Pentagon launches new probe of Fort Hood shootings
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced Thursday that he's appointed two former heads of the Army and the Navy to review what happened at Fort Hood, amid questions about whether political correctness and a shortage of mental health professionals drove the military to keep Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan in the Army longer than it should have. | 11/19/09 19:09:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef
How the health overhaul bills could affect you
The health care overhaul debate in Congress now centers on two bills: the measure that the House of Representatives passed earlier this month, and the new Senate Democrats' version unveiled Wednesday. They differ in important ways. Here are answers to questions you may have about the bills: | 11/19/09 18:49:00 By - Julie Appleby and Mary Agnes Carey
Open Cuba to U.S. tourists, leading dissident urges
A high-octane effort to let U.S. tourists visit Cuba got a major endorsement Thursday from one of the island's leading dissidents, who suggested that "along with suitcases, Bermuda shorts and sun block, support, solidarity and freedom could come, too." | 11/19/09 18:22:00 By - Lesley Clark
What's Obama's trade policy? So far, there isn't much of one
During his first 10 months in office, as global trade contracted sharply, President Barack Obama avoided pursuing free-trade pacts and limited his public moves on the trade front to high-profile and often politically popular retaliatory actions. | 11/19/09 15:41:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Kentucky ex-lawmaker pleads not guilty to murder charges
Former lawmaker Steve Nunn pleaded not guilty Thursday in Fayette Circuit Court to charges stemming from the shooting death of Amanda Ross, his ex-fiancee. Several of Ross's family members, friends and domestic violence advocates attended Nunn's arraignment, wearing badges with photos of Ross that said "Remember." | 11/19/09 14:22:35 By - Valerie Honeycutt Spears
Republicans berate Geithner, call for him to resign
Like a boxer under siege, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday rebuffed calls from Republicans to resign and slugged it out with lawmakers over Obama administration economic policies. | 11/19/09 13:38:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Bush presidential library to have a Texas feel
The George W. Bush Presidential Center will tip its hat to the former president's home state, from the pecan wood paneling inside to the wildflowers, bluebonnets and prairie outside. | 11/19/09 07:40:49 By - Anna M. Tinsley
Tiahrt campaign tries to tie Kansas Senate rival to Communist Party
The Jerry Moran campaign is seeing red over an e-mail from Senate rival Todd Tiahrt's campaign that implies Moran is a fellow traveler of the Communist Party. The e-mail subject line asserts — falsely — that Moran has been endorsed by the Communist Party USA. | 11/19/09 07:22:58 By - Dion Lefler
Florida Sen. LeMieux blasted for blocking appointment of Brazil diplomat
New Florida Sen. George LeMieux's first foray into foreign relations has drawn brickbats from former high-ranking State Department officials who say his effort to block the Obama administration's new ambassador to Brazil is damaging U.S. relations with Latin America. | 11/19/09 07:14:23 By - Lesley Clark
To balance its next budget, California needs $20.7 billion
California once again will look under sofa cushions and scour every sector of state government to find another $20.7 billion to balance its budget over the next 19 months. | 11/19/09 07:02:27 By - Kevin Yamamura
Alaska Sen. Begich didn't disclose budget shortfall as Anchorage mayor
An investigation by Anchorage, Alaska's chief attorney concludes that former Mayor Mark Begich knew and failed to tell the Anchorage Assembly that the city wasn't going to have enough money to cover all its budgeted expenses last year and this year. | 11/19/09 06:49:49 By - Don Hunter
Sanford actions may have broken law, ethics panel finds
A state ethics panel has found evidence South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford may have broken state law, charging him with "several" undisclosed violations after an investigation into his travel and campaign spending. State Ethics Commission director Herbert Hayden on Wednesday said details of the violations would be released Monday. | 11/19/09 00:21:28 By - John O'Connor
Reid confident he has votes to start health care debate
Senate Democratic leaders plan to unveil their $849 billion health care plan Wednesday night, but they've already received welcome news: their plan would cut the federal budget deficit by an estimated $127 billion over the next 10 years, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. Sixty votes are needed to begin debate on the measure, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid believes he has them. | 11/18/09 17:24:00 By - David Lightman
S.C. agenda: Speed limits, exotic pets, Sanford impeachment
If state lawmakers have their way, South Carolinians will be able to drive faster on interstates. But they'd be prohibited from text messaging or talking on cell phones while driving. Those who own venomous reptiles and constricting snakes would be subject to stricter regulations. And Gov. Mark Sanford may, or may not, be impeached. | 11/18/09 16:24:25 By - Gina Smith
A Texas-size technicality: Marriage may be unconstitutional
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for Texas attorney general, says a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously banned all marriages in the state. "You do not have to have a fancy law degree to read this and understand what it plainly says," said Radnofsky. | 11/18/09 15:55:33 By - Dave Montgomery
Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state. | 11/18/09 15:37:36 By - Dave Montgomery
Byrd becomes longest-serving member of Congress
West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd on Wednesday became the longest-serving member of Congress in history, as he logged day number 20,774, surpassing the record of Arizona Democrat Carl Hayden, who served in the House and the Senate from 1912 to 1969. | 11/18/09 11:42:35 By - David Lightman
Obama says decision on Afghanistan troops still weeks away
In interviews on Wednesday prior to his flight to South Korea, President Barack Obama said he's still weeks away from deciding how many more U.S. troops to send to Afghanistan and that he'd like to fire officials who've leaked news of his deliberations to the news media. Obama also discussed business tax cuts but warned about concerns over a "double dip recession." As he spoke, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton broke off from the presidential entourage and headed to Afghanistan. | 11/18/09 10:03:54 By - Margaret Talev
Sanford impeachment resolution begins journey through S.C. House
South Carolina's State Ethics Commission will decide as early as today whether there is sufficient evidence to try Gov. Mark Sanford for violating state ethics laws in his travel and use of campaign money or to refer his case to prosecutors for possible criminal charges. The panel's conclusions could prove critical as to whether lawmakers pursue removing Sanford from office. Republican state representatives have already filed an impeachment resolution. | 11/18/09 07:37:25 By - John O'Connor
Aetna's military contract bid had improprieties, says GAO
Federal investigators said they have found improprieties in the bidding process that helped insurance giant Aetna land a $16 billion military health contract at the expense of California-based Health Net Federal Services. | 11/18/09 07:02:17 By - Bobby Caina Calvan
Dissection of Palin's 'Going Rogue' begins
Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue," came out Tuesday, a best-selling compilation of anecdotes, political prescriptions and score settling. One critic has called the book "an exercise in blaming others," while Sen. John McCain's former campaign manager called it "total fiction." | 11/18/09 06:55:24 By - Sean Cockerham and Erika Bolstad
Obama visits Great Wall on final day of China trip
President Barack Obama on Wednesday visited the Great Wall of China, capping off his three-day visit before heading to South Korea. | 11/18/09 06:32:38 By - Margaret Talev
Obama Web site claims stimulus jobs in non-existent places
The federal Web site that tracks spending from the Obama administration's $787-billion economic stimulus program reports that the program has created thousands of jobs in congressional districts that don't exist. According to the site, California has seven congressional districts more than the 53 it actually has. In South Carolina, the site reported $40.7 million in stimulus spending in seven districts, including the 00 and 25. South Carolina has six House districts. | 11/17/09 20:40:00 By - James Rosen
Black artist's portrait of Jesse Helms 'an honor, an irony'
Rene Dickerson's abstract, brilliantly colored paintings depict joyful scenes of African-American culture. He paints jazz, Motown, beautiful women and scenes of love. Last spring, though, a friend in Washington invited him to lunch at the tony Capitol Hill Club, a social enclave for Republican lawmakers. The friend asked, 'Would you like to paint a portrait of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms?' | 11/17/09 20:10:00 By - Barbara Barrett
Congressional leaders seeking a new jobs bill
Stung by constituents' concerns about their vanishing or vulnerable jobs, congressional leaders launched a strong push Tuesday to pass a "jobs creation" package by the end of this year. | 11/17/09 17:04:00 By - David Lightman
Book: Edwards tried to trade Obama endorsement for VP nod
Democrat John Edwards tried to cut a secret deal with both Barack Obama and perhaps Hillary Clinton during last year's presidential primaries, offering his endorsement in exchange for the vice presidential nomination, according to a new book by Obama's campaign manager. Obama ruled out any deals, and Edwards' endorsement in May 2008 anyway. | 11/17/09 10:23:30 By - By Steven Thomma
Schwarzenegger visits troops in Iraq
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited troops Monday in Iraq at a military camp outside Baghdad for the first time as California governor, signing autographs and recounting his own experience as an Austrian tank driver. | 11/17/09 06:54:36 By - Kevin Yamamura
Obama asks Republican Pearce to step down from pipeline post
The Republican who heads up the federal agency overseeing the proposed construction of Alaska's natural gas pipeline is stepping down at the request of President Barack Obama. Drue Pearce, a former president of the Alaska Senate, was asked to leave her job as the head of the small agency known as the Office of the Federal Coordinator. Her resignation takes effect Jan. 3. | 11/17/09 06:47:44 By - Erika Bolstad
Obama wins no concessions from China on points at issue
President Barack Obama on Wednesday wraps up a three-day visit to China that's left him keenly aware of the limits of his administration's leverage over this economic powerhouse on issues from currency exchange rates to human rights. Obama has little leverage over China, in part because the U.S. depends on the Chinese to finance the U.S. government's growing debt, and because of the perception in China, which for years was an economic nonentity, that the U.S. is troubled and China is ascendant. | 11/17/09 06:36:38 By - Margaret Talev
Palin opens book tour, telling Oprah GOP loss not her fault
Palin's next "new normal" began Monday with the Oprah interview, in which she discussed why she quit the governorship in Alaska, her daughter Bristol's pregnancy, and what caused the GOP loss last November. Today, a series of interviews with Barbara Walters begins airing on ABC. Her book tour officially kicks off in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Wednesday. | 11/17/09 03:22:23 By - Erika Bolstad
Should employers be required to offer health insurance?
