Ben Wolfgang
Articles by Ben Wolfgang
Dem candidates struggle with Black Lives Matter movement looming over campaign season
All three Democrats seeking the White House next year fumbled when confronted by the Black Lives Matter movement this year, their campaigns acknowledged Thursday, but top aides to Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley and Bernard Sanders each argued that their candidates have learned valuable lessons from their mistakes. Published December 3, 2015
Obama’s EPA ignores congressional mandate for ethanol in gasoline
The Obama administration backed off its so-called ethanol mandate Monday, dealing a blow to President Obama's promise of a green energy revolution just as he and other world leaders opened a new round of historic climate change talks in Paris. Published November 30, 2015
Donald Trump’s ‘pattern’ Republican candidates’ main target
Republican presidential candidates Sunday piled on front-runner Donald Trump, suggesting the real estate mogul lacks the policy knowledge and the self-discipline to be commander in chief. Published November 29, 2015
Donald Trump: ‘Hundreds’ on Twitter confirm Muslim celebrations in New Jersey on 9/11
Donald Trump said Sunday that "hundreds of people" have called and tweeted his campaign to confirm that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey publicly celebrated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Published November 29, 2015
Planned Parenthood blames ‘hateful speech’ for clinic shooting; GOP leaders cite left-wing agenda
Planned Parenthood officials on Sunday blamed the "hateful speech" of conservative lawmakers and Republican presidential contenders for contributing to Friday's deadly shooting at a Colorado clinic, but conservatives said the left is trying to use the tragedy for political gain and to again push for gun control measures. Published November 29, 2015
Carly Fiorina, GOP presidential candidate, blasts Donald Trump for mocking reporter’s disability
Carly Fiorina said Sunday that Donald Trump "only feels big when he's trying to make everyone else look small" and that his actions clearly demonstrate he's not a serious contender for the White House. Published November 29, 2015
Obama power limited at COP 21, Paris climate change summit
President Obama will head to a historic climate change summit in Paris next week with a fragile U.S. commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and analysts say the president is limited in terms of concrete promises and instead will act as little more than a "cheerleader" in the fight against global warming. Published November 25, 2015
Abengoa, Obama green energy project, on verge of bankruptcy; demise recalls Solyndra
If you were wondering what the Spanish word for "Solyndra" is, this week provided the answer: "Abengoa." Published November 25, 2015
Pro-Keystone union endorses Hillary Clinton, a pipeline opponent
Hillary Rodham Clinton's opposition to the ill-fated Keystone XL oil pipeline didn't prevent her from capturing a key endorsement Tuesday from a labor union that has been among the most vocal supporters of the project. Published November 24, 2015
Coal communities see bleak future as Obama agenda, natural gas speed industry decline
Frank Stupak got his start in the coal business just as it was beginning its steep decline, and while there's little chance the industry will ever return to its glory days, the 27-year-old safety manager isn't giving up hope. Published November 23, 2015
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley slam Pfizer-Allergan merger
All three Democrats seeking the White House in 2016 slammed Monday's news of a massive pharmaceutical merger that will create the world's biggest drug company, calling the development fundamentally unfair and an affront to U.S. taxpayers. Published November 23, 2015
Bernie Sanders invokes FDR, MLK in passionate defense of socialism
Sen. Bernard Sanders on Thursday made a passionate defense of democratic socialism and forcefully denied that his political platform is a radical one, instead casting it as the logical next step in establishing the kind of America envisioned by past leaders such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr. Published November 19, 2015
France bans public marches ahead of climate conference
In response to last week's devastating terrorist attacks in Paris, the French government has banned large public marches and demonstrations during an upcoming United Nations climate-change conference. Published November 19, 2015
Robert Murray’s lawsuit to stop ‘war on coal’ could derail Obama environmental agenda
Late in the afternoon of Nov. 12, Robert Murray got the news he had been waiting for -- a judge said his company's lawsuit to stop the Obama administration's central climate change policy would move forward, and ordered Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy to sit for a deposition in the case. Published November 18, 2015
John McCain: John Kerry ‘most inept secretary of state’ of all time
Sen. John McCain on Wednesday dubbed Secretary of State John Kerry "the most inept secretary of state" of all time following Mr. Kerry's comments about this year's terror attacks in Paris. Published November 18, 2015
Hillary Clinton captures key SEIU endorsement
Hillary Rodham Clinton captured a key endorsement Tuesday, garnering support from the 2-million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU) at a crucial moment in the 2016 presidential primary. Published November 17, 2015
For Democrats, Paris attacks put terrorism at forefront, may push climate change to backburner
Democrats increasingly have cited climate change as the top threat facing the world today -- even above the war against terrorism -- but Friday's deadly attacks in Paris surely will remind lawmakers and candidates of all stripes that the fight against radical Islamists is by no means over and represents a more immediate danger to people around the world. Published November 14, 2015
Keystone oil pipeline debate could rise again with next president
Republicans insist the smoldering debate about the Keystone XL oil pipeline isn't over, but both sides concede the project will remain in limbo until the next president takes office in January 2017. Published November 9, 2015
Obama angers Democrats’ labor base with Keystone rejection, Trans-Pacific Partnership
President Obama's relationship with blue-collar unions has hit an all-time low, with several powerful labor groups ripping into the administration -- and the Democratic Party as a whole -- for its rejection of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and its promotion of the highly controversial trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Published November 8, 2015
Obama rejecting Keystone XL pipeline
Ending a review process that lasted nearly seven years, President Obama on Friday rejected the Keystone XL oil pipeline, siding firmly with environmental activists and drawing the ire of business and labor groups who say the administration is willfully standing in the way of economic growth, job creation and energy security. Published November 6, 2015