Obama's Justice nominees signal end of Bush terror tactics
In filling four senior Justice Department positions Monday, President-elect Barack Obama signaled that he intends to roll back Bush administration counter-terrorism policies authorizing harsh interrogation techniques, warrantless spying and indefinite detentions of terrorism suspects. Obama's pick of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen to take charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, the unit that churned out the legal opinions that justified harsh detainee treatment, was especially telling. | 01/05/09 17:43:00 By - Greg Gordon
Levi's mom, all alone, pleads not guilty to selling OxyContin
The mother of Sarah Palin's future son-in-law pleaded not guilty to charges of selling the prescription drug OxyContin at her first court hearing today. Johnston showed up without a lawyer and asked for and received a public defender. She said is in the midst of a divorce and living on medical disability payments and child support. | 01/05/09 16:55:05 By - Zaz Hollander
Congress: What will they do for you?
When N.C politicians, Larry Kissell and Kay Hagan, are sworn into office with their colleagues Tuesday, the work will be just beginning for the 111th Congress. | 01/05/09 12:45:23 By - Lisa Zagaroli
Politicians feel tug of online networking
His favorite movie is “Braveheart,” and his favorite TV show is “24.” He also loves playing tennis, running and sailing, according to his Facebook page. His job title? U.S. senator. | 01/05/09 12:42:59 By - Lisa Zagaroli
Richardson, citing probe, withdraws name for Commerce
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his name from nomination as commerce secretary Sunday, saying a federal probe that has reached into his office could last months and was certain to bog down his confirmation. Obama said he'd move quickly to fill the position but named no replacement for Richardson, who intends to remain governor. | 01/04/09 17:46:17 By - Margaret Talev
With Palin as candidate, did troopers delay drug case?
A Mat-Su drug investigator and the union representing Alaska State Troopers are alleging political meddling in the Sherry Johnston drug case, including a delay in serving the search warrant because of the November election. Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, who became nationally known in September when Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, announced their daughter, Bristol, was pregnant and he was the father. | 01/04/09 07:59:23 By - Sean Cockerham
Even to his defenders, Bush's legacy is 'debatable'
The first chief executive with a master's in business administration is leaving President-elect Barack Obama a nation that's arguably in the worst shape since Herbert Hoover left Franklin Roosevelt the Great Depression and a world in which fascism was on the march 76 years ago. While scholars estimate that it takes at least a generation before a president's legacy can be analyzed objectively, many already are unflinching in their assessment of Bush. | 01/04/09 06:00:00 By - David Lightman
Oh, no: Palin critic claims Levi's apprenticeship is illegal
A frequent critic of Gov. Sarah Palin claims in this morning's Anchorage Daily News that Levi Johnston's enrollment in an electrical apprenticeship program run by the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. violates federal regulations. | 01/03/09 12:25:00 By -
Web of business ties entangle Kentucky governor's office
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear's chief of staff is a partner in private business deals with a top lobbyist who represents a long list of clients wanting something from state government. Both insist the relationship presents no conflict of interest, though others disagree. | 01/02/09 13:48:27 By - John Cheves
Calif. budget plan would cut prison time, loosen parole rules
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal would eliminate parole for all nonserious, nonviolent and non-sex offenders. It would also increase good-time credits for inmates, cutting the prison population by June 30, 2010, by more than 8 percent. | 01/02/09 13:13:03 By - Andy Furillo
Lipstick on a pit bull: Gov. Palin rises to Levi's defense
In a series of phone calls and e-mail messages on New Year's Eve to news organizations, Gov. Sarah Palin refuted descriptions of her future son-ln-law as a high school dropout, saying he was enrolled in correspondence courses while working as an electrical apprentice on Alaska's North Slope. Her office also broke its silence on the birth of her new grandson. | 01/02/09 07:58:46 By - Kyle Hopkins
U.S. attorney for North Texas stepping down
U.S. Attorney Richard Roper is stepping down as the top federal prosecutor in North Texas to become a senior partner at a Dallas-based law firm, where he will handle white-collar fraud and corporate investigation cases. | 01/02/09 19:52:08 By - Max B. Baker
Witness who didn't testify at Stevens trial has died in Alaska
Rocky Williams was a longtime employee of Veco CEO Bill Allen and a potential witness at the trial last year of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. He became a point of controversy during the trial when the government abruptly sent him back to Alaska without calling him. He died in Anchorage Tuesday. He was 58. | 01/02/09 19:50:35 By - Richard Mauer
Kansas legislator says classes on money should be required
It's easier for many adults to talk to children about sex than about money. "The only greater taboo for conversation than sex is money," noted Philip Heckman, Youth Programs director for the Center for Personal Finance, which is affiliated with Credit Union National Association Inc. | 01/02/09 19:50:00 By - Jeannine Koranda
Economic woes expected to worsen early this year
The economy will get worse before it gets better this year as housing prices continue to fall, unemployment rates rise and the gross domestic product contracts. For the average U.S. household wondering how to survive the turmoil, an economic choir sang in unison: Don't take on debt, don't make risky stock investments and play it safe — at least until next year. | 01/02/09 19:49:15 By - Jack Chang
S. Carolina celebrants to descend on Washington
South Carolinians who gave Barack Obama a decisive primary victory in the Palmetto State are joining a national migration to Washington to see the first black president sworn into office. | 01/02/09 19:48:12 By - Wayne Washington and James Rosen
California warns it'll be paying bills soon with IOUs
State Controller John Chiang warned Tuesday that the first group to get hit in the wallet by California's budget debacle is likely to include legislators – and it could happen as early as Feb. 1. The bad news is that next in line to get IOUs instead of cash would be Californians owed state income tax refunds and companies that do business with the state. | 12/31/08 07:50:30 By - Steve Wiegand
2008 was quite a year for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius may not be heading to Washington now, but that doesn’t mean she won’t join President-elect Barack Obama’s administration in the future. | 12/31/08 07:44:32 By - David Klepper
Illinois legislators bristle at Blagojevich's action
State Sen. Bill Haine knows Centralia native Roland Burris from the early 1990s, when Haine was serving his first term as Madison County state's attorney and Burris was the state attorney general. "Very nice gentleman. Has a good record in public office," Haine said. "But he should not have taken this appointment, he should not have gotten himself involved in this." | 12/30/08 21:16:19 By - Brian Brueggemann
One group that still is getting a raise — Congress
With the economy in a recession and millions of Americans losing their jobs, members of Congress will see their base salaries go to $174,000, roughly a 2.8 percent raise. Some members, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will get even more. Her salary will be $223,500. Some critics are calling for the new Congress to rescind the raise. | 12/30/08 18:14:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Larry Craig's final act: $3 million for Idaho water studies