Requiring employers to offer most workers health insurance has long been seen as a crucial piece of Democratic efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system, but legislation that the Senate's expected to consider soon is unlikely to include any such mandate. | 11/16/09 18:03:00 By - David Lightman
Kentucky rep's votes on Cuba show the power of money
Up until July 2004, U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky voted repeatedly to repeal the travel ban and ease relations with Cuba. Later that month, Whitfield, a Republican, received thousands in donations from groups opposed to easing sanctions. He has consistently voted to uphold the sanctions ever since. | 11/16/09 16:59:00 By - Halimah Abdullah and Lesley Clark
California candidate, former eBay CEO, Meg Whitman plugs into social media
The social networking Web site Tokoni is thriving, thanks to help from an unlikely source – Republican gubernatorial candidate and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. | 11/16/09 15:15:23 By - Jack Chang
Florida Democratic hopeful says she favors gay adoption
The issue offers a contrast between Democrat Alex Sink and the Republican front-runner for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum. Florida is the only state in the country that bans adoptions by gay men and lesbians. McCollum's whose office is defending the state's ban in court. | 11/16/09 11:52:21 By - Beth Reinhard
Hutchison says she's staying in Senate during Texas gubernatorial race
Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says she will remain in the Senate while she runs against Gov. Rick Perry in the 2010 governor's race and will not resign her seat until after the March 2 Republican primary. Hutchison, who had been expected to leave the Senate before year's end, is retooling her timetable to stay in Washington to oppose President Barack Obama's health care plan and environmental legislation. | 11/16/09 07:41:41 By - Dave Montgomery
F-35 fighter program is behind schedule, over budget
Work on the F-35 joint strike fighter program is far behind schedule and over budget despite the completion Saturday of a milestone test flight. Reports prepared by the Defense Contract Management Agency for Defense Department officials show that Lockheed and other contractors are months late on deliveries of test airplanes and components for future production aircraft. | 11/16/09 07:34:57 By - Bob Cox
Health care overhaul may not have immediate effect on insurance policies
Millions of Americans are now engaged in a familiar ritual: signing up for next year's health insurance coverage. But roughly half of those millions, according to a recent survey, are worried. They think the health care reform plan may force them to make major changes in their health plans quickly — perhaps within weeks — if it passes. However, that might not be the case since many of the major components of health reform won't take effect until 2013. | 11/16/09 07:25:21 By - Dave Helling
Obama will huddle privately with China's President Hu
President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet Tuesday in Beijing to talk privately about issues ranging from North Korea's nuclear threat to currency and trade disputes. U.S. policy advocates also expect the leaders to announce new joint projects on clean energy. | 11/16/09 06:58:25 By - Margaret Talev
Alaska's newest state legislator will join Democrats
Alaska House Democrats confirmed Neal Foster on Sunday as the replacement for his father, Rep. Richard Foster, who died in October. Like several rural lawmakers the elder Foster was a registered Democrat but regularly voted with Republicans in the House majority. The younger Foster says he's joining the smaller Democratic caucus instead. | 11/16/09 06:45:31 By - Kyle Hopkins
Money talks: Report links donations, Cuba embargo support
Supporters of the U.S. embargo against Cuba have contributed nearly $11 million to members of Congress since 2004 in a largely successful effort to block efforts to weaken sanctions against the island, a new report shows. In several cases, members of Congress who'd supported easing sanctions changed their position — and got donations. | 11/16/09 00:01:00 By - Lesley Clark
Palin publicity tour part campaign, part Twitter- and Facebook-fest
By now, nearly everyone with a television has seen the teases for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's appearance Monday on Oprah Winfrey's show. (Will Levi come to Thanksgiving dinner? Stay tuned!) | 11/16/09 06:00:00 By - Erika Bolstad
Reichert takes on AARP over health care overhaul
It's a bit like tangling with the National Rifle Association. The AARP has 40 million members, including nearly 940,000 in Washington state, it's a potent lobbying force in Washington, D.C., highly visible nationwide and its members vote more often than just about anyone else. | 11/15/09 06:00:00 By - Les Blumenthal
Bill would boost money for literacy programs
There are zero-book children, 1,000-book children, the summer slide, Early Readers, Reading First, Striving Readers and programs, methods and studies with names and acronyms that won't quit. It's all part of the effort to teach the nation's children to read. | 11/15/09 00:01:00 By - Les Blumenthal
To count or not to count: Will 2010 census include all Latinos?
