Just the Headlines
Georgia Democrats Press for Wrapup of Deal Investigation (CQPolitics.com)
CQPolitics.com - Georgia Democrats this week called for the House ethics committee to wrap up its investigation of Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) before he leaves Congress at the end of March.
Fed recovers, gets new look as financial regulator (AP)
AP - The Federal Reserve, still dusting itself off from a fight that threatened to trim its powers, could emerge from a congressional overhaul of banking rules as the top cop over the nation's largest financial institutions.
House leader: Ethics panel ends Massa probe (AP)
AP - The House Democratic campaign chief said Wednesday the ethics committee has ended an investigation of former Rep. Eric Massa, but the freshman's alleged harassment of his staff members — with possible sexual overtones — could spell continuing trouble for the party.
Greece urging US to better regulate hedge funds (AP)
AP - Greece is urging the United States to step up regulation of hedge funds that Athens blames for making Greece's economic crisis worse.
House rejects bid to pull troops from Afghanistan (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives rejected a resolution Wednesday that called on President Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by year's end.
Obama presses Reid to cut special deals from health bill (Politico)
Politico - President wants Senate leader to strike narrow provisions from reform legislation.
Female WWII aviators honored with gold medal (AP)
AP - They flew planes during World War II but weren't considered real military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home.
Obama: Time for talk is over on healthcare bill (Reuters)
Reuters - President Barack Obama declared on Wednesday the "time for talk is over" and urged the U.S. Congress to vote on healthcare as his health secretary directly challenged insurers to forgo profits to make coverage more affordable.
Products recalled due to possible salmonella risk (AP)
AP - The following products are being recalled because they could be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children and others with weakened immune systems:
Russian drivers forced to act as shield (AP)
AP - Russian traffic police are under investigation for ordering civilian motorists to park their cars across a highway — and remain inside — to block a fleeing criminal suspect, prosecutors said Wednesday.
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Reed decides against House run
The former Christian Coalition exec will not run for retiring Rep. John Linder's Atlanta seat.
Bill Clinton backs Mitchell in Maine
Former President Bill Clinton issued his latest endorsement of the 2010 cycle Tuesday, backing Maine State Senate President Libby Mitchell's bid for the Democratic nomination for governor. "As President, I appointed her as the first woman chair of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, where she served with distinction for most of my administration and some of the next," Clinton said of Mitchell in a fundraising email.
Hafer backs off Critz challenge
Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Barbara Hafer announced Wednesday she's pulling out of the May 18 Democratic primary for the late Rep. John Murtha's vacant House seat. Hafer previously lost the Democratic nomination for a special election to fill the seat, but insisted she would challenge the victor, Mark Critz, for the regularly scheduled general election nod.
Issa raises questions on Sestak
GOP Rep says Sestak claims of W.H. job offer may have crossed the line, if true.
Rubio's first television ad
Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio is going up with his first television ad, which features the former state House speaker saying directly to the camera: "America needs Republicans who will stand up to Barack Obama, not join him."
Pollsters split over Colorado gov race
A Rasmussen poll released Monday shows McInnis with a six point lead, but a Public Policy Polling survey out Wednesday has Hickenlooper up by 11.
PPP: Meek vs. Rubio would be close
Public Policy Polling is out with a rare bit of good polling news for Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek, showing the congressman within striking distance of former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio in a general election match-up.
Quinnipiac: Paterson rebounds, Ravitch unknown
Another day, another poll showing New York Gov. David Paterson has the public support to remain in office. This time, it's Quinnipiac showing half of New York voters want Paterson to stay, while 31 percent say he should resign.
Republican calls for New York special
Corning, N.Y., Mayor Tom Reed, the leading Republican running for former Democratic Rep. Eric Massa's open seat, urged New York Gov. David Paterson to schedule a special election "as soon as possible."
Kuhl declines to run for former House seat
Former GOP Rep. John “Randy” Kuhl said he would back Corning Mayor Tom Reed in a special election to succeed former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.).
Increased Website Traffic
The top Republican on the Senate committee that received an e-mail warning staffers not to visit the Drudge Report said there is no evidence "whatsoever" of an embedded virus on the news site and suggested the warning was a ruse to steer people away from the sometimes-incendiary page.