Republican Sen. Larry Craig is stepping down from the U.S. Senate, but he will leave one last water bill waiting in the next Congress. Hidden deep among a giant package of nearly 150 public lands bills that the Senate could consider as soon as January is a plan to spend $3 million to study the feasibility of new dam and reservoir projects on the Snake, Boise and Payette rivers in Idaho. | 12/30/08 07:40:58 By - Rocky Barker
No official word yet on weekend birth of Palin grandchild
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is a grandmother. The baby's name is Tripp, and he was born early Sunday morning, People magazine is reporting. But the governor's office, which issued a news release when Palin herself gave birth in April, did not return messages Monday. | 12/30/08 07:10:30 By -
Decision on F-22 fighter jets looms for Obama
Sometime during his first couple of months in office, President-elect Barack Obama will have to confront one of his first big decisions about U.S. defense policy and budgets – whether to continue spending about $4 billion a year to buy F-22 Raptor fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin. | 12/29/08 09:15:05 By - Bob Cox
Florida Obama donor shares in inauguration festivities
After contributing what he says was "lots" to Obama's presidential campaign, Raul Pedraza, a Miami business owner, has pledged $50,000 to defray the costs of producing an inauguration expected to draw two million people to the Capitol. For his contribution, Pedraza will have access to all the festivities. | 12/29/08 07:09:34 By - Lesley Clark
Obama, Clinton top nation's most-admired lists
Another big win for President-elect Barack Obama: He dethroned President George W. Bush as the nation's most-admired man this year in spectacular fashion. Obama was named most admired living man by 32 percent of Americans, a figure that Gallup poll analyst Lydia Saad called "extraordinarily high." The USA Today/Gallup poll was conducted Dec. 12-14 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. | 12/26/08 13:27:00 By - David Lightman
Blagojevich fished for Obama Cabinet post, report says
Rod Blagojevich, the secretary of health and human services? Apparently, the embattled Illinois governor thought it might be a good idea for him to be President-elect Barack Obama's point man for one of the most difficult, highest priority issues the incoming 44th president plans to tackle. | 12/24/08 14:18:00 By - David Lightman
Witness in Senator Stevens' trial affirms immunity offer
David Anderson, a key witness in the misconduct trial against Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, sent the judge a letter saying the government had granted him and 12 friends an immunity deal. | 12/24/08 06:27:34 By - Richard Mauer
Obama attorney's review: No 'deal' with Blagojevich
Neither President-elect Barack Obama nor his top staff had any inappropriate contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the state's vacant Senate seat, an internal review by Obama's attorney reported on Tuesday. | 12/23/08 18:02:00 By - David Lightman
Palin may speak at conservative conference
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been invited to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. Her forays into the national spotlight since losing the Nov. 4 have drawn complaints from local Democrats who said Palin's time would be better spent at home on state business. | 12/23/08 12:31:32 By - Kyle Hopkins
Alleged misconduct in Ted Stevens trial
An Alaska FBI agent says prosecutors deliberately withheld and covered up evidence favorable to U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens during his month-long trial and investigations into corruption charges against him were tainted. | 12/23/08 06:31:23 By - Richard Mauer
UC Berkeley economist to play role in Obama administration
University of California Berkeley professor Christina Romer, an expert on the Depression, was named by President-elect Barack Obama to chair the White House Council of Economic Advisers. | 12/22/08 06:57:51 By - Dale Kasler
Palin soap opera: Drug in Levi's mom's case is oxycontin
Law enforcement officials in Alaska confirmed that Sherry Johnston had been charged with an offense involving the drug oxycontin, a powerful painkiller whose popularity is epidemic in much of rural America. Little other information about the charges against her was available. Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, the boyfriend of Gov. Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol. | 12/19/08 23:27:58 By - Zaz Hollander
Southerners are the missing group in Obama's Cabinet
Barack Obama announced his final Cabinet picks Friday, and there are Democrats, Republicans, liberals, moderates, Hispanics, Asians, whites, blacks, Northerners and Westerners. But no one from south of the Mason-Dixon line was named to a top position, even though Florida, North Carolina and Virginia went for Obama. | 12/19/08 19:10:59 By - Jim Morrill
Obama pick for science signals new view on global warming
John P. Holdren's selection sends a strong signal that Obama sees global warming as an urgent problem and wants bold suggestions for action. The Harvard University environmental policy professor has argued that the world already is experiencing dangerous climate change as a result of fossil fuel combustion. | 12/19/08 18:19:00 By - Renee Schoof
Labor nominee Solis is a longtime ally of farm workers
The daughter of Mexican immigrants, raised in California's San Gabriel Valley, Hilda Solis, if confirmed, will be the first Hispanic secretary of labor. Job One for her is likely to be reversing Bush administration regulations that allow employers to pay foreign guest workers lower wages and travel reimbursements. | 12/19/08 16:56:00 By - Michael Doyle
GOP figure becomes 10th Alaskan guilty in corruption probe
Alaska State Sen. John Cowdery pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to bribery and extortion Friday morning, the latest public official to fall in the broad public corruption investigation in Alaska. In return for his guilty plea, the government agreed to drop a second charge of bribery. | 12/19/08 15:43:20 By - Richard Mauer
Stimulus plan could be mother of all 'Christmas tree' bills
Christmas falls on Thursday, but in the nation's capital it will come in early January, when the 111th Congress convenes and begins assembling an economic stimulus plan worth anywhere from $600 billion to $850 billion, and counting. Just where it will stop is anyone's guess. On Friday, for example, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums called for "shovel-ready zoo and aquarium infrastructure projects to be eligible for federal stimulus funding." | 12/19/08 14:48:00 By - David Lightman and Kevin G. Hall
Will Bush's auto bailout work? We'll know by March
The program would provide Chrysler and General Motors with more than $17 billion in the next two months. Bush offered targets for the companies Friday, but not requirements, meaning that tough negotiations lie ahead among labor and auto company executives and officials in the incoming Obama administration. Even if they reach agreement, the fates of the Big Three automakers could well be out of their control. | 12/19/08 09:53:07 By - David Lightman and Kevin G. Hall
More Palin family trouble: Levi's mom's been arrested
Sherry L. Johnston, the mother of Levi Johnston, the 18-year-old who received international attention as the father of Gov. Sarah Palin's expected grandchild, was charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance. Bristol Palin, 18, is due on Saturday, according to a recent interview with the governor's father, Chuck Heath. | 12/19/08 07:57:15 By - Zaz Hollander
Most corrupt state? It may just be North Dakota. Really.