California Democratic Rep. Joe Baca wants to count all Latinos in the 2010 census, including millions of noncitizens. Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter wants only legal citizens included in the official count. | 11/15/09 06:00:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Republican lawmakers decry Obama decision on terror trials
Republican lawmakers Friday bitterly criticized President Barack Obama's decision to try accused terrorists in the United States and warned against moving detainees to South Carolina. | 11/13/09 21:00:18 By - James Rosen
In White House shakeup, counsel Greg Craig resigns
In the first shakeup of the Obama White House, counsel Greg Craig resigned Friday and was replaced by President Barack Obama's personal lawyer, Bob Bauer. Craig had been deeply involved in the planned shutdown of the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a process marked by delays. | 11/13/09 20:56:53 By - Steven Thomma
New York trials for 9/11 suspects raise new safety concerns
Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to prosecute confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four alleged underlings in civilian courts ignited a debate Friday about whether the trial would invite new attacks on New York and if the proceeding would be stymied by legal wrangling over the defendants' rights. | 11/13/09 20:13:00 By - Greg Gordon and Leila Fadel
Financial crisis investigators are taking Wall Street names
Leaders of a congressional commission investigating the causes of the recent financial crisis are threatening to publicly identify any company or government agency that stalls in voluntarily producing requested documents. | 11/13/09 18:28:00 By - Greg Gordon and Kevin G. Hall
In White House shakeup, counsel Greg Craig resigns
In a shakeup, White House Counsel Greg Craig abruptly announced his resignation Friday, just weeks after telling reporters that he had no plans to leave. | 11/13/09 10:33:00 By - Steven Thomma
Some Floridians may face expensive health care taxes
A key provision in the main Senate healthcare reform bill could cause many South Floridians to pay taxes on their employer-based insurance on the theory that they're expensive ``Cadillac'' plans. | 11/13/09 15:47:37 By - John Dorschner
Holder decides to try accused 9/11 plotters in New York
Attorney General Eric Holder, rejecting concerns about security risks, announced Friday that confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged underlings will face a federal court trial in New York just blocks from the scene of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. Five other detainees will be sent before military commissions on charges ranging from orchestrating the bombing of the USS Cole to throwing a hand grenade that killed two American soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002. | 11/13/09 14:55:00 By - Greg Gordon and Leila Fadel
Schwarzenegger works to build support for $11.1 billion water bond
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday defended $11.1 billion in new borrowing as a critical investment in the state's water future while at the same time insisting California must cut its way toward a balanced budget in the short term. | 11/13/09 07:01:23 By - Kevin Yamamura
Obama thanks troops at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base
Making his first stop in Alaska, President Obama offered thanks and tribute to hundreds of airmen and soldiers at Elmendorf Air Force Base. With today's refueling stopover in Alaska, Obama says he has now visited all 50 states. After the short layover, he left Anchorage for his first trip to Asia as president. | 11/13/09 06:36:48 By - Kyle Hopkins
'Birther' attorney rejects $20,000 sanction from judge
California attorney Orly Taitz, facing a $20,000 sanction from the federal judge presiding over the Mark Shelnutt trial, said on the payment's deadline that she had no intention of paying. | 11/12/09 21:32:13 By - Alan Riquelmy
Alan Keyes to stump for GOP House hopeful in Kansas
Alan Keyes, a former diplomat and perennial candidate who has lost two elections and a lawsuit to Barack Obama, is coming to Wichita to campaign for congressional hopeful Jim Anderson. | 11/12/09 20:11:03 By - Dion Lefler
Within hours, Obama ordered intelligence review of Fort Hood shootings
Within 24 hours of a killing spree at Fort Hood, Texas, President Barack Obama, ordered a high-level review of how U.S. officials handled warning signs that might have pointed to last week's attack. The suspect, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, has now been charged with murder. | 11/12/09 18:54:00 By - Steven Thomma and Leila Fadel
Dodd consumer groups love isn't the Dodd from last year
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., was winning praise from consumer this week for the legislation he unveiled to create an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Contrast that to last year, when Dodd came under fire for refinancing two home mortgages on favorable terms through his ties to a now-defunct lender. | 11/12/09 18:10:00 By - David Lightman
Federal Reserve in crosshairs, but many experts say hold fire
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd's sweeping new financial overhaul legislation, which proposes to strip the Federal Reserve of its authority to regulate banks, threatens the central bank's time-honored independence and its premier international standing, experts warn. | 11/12/09 17:03:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Leak on Edwards' $400 haircut came from Obama campaign
The infamous $400 haircuts that undercut John Edwards' presidential message of reducing poverty started with a tip from the campaign of then-candidate Barack Obama. | 11/12/09 16:39:01 By - Benjamin Niolet, Barbara Barrett and Mark Johnson
Jenny Sanford backs Haley for S.C. governor
South Carolina's first lady Jenny Sanford has endorsed Lexington state Rep. Nikki Haley in her five-way race for the 2010 Republican governor's nomination. Haley has been a legislative ally of Gov. Mark Sanford. But Haley has spent the weeks since Sanford's five-day June disappearance and later admission of an extramarital affair keeping her distance from the governor — including removing his photo from her campaign Web site. | 11/12/09 07:29:43 By - John O'Connor
Gov. Schwarzenegger to visit troops in Iraq
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will travel to Iraq early next week to visit U.S. troops. Schwarzenegger previously visited troops on United Service Organizations-sponsored tours in 2002 to Bosnia to preview his movie, "Collateral Damage," as well as in 2003 to Iraq to show "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." | 11/12/09 07:01:26 By - Kevin Yamamura
Alaska Sen. Murkowski slams health care plan at town hall
At a town hall meeting in Chugiak, Alaska, on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski propped up a foot-high stack of paper next to her at the podium — the 1,900-page health care bill passed by the House last week. Murkowski, a Republican and an outspoken opponent of Democrat-led health care reform bills, wants much more limited legislation. | 11/12/09 06:35:22 By - Rosemary Shinohara
Senators discuss creation of panel to control health costs
The drive on Capitol Hill to create a bipartisan commission to help control the cost of health spending and address mounting deficits picked up momentum Tuesday. The commission would draft proposals to control the long-term costs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. | 11/11/09 20:24:00 By - Eric Pianin
Police deny road closure permit for 'tea party' protest
The "Patriots for Freedom" won't be free to block a road in Columbus, Ga. The group loosely affiliated with area "tea parties" had planned to have bands playing and people speaking at a Sunday rally. So it applied to the Columbus Police Department for a permit. And the police said no. | 11/11/09 20:40:10 By - Tim Chitwood
How the House abortion restrictions would work
The health care bill that the House of Representatives has passed would bar insurers from selling policies that cover abortion to anyone who gets a federal subsidy. It does allow insurers to offer optional abortion coverage that consumers could purchase with their own money. Based on some states' experiences, however, it's unlikely that insurers would sell such coverage. | 11/11/09 15:32:00 By - Julie Appleby
Obama urged to turn successful state job program national
As job losses continue to slow the nation's economic recovery, labor experts and economists are urging Congress and the Obama administration to boost funding for a little-known program that 17 states are using to avert layoffs and keep workers in their jobs. | 11/11/09 14:39:00 By - Tony Pugh
Tea Party protesters gather in South Carolina resort town
A crowd of several hundred people came to Beaufort's waterfront Tuesday bearing signs, stickers and flags showing their displeasure with the U.S. government during a stop of the Tea Party Express, a 19-day, cross-country bus tour. | 11/11/09 13:05:04 By - Josh McCann
President Obama honors fallen troops at Fort Hood
President Barack Obama, on his first presidential visit to Fort Hood, the day before Veterans Day, memorialized 13 soldiers on Tuesday, all of them killed, authorities believe, by a fellow soldier Thursday afternoon. | 11/11/09 07:42:02 By - Chris Vaughn
Poll: Obama's health care overhaul isn't selling in South
Barack Obama's push to revamp the nation's health care system is getting the cold shoulder from Southerners, according to a new poll by Winthrop University. But the president remains well-liked in the region, with solid majorities saying he is warm and friendly, trustworthy and concerned about people like those polled in South Carolina and 10 other Southern states. | 11/11/09 07:33:36 By - Wayne Washington
Alaska Legislature's plan for new offices called 'monument to legislative vanity'
Alaska lawmakers are moving forward with obtaining cost estimates for a new legislative office building in Anchorage, although a representative with say over state spending is fighting the idea and argues it would be a "monument to legislative vanity." | 11/11/09 06:42:22 By - Sean Cockerham
Health care, climate change votes could dog Blue Dog
For Rep. Ben Chandler, controversial votes against a health care overhaul backed by the House Democratic leadership and for cap-and-trade energy policies that could lead to penalties for his state's leading industry are like floodlights signaling to critics that the once seemingly unbeatable Kentucky Democrat may have an exposed flank. | 11/11/09 00:00:01 By - Halimah Abdullah
Dodd upsets banks with plan for a single bank overseer
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., unveiled a sweeping 1,136-page bill Tuesday that, in enacted, would bring about the most comprehensive overhaul of financial regulation since the Great Depression. What upset bankers most was his call to strip the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. of their bank supervisory powers in favor of a new Financial Institutions Regulatory Administration. Dodd said that would stop banks for shopping for the regulator of least supervision. ; | 11/10/09 18:42:00 By - Kevin G. Hall and David Lightman
Bill Clinton urges Senate Democrats to pass health bill
Senate Democrats, struggling to reach agreement on how to overhaul the country's health care system, got some practical political advice Tuesday from former President Bill Clinton, whose own effort collapsed 15 years ago. | 11/10/09 17:21:00 By - David Lightman
Personally and politically, Pelosi won big on health care
Love her or hate her, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is at the peak of her political power, and she seems to be reveling in the high drama of the moment. | 11/10/09 17:11:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
U.S. attorney rules in favor of federal official Obama fired
Gerald Walpin, the AmeriCorps inspector general fired by the White House in July during his probe of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, has been cleared of a complaint by the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento that he had acted improperly. Now, he says, he wants his job back. | 11/10/09 15:58:28 By - Sam Stanton