Wife of U.S. Rep. Conyers Gets 3 Years for Bribes
A federal judge has denied ex-Detroit councilwoman Monica Conyers' request to withdraw her guilty plea in a corruption case and sentenced her to three years and one month in prison.
Senate Health Care Bill Dead on Arrival, Pro-Life House Democrats Say
The health care reform bill passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve appears to be dead on arrival in the House, as seven anti-abortion Democrats intend to join the ranks of lawmakers who plan to vote against the legislation, Fox News has confirmed
Census Hiring Expected to Deliver Economic Boost
The U.S. Census Bureau plans to hire nearly 800,000 people by May, an infusion of jobs that is estimated to bring down the unemployment rate temporarily and boost the country's overall economy.
Tea Partiers Scramble to Keep Up With Obama Health Care Blitz
President Obama has set an aggressive schedule for completing work on the bulk of the year-in-the-making health care package and may be getting the jump on the raft of Tea Party events set for the coming weeks.
Drudge Virus Warning Blasted as Latest Free Speech Incursion
The unusual e-mail sent to Senate staffers this week warning them not to visit The Drudge Report for fear of a virus has some critics crying foul, suggesting the missive is the latest attempt by Democrats to stifle dissent in the media.
Immigration Reform Effort Re-Emerges With New Senate Bill
Three years after efforts by Congress to reform the immigration system went down in flames, the issue is slowly re-emerging onto the national stage as two senators from the opposite sides of the political aisle work on crafting another bill.
House Rejects Bid to End Afghan War
The House voted down a challenge to President Obama's conduct of the war in Afghanistan Wednesday, rejecting a measure that would have compelled U.S. armed forces to leave the country within 30 days.
Senate Democrats Seek to Abolish Filibusters
Looking to challenge a time-honored privilege widely used by both parties when they are in the minority, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday vowed to remove the filibuster as a weapon to kill legislation by debating it to death.
30 States Report Higher Unemployment in January
The number of states that saw their unemployment rolls rise was lower than the previous month but states reporting gains couldn't change their jobless percentages.
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PUL-E-CHARKHI, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that some of the U.S. forces involved in the Afghanistan surge could leave the country before President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawal. Without giving specifics, Gates said, "It would have to be conditions-based." Gates made the remarks during a visit to a dust-blown training ground in Kabul province where Afghan soldiers come for weeks of training under U.S. and British instruction. British Brigadier Simon Levy told Gates that if NATO countries contribute more trainers, the project to expand the Afghan army will ...
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Sebelius warns insurance execs of demise
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned insurance executives Wednesday that failing to support President Obama's comprehensive plan to reform U.S. health care likely will result in their demise. "We are in a situation where the market is unsustainable," Mrs. Sebelius said at the American Health Insurance Plans national policy conference in Washington. "You can choose to continue your opposition to reform. If you do and reform goes down in defeat, we know what will happen." She said more Americans and businesses no longer will be able to afford or offer insurance if rates continue to increase. "The much-better ...
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White House laughs off Emanuel's naked lobbying
Tales about the White House's hot-tempered, foul-mouthed chief of staff are legion, from Rahm Emanuel's mailing of a dead fish to a pollster to a lawmaker's accusation that Mr. Emanuel berated him over a vote in the shower at the congressional gym. Mixing mockery and scorn, the Obama administration Tuesday dismissed new accusations about Mr. Emanuel from Rep. Eric Massa, a freshman New York Democrat who has formally resigned his seat amid a growing ethics scandal and charges of sexual misconduct involving his staff. Top White House officials made it clear that President Obama is standing behind his combative chief ...
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McDonnell counters Va. atty. gen.'s words on gays
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people, essentially overriding the state attorney general's advice to colleges. McDonnell's directive Wednesday came amid a public uproar over Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli's letter last week telling public colleges they lack the authority to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Cuccinelli told colleges to rescind or change any anti-discrimination policies that include protection for gay people. The Republican attorney general's letter was denounced by gay-rights groups and Democrats. In the letter, Cuccinelli said colleges can't include gays in their anti-discrimination policies without General ...
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Inside the Beltway
WAXING AND WANING Back waxes, fancy hairdos - hey, such is the stuff of politics sometimes. Marco Rubio will have none of such talk on the campaign trail, however. The conservative challenger to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist - both running for the Senate seat in the Sunshine State - will not respond in kind to Mr. Crist's recent accusations that his opponent spent $130 on a cosmetic back wax. Why, Mr. Rubio could have suggested that the governor has a penchant for Aqua Velva and Nair - but no. Mr. Rubio is taking the high road. "You know that Charlie ...