Rod Blagojevich's arrest started this argument. He's the second Illinois governor in a row who seems to be headed for the Big House from the state house. But before we declare Illinois the country's most corrupt state, let's consider our options. Louisiana certainly deserves a spot. Then there's little North Dakota. And Florida, which has the most public officials convicted. | 12/19/08 07:19:23 By - Rick Montgomery
Term limit pledge drove Brownback's decision to bow out
Sam Brownback is only 52 and has a job he loves. But on Thursday, the Kansas Republican began the process of walking away from his seat in the U.S. Senate, announcing that he would not seek re-election in 2010. The reason? A term limits pledge he signed in 1996. | 12/19/08 07:07:17 By - Steve Kraske
Obama to financial sector: More regulation is coming
Obama said he'll soon unveil plans to intensify and perhaps restructure regulation of the financial sector. He criticized Wall Street greed, saying that "there needs to be a shift in ethics. ... "Everybody from CEOs to shareholders to investors are going to have to be asking themselves, not only is this profitable ... but is it right?" | 12/18/08 18:20:00 By - Kevin G. Hall and Margaret Talev
Bush on economy moves: I didn't want to be Herbert Hoover
Bush offered Thursday what he dubbed "reflections by a guy who's headed out of town" to a friendly American Enterprise Institute audience at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. He spoke without notes and took questions for more than an hour. He conceded no serious mistakes and on issue after issue blamed his stumbles on Washington's convoluted ways. | 12/18/08 16:47:00 By - David Lightman
Kansas' Sam Brownback won't seek Senate re-election
Kansas Republican Sam Brownback announced Thursday that he will not seek a third, six-year term in the U.S. Senate. It is widely expected that Brownback, 52, will return to Kansas and run for governor in 2010. However, Brownback declined to say what he would be doing after his term ended. | 12/18/08 15:44:37 By - Bill Dalton
No criminal charges for Kansas AG who resigned over affair
A nine-month investigation has cleared former Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison of allegations he harassed a former employee with whom he was having an extramarital affair that forced him from office. Investigators concluded that phone calls he placed to the woman were in line with earlier communications between the couple. | 12/18/08 07:53:52 By - Joe Lambe and David Klepper
Obama to fill SEC, transportation and trade roles
President-elect Barack Obama has made his selections for Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, transportation secretary and U.S. trade representative, insiders said Wednesday. The trio, former SEC commissioner Mary Schapiro, retiring Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, could play an important collective role in restoring investor confidence and reviving the nation's economy. | 12/17/08 20:53:00 By - Margaret Talev, Kevin G. Hall and Maria Recio
Palin won't take pay raise — even if it's deserved
Gov. Sarah Palin says she didn't ask for a pay raise and won't accept one during her current term. That's from her spokesman, Bill McAllister, who says he talked to the governor about the $25,000 raise that a new state commission is recommending this week. | 12/17/08 20:48:47 By - Kyle Hopkins
Salazar pick indicates big change at Interior Department
With 60 percent of the land in Alaska managed by federal agencies, Alaskans with a stake in environmental and natural resource issues were paying close attention Wednesday when President-elect Barack Obama named Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado as his nominee for interior secretary. Obama's pick elect suggested a 180-degree move from the Interior Department under the Bush administration. | 12/17/08 18:35:51 By - Erika Bolstad
Senate GOP adds Elian Gonzalez case to questions for Holder
Elian Gonzalez could play a role in the upcoming confirmation hearings for Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general, with Senate Republicans requesting details from the Clinton presidential library and the Department of Justice of Eric Holder's role in the 2000 seizure of the Cuban boy in Miami. | 12/17/08 14:30:00 By - Lesley Clark
Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma will perform at inauguration
Aretha Franklin. Yo-Yo Ma. The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus. They're all part of the entertainment for the presidential inauguration Jan. 20. | 12/17/08 13:47:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Ag pick Vilsack faces huge bureaucracy, learning curve
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will inherit a lumbering bureaucracy and have lots to learn about fruits and vegetables as the nation's next agriculture secretary. | 12/17/08 13:49:00 By - Michael Doyle
Obama to name Iowa ex-Gov. Vilsack as agriculture secretary
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is President-elect Barack Obama's choice for agriculture secretary, a Democrat familiar with the decision said Tuesday. Vilsack's nomination was expected to be announced at a Wednesday news conference in Chicago, where Obama also was expected to formally tap Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., to head the Interior Department. | 12/16/08 21:36:00 By - Margaret Talev
Ipsos/McClatchy Poll: Illinois voters say Blagojevich must go
More than nine out of ten people in Illinois think that Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign since he was arrested on corruption charges, according to a new Ipsos/McClatchy online poll. | 12/16/08 17:50:00 By - Steven Thomma
Obama review finds no 'inappropriate' contacts with governor
President-elect Barack Obama said on Monday that an internal review confirms that no one on his staff had any 'inappropriate' discussions with disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but he's postponing release of the full review until next week at the request of federal prosecutors investigating Blagojevich for corruption. | 12/15/08 19:13:00 By - Margaret Talev and Renee Schoof
It isn't just the cars: Lawmakers say executives are 'lemons,' too
WASHINGTON — Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, knows what he wants from the Big Three auto executives: They should bow down to stockholders and apologize. | 12/15/08 15:25:00 By - David Lightman
Who's paying for Obama's inauguration? Lots of people
Nearly 1,800 people have contributed $1.17 million to the transition office as of Nov. 15, according to a report released by Obama earlier this month. About 240 donors have contributed $9.7 million so far to the committee that's planning Obama's Jan. 20 swearing in and related festivities, according to records released Friday. | 12/15/08 07:38:04 By - Lisa Zagaroli
Iraqi who threw shoes covered U.S. bombing of Shiite area
Friends said that the Iraqi television journalist who hurled two shoes at President Bush on Sunday during a joint news conference Bush was holding with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki had been deeply affected by the carnage he saw earlier this year when U.S. aircraft bombed Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. The journalist was wrestled to the ground and detained. Bush was unhurt. | 12/14/08 13:22:28 By - Adam Ashton and Mohammed al Dulaimy
With election in past, McCain declines to back Palin for 2012
Sarah Palin may have been the best choice to be a possible replacement to John McCain as vice president, but McCain said Sunday he's not ready to endorse her as the next Republican presidential candidate. "We've got some great other young governors," he said. | 12/14/08 12:30:54 By - Steven Thomma
Election of Obama causes gun sales to soar
It's not the Christmas rush that's causing gun and ammunition dealers across Central and Eastern Kentucky — like their counterparts across the nation — to run out of stock and see sales doubling. | 12/14/08 06:59:38 By - Valarie Honeycutt Spears
Capitol Visitor Center: Grand entrance or monument to excess?
