Last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russia would deploy short-range missiles and possibly withdraw from the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (New START) if the United States moves forward with its plans for a missile-defense system in Europe. Russian threats are yet another indicator that the “reset” in relations between Moscow and Washington is on its last leg. Medvedev ordered the Russian military commanders to prepare for deployment of nuclear-capable Iskander short-range ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad on the Polish and Lithuanian borders, the southern region of Krasnodar, and …
Brace yourself. The cost of a new car in America is set to explode, skyrocketing by thousands of dollars, all thanks to a new regulation proposed by President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Under a new 893-page proposal unveiled last week, automakers must hit a fleet-wide fuel economy average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025–double today’s 27.3 standard. The government says it would cost automakers $8.5 billion per year to comply, which means a spike in sticker prices of at least $2,000 …
A NATO airstrike along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border on Saturday that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers has once again inflamed U.S.–Pakistan tensions and called into question the future of the partnership. The circumstances surrounding the strike are still unclear, and both NATO and U.S. Central Command have vowed to investigate the incident. Afghan and Western officials have said the airstrike was launched in response to firing from the vicinity of two Pakistani border posts. Pakistani military officials have denied those claims and said the NATO attack was unprovoked. Islamabad responded swiftly to …
Last Friday, Moroccans headed to the polls to vote in the latest parliamentary elections since the constitution was reformed in July. The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) made major gains with 107 out of 395 seats, but fell considerably short of winning an absolute majority. While the PJD has the right to form a new government, it will need to form a coalition. Prime Minister Abbas Al Fassi has reached out to the PJD, saying that his nationalist Istiqlal party is ready to work with the PJD in a …
On September 26, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a rule requiring modification of airline Web sites and automated kiosks at airports “to ensure that individuals with disabilities can readily use these technologies to obtain the same information and services as other members of the public.” Accessibility criteria apparently do not apply to the DOT, however. The comment period for the DOT’s proposed rulemaking was extended on November 21, but the notice of rulemaking indicates that the agency’s online public comment form “is not easily accessed” by individuals with visual …
Media coverage of Occupy Wall Street has dominated the news lately, supplanting stories about the Tea Party movement and the grassroots uprising that took Washington by storm. For one of the movement’s early leaders, it has come as no surprise. Jenny Beth Martin is a co-founder and national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots. Today she continues to fight against big government, albeit while fending off comparisons to Occupy Wall Street. In an interview with Ginni Thomas at The Daily Caller, Martin talked about the early rise of Tea Party and …
On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed the planned nomination vote for Michael McFaul as the next ambassador to the Russian Federation by request from GOP Senators. This is a common practice when Senators have concerns that they want the executive branch to address. Foreign Policy says that this decision is completely unrelated to McFaul’s qualifications for the position. In fact, according to an unnamed committee staffer, McFaul is “about as good of a nominee as Republicans can expect from this administration.” As highlighted in a previous Heritage Foundation …
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson recently announced that her agency would proceed with twice-delayed regulations targeting power plants that emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Mrs. Jackson’s decision ignores three vital pieces of information that should make it easy for Congress to prevent unelected bureaucrats from regulating CO2: • The EPA inspector general’s finding that EPA did not follow federal data quality standards in preparing its “endangerment finding” regarding greenhouse gases. • The profusion of scientific dissent. • The massive economic costs and minimal environmental benefits. In …
This week, President Obama is again set to make a pitch for his latest plan to stimulate the economy, but meanwhile he is turning his back on projects that would put tens or even hundreds of thousands of Americans to work. And he’s doing it all to appease his left-wing, environmentalist base at the expense of domestic energy production. Heritage’s Rob Bluey reported last week on a new finding by a New Orleans-based group that the Obama administration is approving just 35 percent of the oil drilling plans for the …
During last Tuesday’s Heritage Foundation/AEI debate on national security, the GOP candidates were queried on what lesser-known dangers to American security most concerned them. One particularly visceral threat is nuclear fissile material falling into the hands of non-state belligerents. The American public, however, is acutely aware of such a threat. The notion of a “dirty bomb” attack has been pounded into the nation’s collective consciousness by pop-culture hits such as the Fox television drama 24. What is less known, but equally disconcerting, is the danger posed by an electromagnetic pulse …