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Business groups target lawmakers
Nearly a dozen business groups that oppose President Obama's health care overhaul bill are spending millions of dollars to put pressure on vulnerable, fence-sitting House members in their districts. Employers for a Healthy Economy, which counts health insurers, manufacturers, retailers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce among its members, said it is spending between $4 million and $10 million on television ads that ask House members to oppose the Senate's health bill. The ad buy, from a powerful lobbying muscle, comes amid Mr. Obama's final push to rally Democrats to support his bill. A handful of House Democrats who supported ...
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Some Democrats shun Obama event in St. Louis
The Show Me State temporarily became the No-Show State on Wednesday as some prominent Missouri Democrats decided they'd rather be somewhere else when President Obama came to push his massive health care overhaul plan. Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, was "already locked in" to meetings in Washington, D.C., on Wall Street financial reforms, said her spokesman, Linden Zakula, who downplayed her absence for Mr. Obama's visit to St. Charles, just outside St. Louis. "Yes, she could have been there, but she feels ...
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D.C. Council chair in trouble over fence
The man who would be mayor of the nation's capital may have trapped himself behind a 6-foot-high aluminum fence he can neither explain nor justify, an unlikely and possibly costly albatross as he weighs a bid against an unpopular political incumbent. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray has enjoyed the image of a distinguished elder statesman, that is until late last year when he came under scrutiny by city officials for allowing a mega-developer and close personal friend to oversee unauthorized renovations at his $667,000 home in the Hillcrest section of Southeast D.C. It was a role reversal for Mr. ...
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Political Scene
NEVADA Rory Reid ready for governor bid LAS VEGAS | Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid is officially launching his campaign for Nevada governor. The son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would file his candidacy paperwork Tuesday in Las Vegas. Candidate filings close Friday. Rory Reid is considered the Democratic front-runner and has been campaigning for more than a year. Only one other person has filed as a Democrat, political unknown Frederick Lee Conquest of Las Vegas. Nevada's primary is June 8. Incumbent Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to file for re-election Thursday. Former federal judge ...
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Senate hopeful has WWE in her corner
When Linda McMahon resigned her job last year running World Wrestling Entertainment in hopes of filling the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd in Connecticut, she told voters she was no longer active in the company that's made her wealthy enough to finance a campaign with tens of millions of dollars of her own money. But World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), best known for its televised wrestling matches and soap opera story-line plots, was plenty active early in Mrs. McMahon's campaign. According to a little-noticed regulatory filing, the WWE was producing political ads for the McMahon campaign, as the ...
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Pol now in tickle pickle
WASHINGTON -- Disgraced former New York Democratic Rep. Eric Massa admitted yesterday to aggressively tickling one of his male staffers nearly to tears at a party, but strenuously denied it was a sexual advance. Massa's defense came just hours after it was reported that the House Ethics Committee has...
D.C. Council chair in trouble over fence
The man who would be mayor of the nation's capital may have trapped himself behind a 6-foot-high aluminum fence he can neither explain nor justify, an unlikely and possibly costly albatross as he weighs a bid against an unpopular political incumbent. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray has enjoyed the image of a distinguished elder statesman, that is until late last year when he came under scrutiny by city officials for allowing a mega-developer and close personal friend to oversee unauthorized renovations at his $667,000 home in the Hillcrest section of Southeast D.C. It was a role reversal for Mr. ...
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We're not buying it, O
Once again, Barack Obama is a happy pitch man. He's on stage with a microphone, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, his voice rising and falling as he tries to whip the big crowds into revival-tent fervor. He's still peddling Hope & Change, although now he calls it health-care reform...
Yo! Staten Island bashing mayor won't run again
BELMAR, N.J. — The Jersey Shore mayor whose blog offended Italian-Americans, Staten Island residents and blondes is calling it quits. Belmar Mayor Ken Pringle won't seek re-election in November after 20 years in office. Pringle says he was not asked by Democratic Party bosses to step down because of...
