The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Mitt Romney says Barack Obama 'could have gotten crippling sanctions against Iran. He did not.' Mitt Romney told an Arizona debate audience that President Barack Obama’s most "serious failure" as president has been "his failure to deal with Iran appropriately." "We simply cannot […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Rick Santorum charts explosion of federal entitlement spending since 1958 During the Feb. 22, 2012, presidential debate in Mesa, Ariz., Rick Santorum offered some historical comparisons of the federal budget. "When I was born" -- which was 1958 -- "less than 10 percent of the federal budget was entitlement s […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Rick Santorum says defense spending has fallen since 1958 as percent of federal budget During the Feb. 22, 2012, presidential debate in Mesa, Ariz., Rick Santorum offered some historical comparisons of the federal budget. "When I was born" -- which was 1958 -- "less than 10 percent of the federal budget wa […]
Newt Gingrich was wrong when he accused the “elite media” of failing to ask Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign about his votes “in favor of infanticide.” In fact, there were reams of mainstream media reports about Obama’s votes as an Illinois state senator on the “born alive” legislation to … More >>
The four remaining GOP presidential candidates met in Mesa, Ariz., for another debate, and mauled a few facts. Rick Santorum claimed earmarks were done in an “open” process during his time in Congress. Mitt Romney said dispensing morning-after pills to rape victims was “entirely voluntary” for Catholic hospitals in Massachusetts. … More >> […]
With Rick Santorum attacking Mitt Romney for “hypocrisy” regarding his requests for Olympic earmarks, competing claims about taxpayer support for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics are flying from all sides. But when it comes to presenting the facts, none of them stick the landing. A Romney spokeswoman downplayed Romney’s … More > […]
The case of First National Bank of Nevada illustrates complex legal maneuvering as the FDIC steps up efforts to pick through the detritus of the financial crisis.
Warnings from Syrian activists of a humanitarian catastrophe in Homs grew more desperate Thursday as government forces resumed shelling an opposition stronghold in the central city.
— Josh Barro likes Obama’s corporate tax proposal. — Where the term “dude” came from. — Yes, you can patent recipes. No, it’s not a good idea in practice. — Pawnshops for the 1 percent accept wine as collateral. — Building a Death Star would cost $852 quadrillion. Worth it? — Political scientists aren’t wholly convinced by evidence that negative political ad […]
Simon Johnson blames the Fed for listening too much to Wall Street titans and not enough to public-interest groups: He points out the central bank has held hundreds of meetings with industry lobbyists over Dodd-Frank and only a handful of meetings with reformers. But financial reformers themselves say that it’s not just the Fed’s fault that their access has […]
The latest Gallup-USA Today poll holds grim news for the White House. While 44 percent of Americans says President Obama’s time in office has been a success, 50 percent say it’s been a failure. The poll also finds that his favorability rating is 50 percent — presumably that’s the 50 percent that doesn’t think his presidency is a failure. That’s lower than ev […]
New research in the journal Public Health Nutrition offers some surprising findings on what prevents people from eating more healthily. The study’s authors looked at fruit and vegetable consumption in six low-income, primarily minority neighborhoods in Chicago, and they found that convenience was key among those who eat more produce. Participants who agreed […]
As oil and gas prices soar — due, in part, to tensions with Iran — many Democrats have called on President Obama to tap into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to moderate the shock. But would this move actually work? That’s not so clear. A new policy brief (pdf) by Philip Verleger of the Peterson Institute for International Economics lays out how the […]