Former Kentucky lawmaker indicted on murder charges
Former Kentucky GOP state Rep. Steve Nunn has been indicted on charges that he killed his former fiancee, Amanda Ross, and violated a domestic violence protection order she had received against him. Ross was found shot early on Sept. 11 in front of her town house in Lexington and died later that morning. | 11/10/09 15:05:27 By - Valerie Honeycutt Spears and Ashlee Clark
N.C. Sen. Hagan facing pressure from all sides in health care debate
After an intense three-month campaign for the votes of North Carolina's House members, players in the health care debate are now likely to focus their full attention on Sen. Kay Hagan, a moderate, pro-business Democrat, who is regarded as one of a handful of senators who could play a pivotal role as the Senate takes up the landmark legislation to expand access to health insurance. Hagan has already been the subject of television commercials by the pharmaceutical industry, two mailers by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and hundreds of pickets at her Raleigh district office. | 11/10/09 07:39:17 By - Rob Christensen
Fla. Senate candidate Rubio takes tough stance on immigration
As an underdog U.S. Senate candidate courting the GOP's conservative wing, Marco Rubio takes a hard-line position against illegal immigration: no amnesty. But as the powerful speaker of the Florida House, presented with a slew of bills aimed at curbing illegal immigration, he didn't put a single proposal up for a vote. | 11/10/09 06:52:37 By - Beth Reinhard
Schwarzenegger says California's budget gap might hit $7 billion
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger estimated Monday that California's budget will fall out of balance by $5 billion to $7 billion this fiscal year, on top of a $7.4 billion gap already projected for 2010-11. | 11/10/09 06:42:23 By - Kevin Yamamura
Idaho prosecutor pleads guilty to stalking his ex, quits RNC
After pleading guilty to stalking a former girlfriend, Blake Hall, a leading figure in Idaho and national politics for 25 years, was fired Monday as a deputy prosecuting attorney in eastern Idaho and resigned from the Republican National Committee. | 11/09/09 21:13:51 By - Dan Popkey
Republicans hope for influence in Senate health debate
Republicans Monday had new hope that they could influence health care deliberations — influence that's so far eluded them — as the debate moves to the Senate, where the rules and the politics can work to their advantage. | 11/09/09 18:06:00 By - David Lightman
Undocumented students mobilize to win legal status
As her fellow college graduates busy themselves with spamming every available e-mail inbox with resumes, 25-year-old Lizbeth Mateo keeps to the same Los Angeles coffee shop she's worked in for the past five years. | 11/09/09 14:44:00 By - Katie Rogers
To colleagues, California assemblyman is a stand-up guy
To a stuffed-shirt, suit-and-tie Legislature, Tom Ammiano is the saucy-spouting jester with a no-nonsense political agenda. The openly gay, first-year lawmaker with the gold stud in his left ear is just as likely to dance in salsa steps through the political aisle as reach across it. | 11/09/09 16:46:47 By - Jim Sanders
Not so fast: House health care vote is just the first step
Democratic leaders were all smiles as they celebrated the passage of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system Saturday. But any momentum from Saturday's historic vote is likely to be short-lived as the focus moves to the Senate, where progress has been stalled for weeks. | 11/08/09 15:06:00 By - David Lightman
10 ways the House bill would change health care
These are some of the changes in the way health insurance would work in the United States if the House bill were to become law. | 11/08/09 00:00:38 By - David Lightman
As oceans fall ill, Washington bureaucrats squabble
Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds, puzzling scientists. A thousand miles off California, researchers have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex roughly twice the size of Texas filled with tiny bits of plastic and other debris. | 11/08/09 00:01:00 By - Les Blumenthal
House OKs historic health care overhaul, with one GOP vote
The final 220-215 vote came after a day of rancorous debate and a personal push from President Barack Obama. The bill, if ulitmately adopted into law, would bring about the most sweeping health care revamp since Medicare was approved 44 years ago. Critical to the bill's success was a last-minute deal to ban government-subsidized health insurance policies from covering elective abortions. | 11/07/09 23:59:37 By - David Lightman
House passes historic health care bill, with one GOP vote
The House of Representatives Saturday passed, by a vote of 220 to 215, historic health care legislation that would require virtually all Americans to obtain health insurance and create a government-run health insurance plan to help them do so. If passed by the Senate, the bill would bring about the most sweeping change in the American health care system since Medicare was created 44 years ago. | 11/07/09 23:26:00 By - David Lightman
GOP's Graham steps out on a limb on climate change
U.S. Sen. Lindesy Graham, a South Carolina Republican, is working with Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to craft a climate change bill. He faces the dual challenge of overcoming widespread GOP opposition and withstanding relentless attacks by Big Oil and allied energy interests. | 11/07/09 16:11:00 By - James Rosen
Obama leaning toward 34,000 more troops for Afghanistan
Administration officials have told McClatchy that the decision is likely to include the dispatch of 23,000 combat and support troops, 7,000 troops for a new headquarters in Kandahar, and 4,000 additional trainers for the Afghan army. Obama may not announce the decision for several weeks, as he talks with allies and it could change. The plan falls short of Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal's ultimate "low-risk" option of 80,000 more troops. | 11/07/09 14:22:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay, John Walcott and Nancy A. Youssef
Dems on track to limit abortion coverage in health-care bill
A last-minute deal on abortion appeared to give House of Representatives Democrats fresh confidence that they can pass sweeping health care legislation later Saturday. The deal would prohibit coverage for abortions for anyone who uses federal assistance to buy health insurance or enrolls in the public option. Anti-abortion Democrats were pleased, abortion-rights advocates were not. | 11/07/09 13:37:02 By - David Lightman
Florida's Crist may be front runner in Senate race, but it doesn't feel like it
It's hard to feel sorry for someone who has all of the powers of incumbency, a small fortune in campaign donations and a double-digit lead in the polls over his Senate rival, former House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami. But Crist's problems are definitely piling up. | 11/07/09 08:50:04 By - Beth Reinhard
Congress takes up expansion of Troops to Teachers
Frank McBryde says there are plenty of parallels between serving in the U.S. military and teaching. "You're not going to become rich, you need loyalty and you need to be dedicated to a task," said McBryde, 54. | 11/07/09 00:01:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
North Carolina's Blue Dogs and health bill: It's complicated
It's a given that Republicans in the House of Representatives are solidly against the health care bill that's before them, but for moderate-to-conservative House Democrats — including four from North Carolina — it's not quite so simple. | 11/06/09 20:16:29 By - Barbara Barrett
Texas Republicans unlikely to vote yes on health care
The outlook for a House vote on health care reform is shaky at best — even Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, continues to be undecided — and the Texas Republicans who represent portions of Tarrant County are solidly against the bill. | 11/06/09 20:05:04 By - Maria Recio
Idaho congressmen to vote against health care bill
Like most — if not all — Republicans, Rep. Mike Simpson said Thursday he will vote against the legislation. Rep. Walt Minnick, a Democrat whose vote is highly sought by top House leaders in his party, said Friday that he, too, will vote "no" on the bill. | 11/06/09 20:01:11 By - Erika Bolstad
Many House Democrats still resist health care bill
Democrats in the House of Representatives struggled Friday to find enough votes to pass sweeping health care legislation, as lawmakers prepared for an all-day debate and perhaps a final vote on the bill Saturday. President Barack Obama was scheduled to visit Capitol Hill early Saturday to give the House's 258 Democrats a pep talk. | 11/06/09 18:32:00 By - David Lightman and William Douglas
Opponents say they have votes to block U.S. tourism to Cuba
Opponents of opening Cuba to American tourists are touting a letter signed by 53 Democrats in the House of Representatives, saying it shows that they have the votes to derail an effort to lift the ban on travel to the island. | 11/06/09 19:02:00 By - Lesley Clark
Joblessness passes 10 percent; worst rate in a generation
The good news from the job numbers was that employers shed jobs in October at the slowest pace since near the beginning of the devastating recession that began in December 2007. The bad news offset it, however: the unemployment rate, now at 10.2 percent, is the worst it's been since 1983. | 11/06/09 09:18:35 By - Kevin G. Hall
Senate rejects effort to block civilian trials for 9/11 suspects
The Senate's 54-45 vote to reject the measure by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., opens the door for President Barack Obama to bring Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, to trial in federal court, rather than the military commissions Graham helped create. | 11/05/09 21:08:00 By - James Rosen
DeMint says Obama has changed Honduras policy
An outspoken critic of the Obama administration's handling of the crisis in Honduras late Thursday dropped his opposition to two State Department nominees, saying that the administration has reversed course. South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said on the Senate floor that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had told him the U.S. would recognize Honduras' Nov. 29 election "regardless of whether former President Manuel Zelaya is returned to office." | 11/05/09 18:44:00 By - Lesley Clark
Fort Hood shooter was Army psychiatrist who treated stress
At least 12 people were killed and 31 wounded in a mass shooting at Fort Hood Army Base near Killeen, Texas, when at least one gunman opened fire on soldiers preparing to be deployed. The shooting broke out at the base's readiness center at about 1:30 p.m. The gunman, identified as Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was captured alive. Investigators were trying to determine if he had accomplices. | 11/05/09 18:41:13 By - Dave Montgomery and Nancy A. Youssef
Feeling heat from right, Crist shifts position on stimulus
Ever since his support of the $787 billion economic stimulus outraged conservatives, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has tried to steer a middle course. Now his explanations are becoming extremely nuanced as his U.S. Senate opponent, Marco Rubio, has accused him of being a lackey of President Barack Obama. | 11/05/09 18:34:13 By - Marc Caputo
Health care bill's supporters, opponents flock to Capitol
Gene Otto left his Olympia, Wash., bakery for a day, flew across the country to the nation's capital and told four members of Congress why it's important that they overhaul America's health care system. | 11/05/09 17:43:00 By - David Lightman
Garamendi takes the oath and gets to work
WASHINGTON -- John Garamendi is wasting no time in making his move from Sacramento to Washington. | 11/05/09 17:01:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Could delays jeopardize health care overhaul?
