The GOP Plans a Rebirth, with Pepperoni and Protests

If House and Senate Republican leaders have their way, Saturday’s gathering at Pie-Tanza, a strip-mall pizza joint in Arlington, Virginia, will be remembered as the beginning of the rebirth of the Grand Old Party. In addition to pizza, the venue, selected by the freshly born, center-leaning National Council for a New America , served up symbolism: suburban areas like this one, on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., were GOP bastions not so long ago, and they’ll need to come back to the fold for a Republican resurgence.

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Nepalese president in dispute over army head

Nepal’s Maoist government took the president to task Monday for ordering the country’s army chief of staff to stay in office after they had fired him, calling the decision "unconstitutional." “Neither the constitution nor the Military Act gives the President the right to do anything besides supporting the government’s decision,” said Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the minister for information and communication. Late Sunday night, President Ram Baran Yadav ordered Gen.

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Nepal government splits over general’s firing

Nepal’s government ordered the country’s army chief of staff fired Sunday, touching off street protests and a split in Nepal’s Maoist-dominated ruling coalition. But Gen. Rookmangud Katawal has refused to accept his dismissal, and Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav — the constitutional commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces — has told Katawal to remain in office, a presidential spokesman said

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Panama City Tries to Exorcise its Red Devils

Barreling down Balboa Avenue, belching diesel fumes as they bully fancy European sports cars out of the way, the second-hand American school buses that pass for Panama City’s public transportation system seem like dinosaurs that took a wrong exit off the time-space continuum. Known as “red devils,” these graffiti-covered relics offer one of the few relics of Panama City’s origins.

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The Fiery Hindu Nationalist Who’s Roiling Indian Politics

Narendra Modi embodies the incongruities of Indian politics. The three-term Chief Minister of Gujarat has made his state perhaps the most prosperous in a country already tapped for greater and greater growth. Gujarat has been enjoying growth rates of 10% or more , with some of the largest businesses in the country operating in its territory, providing the average Gujarati a mean income significantly higher than the national average

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Analysis: What’s ahead for Obama in the next 100 days

After passing the 100 days benchmark, President Obama pushes on with a daunting task ahead of him: Tackling foreign and domestic issues while dealing with a Republican Party opposed to nearly all his major economic initiatives.

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Obama: Candidate vs. President

More than two years ago, a junior senator with presidential aspirations stood on the steps of Illinois’ Old State Capitol in Springfield and warned of politicians who fail to live up to expectations. (CNN) — More than two years ago, a junior senator with presidential aspirations stood on the steps of Illinois’ Old State Capitol in Springfield and warned of politicians who fail to live up to expectations. “Too many times, after the election is over, and the confetti is swept away, all those promises fade from memory, and the lobbyists and the special interests move in, and people turn away, disappointed as before, left to struggle on their own,” then-Sen

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Pelosi to Republican voters: ‘Take back your party’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi marked President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office with some unsolicited advice for Republican voters, telling them to "take back" their party. The California Democrat offered her own analysis of the political environment for her political opponents, asserting Republicans across the country are more willing to work with Democrats than their leaders on Capitol Hill.

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For a ‘Hallmark holiday,’ White House going all-out

Behind closed doors in recent days, senior White House aides have been saying that measuring President Obama’s first 100 days is the journalistic equivalent of a Hallmark holiday. “They don’t mean anything,” quipped one aide, “but you have to observe them.” But literally in the next breath the very same aide got pretty bold — saying that anyone doing one of these anniversary stories would be “hard-pressed to find another administration that has done as much” as Obama so early in a presidency, including FDR

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GOP Senator Specter’s Party Switch Gives Obama a 100-Day Gift

Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter turned the 111th session of Congress upside down on Tuesday by announcing that he will switch parties and become a Democrat. The move was the product of weeks of intensive negotiation between Specter and Democrats in the Senate and White House, and it favorably alters the balance of power for President Obama as he is facing tough votes in the months ahead on health care, energy and budget bills

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