Ben Wolfgang
Articles by Ben Wolfgang
Iranian president brushes away Obama’s olive branch at U.N.
President Obama used his annual address to the United Nations on Tuesday to say he sees an opening for diplomacy with Iran and would pursue a deal to stop the Islamic republic's pursuit of nuclear weapons — but his words were soon overshadowed by the handshake that wasn't. Published September 24, 2013
Obama challenges United Nations to action on Syria
President Obama on Tuesday laid out a clear set of choices for the United Nations: Find consensus on Syria, or become irrelevant. Published September 24, 2013
Obama confronts power politics at United Nations
As he came to office in 2009, President Obama looked to the United Nations as a vehicle to drive change in the Middle East and around the world. Four years later, the international body remains, as its critics long have suggested, more of an obstacle to action than a leader of it. Published September 23, 2013
White House: Still no Obama-Rouhani meeting scheduled
As President Obama arrived in New York ahead of his planned Tuesday speech to the U.N. General Assembly, a key outstanding question is whether he'll sit down with new Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, a meeting that potentially could signal a shift in relations between the two nations. Published September 23, 2013
Obama faces host of challenges during high-stakes U.N. trip
Syria's chemical weapons program, how to deal with a new Iranian regime and tense Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations are just some of the issues that will confront President Obama as he travels to New York this week for a highly anticipated address to the United Nations General Assembly. Published September 22, 2013
Energy nominee Ron Binz loses voltage with contradictions, Obama coal rules
President Obama's nominee to a top energy post is hanging on by a thread after a poor performance last week at a confirmation hearing where he failed to win over key supporters and even appeared to have misled a Senate committee about his record of support for a coal-fired energy plant. Published September 22, 2013
At Navy Yard memorial, Obama renews call for gun control
Making perhaps his strongest case to date for gun-control, President Obama on Sunday said the U.S. cannot continue to accept mass shootings like the one seen at the Washington Navy Yard last week. Published September 22, 2013
As Navy Yard families mourn, Obama pushes gun control
On the same day that lawmakers acknowledged that any attempt to crack down on firearms stands virtually no chance on Capitol Hill, President Obama made his strongest plea to date on the need to confront gun violence. Published September 22, 2013
Blame game heats up as start of shutdown looms
With little more than a week before a budget stalemate over Obamacare sets off a government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans dug in deeper Sunday, with lawmakers increasingly looking, pre-emptively, to pin blame on the other side. Published September 22, 2013
Obama to meet Palestinian leader next week in NYC
The White House confirmed Friday that President Obama will hold a bilateral meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas next week in New York City during the global gathering of world leaders for the U.N. General Assembly. Published September 20, 2013
EPA coal rules tighter than expected, will fuel backlash in Congress
The Environmental Protection Agency's dramatic new power plant emissions standards already have touched off a firestorm within the coal industry and on Capitol Hill, with top Republicans promising to fight tooth-and-nail against President Obama's climate-change agenda. Published September 20, 2013
EPA’s new rules for coal accelerate Obama’s agenda on climate change
Three months after President Obama vowed to get tough on climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday begins that mission by announcing long-awaited rules for new power plants that, while slightly watered down, will be tough on the beleaguered coal industry. Published September 19, 2013
Keystone XL debate resurfaces, gets entangled in debt-ceiling battle
The Keystone XL pipeline has been knocked out of the headlines in recent weeks, but debate over the project found new life on Capitol Hill this week. Published September 19, 2013
Obama to attend memorial service for Navy Yard shooting victims
President Obama on Sunday will attend a memorial service for the victims of Monday's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, the White House announced Wednesday. Published September 18, 2013
House Republicans will link health care funding to budget, raise risk of shutdown
House Republicans said Wednesday that they will push ahead with plans to tie ongoing operations of the government to their demand that the health care law be delayed, setting up a direct challenge with President Obama and the Senate and inching closer to a government shutdown. Published September 18, 2013
Obama accuses House GOP of extortion in budget fight
For the second time in three days, President Obama targeted tea party Republicans in the House of Representatives and accused them of trying to "extort" the White House. Published September 18, 2013
Aaron Alexis’ history renews debate between mental issues, gun crimes
Aaron Alexis told police he heard voices in his head and "microwave vibrations" prevented him from sleeping. He was an avid player of violent video games and faced multiple disciplinary actions while in the Navy Reserve. Published September 18, 2013
FBI: Alexis acted alone, had only one weapon, arrived in D.C. 3 weeks ago
The killer behind Monday's rampage at the Washington Navy Yard acted alone and entered the facility with just one weapon, the FBI confirmed Tuesday afternoon. Published September 17, 2013
After Navy Yard, Senate tables hearing on ‘stand your ground’ gun laws
Citing Monday's massacre at Washington's Navy Yard, Sen. Richard Durbin has canceled a planned hearing on the controversial "stand your ground" laws. Published September 16, 2013
Obama, Feinstein reignite fight for gun control after Navy Yard shooting
Just hours after the deadly shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard, gun control advocates tried to reignite the national debate over gun laws that had only just subsided. Published September 16, 2013