The new Capitol Visitor Center opened this month as a shrine to the legislative branch, presenting a polished version of Congress that leaves little room for cynicism — though plenty of space for bathrooms. | 12/14/08 06:00:00 By - Barbara Barrett
Washington State ends 'holiday' display mayhem in its capitol
Washington state officials placed a moratorium late Friday on permitting any more holiday displays inside the Capitol this year. An atheists' sign placed near a Nativity scene sparked a controversy that led to a variety of groups insisting they, too, should be allowed displays. The governor's office ended the fray after a Kansas church asked to post a sign saying "Santa Claus will take you to Hell." | 12/13/08 10:28:46 By - Brad Shannon
Obama says mortgage crisis must be resolved
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama Saturday said he will nominate New York housing official Shaun Donovan as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, calling the job "essential" to restoring the economy. | 12/13/08 10:00:00 By - Steven Thomma
Auto bailout's defeat shows McConnell still has leverage
WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's firm opposition to a bailout for the Big Three automakers in the face of mounting White House pressure might serve as an indication of how the de facto head of a significantly weakened caucus might deal with President-elect Barack Obama's administration. | 12/12/08 20:19:00 By - Halimah Abdullah
Obama, Democrats agree to $500 billion stimulus package
While an auto bailout is on life support, President-elect Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have agreed to a $500 billion economic-stimulus package that they want to move next month even before Obama takes office. | 12/12/08 18:19:00 By - James Rosen
Shift in Cuba policy anticipated under Obama
Throughout his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama said that he'd loosen some restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba and rebuild the already slight ties to the communist nation cut by the Bush administration. With an Obama government soon to become reality, many in the U.S. capital are pushing for much more. | 12/12/08 18:15:00 By - Jack Chang
Why the Senate GOP scuttled the automakers' bailout
Most Senate Republicans were willing to scuttle the $14 billion auto bailout Thursday night because of their longstanding disdain for labor unions, free-market preferences — and a yearning to show that a month after stinging defeats at the polls, they could stick together. | 12/12/08 17:26:00 By - David Lightman
Florida Gov. Crist's wedding tonight marries money to politics
Charlie Crist, 52, will be the first Florida governor to marry in office since 1967 when he marries Carole Rome. 39, tonight in St. Petersburg. The wedding will create an interesting social-political duo. Crist has spent much of his life in public office; Rome, nee Oumano, is a socialite millionaire and president of her family's New York Halloween costume company. | 12/12/08 13:16:59 By - Fred Tasker
McConnell faces criticism at home for killing auto bailout
Kentucky automobile dealers were surprised, confused and saddened Thursday by Sen. Mitch McConnell's opposition to a financial bailout of the Big Three automakers. Ron Jackson, president of the Kentucky Automobile Dealers Association, said it's "hard to know" why McConnell opposed the bailout, but "the manufacturers have to have this money." | 12/12/08 07:02:26 By - Jim Jordan
Aid for carmakers dead over labor costs; next steps unclear
Senate efforts collapsed late Thursday to negotiate an assistance package for U.S. automakers. Lawmakers had bargained throughout the evening with each other and labor and auto company officials in a last-ditch effort to provide $14 billion in loans to the car companies. Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada called the measure's failure "a loss for the country." | 12/11/08 13:31:00 By - David Lightman
Auto bailout failure highlights a regional carmaking split
The Senate's rejection of a bailout for U.S. auto companies will heavily affect the South, which experienced an economic rebirth through a symbiotic relationship with foreign automakers and domestic auto suppliers. Yet it was opposition primarily from the South, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, that doomed the bailout. | 12/11/08 19:26:00 By - Halimah Abdullah
Could the Democrats lose Obama's Senate seat?
As questions linger about what Barack Obama's team knew about an alleged scheme to sell his vacant Senate seat, the talk dominating Democratic circles from Washington to Chicago to Springfield is focusing on more immediate and tangible concerns, all ending at the same place — is it now possible the Democrats could lose the seat? | 12/11/08 18:34:24 By - Steven Thomma
Obama denies knowledge of Blagojevich's scheme
President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that he was "appalled" at charges that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell Obama's vacant Senate seat, and said that he never spoke with the governor about the vacancy and that he's ordered an internal review to see if any of his staff did. | 12/11/08 17:08:00 By - Steven Thomma
Senate probe blames top Bush officials for abuses
Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top officials were responsible for the use of "abusive" interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay, in Afghanistan and at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, a bipartisan Senate report concluded Thursday. | 12/11/08 15:35:00 By - Roy Gutman and Jonathan S. Landay
Kansas church seeks to join Washington state holiday display fray
Washington State's capitol already has a Nativity scene, three signs mocking atheism, and an atheist's sign celebrating the winter solstice. Now the Westboro Baptist Church, which has gained fame by blaming U.S. casualties in Iraq on tolerance of homsexuality, wants to post the following: "Santa Claus will take you to Hell." | 12/11/08 14:50:54 By - Brad Shannon
If Todd Palin can read Sarah's e-mail, why can't everyone?
That's the question behind a lawsuit filed in Alaska in an ongoing dispute over access to Gov. Sarah Palin's e-mail account. Because the governor shares her e-mails with her husband, who has no official government function, she's waived her right to executive privilege, the suit argues. The governor's office argues that Todd is an adviser, if unpaid. | 12/11/08 07:48:34 By - Lisa Demer
GOP ousts Alaska's Young from committee post over ethics
Rep. Don Young, who chaired the House Committee on Natural Resources in the 1990s and in recent years was its senior Republican, Wednesday lost his leadership spot on the panel. Under federal investigation, Young stepped down when it became clear he would be replaced by Republicans eager to the taint of corruption behind them. | 12/10/08 18:58:45 By - Erika Bolstad
Auto bailout bill clears House but faces roadblock in Senate
The House of Representatives approved a $14 billion auto industry rescue Wednesday night by a vote of 237 to 170. However, Senate Republicans' doubts about the emergency loan plan for Detroit's ailing auto industry threaten to put the brakes on the effort. | 12/10/08 18:23:00 By - David Lightman
Is Obama's Web-based political revolution real or smoke?
