Today's Top News from The Washington Times

		Sunday, September 4, 2011 Must Read Stories Today
Pentagon fears listening posts from China A Pentagon report has found that a multibillion-dollar Chinese telecommunications company that has been seeking to make major inroads in the U.S. market has close ties to China's military, despite the company's denials. Obama halts EPA air-quality regulations President Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency Friday to shelve proposed regulations for new air-quality standards, citing the potential impact on the weak economy. Washington Nationals turn to Lifehouse for band aid Baseball in September? Meh. When the season dwindles, fans of downtrodden teams need a reason to come to the ballpark beyond the game itself. Sometimes, that reason comes after the game. New questions, possible cover-up, surface in ATF Fast and Furious probe Two top Republican lawmakers say Arizona prosecutors "stifled" attempts by agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to interdict weapons purchased by "straw buyers" in that state that later were "walked" to drug smugglers in Mexico, and may have covered up the fact that two of those weapons were found at the scene of the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Tropical Storm Lee resumes slow march northward A tropical storm warning has been extended to include part of the Florida Panhandle as Tropical Storm Lee has begun to crawl northward again. Palin has harsh words for Obama to tea party crowd Cheers of "Run Sarah, Run" greeted Sarah Palin at a tea party rally in Iowa, but the former Alaska governor still isn't saying whether she's going to jump into the 2012 presidential race. Libyan intelligence documents show ties to CIA The CIA worked closely with Moammar Gadhafi's intelligence services in the rendition of terror suspects to Libya for interrogation, according to documents seen Saturday by the AP, cooperation that could spark tensions between Washington and Libya's new rulers. Vatican rejects Irish criticism over sex abuse The Vatican on Saturday vigorously rejected claims it sabotaged efforts by Irish bishops to report priests who sexually abused children to police and accused the Irish prime minister of making an "unfounded" attack against the Holy See. Israeli rabbi pairs gays to lesbians Rabbi Arele Harel offers an unconventional solution for Orthodox Jewish gay men who want to raise a conventional family: He fixes them up with Orthodox lesbians. Theology a hot issue in 2012 GOP campaign Rick Perry dived right in. The Texas governor, now a Republican presidential candidate, held a prayer rally for tens of thousands, read from the Bible, invoked Christ and broadcast the whole event on the Web. There was no symbolic nod to other American faiths, no rabbi or Roman Catholic priest among the evangelical speakers. It was a rare, full-on embrace of one religious tradition in the glare of a presidential contest. Congress returns, unpopular as well as divided Congress returns to work this coming week, divided over measures to create jobs and scorned by the nation it was elected to help lead. Feds sue biggest U.S. banks over risky mortgages In a sweeping move, the government on Friday sued 17 financial firms, including the largest U.S. banks, for selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities that turned toxic when the housing market collapsed. Obama: From 'yes we can' to 'it takes time' When he ran for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama sprinkled his campaign speeches with ambitious catchphrases such as "the fierce urgency of now" and "yes we can." Nowadays, he's been trotting out a stump speech with a far less lofty message for voters: You expected too much from me. Job growth, unemployment stall in August Job growth ground to a halt last month in the strongest evidence to date that businesses were hit as hard as consumers by a sharp loss of confidence during the month spawned by Washington's debt crisis and severe turmoil in the world's financial markets. Short-term leaders in Japan leave disaster victims in limbo Disaster survivors in northeastern Japan are demanding that government officials spend more resources on them instead of focusing on political squabbles in Tokyo, where Yoshihiko Noda took office this week as the country's sixth prime minister in five years. Justice nominee keeps names of 11 clients secret Michael E. Horowitz, President Obama's nominee as the Justice Department's top watchdog, has earned more than $4 million since last year as an attorney representing the likes of Pfizer Inc., Dow Chemical Co. and Cablevision Systems Corp. But he is keeping the identities of nearly a dozen other clients secret on newly filed ethics forms. Commentary NUGENT: Laborious Day, 2011 With 1 in 5 men not working and collecting unemployment benefits and who knows how many other Americans working for less pay than before, Labor Day 2011 should be called Unemployment and Underemployment Day. EDITORIAL: Happy Leisure Day When the Marathon County, Wisc., Labor Council announced two weeks ago that no Republicans would be invited to their Labor Day parade in the town of Wausau, it seemed like a throwback to a bygone era. Labor Council President Randy Radtke said, "We didn't start this fight in Wisconsin, but we're responding to anti-worker positions and policies supported by local Republican politicians." Mr. Radtke is not exactly Samuel Gompers - the late, longtime president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) - but he definitely exudes that old-time spirit. MURRAY: Needed: Budget reforms to save money into the future It has been more than two years since Congress passed a genuine federal budget. So why can President Obama go on spending so much more of our money? The answer is that Congress can continue spending without a budget. It passed seven "continuing resolutions" that allowed the government to continue operating before it finally agreed in April on a compromise appropriations bill for the current year. That deal runs out this month. Also running out is the American people's patience with overspending. WOLF: I'm exactly what's wrong with Barack Obama's America My father used to tell me that if I worked hard, it would pay off in the long run. How could he have been so blind? Laziness pays off now! DECKER: Beware Obama's executive fiat It's a perfect admission of the cluelessness of this White House that the head of the Labor Department thinks zero new jobs and a permanent unemployment rate above 9 percent mean the country is headed the right way. 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