blogging the beltway
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Why Are Black People Protesting in NC?
(The Root) — Remember when North Carolina voted for a Democratic presidential nominee (Barack Obama) for the first time in three decades in 2008? And elected its first female governor that same year? Or that black voters in the state outperformed whites (pdf) in the last two presidential elections? Republicans remember. Now that they completely…
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John Boehner Welcomes New Black Son-in-Law
(The Root) — We’ve all been there. Someone you care about starts dating someone you may not consider ideal for him or her. Maybe you think he or she has a less-than-ideal career. You may think to yourself, “There’s nothing wrong with being an exotic dancer, per se.” It’s just not who you pictured your…
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Obama on IRS: 'Outrageous'
(The Root) — A week after the Internal Revenue Service admitted to deliberately targeting for heightened scrutiny groups with “tea party” or “patriot” in their name, President Obama used a news conference this morning to call the practice “outrageous” and to announce that he “will not tolerate it.” “This is pretty straightforward,” he said at…
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Black Voter Turnout Is Up. Will That Persist?
(The Root) — Now that the government has confirmed that African Americans in 2012 voted at a higher rate than whites for the first time — and were the only group to boost its turnout — groups such as the NAACP are claiming credit. But Barack Obama has left the campaign trail. Without his name…
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Obama on Health Care: Don't Be Bamboozled
(The Root) — In an event timed to coincide with this weekend’s Mother’s Day holiday, President Obama delivered remarks on Friday touting the benefits of the Affordable Care Act while joined onstage by women and families who had stories about how they’d benefited from the health care legislation, which was signed into law just over…
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Cops Using Drones? Get Ready
(The Root) — Within a decade, thousands of aerial drones could be hovering over neighborhoods across America, surveying traffic or crops, monitoring large crowds, searching for missing children and fugitives and perhaps more. Could the “eye in the sky” deliver major advancements for public safety and a wide variety of industries, or lead to violations…
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Has Obama Failed Black Americans on Jobs?
(The Root) — After a dismal showing in March, when fewer than 90,000 jobs were reported created, the April jobs report is being billed as a comeback of sorts for the U.S. economy: There were 165,000 jobs added, while unemployment fell to 7.5 percent, the lowest rate since December 2008, just after the economic collapse. Other…
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Obama Cabinet Pick's Labor Clashes
(The Root) — Firmly putting to rest any questions about whether he is willing to tap minorities or women for major leadership and Cabinet posts in his second term, President Obama is poised to nominate longtime donor, friend and businesswoman Penny Pritzker to be his next secretary of commerce. The president has nominated minorities and…
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Obama to Nominate Mel Watt to Head FHFA
(The Root) — On Wednesday, President Obama will announce his intent to nominate Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) to direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a White House official told The Root. FHFA was created on July 30, 2008, when President Obama signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. If confirmed, Watt…
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Obama Clears Diversity Hurdle With Foxx Nod
(The Root) — After months spent trying to assuage concerns that President Obama’s second-term Cabinet was shaping up to be about as diverse as a Republican National Convention, the administration reached a major diversity milestone on Monday. The president formally nominated Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., to become the new transportation secretary. Foxx…