Sen. Harry Reid embraces GOP's 'Scooby Doo' comparison
The Republican National Committee may have thought it was dogging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) by satirizing him as cartoon character Scooby Doo, but Reid is getting scrappy with the portrayal in his own fundraising appeal, Fox News reported Wednesday. Reid, who was caricatured as Scooby Doo in a...
Political Scene
NEVADA Rory Reid ready for governor bid LAS VEGAS | Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid is officially launching his campaign for Nevada governor. The son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would file his candidacy paperwork Tuesday in Las Vegas. Candidate filings close Friday. Rory Reid is considered the Democratic front-runner and has been campaigning for more than a year. Only one other person has filed as a Democrat, political unknown Frederick Lee Conquest of Las Vegas. Nevada's primary is June 8. Incumbent Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to file for re-election Thursday. Former federal judge ...
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Greece gets ''
A top White House official yesterday said it was up to Greece to clean up its own financial mess, as President Obama had a sit-down with the Greek prime minister to discuss the economic calamity overseas, which some are blaming on the United States. Obama and Prime Minister George Papandreou...
Backers bail on slots plot at Aqueduct
AEG's bid to run video slots at Aqueduct looked ready to be put down yesterday. Queens minister Floyd Flake and rapper Jay-Z bailed out as key local partners in the Aqueduct Entertainment Group, while Gov. Paterson's office threatened to kill the deal. "The deal is circling the drain...
Senate hopeful has WWE in her corner
When Linda McMahon resigned her job last year running World Wrestling Entertainment in hopes of filling the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd in Connecticut, she told voters she was no longer active in the company that's made her wealthy enough to finance a campaign with tens of millions of dollars of her own money. But World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), best known for its televised wrestling matches and soap opera story-line plots, was plenty active early in Mrs. McMahon's campaign. According to a little-noticed regulatory filing, the WWE was producing political ads for the McMahon campaign, as the ...
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Senate passes $150 billion jobs bill
The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 Wednesday to pass a roughly $150 billion bill that extends a series of tax credits targeted at businesses and individuals. The legislation includes $70 billion in funding for emergency benefits programs and provides $25 billion in additional aid to state governments struggling under budget...
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Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Wednesday contradicted President Barack Obama on whether the health care reform bill will lead to a decrease in health care premiums.
Republicans Press Defense Secretary Gates to Explain Why Air Force Excluded Conservative Leader from Prayer Event
Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the current and former House Republican whips, told Defense Secretary Gates they are "concerned" that a "new litmus test" was being applied when the Air Force dis-invited the conservative Tony Perkins from a Feb. 25 prayer event at Andrews AFB.
White House Still Checking to See If It Offered Congressman a Job So He Wouldn't Run Against Specter
Two weeks after promising to check on the matter, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs still did not have an answer to the charge by Pennsylvania Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak that the Obama administration offered him a job in exchange for abandoning his primary challenge against Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).
New National Guidelines for Math and English Instruction Released
Math and English instruction in the United States moved a step closer to uniform -- and more rigorous -- standards Wednesday as draft new national guidelines were released.
China Lectures U.S. on Climate Change; ?Do More?
China told the United States on Wednesday to make stronger commitments on climate change and provide environmental expertise and financing to developing nations.
Obama Touts Anti-Fraud Measures in His Closing Argument for Democrats? Health Care Bill
President Barack Obama has chosen a suburban St. Louis high school to make his closing argument for a health care overhaul, pushing a new anti-fraud plan as he cranks up the pressure on skittish Democratic lawmakers to act fast.
Stupak 'Remains Optimistic' He Can Work Out Abortion-Funding Language to Save Health Care Bill
Rep. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat from Michigan, "remains optimistic" that he can work out language with House Democratic leaders on federal funding of abortion, the main sticking point in getting a health care bill to President Obama's desk.
Texas Planned Parenthood Holds Gala to Raise Money for Abortion ?Super Center?
Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas is holding a gala next month to raise money for its new abortion clinic, which will be specially equipped for performing late-term abortions.
Swedish Newspapers Publish Prophet Muhammad Drawing
At least three Swedish newspapers on Wednesday published a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog after an alleged plot to murder the artist who created it was uncovered in Ireland.
Vice President Biden Says Palestinians Deserve 'Viable' State
Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Palestinians deserve a "viable" independent state with contiguous territory, seeking to reassure them of U.S. support after Israel announced plans to expand a Jewish neighborhood in disputed east Jerusalem.
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