Has a presidential adviser ever before asked you to tell her where the economic crisis is hurting you personally? Has a future Cabinet member ever sought your ideas for improving health care? Barack Obama's incoming administration does both on its transition Web site, change.gov, and the appeals are drawing thousands of e-mail respondents. | 12/10/08 16:07:00 By - Frank Greve
Dole, Hayes, wealthy but defeated, exit with pensions
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes are both Republicans from North Carolina, both multimillionaires, and both were defeated in their reelection bids. But they'll still be drawing pensions when they leave Congress next month. And that irritates some advocates, who say Congress needs to reform its pension system. | 12/10/08 10:51:12 By - Lisa Zagaroli
Georgia's gov. says budget will contain stimulus package
Gov. Sonny Perdue on Tuesday announced an "aggressive" state stimulus package of new infrastructure projects to help Georgia out of its economic malaise. Perdue didn't discuss figures or specific projects, but said education and transportation would be particularly important as the state takes on debt to build new projects and put people to work. | 12/10/08 07:25:55 By - Travis Fain
Blagojevich scandal creates distraction for Obama transition
President-elect Barack Obama was untainted but not untouched Tuesday by the stunning scandal surrounding charges that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell Obama's now vacant Senate seat in exchange for cash or a lucrative job in the future Obama administration. Some Chicagoans planning to move to Washington with Obama could find themselves facing continuing questions about what they knew about Blagojevich's attempted shakedown. | 12/09/08 20:55:00 By - Marisa Taylor and Steven Thomma
McConnell's Senate campaign nearly $2 million in debt
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign committee appears nearly $2 million in debt and took out loans to aid his hotly contested re-election bid, according to recently released campaign finance records. | 12/09/08 17:53:00 By - Halimah Abdullah
Fitzgerald: No evidence Obama knew of scheme
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald on Tuesday accused Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich of attempting to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama last month as part of what Fitgerald said was a "political corruption crime spree." But Fitzgerald emphasized that he had no evidence Obama was aware of the scheme. | 12/09/08 16:37:19 By - Marisa Taylor
Minnesota court rejects Sen. Craig's appeal
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has turned down Sen. Larry Craig's effort to undo his guilty plea, scuttling the Idaho Republican's argument that the plea wasn't valid because he'd mailed it in rather than appearing in court in person. | 12/09/08 15:28:00 By - Erika Bolstad
Washington State accuses Realtors of campaign violations
Washington State regulators have filed their second campaign-finance complaint of the year against the Washington Association of Realtors, this time alleging that the association improperly reported its spending on Republicans in races for governor and attorney general. | 12/09/08 13:05:45 By - Brad Shannon
Push for quick auto bailout could stall over GOP objections
Mitch McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, said he's unhappy with the auto industry rescue plan being pushed by Democratic congressional leaders. The White House also hasn't signed off on the Democratic plan.Democrats scrambled to make changes that would win Republican approval by the end of the week. | 12/09/08 12:29:57 By - David Lightman
Rep. Bishop on short list for Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, a Democrat with strong ties to Columbus and recently elected to his ninth term in Congress, reportedly is under consideration to become Secretary of Agriculture in the Barack Obama administration. | 12/09/08 07:27:50 By - Chuck Williams
Don Young's campaign funds pay for more attorney bills
Rep. Don Young's most recent campaign finance report shows that he continues to pay his sizeable legal bills using his campaign account. | 12/09/08 06:55:53 By - Erika Bolstad
Supreme Court won't hear Obama citizenship challenge
Without comment, the court brushed off a lawsuit claiming Obama didn't meet the Constitution's citizenship requirements. The move undercuts but doesn't end a legal campaign that's gotten far more traction on the Internet than in the courts. | 12/08/08 15:17:00 By - Michael Doyle
Retired generals offer mixed views of Obama’s security team
Retired Maj. Gen. Jerry White, who commanded Fort Benning in the early '90s, said he's pleased with the national security team President-elect Barack Obama has built. "I think he's done very well," said White, a Columbus resident. | 12/08/08 13:58:19 By -
Florida GOP chairman billed party for spa treatments
Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer charged personal expenses to the state party during a fundraiser this summer, adding fresh details to growing complaints that his money management was hurting the party. The $5,100 bill showed he used party money on spa treatments, seafood dinners and limousines during a party fundraiser at the Breakers Hotel. | 12/08/08 07:30:18 By - Jennifer Liberto and Mary Ellen Klas
Commentary: Why's Palin hiding her 'troopergate' testimony?
To put it bluntly, either Gov. Palin or fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan is lying about key facts. One way for Alaskans to know who is telling the truth is to read the testimony Gov. Palin gave investigator Tim Petumenos in his probe of the case. But Gov. Palin has refused to make her deposition public. | 12/07/08 23:46:15 By -
Obama criticizes Bush's slow handling of housing foreclosures
Criticizing the White House directly for the first time since November's election, President-elect Barack Obama Sunday accused President Bush of not doing enough to stem the nation's home foreclosure crisis and vowed to move quickly after taking office if Bush hasn't moved before he leaves office Jan. 20. | 12/07/08 19:43:03 By - William Douglas
Alaska environmentalists seek to help set Obama administration's agenda
After eight years in exile during near-total Republican control of Alaska policies, local environmentalists were in Washington, D.C., last week hoping to help set the new Democratic administration's agenda. Arctic oil and gas exploration, federal subsistence protection and funding for rural development are among the Alaska concerns that could see sudden policy shifts in the new Obama administration. | 12/07/08 13:18:31 By - Tom Kizzia
Sebelius says she doesn't want a Cabinet position
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who was under consideration for vice president and several Cabinet posts in a Barack Obama administration, today withdrew her name from consideration. | 12/07/08 05:37:40 By - Steve Kraske
Rival religious displays crowd Washington State capitol
Thanks in part to Bill O'Reilly and Fox News, Washington State's Capitol is becoming the scene of a growing competition for religious symbols -- the result of the governor's refusal, on free speech crowds, to remove an atheist message that had been placed near a Nativity scene. That sign was stolen, but recovered and returned to the Capitol by state police. Three new signs appeared, and more displays are in the offing. | 12/06/08 15:09:36 By - Brad Shannon
Obama's strong-willed team will test his management skills
Franklin D. Roosevelt loved to have his aides argue in front of him, the better to see all sides before picking one himself. Richard Nixon tried the same approach, didn't like it, and stopped it. Bill Clinton, too, wanted to hear a lot of voices, but sometimes "drowned" in the cacophony, in the words of one analyst. Now Barack Obama is poised to try it himself. | 12/05/08 15:09:00 By - Steven Thomma
Palin won't make public her 'troopergate' testimony
As far as Gov. Sarah Palin is concerned, "troopergate" is behind her and she won't provide a transcript of testimony she gave in an investigation into whether she violated ethics laws in firing her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan. When Palin was still a candidate for vice-president, she'd said the transcript would be made public. | 12/05/08 12:40:06 By - Lisa Demer
Big jobs losses point to deepening recession
November dealt a one-two punch to the U.S. economy, as employers shed more jobs than any month since December 1974 and mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures leapt to their highest quarterly totals since records have been kept, new reports showed Friday. | 12/05/08 10:00:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Back in Alaska, Palin asks for more child-care spending
Gov. Sarah Palin is calling for more state spending on children's health insurance, preschool and other programs, even as Alaska oil prices and state revenues plunge. Cash flow into the state is shrinking as oil prices drop below $40 a barrel, the lowest level in nearly four years. | 12/05/08 08:37:27 By - Sean Cockerham
$2 million bail set for former Calif. Assembly speaker's son
The criminal drama surrounding the 19-year-old son of former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and three of his Sacramento-area friends deepened Wednesday as defense attorneys began attempts to discredit the prosecution's murder case. | 12/05/08 08:18:03 By - Kim Minugh
Kay Bailey Hutchison takes first step in her run for governor
Hutchison has been laying the groundwork for a gubernatorial run virtually since her re-election to the Senate in 2006. But she pulled the plug on a 2004 run out of Republican reluctance to have an internal battle between her and Gov. Rick Perry. The governor, however, has said that he is running for re-election in 2010, setting up a tense dynamic between the two lawmakers. | 12/04/08 14:32:07 By - Maria Recio
Florida congresswoman, fearing spoof, hangs up on Obama
When President-elect Barack Obama called Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., at her South Florida district office Wednesday, she hung up on him. "I thought: 'Why would Obama want to call a little slug on the planet like me?' '' Ros-Lehtinen said. | 12/04/08 13:18:25 By - Cammy Clark
Why do bloggers continue to press issue of Obama's birthplace?
