The Other Side of Life 24/7: U.S. Top News: Recreational marijuana should not be top federal priority: Obama

Friday, December 14, 2012

U.S. Top News: Recreational marijuana should not be top federal priority: Obama

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12/14/2012

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Recreational marijuana should not be top federal priority: Obama

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama says federal authorities should not target recreational marijuana use in two Western states where it has been made legal given limited government resources and growing public acceptance of the controlled substance.

U.S. states inch closer to pre-recession prosperity

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. states are coming close to the end of a three-year trek back to the financial prosperity they enjoyed before the recession, according to a survey released on Friday that found the recovery is slow and uneven.

House Democrat says "fiscal cliff" vote could go into 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The failure of Democrats and Republicans to break the impasse over the "fiscal cliff" is raising the possibility of Congress going beyond the year-end deadline to complete the work necessary to avert steep tax hikes and budget cuts that experts fear could push the nation into another recession.

California planning low-carbon oasis where cars aren't king

NEWARK, California (Reuters) - Vacant industrial land near salt marshes and a derelict rail bridge seem like an odd setting for the beginnings of a lifestyle revolution in scenic California, but planners in the San Francisco Bay suburb of Newark view it as just that.

Showers to stabilize U.S. river water levels, aid Plains wheat

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Widespread rainfall expected over the weekend in the U.S. Midwest may help stabilize falling water levels on key river shipping routes in the United States, but more rain will be needed to bring water levels back to normal, an agricultural meteorologist said on Friday.

Quake of 6.1 magnitude strikes off California: USGS

LONDON (Reuters) - A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck 142 kilometers (88 miles) southwest of the coast of California at 1036 GMT, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Friday.

Susan Rice withdraws as secretary of state candidate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a close confidante of President Barack Obama, withdrew her name from consideration as secretary of state on Thursday in the face of what promised to be a contentious Senate confirmation battle.

California fight tests U.S. states' compact on business taxes

(Reuters) - A landmark agreement forged 45 years ago to make corporate taxation more uniform among U.S. states is at the center of a court fight between California and Gillette Co, potentially leading to more tax conflict between states and big businesses.

Family of man killed in Belize says McAfee should be questioned

MIAMI BEACH/ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. software pioneer John McAfee signed autographs and posed for photos in Miami Beach on Thursday while the family of his murdered neighbor questioned why the eccentric millionaire would not answer police questions about the killing in Belize.

U.S. researchers devise scale to gauge wildfire risk, lessen losses

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind numerical scale to measure wildfire risks to property and communities in the wake of a fire season ranked the third most extensive since 1960, government officials said on Thursday.