SECURITY - The Salt Lake Tribune

Obama promises action on a trio of controversies

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:55:10 MDT

Obama promises action on a trio of controversies

By JULIE PACE The Associated Press

Updated May 16, 2013 11:55AM MDT

WASHINGTON • President Barack Obama confronted a trio of controversies Thursday, pledging to work with Congress to ensure the IRS doesn’t abuse its power, urging legislators to provide more money to strengthen security at U.S. diplomatic outposts and promising to seek “a balance” between national security and a need to protect freedom of the press. “I think we’re going to be able to fix it,” Obama said, speaking in particular of the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny. He ...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Need fed programs

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:03:52 MDT

Need fed programs

Updated May 16, 2013 08:03AM MDT

In “Just take it all” (Forum, May 9), David Barnes sees the proposal to have online retailers charge the same sales tax that local merchants do as just another government attempt to add yet another tax. He fears socialism is taking over. What’s he moaning about? Americans are getting value for what they’re paying for, and it’s for something they want. The two biggest federal programs are Social Security and Medicare, and so far they’re covered by their own payroll taxes, not income tax. Does Bar...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Senate panel approves U.S. ambassador to Libya

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:23:17 MDT

Senate panel approves U.S. ambassador to Libya

By DONNA CASSATA The Associated Press

Updated May 14, 2013 09:23PM MDT

Washington • The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday approved President Barack Obama’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Libya, a post that has been vacant since insurgents attacked the diplomatic mission in Benghazi last September, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. With little discussion, the panel on a voice vote approved Deborah Kay Jones, a career diplomat who has served in Kuwait, Argentina, Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Dowd: Hillaryland vs Foxworld

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:36:02 MDT

Dowd: Hillaryland vs Foxworld

By MAUREEN DOWD The New York Times

Updated May 13, 2013 11:36AM MDT

WASHINGTON — The capital is in the throes of deja vu and preview as it plunges back into Clinton Rules, defined by a presidential aide on the hit ABC show “Scandal” as damage control that goes like this: “It’s not true, it’s not true, it’s not true, it’s old news.” The conservatives appearing on Benghazi-obsessed Fox News are a damage patrol with an approach that goes like this: “Lies, paranoia, subpoena, impeach, Watergate, Iran-contra.” (Though now that the IRS has confessed to targeting Tea P...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Review chairman: Clinton didn’t make Benghazi call

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:07:56 MDT

Review chairman: Clinton didn’t make Benghazi call

By PHILIP ELLIOTT The Associated Press

Updated May 12, 2013 11:07PM MDT

Washington • The seasoned diplomat who penned a highly critical report on security at a U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, defended his scathing assessment but absolved then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. “We knew where the responsibility rested,” Thomas Pickering said Sunday. “They’ve tried to point a finger at people more senior than where we found the decisions were made,” Pickering, whose career spans four decades, said of Clinton’s critics. The Accountability Review Board, which ...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

News roundup: Chinese flooding White House petition site

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:34:55 MDT

News roundup: Chinese flooding White House petition site

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 10, 2013 06:34AM MDT

Lawmakers contemplate impeaching Swallow. Chinese citizens petition the White House. Lee's border security amendment gets rejected. Happy Friday. Frustrated Chinese people have learned the White House accepts online petitions and they have decided to make a few requests, asking for everything from complete liberation from their leaders to endorsing a sweet tofu. So far the China-based petitions have received 170,000 votes in the past week. [WaPost] Topping the news: State House Speaker B...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Boston top cop wasn’t told FBI got Tsarnaev warning

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:46:58 MDT

Boston top cop wasn’t told FBI got Tsarnaev warning

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL The Associated Press

Updated May 9, 2013 09:46PM MDT

Washington • The FBI did not initially share with Boston police the warnings it had received from Russia about one suspect in last month’s marathon bombings, despite the work of four city police representatives on a federal terrorism task force, Boston’s police commissioner told Congress on Thursday. Yet Commissioner Ed Davis acknowledged that police might not have uncovered or disrupted the plot even if they had fully investigated the family of Tamerlan Tsarnaev based on those warnings. The FB...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Senate panel rejects Mike Lee’s border security plan

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:19:59 MDT

Senate panel rejects Mike Lee’s border security plan

By Matt Canham The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 9, 2013 08:19PM MDT

Washington • Supporters of the Senate’s immigration bill rebuffed repeated Republican attempts to verify border-security gains before any immigrant here illegally could gain legal status. The fight over this “trigger” became the first contentious battle in what are expected to be weeks of debate within the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The triggers in the bill that kick off legalization are weak,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee’s top Republican. “No one can dispute that this bil...

Spring: Time for love, and burglaries, Salt Lake City police warn

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:07:40 MDT

Spring: Time for love, and burglaries, Salt Lake City police warn

By Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 10, 2013 09:07AM MDT

Spring not only is the time when love is in the air. Salt Lake City police warn it is also prime time for burglars. Salt Lake City police Detective Dennis McGowan said Thursday that with the return of warm weather, his officers have noticed a spike in reported break-ins. Seeking to clamp down on burglars and educate property owners about home- and business-security measures, detectives from the Community Intelligence Unit (CIU) this week targeted the area of 600 North to 1340 North and 1000 Wes...

BYU grad tapped as Libyan ambassador pledges security first

Tue, 07 May 2013 22:26:56 MDT

BYU grad tapped as Libyan ambassador pledges security first

By Thomas Burr The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 7, 2013 10:26PM MDT

Washington • A Brigham Young University graduate tapped by President Barack Obama to be the U.S. ambassador to Libya told a Senate panel on Tuesday that, if she is confirmed, security would be foremost in her mind. The nomination of Deborah Kay Jones, a veteran diplomat who previously served as ambassador to Kuwait, has been held up because of the ongoing investigation into the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed then-Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. “...

Chaffetz still on case of attack on U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:08:15 MDT

Chaffetz still on case of attack on U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya

By Thomas Burr The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 8, 2013 11:08AM MDT

Washington • Last year’s deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, became a rallying cry for Republicans to criticize President Barack Obama during the contentious election. Eight months later, Rep. Jason Chaffetz says the Obama administration is still trying to block an investigation into the incident where four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed. “Look, at the end of the day, we’ve got four dead Americans,” the Utah Republican said on “Fox News Sunday.” “W...