NH health agency seeks $321M more in next budget

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire's biggest agency asked Tuesday for $321 million more from state tax sources in the two-year state budget Gov.-elect Maggie Hassan must present to lawmakers in February.Health and Human Services Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas testified at a hearing on the request that one of the biggest increases is due to a change in how the state pays nursing homes for Medicaid...

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First cracks in GOP resolve on tax rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first cracks are developing among Republicans over whether to accept a quick deal with President Barack Obama on allowing the top two income tax rates to expire, even as an administration official said the White House was stepping up behind-the-scenes negotiations.Conservative Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole told GOP colleagues in a private meeting Tuesday that it's better to make...

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Grocery giant Kroger wins $567 million tax fight

(Reuters) - Kroger Co said Thursday it won a tax battle with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which has dropped an effort to collect $567 million in disputed deductions from the grocery giant.The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month dismissed the government's claims against Kroger, the Cincinnati-based company disclosed in a securities filing.The dismissal by a three-judge panel...

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Analysis: Japan's new cabinet likely to be long on loyalty, short on reform

TOKYO (Reuters) - Incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet looks likely to be heavy on close allies, with a few party rivals added to fend off criticism of cronyism, but few see signs that the line-up will produce creative reform policies.Abe, who will be voted in as prime minister on Wednesday following his conservative Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) sweeping election win, has made...

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Analysis: Allies to lose socialist patron if Venezuela's Chavez goes

CARACAS (Reuters) - Murals adorning a Caracas slum that has given militant backing to President Hugo Chavez over the years are a virtual pantheon of international radicals.From Colombia's FARC guerrillas to the Palestine Liberation Organization and Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the images and slogans on teeming slopes above Chavez's presidential palace hail socialist revolutionaries the world over.Beside...

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Factbox: Patchwork of U.S. regulations governs firearms

(Reuters) - The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says Americans have the right to bear arms, but the sale, possession, transportation and use of weapons are covered by a host of local, state and federal regulations.Gun laws have come under scrutiny after 26 people were killed in a shooting rampage at a Connecticut school on Friday. The suspected shooter, Adam Lanza, is believed to have stolen...

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Senator jokes that Boehner's 'Plan B' shows progress finally being made on women's issues

WASHINGTON - A Democratic senator joked Thursday that with House Speaker John Boehner embracing "Plan B," women's issues are progressing in Congress.Washington Democrat Patty Murray told reporters that she "got really excited" when she heard Boehner talking about Plan B.But then, she kidded, she learned it didn't signify progress for women after all.Boehner had a backup plan for his fight over the...

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Congresswoman broke ethics rules, House panel says

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A seven-term U.S. congresswoman from Nevada, Shelley Berkley, violated ethics rules by using her office to try to help her husband's medical practice but had no "corrupt intent" in doing so, the U.S. House Ethics Committee said on Thursday.The committee said no further action was needed against the Democratic member of the House of Representatives. It had launched a probe in...

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Retirement Savings Plan Reality: Save More

There's a buzz building in California over a state move to create a retirement savings plan for private employees with no workplace 401k. It might seem that everyone has plenty of access to a retirement savings plan, but at least a third of U.S. households get to retirement with just Social Security to back them up, reports MarketWatch.The "pioneering" part of such a retirement savings plan would...

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US pending home sales jump to nearly a 6-year high

WASHINGTON (AP) — An index measuring the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in October jumped to nearly its highest level in almost six years. Steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates have made home buying more attractive. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October....

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