WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House and its critics faced off on Tuesday over the legality of drone strikes to kill U.S. citizens abroad, in a likely preview of arguments that will be raised during this week’s confirmation hearing for President Barack Obama’s choice to head the CIA.

The disclosure of an unclassified Justice Department memo laying out the legal framework for the U.S. government’s ability to attack its own citizens drew criticism from civil liberties groups. But the White House strongly defended the controversial policy as legal and ethical.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House and its critics faced off on Tuesday over the legality of drone strikes to kill U.S. citizens abroad, in a likely preview of arguments that will be raised during this week’s confirmation hearing for President Barack Obama’s choice to head the CIA.

The disclosure of an unclassified Justice Department memo laying out the legal framework for the U.S. government’s ability to attack its own citizens drew criticism from civil liberties groups. But the White House strongly defended the controversial policy as legal and ethical.

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – U.S. states would be free to
decide how to regulate marijuana just like beer and wine without
running foul of federal law under legislation being proposed by
two Democratic lawmakers.

Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado plan
to introduce two bills in the House of Representatives on
Tuesday amid a growing movement to legalize pot for personal
use, whether recreational or medical.

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – U.S. states would be free to
decide whether to legalize marijuana without running afoul of
federal law but would require purchasers to pay federal taxes on
its sale under legislation being proposed by two Democratic
lawmakers.

The proposed bills in the House of Representatives aim to
offer a new federal policy toward pot, amid a growing movement
to legalize it for personal use, whether recreational or
medical.

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – For too many of Vada Lindsey’s
lower-income clients, their hard-earned 401(k) accounts become
go-to emergency funds when they are faced with unexpected cash
needs.

Each year, Lindsey, a tax lawyer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
who helps some of the city’s poorest residents, sees people
yanking money from already modest retirement accounts to deal
with unexpected moves, job losses and other emergencies.

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Snacks sold in U.S. schools
would need to be lower in fat, salt and sugar and include more
nutritious items like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, under
new potential standards released on Friday by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.

The proposal, more than a year overdue, also calls for the
nation’s public schools to ensure individual food and drink
items sold in vending machines and other venues during the
school day be 200 calories or less, USDA said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After more than a year’s delay, American schools will soon see new U.S. government rules targeting the kinds of snacks sold to students, a move nutritionists say could play an important role in fighting childhood obesity.

Anxious schools have waited more than a year to find out how sales of potato chips, candy bars, sodas and similar treats to students will be restricted. These rules on food sold outside traditional cafeteria meals are a key part of the first major overhaul on school food in more than three decades.

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – After more than a year’s
delay, American schools will soon see new U.S. government rules
targeting the kinds of snacks sold to students, a move
nutritionists say could play an important role in fighting
childhood obesity.

Anxious schools have waited more than a year to find out how
sales of potato chips, candy bars, sodas and similar treats to
students will be restricted. These rules on food sold outside
traditional cafeteria meals are a key part of the first major
overhaul on school food in more than three decades.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Al Gore said on Tuesday that tough competition from major U.S. television networks forced him to sell Current TV, a struggling progressive cable channel, to Al Jazeera, and he praised the Arabic news broadcaster’s coverage of climate change.

Gore, a former vice president who won a Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness about the problems with climate change, said on NBC’s “Today” show that he was proud of the channel and had never thought of it as simply a monetary investment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Gay people in the United States are just as likely as heterosexuals to experience domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking, and bisexual women are more likely than other women to be abused, federal health experts said on Friday.

Until now, little had been known about how often violence occurred among gays and bisexuals in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said of its findings. The CDC said its report offered the first national data on the issue.