Pat Dollard

Mediaite: Here’s the short video of the signing ceremony, which was attended by members of the Pearl family, including his son, Adam, and his widow, Mariane: Transcript: Q Speaking of press freedom, could you answer a couple of questions on BP? THE PRESIDENT: You’re certainly free to ask them, Chip. Q Will you answer them? [...]

The Hill: Rep. Pete King accused the Obama administration on Monday of dragging its feet on anti-terrorism funds for New York City. King (R-N.Y.), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, has sparred with the administration since it announced last week it is making reductions to port and mass transit security grants slated for [...]

Fox News: The White House said Monday that it would continue to pursue sanctions against Iran after the country went around the United States to strike a nuclear fuel swap deal similar to the Western-backed plan that fell apart last fall. Iran is trying to avoid sanctions after it rejected a deal with the U.S., [...]

TEHRAN, May 17 (Reuters) – Iran will continue its uranium enrichment activities, including production of 20 percent enriched uranium, even after signing a nuclear fuel swap deal with Turkey and Brazil on Monday, a senior official told Reuters. “There is no relation between the swap deal and our enrichment activities … We will continue our [...]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran agreed Monday to a key big power demand, saying it was ready to ship much of its low-enriched uranium abroad – but immediately rolled out a new obstacle to compromise on its nuclear program by insisting it would continue enriching to higher levels. Tehran’s decision to agree to export a [...]

PARIS, May 17 (Reuters) – A Turkish-Brazilian deal to help Iran swap nuclear fuel might boost international trust in Tehran, but it would do nothing to resolve problems over Iran’s nuclear programme, the French Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said France wanted to see details of the accord, announced earlier [...]

Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, responding to criticism for his comments about Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration, released a statement Monday saying he has “respect” for those who are opposing the law. “I’ve been involved in a number of progressive political issues over the years and I support those who stand [...]

Politico: Most national Democrats have been careful to tread lightly around the tea party movement for fear of provoking its activists’ wrath. Not Ed Rendell. “There is no movement,” Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor told POLITICO, when asked why in recent months he has used appearances at rallies and on television to assert that the tea party [...]

HERZLIYA, Israel, May 17 (Reuters) – A nuclear-armed Iran would blunt Israel’s military autonomy, a wargame involving former Israeli generals and diplomats has concluded, though some players predicted Tehran would also exercise restraint. Sunday’s event at a campus north of Tel Aviv followed other high-profile Iran simulations in Israel and the United States in recent [...]

The Hill: About 1,000 protesters organized by labor groups blocked traffic and marched Monday in the streets of Washington to demonstrate against Wall Street’s lobbyists. A chief aim of the group was to highlight the fact that Wall Street firms have spent more than $1.3 million a day to fight the legislation headed for a [...]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – BP said Monday it hopes to siphon as much as half of the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico and is getting ready to shoot mud into a blown-out well later this week to try and stop all of it. BP PLC chief operating officer Doug Suttles said at a [...]

CLEVELAND — A U.S. immigration court granted asylum to President Barack Obama’s African aunt, allowing her to stay in the country, her attorneys said Monday. The decision was mailed Friday and comes three months after Kenya native Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama’s late father, testified at a closed hearing in Boston, where she arrived [...]

CBS News: There was some rich irony at the White House today — President Obama signed the Press Freedom Act, and then promptly refused to take any questions. The new law expands the State Department’s annual human rights reports to include a description of press freedoms in each country. It seemed a good opportunity to [...]