Politics

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President Obama addresses the nation from the White House on July 25, 2011, on the approaching debt limit deadline. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican, suspects an effort by the Obama administration to intimidate witnesses from testifying before his House committee regarding the "Fast and Furious" ATF cross-border firearms investigation. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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"At the end of the day, the president's not going to be impeached over either of those two offenses" -- Darrell E. Issa, Chairman of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter Monday to leaders of the House Ethics Committee, saying an investigation is warranted. (Associated Press)

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Rep. David Wu faces pressure Monday after Rep. Nancy Pelosi called for an ethics investigation over an 18-year-old woman's claim of an "unwanted sexual encounter" with him. A report stated that a woman accused him in a voice mail left in his Portland office. (Associated Press)

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President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 25, 2011, on the approaching debt limit deadline. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)

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"Republicans' short-term plan is a nonstarter in the Senate and in the White House," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, with Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, looking on. "It appears to me at this stage that the Republicans are more interested in trying to embarrass the president than doing what's right for the country." (Associated Press)

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**FILE** An Egyptian protester — the Arabic on his shirt reads "Execution for the killer of the youths" — is ready to throw his shoe at police vehicles carrying defendants out of the courthouse on July 25, 2011, after a court decided to combine the trials of the country's former interior minister, Habib el-Adly, ousted President Hosni Mubarak and six aides in the killing of protesters during the 18-day uprising that toppled the longtime leader in February. (Associated Press)

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter Monday to leaders of the House Ethics Committee, saying an investigation is warranted. (Associated Press)

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Rep. David Wu faces pressure Monday after Rep. Nancy Pelosi called for an ethics investigation over an 18-year-old woman's claim of an "unwanted sexual encounter" with him. A report stated that a woman accused him in a voice mail left in his Portland office. (Associated Press)

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Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. greets Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Monday during for the announcement of the Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. (Associated Press)

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The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington has been the military's flagship hospital, where patients from privates to presidents have gone for care for more than a century. It is being divided and moved. (Associated Press)

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House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, center, joined by other GOP leaders, criticizes President Obama and Congressional Democrats for failure to end the debt crisis, Monday, July 25, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 25, 2011. From left are, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Texas Republican, Boehner, Rep. David Dreier,, California Republican, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo speaks with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton after their meeting at Kylin Villa in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Monday. (Associated Press)

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As Congressional leaders try to reach an accord to avert a debt-ceiling crisis, House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, walks from his office to the House Chamber on Capitol Hill on July 25, 2011, following a morning meeting with other GOP leaders. (Associated Press)

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Conservationists say Blue Lagoon in Port Antonio, Jamaica, is increasingly under threat by developers and the government's lackluster efforts at enforcing environmental laws. (Associated Press)

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As Congressional leaders try to reach an accord to avert a debt-ceiling crisis, House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, walks from his office to the House Chamber on Capitol Hill on July 25, 2011, following a morning meeting with other GOP leaders. (Associated Press)