Passing a health care overhaul bill might be one of the hardest things Congress has ever attempted, but waiting until next year might jeopardize the top priority for President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress. | 11/05/09 16:45:00 By - Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin
From lieutenant governor to member of Congress in 1 day
On Tuesday night, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi won a special election in California's 10th District. On Wednesday, he took a Southwest Airlines flight to Washington. On Thursday, he was sworn in by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the newest member of the U.S. House of Representatives. | 11/05/09 15:31:08 By - Rob Hotakainen
Gay rights measure headed to rare victory in Washington state
Ballot counts Wednesday showed Washington's same-sex partnership law passing with twice the margin of victory it had on election night, and one key leader in the movement declared victory. Yet the measure's foes weren't conceding defeat. | 11/05/09 15:09:58 By - Brad Shannon
Guantanamo detainees are a heated issue in S.C. gubernatorial race
It's one year before South Carolinians head to the polls to elect a new governor. However, the candidates are already tussling over how the state should oppose the possibility of housing terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay in South Carolina. This is perhaps the first sign of how heated the race for governor will be over the next 12 months. | 11/05/09 07:39:52 By - John O'Connor
Ex-OSHA official says agency let employers underreport injuries
Bob Whitmore, a former federal OSHA official who contends the government has allowed companies to underreport workplace injuries, has filed a complaint alleging he was fired from his job in retaliation for speaking out about his agency's failings. His whistle-blower complaint is set to be heard by the federal Merit Systems Protection Board in early December. | 11/05/09 07:27:31 By - Ames Alexander
NRA wants adoption agencies to drop gun ownership questions
The National Rifle Association is pushing legislation to ban adoption agencies from asking potential parents if they have guns and ammunition in the home. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer said adoption agencies are violating gun-owners' rights by asking about firearms in an adoption form and the practice is tantamount to establishing a federal gun registry. | 11/05/09 07:09:12 By - Marc Caputo
California Senate clears path for schools to seek stimulus funds
California may be gaining ground in its race to the top. Senate Bill X5 1 would make the state more likely to get a piece of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top federal stimulus funds offered to the nation's schools. | 11/05/09 07:00:15 By - Diana Lambert
Top lawmakers saw South Carolina race relations evolve
Rep. Jim Clyburn and Sen. Lindsey Graham _ a black Democrat and a white Republican _ will share an honor Thursday that the Jim Crow laws of their youth would have prohibited. The Columbia Urban League will present the lawmakers with its annual Whitney M. Young Award in recognition of their efforts to advance race relations in South Carolina. | 11/04/09 21:56:27 By - James Rosen and Wayne Washington
Warning sign for Democrats: They're losing independents
President Barack Obama and the Democrats have a problem heading into next year's elections for control of Congress — they're losing independents to the Republicans and parts of their own Democratic base to apathy. | 11/04/09 19:48:55 By - Steven Thomma
Blue Dog congressman pushes tort reforms in health bill
Just as Texas Republican lawmakers were warning darkly that the latest House healthcare bill would undo the Lone Star State's tort reform, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, persuaded Democratic leaders Monday night to add a "pre-emption" provision which would keep legal reforms already made by Texas and other states to keep medical costs down. | 11/04/09 19:10:58 By - Maria Recio
Who's important? Gates gets H1N1 flu shot; Obama doesn't
With the H1N1 flu vaccine in short supply and politics swirling around who gets a shot and who doesn't, the White House announced that President and Mrs. Obama wouldn't get the vaccine until "needs of the priority groups" have been met. At the Pentagon, however, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who at 66 isn't among those most at risk, has been vaccinated. | 11/04/09 18:43:55 By - Nancy Youssef
Election results chill moderate Democrats in Congress
Already-skittish moderate Democrats in Congress got fresh reasons Wednesday to worry about their votes on economic and health care legislation from the election results in Virginia and New Jersey. | 11/04/09 18:30:00 By - David Lightman
Small banks didn't cause the mess, but no bailout for them
The collapse in home prices sunk many big banks last year, but this year smaller lenders and community banks are going bust at an alarming rate because of their exposure to souring commercial real estate loans. | 11/04/09 17:47:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Fort Worth considers gay-rights measures after bar raid
A task force formed in the wake of the arrests at the Rainbow Lounge recommended a series of measures Tuesday designed to give gay and lesbian residents equal treatment at City Hall. Many patrons said the police used excessive force and targeted the bar because it caters to gays. | 11/04/09 14:27:23 By - Mike Lee
Gay partnership rights measure leads in Washington state
Washington voters were on the verge of making history Tuesday night, as the state was poised to become the first to affirm same-sex partnership rights at the ballot box. No state has upheld such rights for gay or lesbian couples in a popular vote, and voters in Maine rejected a measure to legalize same-sex marriage. | 11/04/09 14:17:30 By - Brad Shannon
McCain surrogate Fiorina, ex HP chief, will seek Senate seat
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced Wednesday that she will run for U.S. Senate in a Republican bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer next year. Fiorina, 55, launched her official Senate campaign in an op-ed in the Orange County Register, and planned a town-hall event at Earth Friendly Products, a maker of cleaning supplies based in Orange County, later Wednesday. She had explored the Senate race for months. | 11/04/09 13:44:30 By - Kevin Yamamura
Massive water bill moved in California
Lawmakers approved a momentous overhaul of California's ailing water system early this morning, but approval came only after Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg agreed to strip a $10 million earmark for a Sacramento project he personally has championed. | 11/04/09 13:15:08 By - Jim Sanders and Steve Wiegand
Some Texas gubernatorial candidates call online poll flawed
A new poll blasted as deeply flawed by some candidates in the 2010 Texas governor's race shows that incumbent Rick Perry holds a 12-point lead over Republican primary challenger Kay Bailey Hutchison and that author-entertainer Kinky Friedman is the front-runner among Democrats. | 11/04/09 07:43:27 By - Dave Montgomery and Anna M. Tinsley
Why did blue-chip Goldman take a walk on subprime's wild side?
