http://www.rttnews.comGlobal financial news, market analysis, economics and forex newsen-usSat, 18 May 2013 18:15:01 GMTNorth Korea fired three short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan on Saturday, reports said citing South Korea's defense ministry. http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120863Sat, 18 May 2013 14:29:59 GMTFrance became the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage on Saturday as President Francois Hollande signed into law a bill that allows the same, after the Constitutional Council okayed the measure a day before. http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120859Sat, 18 May 2013 10:42:17 GMTAs the IRS targeting scandal continues to make headlines, animal-protection charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, claims that conservative groups are not the only ones that have faced increased scrutiny from the agency.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120695Fri, 17 May 2013 17:43:34 GMTA conservative advocacy group has urged House Republican leaders to refrain from bringing controversial legislation to the House floor and risk distracting Americans from the recent scandals causing headaches for the White House.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120643Fri, 17 May 2013 15:33:22 GMTWhile the IRS targeting scandal has taken center stage on Capitol Hill on Friday, the results of a new Gallup poll showed that the American public's interest in the story is comparatively low based on historical measures. The poll showed that 54 percent of Americans are following the news that the IRS targeted conservative groups for greater scrutiny "very" or "somewhat" closely.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2120615Fri, 17 May 2013 14:57:47 GMTMoving quickly to try to address the scandal over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he has appointed Daniel Werfel as the agency's new acting commissioner. Werfel, who currently serves as Controller of the Office of Management and Budget, replaces Steven Miller, who was asked to resign on Wednesday.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119866Thu, 16 May 2013 19:52:28 GMTPresident Barack Obama continued to try to distance himself from the recent IRS scandal on Thursday, claiming that he had no knowledge of an investigation of the agency's controversial practice of targeting conservative groups for increased scrutiny.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119855Thu, 16 May 2013 19:33:15 GMTReceiving bipartisan support, nuclear physicist Ernest Moniz was confirmed by the Senate as the next Secretary of Energy on Thursday. The Senate voted 97 to 0 to confirm Moniz to replace outgoing Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who announced plans to retire in February.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119846Thu, 16 May 2013 18:59:49 GMTDemocrat Terry McAuliffe has pulled into a slim lead in the race to become Virginia's next governor, according to the results of a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, although the poll suggests that the race is still up for grabs.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119839Thu, 16 May 2013 18:35:14 GMTIn the wake of the scandal regarding the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, President Barack Obama announced that acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller has resigned. Obama delivered a statement in the East Room of the White House Wednesday evening indicating that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew requested and accepted Miller's resignation.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2119751Thu, 16 May 2013 15:34:48 GMTWhile President Barack Obama has faced mostly troubling news in recent days, the mood around the White House may have gotten somewhat brighter following the release of a report from the Congressional Budget Office forecasting a narrower than expected budget deficit.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2118772Wed, 15 May 2013 18:54:03 GMTWith news of the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups continuing to make headlines, President Barack Obama vowed to hold those responsible accountable. Responding to an inspector general report confirming that IRS personnel improperly targeted conservative groups, Obama released a statement Tuesday calling the report's findings "intolerable and inexcusable."http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2118753Wed, 15 May 2013 18:06:43 GMTWhile regions across the country face serious risks of wildfires this season, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said there will be fewer firefighters available to battle the blazes due to the across the board budget cuts that went into effect earlier this year.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2117508Tue, 14 May 2013 18:31:46 GMTActing Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Steven Miller has acknowledged that the agency made mistakes in handling a surge in applications for tax-exempt status from advocacy groups but argued that the targeting of certain groups for additional scrutiny was not politically motivated.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2117482Tue, 14 May 2013 18:05:41 GMTWith President Obama already under pressure over news of the IRS targeting conservative groups and allegations of a cover-up related to last year's deadly attacks in Benghazi, the White House has sought to distance the president from the Justice Department's seizure of phone records from the Associated Press.