Evidence that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 seems unassailable — a birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 13 of that year and a "certification of live birth" signed by Hawaii's registrar of vital statistics and carrying the state's seal. Still, the blogosphere remains alive with allegations to the contrary. It's "the stupidest, silliest thing," said Brooks Jackson, director of the University of Pennsylvania's nonpartisan FactCheck.org. | 12/04/08 07:52:19 By - Rick Montgomery
Union concessions may improve prospects for auto bailout
On the eve of congressional hearings, union leaders agreed to give the Big 3 carmakers more time to make pension contributions and will suspend a program that let laid-off workers collect most of their salary. But key congressional leaders still weren't willing to say whether the carmakers will get the aid they are seeking. | 12/03/08 17:53:00 By - David Lightman and Kevin G. Hall
Obama taps another ex-rival: Richardson for commerce
President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday named a third former Democratic presidential rival to his administration with his formal announcement of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his nominee for commerce secretary. | 12/03/08 16:22:00 By - Margaret Talev
Gates walks fine line between two administrations
In his first news conference since President-elect Barack Obama asked him to stay on, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that he and Obama agree on the U.S. course in Iraq, but he couldn't commit to Obama's pledge of a 16-month withdrawal. Instead, Gates said the pace of the drawdown would be one of several discussions in which he'll participate during the new administration. | 12/02/08 19:40:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef
Conservative lawmakers bring God to Capitol Visitor Center
Seven years in the making, the Capitol's new Visitor Center opened Tuesday. But Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., denounced its displays as "left-leaning" and said many "distort our true history." He was joined in his dismay by U.S. Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss. At DeMint's insistence, "In God We Trust" will soon be added to the displays. | 12/02/08 18:56:57 By - James Rosen
Palin takes low-key approach to governors meeting
Sarah Palin did her best not to dominate the media attention when she and other governors met with President-elect Barack Obama and future VP Joe Biden in Philadelphia on Tuesday. She stood at the edge of the 30 governors as they gathered for a news conference and quickly deferred to others when asked a question. | 12/02/08 18:13:00 By - Erika Bolstad
No quick end in sight for Minnesota Senate race
The only thing that might be longer than a Minnesota winter is the state's 2008 Senate race. Four weeks after Minnesotans cast 2.9 million ballots in the costliest Senate contest in the nation, incumbent Republican Norm Coleman is clinging to a lead of 344 votes over Democrat Al Franken. But that's just the beginning of picking a senator. | 12/02/08 17:50:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Forget bailouts: Governors urge Obama to spend on infrastructure
The nation's governors got to work on Tuesday, taking their case to the president-elect for a $136 billion infrastructure spending program that they hope will funnel immediate government money toward bridges, roads and rail lines in the hopes of creating jobs and spurring the economy out of recession. | 12/02/08 17:42:00 By - Erika Bolstad
Homeland security nominee is tough on immigration
Few people have been closer to the center of the debate over illegal immigration than Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, the top Democrat in a conservative state with little sympathy for illegal immigrants. | 12/01/08 19:39:00 By - Greg Gordon
Attorney general nominee inherits damaged department
Attorney general nominee Eric Holder will face daunting challenges as the new head of the Justice Department, but those who know him say he's well suited in temperament and experience to tackle the assignment. | 12/01/08 19:15:00 By - Marisa Taylor
Obama's 'team of rivals' also has some rival ideas
Obama's future national security adviser quite possibly voted for McCain. His future secretary of state once said the United States should consider the "obliteration" of Iran, a country Obama has advocated talking to. His future defense secretary directed the military's surge in Iraq, which Obama opposed. Can Obama possibly rein in so many diverging views? | 12/01/08 18:53:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef
States press Congress, Obama for economic stimulus package
Facing financial woes at home, states continued to press Congress to boost the economy by giving federal money to folks they know will spend it: the unemployed, the poor and road builders, among others. | 12/01/08 16:41:00 By - Lisa Zagaroli
Palin shows she's still got star power in Georgia
Sarah Theus blew her perfect attendance record at Porter Elementary to go Monday to see Sarah Palin in Perry, Ga. The 11-year-old from Macon wore a hot pink "Sarah" headband at a rally for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss. "We wanted the girls to see a fine, upstanding, Christian woman with five kids and a good career," said Sarah's aunt, Tammy Hawkins. | 12/01/08 16:09:04 By - Liz Fabian
Palin draws crowds for Chambliss, but can she top Ludacris?
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lent her rock-star status to U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss this afternoon in a state fly-around that GOP strategists hope will help put Chambliss over the top in Tuesday's Senate runoff against Democrat Jim Martin. But Martin rallies in Atlanta this evening with rap star Ludacris. | 12/01/08 15:43:05 By - Travis Fain
Obama announces Clinton, Gates, Holder appointments
President-elect Barack Obama named his national security team on Monday, vowing to bolster U.S. military strength with a renewed focus on diplomacy and alliances with other countries to combat terrorism and spread American values. | 12/01/08 12:14:50 By - Steven Thomma
Priest seeks to explain his letter on voting for Obama
The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Moesto, Calif., wants to make this clear: He didn't mean that parishioners who voted for Barack Obama needed to go to confession. He meant they needed to confess only if they knew Obama favored abortion rights when they cast their vote. Otherwise, he said, he supports the president-elect. Illo's initial letter drew wide attention. | 12/01/08 07:27:13 By - Sue Nowicki
Kentucky man demands proof of Obama's U.S. birth
Kentucky is a red state with no shortage of conspiracy theorists and unusual politics, so it's no surprise that what might be the first post-election court challenge to Barack Obama's qualifications to be president comes from a Whitley County truck driver. | 12/01/08 06:59:39 By - Bill Estep
Texas gun law battle brewing over 'open carry' proposal
More than a month before the Texas legislative session starts Jan. 13, gun-rights supporters are asking state lawmakers to pass an "open carry" law to let Texans stop covering up the guns they carry and wear them openly. They are putting their message on billboards, on banners on cabs and in radio ads, asking others to sign on to the cause. | 11/30/08 23:48:03 By - Anna M. Tinsley
No longer on the back bench, Boxer finds power to her liking
At 68, Barbara Boxer, California's junior senator, is at the pinnacle of her political power. She's the only Democrat leading two influential committees, the Senate's environmental and ethics panels, and she's planning to use her position to lead the battle against global warming. But with a reputation as one of the Senate's most liberal members, she's also a tempting target for Republicans, who'd like to defeat her when she's up for re-election in 2010. Boxer says she's ready for them. | 11/30/08 23:26:21 By - Rob Hotakainen
Will Alaska pay price for ousting Stevens?