Goldman Sachs was one of the last Wall Street giants to enter the subprime lending world, but when it did, it quickly climbed into bed with profligate, highflying firms — companies such as New Century Financial Corp. | 11/04/09 00:00:01 By - Greg Gordon
Republicans set sights on 2010 after Virginia, New Jersey wins
Republicans swept the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia Tuesday, launching what they hope will become a comeback heading into next year's mid-term elections. In a setback, however, a Republican-backed third-party candidate failed to capture a vacant House seat in upstate New York, handing it to Democrats for the first time in more than a century. | 11/03/09 20:46:20 By - Steven Thomma
How House finance bills would fix big problems
The largest rewrite of financial regulation since the Great Depression will clear the House of Representatives during the first week of December, the influential lawmaker shepherding the legislation promised Tuesday. | 11/03/09 19:23:08 By - Kevin G. Hall
Abortion funding opens rift in House health bill
Would abortions be easier or harder to obtain under the health care overhaul legislation that the House of Representatives is likely to consider later this week? It depends on how one interprets the bill. | 11/03/09 17:37:00 By - David Lightman
Abortion funding opens rift in House health bill
Would abortions be easier or harder to obtain under the health care overhaul legislation that the House of Representatives is likely to consider later this week? It depends on how one interprets the bill. | 11/03/09 18:44:16 By - David Lightman
Tear down mental walls on climate, German chancellor says
German Chancellor Angela Merkel made an impassioned plea Tuesday to a joint session of Congress to work together on efforts to curb global warming and to help forge a binding climate-change deal at an international meeting next month. | 11/03/09 18:02:00 By - William Douglas
Congress often blocks Medicare changes that would cut costs
The Democratic health care legislation comes studded with cautious plans to test proposals for reining in Medicare costs. History suggests, however, that even if the experiments are successful, the odds aren't high that their lessons will be applied to the entire program. | 11/03/09 14:53:00 By - Christopher Weaver and Kate Steadman
Decision on Sanford ethics report is near
After two weeks of legal back and forth, the S.C. Supreme Court is now set to decide if Gov. Mark Sanford can shield from House lawmakers an investigative report looking into the governor's travel. | 11/03/09 07:38:14 By - John O'Connor
Goldman left foreign investors holding the subprime bag
When Goldman Sachs decided it was time to ditch the subprime mortgage business, it put together a sales pitch through a Cayman Islands subsidiary that may have seriously understated the riskiness of the securities it was selling. One bond analyst told his clients that the deal was "a not so cleverly disguised way for Goldman ... to unload its unwanted exposures ... onto foreign investors." But many investors bit — and lost. | 11/03/09 00:00:01 By - Greg Gordon
California ex-lawmaker's sexually explicit tape keeps playing
An attorney for the utility company lobbyist identified in media reports as ex-Assemblyman Mike Duvall's mistress issued a statement today saying that the woman is exploring legal remedies for the personal and professional damages caused by allegations that she had an affair with the former lawmaker. | 11/02/09 18:37:13 By - Torey Van Oot
House Republicans roll out health insurance alternatives
Small businesses would have an easier time banding together to offer insurance to employees. Consumers could cross state lines to buy coverage. There'd be no big government expansion. | 11/02/09 17:57:00 By - David Lightman
Critics: Financial oversight council tough only on paper
A plan by congressional Democrats and the White House to curb future bad behavior on Wall Street would fail to resolve the bureaucratic infighting that helped bring about the global financial crisis, critics warn. | 11/02/09 17:31:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Republicans blame ACORN for influence in local election
The Centre County, Pa., Republican Party over the weekend distributed campaign literature supporting a candidate for district attorney that says "groups like ACORN have registered 15,000 new Democrats in the State College area alone." Democratic Party officials said ACORN didn't register voters in the county. | 11/02/09 16:08:31 By - Mike Joseph
Supreme Court seeks White House views on hiring illegals
The Obama administration will enter the politically tricky immigration arena, courtesy of the Supreme Court. On Monday, the court asked the administration for its views in a challenge to an Arizona law that punishes companies for hiring illegal aliens. Other states with large immigrant populations will watch the next steps closely, because their own laws and ballot measures could be on the line. | 11/02/09 15:50:00 By - Michael Doyle
As much as it's been debated, public option may not matter
For all the controversy over a government-run insurance option, the program outlined in pending health overhaul legislation likely would play a minuscule role in efforts to expand health care coverage, according to many health care experts and lawmakers. | 11/02/09 14:58:00 By - Eric Pianin
South Carolina gun sales soar on fear of crime, Democrats
So far in 2009, the number of South Carolinians wanting to pack heat nearly has doubled over the previous year as people worry about violent crime and feel threatened by partisan politics. As of mid-October, 28,197 new concealed weapons permits have been issued this year by the State Law Enforcement Division. | 11/02/09 14:07:29 By - Noelle Phillps
Fla. Panhandle voters warm to GOP Senate candidate Rubio
U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio is an unlikely contender in northwest Florida, a strip of the Bible Belt closer to Alabama than his hometown of Miami. For the young, Cuban-American politician, Panhandle voters could be a tough crowd: They've come across few Hispanic candidates and often view South Florida as a cesspool of incivility and corruption. | 11/02/09 07:12:44 By - Beth Reinhard
California's Lt. Gov. Garamendi sets sights on Congress
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi has been everything from assemblyman to insurance commissioner to former President Bill Clinton's deputy interior secretary during his 35 years in public service. If the prevailing political wisdom is correct, the 64-year-old Democratic veteran could add U.S. congressman to his resume' by Tuesday night. | 11/02/09 06:48:00 By - Jack Chang
Goldman takes on new role: taking away people's homes
When California wildfires ruined their jewelry business, Tony Becker and his wife fell months behind on their mortgage payments and experienced firsthand the perils of subprime mortgages. The couple wound up in a desperate, six-year fight to keep their modest, 1,500-square-foot San Jose home, a struggle that pushed them into bankruptcy. The lender with whom they sparred, however, wasn't the one that had written their loans. It was an obscure subsidiary of Wall Street colossus Goldman Sachs Group. | 11/02/09 00:00:01 By - Greg Gordon
Mortgage crisis shows why financial regulation is needed
Why didn't Wall Street firms tell potential investors that the bonds they were selling them were rotten? Why did their business partners, including subprime mortgage lenders, ignore glaring evidence that borrowers weren't qualified and give loans to virtually anyone with a heartbeat? The answer is simple: Because they could. At every turn where regulation was missing in action, the actors did the wrong thing, all along the long, interconnected trail of transactions that make up mortgage finance. | 11/01/09 00:00:01 By - Kevin G. Hall
Tired of Sarah Palin? Authors are hoping the answer's 'No'
Sarah Palin's autobiography, "Going Rogue: An American Life," will be released Nov. 17. But it won't be the only book about the former GOP vice presidential candidate and one-time Alaska governor. There are plenty of other authors hoping that they, too, can sell a few books in Palin's slipstream. | 11/01/09 00:45:00 By - Erika Bolstad
How Goldman secretly bet on the U.S. housing crash
In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers that it also was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting. Now, a five-month McClatchy investigation has found that Goldman's failure to disclose those secret bets may have violated securities laws. | 11/01/09 00:00:01 By - Greg Gordon
Why did Goldman stop scrutinizing loans it bought?