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2117383Tue, 14 May 2013 15:26:01 GMTResponding to reports of the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative groups for increased scrutiny, President Barack Obama was harshly critical of the alleged practice and promised that those responsible would be held accountable. In a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, Obama called the IRS' alleged targeting of certain political groups "outrageous."http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2116314Mon, 13 May 2013 19:06:44 GMTSupport for same-sex marriage has solidified above the majority level, according to the results of a new Gallup poll released on Monday. The poll found that 53 percent of Americans think same-sex marriage should be legal, representing the third consecutive reading of 50 percent or above. Forty-five percent are opposed to same-sex marriage.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2116303Mon, 13 May 2013 18:36:29 GMTIn a potential blow to Democrats' efforts to hold on to the South Dakota Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., former Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced Monday that she will not run in 2014.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2116223Mon, 13 May 2013 15:31:18 GMTNews of the capital murder trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell has not attracted much attention among Americans, according to a new poll released by Gallup, which said the case is one of the least followed news stories it has measured. Gosnell has been accused of killing newborns that survived attempted late-term abortions.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2115327Fri, 10 May 2013 17:56:49 GMTWhile Hillary Clinton's name is not likely to be on another ballot until at least 2016, that has not prevented her from being a target of political organizations such as Karl Rove's American Crossroads. A new web video from American Crossroads harshly criticizes Clinton's handling of the deadly attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, while she was Secretary of State.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2115277Fri, 10 May 2013 15:26:24 GMTAfter easily winning the Democratic primary last week, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., appears in good shape to defeat Republican businessman and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez in the looming special election to fill Secretary of State John Kerry's old Massachusetts Senate seat.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2114390Thu, 09 May 2013 18:59:41 GMTBlack Americans turned out to vote in the 2012 presidential election at a higher rate than white Americans for the first time on record, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released on Wednesday. The Census Bureau said 66.2 percent of eligible blacks voted in the election last November compared to 64.1 percent of eligible non-Hispanic whites.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2114318Thu, 09 May 2013 15:49:00 GMTDetails of the comprehensive immigration reform legislation should start to take shape on Thursday, as the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin debating the bill crafted by a bipartisan group of eight Senators.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2113154Wed, 08 May 2013 19:36:34 GMTWhile gun laws and immigration reform have attracted a lot of attention on Capitol Hill in recent months, the results of a new Gallup poll suggest that the American people want lawmakers to focus more on creating jobs and growing the economy.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2113113Wed, 08 May 2013 18:09:23 GMTPresident Barack Obama is scheduled to have dinner with members of the House Democratic Leadership on Wednesday, continuing his efforts to do a better job engaging with Congress in his second term.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2113037Wed, 08 May 2013 15:51:44 GMTWith tax revenues showing a significant increase, the Congressional Budget Office released a report on Tuesday showing that the U.S. budget deficit for the first seven months of fiscal year 2013 was much narrower than in the year-ago period. The CBO said the federal government ran a budget deficit of $489 billion in the period from October 2012 through April 2013.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2113025Wed, 08 May 2013 15:15:26 GMTIn a potential blow to online retailers, the Senate voted Monday to approve legislation that would allow states to collect sales taxes on online purchases by their residents. The Senate voted 69 to 27 in favor of the bill, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, with both Democrats and Republicans voting to approve the legislation.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2111828Tue, 07 May 2013 15:37:21 GMTUnderpinning some concerns about new gun control legislation, a new poll found nearly a third of registered voters in the U.S. think an armed revolution might be necessary in the next few years in order to protect personal liberties.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2109611Fri, 03 May 2013 18:55:18 GMTBefore leaving for a three-day trip to Latin America on Thursday, President Barack Obama nominated two of his long-time friends to fill out his second-term economic team. Obama announced his choice of billionaire businesswoman Penny Pritzker as Secretary of Commerce and deputy national security adviser Mike Froman as U.S. Trade Representative.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2108488Thu, 02 May 2013 18:12:33 GMTSupport for providing illegal immigrants with a pathway to citizenship has seen a notable drop in recent weeks, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday. The poll found that 52 percent of voters think illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for citizenship, down from 59 percent in a poll released in early April.http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?Id=2108427Thu, 02 May 2013 15:37:23 GMT