What happens to Alaska's notorious dependence on federal spending now that Ted Stevens' 40-year Senate career has come to a end? Without an "Uncle Ted" to redistribute America's wealth north and with an "Aunt Lisa" or "Uncle Mark" lacking his longevity and clout, will the state's economy come crashing down? | 11/30/08 08:23:07 By - Richard Mauer and Erika Bolstad
Both parties have big stakes in Georgia Senate runoff
The fight for Georgia's U. S. Senate seat is a struggle for much more. For Democrats, the Tuesday runoff could give them their 59th seat in the next Senate. And if Democrat Al Franken beats GOP incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota's recount, which will continue into December, Democrats would reach the magic number of 60 Senate seats — the number required under Senate rules to shut off debate and force a vote. | 11/30/08 06:00:00 By - David Lightman and Matt Barnwell
Another Catholic pastor labels voting for Obama a sin
Parishioners of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto have been told they should consider going to confession if they voted for Barack Obama, because of the president-elect's position condoning abortion. The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's, sent a letter to his 15,000 parishioners, urging them not to "risk your state of grace" by taking communion without confessing first. | 11/29/08 14:25:31 By - Sue Nowicki
Think you know what traditional marriage is? Then read this
The measure that bans same-sex marriage in California defines marriage as between a man and a woman. This, supporters argue, is what religious precepts and social custom demand. It's traditional. But historians say marriage has gone through many permutations over the ages. Indeed, there's great irony in the Mormon church's role in the passage of Proposition 8. The church once argued that traditional marriage meant polygamy. | 11/29/08 13:57:54 By - Jennifer Garza
Unions hope for an election payoff in anti-union N. Carolina
Organized labor took a risk this year, pouring money and manpower into campaigns in North Carolina, traditionally one of the most anti-union states in the country. The gamble appears to be paying off, with labor playing a role in the election of such Democratic allies as U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan, Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, U.S. Rep.-elect Larry Kissell and helping carry the state for President-elect Barack Obama. Now union leaders hope to translate success at the polls to victories in a broad agenda that includes making it easier nationally for unions to organize plants and for public employees in North Carolina to engage in collective bargaining. | 11/29/08 13:44:14 By - Rob Christensen and Ryan Teague Beckwith
As administration changes, job seekers flock to Washington
Tired of your same old job? Frustrated fan of "The West Wing" and want to try your hand at the real thing? Or maybe you just saw an opening on the International Boundary and Water Commission for a tidy $158,000 a year and thought, "Hey, I can do that." Welcome to the great capital job fair. | 11/27/08 18:13:22 By - David Goldstein
Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses Lincoln, Obama — and their 'rivals'
Thousands of Americans have bought Doris Kearns Goodwin's 2005 book, "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," after hearing that it shaped President-elect Barack Obama's thinking. | 11/27/08 06:00:00 By - Margaret Talev
Will U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens seek a presidential pardon?
On Monday, President Bush granted 14 pardons and commuted two sentences. Including the most recent, Bush has pardoned just 171 people and commuted eight sentences since taking office. Will U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican senator who was convicted Oct. 27 of trying to hide gifts, be pardoned before Bush leaves office? | 11/26/08 18:09:27 By - Erika Bolstad
Obama: Change 'comes from me,' not his appointees
President-elect Barack Obama essentially said Wednesday that he is the change, striving to assure Americans that he'll shake up Washington despite filling his administration with old hands from the Clinton administration and the capital's corridors of power. | 11/26/08 15:52:00 By - Steven Thomma
Want to sell something? Put Obama's face on it
As the federal government tries to revive the nation's ailing economy, President-Elect Barack Obama is proving to be a one-man stimulus package. Tight-fisted consumers are separating themselves from their cash for Obama memorabilia, for travel to witness his Jan. 20 inauguration and even for rental housing in the Washington area as hotel rooms are becoming hard to find. | 11/26/08 00:59:00 By - William Douglas
Washington State justice says he taunted Mukasey at speech
Washington State Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders acknowledged Tuesday that he shouted "Tyrant! You are a tyrant!" during a speech by the nation's attorney general last week. U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed about 15 minutes later as he addressed the Federalist Society in Washington, D.C. | 11/26/08 11:06:05 By - Adam Wilson
Palin sets trip to Philadelphia next week to meet Obama
Sarah Palin will travel from Alaska to Georgia to campaign for Saxby Chambliss, then travel on to Philadelphia to attend a meeting between governors and Obama. it's not clear if she'll have a one-on-one meeting with Obama, however. | 11/25/08 19:12:18 By - Sean Cockerham
Did Mormon Church hide its support for Proposition 8?
California's political watchdog agency is investigating a complaint alleging the Mormon church failed to report non-monetary contributions to the Yes on 8 campaign, which successfully pushed for the passage of a constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage. The complaint contends the church organized phone banks from Utah and Idaho and sent direct mail to voters. | 11/25/08 18:58:35 By -
U.S. staying silent on its view of Iraq pact until after vote
U.S. officials disagree with the Iraqi interpretation of key elements of the Iraq-U.S. agreement that sets a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq. But they've kept silent about those disagreements for fear of upsetting the likely approval Wednesday of the accord in the Iraqi parliament. | 11/25/08 17:20:18 By - Adam Ashton, Jonathan S. Landay and Nancy A. Youssef
Obama names budget chief as staggering deficits loom
Facing a first-year deficit that could approach a staggering $2 trillion, President-elect Barack Obama vowed Tuesday to cut out wasteful spending wherever he finds it but insisted that the scope of the economic crisis demands an extraordinary — and expensive — response. | 11/25/08 15:55:00 By - Steven Thomma
New $800 billion rescue includes money for credit card debt
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, warning that "millions of Americans cannot find affordable financing for basic credit needs," announced a major expansion of the federal bailout on Tuesday — as much as $800 billion to make mortgages and consumer credit more available and affordable. | 11/25/08 00:03:00 By - David Lightman
Florida's Gov. Crist weighs a holiday foreclosure freeze
Gov. Charlie Crist said Monday he is considering imposing a temporary freeze on housing foreclosures in Florida to provide some holiday relief from the housing and financial turmoil that continues to shock the state's economy. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering a similar proposal. Resistance to a freeze is expected from lenders and mortgage servicing companies. | 11/25/08 07:41:05 By - Mary Ellen Klas
Palin's fans and foes keep her in the spotlight
A California-based conservative group that hammered Democratic Sen. Barack Obama during the presidential election is launching a string of commercials this week praising Gov. Sarah Palin. | 11/25/08 06:57:46 By - Kyle Hopkins
It's the Republicans who are bitter at Schwarzenegger
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's relationship with his fellow Republicans is so poor he's having trouble finding just two Republicans who'll vote with the Democratic majority in the legislature to approve the governor's budget proposal. | 11/24/08 18:58:45 By - Kevin Yamamura