Goldman Sachs Group got into the residential mortgage business in 1984, and for 17 years, it ran a staid operation that simply bought and sold loans. All that changed in 2001, when the elite investment bank leaped aggressively into the burgeoning subprime securities market that was becoming a fountain of money for its Wall Street rivals. | 11/01/09 00:00:01 By - Greg Gordon
EIA: a tiny agency with a big role in energy debate
As energy increasingly dominates the economy, a quiet little agency in Washington holds the responsibility for tracking the particles that conduct, fuse, blow, heat, combust and convert the earth, wind and water into the energy that makes our society run. | 11/01/09 06:00:00 By - Barbara Barrett
Newsom drops out of California governor's race
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made a surprise announcement Friday afternoon that he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race, leaving the Democrats with no declared candidate for the top statewide office. | 10/30/09 18:40:00 By - Jack Chang
Poll: Florida voters opposed to a public health care option
In a state where 20 percent of the population is uninsured, Florida voters, by a margin of 47 percent to 40 percent, oppose a Democratic plan for a government health insurance program, a poll by two of the state's most influential newspapers shows. Only in South Florida did voters support the public option, by a margin of 54 to 37 percent. | 10/30/09 18:17:07 By - Shannon Colavecchio and Marc Caputo
Health care: Some agreement, then there's the public option
Congress is poised to begin a historic debate on the future of the nation's health care system, but while most Democrats agree a new public plan is needed, its fate is far from certain. | 10/30/09 16:57:00 By - David Lightman
Schwarzenegger: Profanity in veto was 'wild coincidence'
It may be highly improbable mathematically, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that the encoded profanity contained in one of his veto messages was "a wild coincidence." | 10/30/09 15:44:15 By - Rob Hotakainen
GOP identity crisis finds new home: Upstate New York
A special election for an open seat in the U.S House of Representatives has turned into a high-profile proxy war over how the party should come back from the stinging losses of both the House and Senate in 2006 and the White House in 2008. Facing dwindling support, a moderate GOP candidate exited the race Saturday, leaving a more conservative third-party candidate and a Democrat to battle for votes Tuesday. | 10/30/09 15:06:00 By - Steven Thomma
Turns out Obama really did consider Hillary to be VP
A new book by the manager of Obama's presidential campaign says both he and Obama adviser David Axelrod were surprised by how seriously Obama was considering picking vanguished rival Hillary Clinton for the vice presidency. Hillary didn't make the final cut, David Plouffe writes, because of concerns about Bill Clinton. The nod went to Joe Biden after the other top contenders, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Tim Kaine of Virginia, were rejected as not having the proper heft or experience. | 10/30/09 14:38:39 By - Steven Thomma
Perry, Hutchison locked in battle -- for endorsements
One day after Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison touted her endorsement for Texas governor from former Vice President Dick Cheney, Gov. Rick Perry unveiled two endorsements of his own: the 11,000-member Texas Association of Builders and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who heads the national Republican Governors Association. | 10/30/09 07:44:50 By - Anna M. Tinsley and Aman Batheja
Bauer jumps into S.C. governor's race
In a sure sign Andre Bauer is running for governor, the two-term, Republican lieutenant governor Thursday opened a campaign bank account and filed paperwork with the State Ethics Commission. Known for constituent services, Bauer has more than $825,000 on hand, including money saved from previous campaigns. Bauer now will ask those donors for permission to spend that money on his bid for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination. | 10/30/09 07:38:58 By - Gina Smith
Ex-N.C. Gov. Easley's lawyer tells board to send case to DA
After four days of putting the campaigns of Gov. Mike Easley and the N.C. Democratic Party under the microscope, the State Board of Elections expects to decide today whether a criminal probe is needed. On Thursday, Easley's personal attorney told them to skip the deliberation and send the case to the office of Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby. | 10/30/09 07:34:39 By - Dan Kane and J. Andrew Curliss
Biden touts administration's accomplishments in South Florida stops
Vice President Joe Biden swooped down to South Florida on Thursday for a quick fundraising trip that included stops in Boca Raton and Miami Beach. Biden touted his three decades of experience on the political scene as evidence that he and President Barack Obama were prepared to face the major challenges facing the country — including the economy, health care reform and national security. | 10/30/09 07:01:20 By - Toluse Olorunnipa
South Carolina officials celebrate Boeing's arrival
The landing was delayed, but Boeing has arrived in South Carolina and is bringing along 3,800 jobs to build its new 787 Dreamliner. State and local officials expect Boeing to break ground on the North Charleston plant within a month. | 10/29/09 21:59:36 By - John O'Connor
Judicial nominations pile up, and parties blame each other
Hiring a federal judge requires an act of Congress, but Congress hasn't been in much of a hiring mode lately. As judicial nominations pile up on Capitol Hill, the Senate is at loggerheads, with Democrats and Republicans busy blaming each other for the delays. | 10/29/09 20:16:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Blue Dogs aren't there yet on new House health bill
Democratic leaders Thursday invoked the spirit of generations of party heroes to rally their members of the House of Representatives behind a new health care plan -- but it's clear that winning a majority will be a tough fight. | 10/29/09 17:58:00 By - David Lightman
Senate bill's fine print: Premiums could rise in spite of caps
Proponents of the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill say the legislation will limit the amount that lower- and middle-income people must pay for health insurance to a maximum of 12 percent of their incomes. | 10/29/09 17:08:00 By - Julie Appleby
Cheney's endorsement has Hutchison 'so pleased'
Former Vice President Dick Cheney is supporting U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas governor's race and will formally unveil his endorsement at a Nov. 17 fundraiser in Houston. Cheney was often depicted as a conservative hard-liner in the Bush administration and, as such, could help boost Hutchison's support among conservative activists in her bid to unseat Gov. Rick Perry in the March 2 Republican primary. | 10/29/09 07:39:11 By - Dave Montgomery
Former N.C. Gov. Easley contradicts friend's testimony during hearing
Former Gov. Mike Easley gave sworn testimony Wednesday about free flights, the use of a vehicle and campaign-funded repairs to his home that directly contradicted earlier statements in a state Board of Elections hearing. | 10/29/09 07:28:39 By - J. Andrew Curliss
Jerry Brown's gubernatorial campaign gets support of unions
While California Democrats have more than seven months left to choose their candidate for governor, one of the party's key constituencies has already made its preference clear, at least in the all-important money race. Unions all across the state and country have poured more than a million dollars into Attorney General Jerry Brown's campaign coffers — even though he has yet to officially announce his candidacy. | 10/29/09 06:49:53 By - Jack Chang
Marijuana legalization bill gets a hearing in California
Legislation to make California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use lit up a Capitol committee hearing Wednesday with three hours of lively but mellow debate. No joint consensus was reached. | 10/29/09 06:45:45 By - Jim Sanders
Alaska Native companies could still get no-bid contracts in SBA proposal
The federal Small Business Administration is proposing big changes to the controversial contracting program for minorities that spurred massive growth among Alaska Native corporations over the past decade. | 10/29/09 06:40:09 By - Elizabeth Bluemink
Rove-Dean health care debate punctuated by name calling
Karl Rove and Howard Dean brought the national health care debate to Penn State on Tuesday night. There was little agreement, but a good bit of name calling, during the event, which ranged in tone from heated to humorous. | 10/28/09 21:51:59 By - Ed Mahon
Palin on Levi: those who 'sell their body...do anything for attention'
Sarah Palin emailed a statement today following claims by Levi Johnston on the CBS "Early Show" that he's keeping some unspecified "huge" things about Sarah Palin from the public. | 10/28/09 18:29:10 By - Sean Cockerham
Pelosi unveils House version of health care bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled revised health care-overhaul legislation Thursday that includes a stronger government-operated insurance option than the one that the Senate plans to consider. | 10/28/09 18:19:00 By - David Lightman
Obama signs first major federal gay-rights law
President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation, a milestone that activists compared to the passage of 1960s civil-rights legislation empowering blacks. | 10/28/09 17:30:00 By - Margaret Talev
Health care bills would limit out-of-pocket costs
Consumers would be spared having to pay huge medical bills under Democratic health care legislation that's moving through Congress, as lawmakers agree on the need to put limits on how much people would pay out of their own pockets. | 10/28/09 17:07:00 By - David Lightman
Ex-Veco executive Allen sentenced to 3 years, $750,000 fine
Bill Allen, the central figure in Alaska's public corruption scandal, pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy and tax violations more than two years ago and since then has been a key witness in a string of high-profile corruption trials. | 10/28/09 14:20:40 By - Sean Cockerham, Richard Mauer and Lisa Demer
More family values: ex-S.C. GOP official caught with stripper in cemetery
Columbia's assistant city manager for public safety says the city will not formally investigate an incident involving former state Assistant Attorney General Roland Corning. Corning, who is a former state legislator, left his job with the attorney general's office after he was pulled over on suspicion of illegal activity. | 10/28/09 12:55:23 By - Adam Beam
S.C. House holds off on Sanford impeachment bill
