Forums: Enhanced CD

President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for a tool similar to a line-item veto that would let him single out new spending for cuts. The president will send to the Hill before the Memorial Day recess a proposal for "enhanced rescission authority," under which he could propose cuts to a spending measure within 45 days after signing it into law, an administration official said. Congress would then have to vote on the president's cuts as a package that couldn't be amended, the official said. The line-item veto sought by past presidents would have let them strip specific items from...

Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage An update to the the original F-scale by a team of meteorologists and wind engineers, to be implemented in the U.S. on 1 February 2007. FUJITA SCALE DERIVED EF SCALE OPERATIONAL EF SCALE F Number Fastest 1/4-mile (mph) 3 Second Gust (mph) EF Number 3 Second Gust (mph) EF Number 3 Second Gust (mph) 0 40-72 45-78 0 65-85 0 65-85 1 73-112 79-117 1 86-109 1 86-110 2 113-157 118-161 2 110-137 2 111-135 3 158-207 162-209 3 138-167 3 136-165 4 208-260 210-261 4 168-199 4 166-200 5 261-318 262-317 5...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (June 2, 2006) -- Marines fighting the ongoing war on terrorism face enemies that are adaptive, decentralized and elusive. According to Headquarters Marine Corps, the enemy will continue to develop new tactics designed to exploit perceived seams in Marine Corps capabilities, having recognized the overwhelming conventional superiority of U.S. forces. In order to maintain dominance on the battlefield, it is essential to the Corps that the methods of war-fighting change continuously, and Marines continue to adapt to new methods while remaining a flexible, combined-arms force. The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in...

(AP) OAKLAND, Calif. Barry, meet the Babe. Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth for second place on the career list with his 714th home run Saturday, a shot into the first deck of elevated stands in right-center leading off the second inning against the Oakland Athletics. The ball landed about eight rows up in the seats overlooking the high fence just to the left of the out-of-town scoreboard. Though the A's don't provide estimated distances on home runs, the ball appeared to travel about 400 feet -- far from being one of his trademark behemoth drives. The ball was caught on...

Enhanced pension deals are county's albatross... The county has the distinction of carrying more retirees (6,050) than active employees (4,631) on county health insurance. Add in 3,100 spouses and dependents of retirees, and the county is insuring more than 9,000 individuals on the retiree side. The county now pays out more in health care for retirees than for active employees. In addition to her monthly check, she was promised, and cherishes, free health insurance for the rest of her life. It is the sum of such promises to Schumann and 6,000-plus other retirees that is a major stumbling block as...

SACRAMENTO – California first lady Maria Shriver may be the only top political adviser to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to emerge from the special election with her popularity and credibility enhanced. Her secret? Silence. During his "year of reform," Schwarzenegger and his campaign advisers made wildly optimistic claims of victory and inaccurate assessments of the popularity of his four ballot measures. Shriver never spoke about his initiatives. Now, that conspicuous silence may become her greatest asset, paving the way for her to play an influential role in Schwarzenegger's effort to create and communicate a more bipartisan approach to governing as he...

PARIS - French police determined that a threat against the U.S. Embassy in Paris was a false alarm after questioning 10 Egyptians in custody, judicial officials said Monday. The suspects were rounded up early Sunday after the U.S. Embassy received a phone call from a man describing a terror plot and giving names and contact information of those involved, the officials said. They said the anonymous phone call was recorded at the embassy and turned over to the FBI, who alerted French police. Police now believe the caller was settling scores. They found no weapons, explosives or other evidence of...