feeding of terror suspects at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is pressing the Pentagon to establish a more humane treatment.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California wrote to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday saying the force-feeding is a policy that conflicts with international standards. She also said that the U.S. prison system has several safeguards that aren't being used at Guantanamo.

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UPDATED 17:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Obama making plans to tackle global warming

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is planning a major push using executive powers to tackle the pollution blamed for global warming in an effort to make good on promises he made at the start of his second term.

Obama's energy and climate adviser, Heather Zichal, said Wednesday the plan would boost energy efficiency of appliances and buildings, expand renewable energy and use the Environmental Protection Agency's authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants.

The plan is expected to be unveiled in coming weeks.

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UPDATED 17:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Russia could stand in way of Obama's nuke cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — By saying he intends to bargain with Russia over new reductions in nuclear weapons, rather than make cuts on his own, President Barack Obama is asking for cooperation from a former Cold War foe in no mood to agree.

Relations between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are tense, reflecting U.S. concerns about human rights abuses in Russia, the two leaders' disagreement over Syria's civil war and other points of contention.

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UPDATED 17:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Kerry calls Karzai to ease anger on Taliban office

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday made his second call to the Afghan president in 24 hours to ease Hamid Karzai's anger over the rollout of the Taliban's new political office in Qatar — a rift that temporarily delayed U.S. talks with the militant group set to begin later this week.

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UPDATED 17:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Bipartisan proposal on student loans circulating

WASHINGTON (AP) — Students applying for financial aid for the coming school year could find some comfort in a bipartisan student loan compromise taking shape in the Senate that would prevent interest rates from doubling and set a single rate each year for undergraduate students, rich or poor.

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UPDATED 14:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Mueller urges caution on NSA program changes

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday urged Congress to move carefully before making any changes that might restrict the National Security Agency programs for mass collection of people's phone records and information from the Internet.

In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the FBI director said there are 10 or 12 cases in which the phone records program contributed to breaking up terrorist plots.

Mueller said communications capabilities of terrorists are their weakest link.

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UPDATED 14:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Banks fall short in helping struggling homeowners

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure must wait too long for their loan modification applications to be reviewed by some of the nation's top mortgage servicers, a report said Wednesday. Such delays can plunge borrowers deeper in debt.

Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the independent monitor of last year's national mortgage settlement, said that while the banks are doing a better job complying with new mortgage servicing rules, more needs to be done.

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UPDATED 14:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

House panel starts rewrite of No Child Left Behind

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of the Republican-led House education panel are sending their rewrite of No Child Left Behind to the full House for a vote.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee on Wednesday finished work on a rewrite of the sweeping education law. In the revised version, states would have more authority and Education Secretary Arne Duncan and his successors would have less.

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UPDATED 14:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

GOP targets high-speed rail, transportation grants

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are pushing to eliminate money for high-speed rail and a popular grant program for transportation projects.

The belt-tightening comes as the GOP-led House works on $44 billion measure covering transportation and housing programs.

The legislation reflects the austere budget mandated by automatic cuts — the fallout from Washington's failure to address the deficit this spring.

Republicans also are trying to cope with stiff defense cuts by shifting money from domestic programs to the Pentagon.

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UPDATED 17:31 PM EDT, June 19, 2013

Food stamp cuts key to farm bill's fate in House

WASHINGTON (AP) — House passage of a massive farm bill could turn on the level of food stamp cuts as key backers scrambled Wednesday to secure support for the five-year, half-trillion dollar measure.

The House planned to begin voting on 103 amendments to the bill, including a Democratic proposal to eliminate $2 billion in annual cuts in the almost $80 billion-a-year food stamp program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

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