During a surprise visit to the Washington Auto Show Tuesday, President Obama touted his administration’s efforts in re-energizing the U.S. automobile industry, while castigating those who were "willing to let the industry die." Trumpeting American ingenuity and economic achievement, the President hopes to capitalize on the "government rescue" of General Motors and Chrysler as a political advantage for his 2012 reelection campaign.

In a new ploy to push backdoor amnesty, the Obama administration is quietly working to curb the deportation of illegal immigrants by granting "unlawful presence waivers," for which to qualify, an illegal immigrant must be a relative of an American citizen.

Under current procedures, such illegal aliens must leave the country and request waivers of inadmissibility while undergoing the overseas immigration visa process, "often causing U.S. citizens to be separated for extended periods from their immediate relatives who are otherwise eligible for an immigrant visa and admission for lawful permanent residence," according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

German airline carrier Lufthansa warned passengers on Monday that the European Union’s (EU) new carbon tax on airlines will translate into higher fares, as the carrier plans to avoid shouldering new costs generated from an EU carbon trading scheme. Analysts say Lufthansa is among the airlines most influenced by the measure, along with rival carriers British Airways, United Continental (the two have merged), Air France, and Singapore Airlines.

An ex-employee of London’s buzzing Heathrow Airport is suing her former employer for unfair dismissal, claiming that she and other Christian staff were discriminated against because of their religious beliefs. According to the U.K.’s Sunday Telegraph, Nohad Halawi, who migrated to Britain from Lebanon in 1977, professed "that she was told that she would go to Hell for her religion, that Jews were responsible for the September 11th terror attacks, and that a friend was reduced to tears having been bullied for wearing a cross."

Under a new European Union (EU) edict on toy safety, unsupervised children below the age of eight will no longer be permitted to blow up balloons due to choking hazards, according to Britain’s Daily Telegraph. Balloons and other toys — including magnetic fishing games, toy lipsticks, and recorders — have been added to the expanding catalog of Euro Zone regulations that are further empowering the region’s nanny state government.

While iPods, Kindles, and Angry Bird stuffed animals were some of the hottest items of the 2011 Christmas season, December saw record-breaking numbers for gun sales, as droves of Americans found firearms and ammunition under their Christmas trees. According to FBI statistics, gun dealers requested more than 1.5 million background checks to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in December, the highest single-month figure since the statistics first began being recorded.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is asking the U.S. District Court in San Diego to grant constitutional rights to killer whales who perform at marine parks. Targeting SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the lawsuit of the animal rights group charges that harboring whales for public entertainment purposes violates the 13th Amendment ban on slavery, indicating that animals should possess the same rights as American citizens.

A 35-year-old Navy veteran, Luis Lebron, is suing the state of Florida over its policy that all welfare applicants be drug tested prior to receiving benefits. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), America’s legislative lobbying and litigation artisans whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States," will be representing Lebron.

The fatal shooting of an African-American teen has spurred a national controversy, as racial tensions ignite and media outlets exploit and capitalize on the story of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s death. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer whom the New York Times labels a "white" Hispanic, shot and killed the teen after Martin allegedly attacked Zimmerman and banged his head against the sidewalk.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is backing a controversial component of an existing computer fraud law that makes it a crime to use a fake name on Facebook or embellish your weight on an online dating profile such as eHarmony. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a 25-year-old law that mainly addresses hacking, password trafficking, and computer viruses, should enforce criminal penalties for users who violate websites’ terms of service agreements, alleges the Justice Department.