When South Carolina state Rep. Greg Delleney makes up his mind to do something, the Citadel graduate locks on like a bulldog. Delleney, a 10-term Republican from Chester County, is the driving force behind the push to remove Gov. Mark Sanford from office for disappearing to Argentina for five days and lying to his staff in June. However, House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, ruled Tuesday that Delleney would have to wait to introduce his impeachment resolution. | 10/28/09 07:37:58 By - John O'Connor
Memos indicate Easley campaign sought loopholes in donation laws
Internal documents from former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign committee suggest a concerted effort to run donations illegally through the N.C. Democratic Party to circumvent contribution limits. The evidence, released Tuesday by the State Board of Elections, included internal campaign memos that outlined ways to extract more money from donors than they could get with straightforward contributions to Easley's two campaigns for governor. | 10/28/09 07:31:56 By - Dan Kane
Probe of California's unused state vehicles leads to manager's resignation
A top California Department of General Services manager resigned and a Department of Transportation employee was reassigned Tuesday as the Schwarzenegger administration reacted to an investigation by The Sacramento Bee that found officials spent $5.5 million on new vehicles this year but left many idle and gathering dust for months. | 10/28/09 07:02:54 By - Andrew McIntosh
Miami Beach man calls Secret Service, asks to see Obama
With President Barack Obama in Miami Beach for a fundraiser, mayoral candidate Raphael Herman showed up at City Hall bloodied and screaming, according to witnesses, and then called the Secret Service to say he knew where Obama was staying and would pay him a visit. | 10/27/09 19:21:21 By - David Smiley
Palin got at least $1.25 million for book, forms show
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was paid at least $1.25 million for her upcoming memoir, "Going Rogue," a book that's one of the top pre-orders on online bestseller lists even before its release next month. | 10/27/09 18:45:00 By - Sean Cockerham and Erika Bolstad
Moderate Democrats cool to government-run health plan
Moderate Democratic senators remained reluctant Tuesday -- and in one case, defiant -- about backing the government-run "public option" health care plan that party leaders are offering as a compromise, making it highly uncertain whether the plan can become law. | 10/27/09 18:00:00 By - David Lightman and Margaret Talev
Oversight panel: Government was slow on H1N1 threat
The federal government's preparedness for the H1N1, or swine flu, pandemic that's claimed far more than 1,000 lives nationwide was inadequate and incomplete, a congressional subcommittee said Tuesday. | 10/27/09 16:48:00 By - William Douglas
Commission to rein in federal entitlement costs is proposed
Amid signs that health care overhaul legislation will do little to slow the growth in health care spending in the coming decade, lawmakers and Obama administration officials are considering tougher steps to rein in soaring budget deficits. | 10/27/09 14:28:00 By - Eric Pianin
Palin received $1.5 million retainer for book
Sarah Palin reported in financial disclosures out this morning that she received $1.25 million from publisher HarperCollins as "retainer for book." The report doesn't give a date for when Palin received the money. But the disclosures cover money that Palin received during her final seven months as governor, from Jan. 1 to July 26. | 10/27/09 13:44:37 By - Sean Cockerham
Easley friend says campaign paid for ex-N.C. governor's home repairs
Former North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley directed his campaign to pay for $11,000 in roof and bathroom repairs and other fix-ups at his personal residence in Raleigh, and he kept it secret from the public, according to testimony and records at a state elections board hearing Monday. Easley's campaign also did not pay for scores of political flights he took from 1999 through 2004, according to a star witness who flew him around: longtime friend and supporter, McQueen Campbell. | 10/27/09 07:35:31 By - J. Andrew Curliss
Swine flu could impact health care overhaul too
If swine flu sneezes, will health care reform catch a cold? Long lines and vaccine shortages could convince millions of Americans — and one or two crucial members of Congress — that a Washington that can't deliver flu shots can't deliver health care reform either. The White House, perhaps sensing the political as well as policy implications of the swine flu effort, stepped up its public response to the sickness over the past week. | 10/27/09 07:27:00 By - Dave Helling
President Obama rallies Democratic base in Miami
President Barack Obama dashed from a Navy hangar in Jacksonville to a swanky Miami Beach hotel Monday to buff his image in a recession-weary state and bag $1.5 million to defend the Democratic majority in Congress. The ground Obama plans to cover on his two-day stint in Florida reflects the changing landscape since the freshly inaugurated president came to Fort Myers in February to pitch his economic stimulus plan. His poll numbers are down, unemployment is up and health care reform hangs in the balance. | 10/27/09 07:07:16 By - Beth Reinhard and Steve Bousquet
California Republican leaders balk at latest water plan
Two influential water districts and several environmental groups said Monday they support key elements of water legislation under negotiation in California's Capitol. But the compromise is not good enough for Republican leaders, who said they still have "grave concerns" that the proposals would "create new layers of bureaucracy." | 10/27/09 06:59:42 By - E.J. Schultz
Alaska Native groups seek help from legislators in contracting battle
Alaska Native leaders on Monday urged state lawmakers to join them in defending an embattled federal contracting program that has spurred enormous growth among Alaska Native firms in recent years. | 10/27/09 06:45:17 By - Elizabeth Bluemink
Sex allegations against Bill Allen emerge in unsealed documents
Former Veco CEO Bill Allen wants a federal judge to look beyond his corruption of Alaska politics to a life of charity and job creation in the state when he is asking for leniency and a sentence of only six months in prison. However, as Allen prepares to learn his punishment for bribery and conspiracy from U.S. District Judge John Sedwick, newly unsealed documents in a related case provide details into allegations that he maintained sexual relationships with underaged girls and asked two women to lie under oath about his sexual relationship with them, or that he first got caught violating laws governing political campaign finance in 1985. | 10/27/09 06:40:06 By - Richard Mauer
Chairman Frank proposes ‘death panels’ for giant banks
The chairman of a key congressional panel Monday scaled back important parts of the Obama administration's plan to dismantle financial institutions that are deemed "too big to fail." | 10/26/09 18:10:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Bush: No regrets for unpopular decisions
Former President George W. Bush told more than 11,000 people at the Fort Worth Convention Center that he was confident he made the right decisions as president, even if it hurt his popularity. | 10/26/09 17:10:54 By -
Reid includes public option in latest health care bill
The Senate will consider whether the government should run and fund a health care plan to compete with private insurance, but states could choose not to participate in the system. | 10/26/09 16:03:00 By - David Lightman
Easley hearing illuminates North Carolina politics
Years ago, the State Board of Elections enjoyed a public image of a humdrum vote counter and ballot inspector. But in the past decade, the board has taken the role of dogged investigator that has helped put crooked politicians behind bars. | 10/26/09 14:45:54 By - Joseph Neff
Perry vs. Hutchison might cause rift in Texas GOP
Texas Democrats watching the state's top two Republicans fight for their party's gubernatorial nomination are glad that Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison have apparently abandoned the Republicans' 11th Commandment, established during Ronald Reagan's run for California governor in 1966: Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican. And they hope that the GOP gubernatorial battle creates enough division within the party to help Democrats in the general election and for years to come. | 10/26/09 07:39:57 By - Anna M. Tinsley
Two California departments have fleets of new vehicles sitting idle
Two of the California's largest departments spent more than $5.5 million on new cars and trucks this year only to leave them idle and gathering dust for months. One department still has pickup and larger trucks parked in its yard that it bought during 2006, 2007 and 2008, a Sacramento Bee investigation found. | 10/26/09 06:59:35 By - Andrew McIntosh
California's GOP governor candidates have contributed to Democratic campaigns
Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner and Tom Campbell constitute the entire GOP gubernatorial field to become California's next governor. In the past, all three have made contributions to Democratic candidates, a fact that has some Republicans wondering where their candidates' loyalties really lie. | 10/26/09 06:52:55 By - Jack Chang
Alaska's medical marijuana policy stays intact
Last week, the Obama Administration's Justice Department announced it would no longer prosecute users and suppliers of medical marijuana — as long as they're complying with the law in Alaska and 13 other states where medicinal pot use is legal. | 10/26/09 06:42:38 By - Erika Bolstad
Calendar shows Sanford fell out of love with his state, too
Critics of South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford say, and the governor's own calendar shows, that Sanford -- in a striking change from his first term -- lost interest in the state after he was elected to a second term. | 10/25/09 18:34:28 By - John O'Connor
Democrats brace for end of Virginia winning streak
The Democrats' decade-long push into Virginia — a national bragging point that they were moving into the once-solid Republican South — may be coming to an end. Polls suggest that the GOP could win the Virginia governor's office on Nov. 3, a year after Barack Obama carried the state. | 10/25/09 15:16:11 By - Steven Thomma
South Carolina: A central front in battle for GOP soul
The national debate among Republicans over their party's future is nowhere sharper than in South Carolina, where Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint pursue distinctly different visions for restoring GOP primacy at the polls. | 10/25/09 06:00:00 By - James Rosen
California's fight over gay marriage moves to Maine
A year ago, Robin and Robb Wirthlin went to Riverside Wesleyan Church in Sacramento to warn Californians about what they feared might happen if gay marriage remained legal in the state. | 10/25/09 06:00:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
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