Wealthy continue to get farm subsidies, GAO finds
Millionaire farmers continue to pluck crop subsidies they don't deserve, federal investigators say. At least 2,702 farmers nationwide received subsidies between 2003 and 2006 even through they were making more than the $2.5 million gross income cutoff. The unwarranted payments totaled $49 million and exposed enduring Agriculture Department management problems, investigators concluded. | 11/24/08 16:28:00 By - Michael Doyle
Obama's unusual transition: Already a co-president
President Bush and President-elect Obama have been working together in an unusual comity that Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer calls "the split-screen presidency." The unusual transition is born of the 24-7 nature of the global economic crisis and the fact a strong president-elect is succeeding a lameduck voluntarily leaving office. | 11/24/08 16:28:00 By - David Lightman
Summers brings experience in crisis to economics role
Lawrence Summers', Barack Obama's head of the National Economic Council, led the Treasury Department during the final two years of the Clinton administration. He was one of the key decision-makers during the global financial crisis sparked by Mexico's collapse in 1994 and during the Asian and Russian crises in the late 1990s. | 11/24/08 14:33:00 By - Kevin G. Hall
Obama introduces his economic 'dream team'
President-elect Barack Obama worked to send a message of confidence to jittery markets and consumers Monday, unveiling an economic team tested in crises past and present and promising a massive stimulus package big enough to send a "jolt" through the economy. | 11/24/08 13:30:00 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman
Texans, the presidency gone, worry about their clout
Democrat Barack Obama's presidential victory and solidified Democratic majorities in the House and Senate have left the red state of Texas, with its two Republican senators and GOP-majority House delegation, on the margins. | 11/24/08 07:31:00 By - Maria Recio
Texas group unveils online access to pols' disclosure forms
A Houston-based public information advocacy group recently posted the financial disclosure forms of every incumbent Texas lawmaker. The people behind TexasWatchdog.org hope it will have impact in Austin during next year’s legislative session. | 11/24/08 07:24:52 By - Aman Batheja
Early transition? Obama takes the lead in economic crisis
Barack Obama is taking a more active role in the economic crisis, leaking the name of his Treasury secretary Friday, in part to stem fears in the stock market; announcing a major stimulus package in his address Saturday, and on Sunday letting it be known that he'll announce his economic team on Monday. That's a reversal from his pledge to leave President Bush to handle the economic crisis until Jan. 20. | 11/23/08 19:49:00 By - James Rosen
Just the name Geithner made stocks soar. Why?
New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner is expected to be President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the Treasury Department. Reports of his selection sent stocks soaring at the close of trading Friday. | 11/21/08 19:12:00 By - Kevin G. Hall and Margaret Talev
Even if Democrats get 60 Senate seats, they'll need help
Senate Democrats are inching close to the magic number of 60, the number of votes that are needed to cut off debate under the chamber's rules. Victories by Al Franken in the still-undecided Minnesota race and Jim Martin in Georgia's runoff Dec. 2 would give the Democrats a nominal filibuster-proof majority, which neither party has had in 32 years. But Democrats are not of one mind on many policy issues, so the 60-seat majority may not be all it's cracked up to be. | 11/21/08 16:32:00 By - David Lightman
Latinos, big supporters of Obama, expect a lot in return
Although they initially leaned more toward Hillary Rodham Clinton, Latinos gave Obama 67 percent of their votes nationwide, increasing their turnout, delivering several key states and gaining clout in the Democratic Party. They say they earned a seat at Obama's table and plan to remind him that he promised to enact a comprehensive immigration overhaul. | 11/21/08 07:53:33 By - Susan Ferriss
Hillary Clinton would bring star power to State Department
She's been a mother, a lawyer and a first lady, an aggrieved wife, a U.S. senator and a nearly victorious candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now Hillary Clinton appears set to take on a new role: secretary of state. | 11/21/08 19:52:00 By - Warren P. Strobel
Obama's choice to lead Homeland Security is praised
President-elect Barack Obama's expected nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, helped investigate the biggest U.S. terrorist event prior to 9/11 — the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing — and has been a national leader on immigration and border-security issues. | 11/20/08 18:23:30 By - Margaret Talev
Obama calls on his Internet campaign army to march again
President-elect Barack Obama's 3 million campaign volunteers got re-enlistment notices this week. Campaign manager David Plouffe, in a mass e-mail sent Wednesday to former workers, asked how much time they can spare for four missions integral to Obama's effort to transform his victory into a broader political movement. | 11/20/08 16:51:29 By - Frank Greve
Stevens bids his Senate colleagues farewell
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, ended his four-decade congressional career Thursday, ushered out with dignity by his colleagues in the Senate. Stevens, who lost his re-election bid Tuesday, made just one mention of his conviction on corruption charges during his farewell remarks, saying he hoped to be cleared one day. | 11/20/08 13:47:02 By - Erika Bolstad
California high court agrees to rule on Prop. 8 legality
The California Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to consider whether Proposition 8 improperly revised the state constitution to ban gay marriages. But the ruling won't be soon, and in the meantime, same-sex marriages won't be happening in the state. Arguments are likely in March, a ruling, by June. | 11/20/08 07:43:42 By - Aurelio Rojas
Ex-Senate leader Daschle to serve as HHS head
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a veteran of Capitol Hill and a backer of the Clinton administration's failed health-care effort of the early 1990s, is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to be secretary of health and human services. | 11/19/08 18:05:46 By - Margaret Talev
Weakened House GOP picks more conservative leaders
Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday gave their bloc a decidedly more conservative — and outspoken — tone, as they voted in new leaders who have reputations as sharp-edged partisans. | 11/19/08 18:05:26 By - David Lightman
It's over: Stevens concedes to Begich in Alaska Senate race
Sen. Ted Stevens conceded the election for U.S. Senate to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich Wednesday, bringing to an end his 40 years as the dominant force in Alaska politics. The concession seems to remove any possibility of Stevens' asking for a recount; 3,724 votes separate the two men, one 1 percent of the total vote. | 11/19/08 16:40:30 By - Sean Cockerham
Anti-black backlash over Prop. 8 'appalls' Assembly speaker
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, California's highest ranking black political figure, said Wednesday that she is "appalled" at the hostility that has been directed at African-Americans since the passage of Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. The measure won 70 percent of the African-American vote. | 11/19/08 15:29:15 By - Aurelio Rojas
Enviromentalists win first round in Waxman-Dingell battle
The House Steering committee voted 25-22 to put Rep. Henry Waxman in charge of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, replacing Michigan Democratic Rep. John Dingell, the most senior member in the House. Waxman had criticzed Dingell for blocking tougher mileage requirements for U.S. automakers. | 11/19/08 14:51:20 By - Rob Hotakainen
It's almost official: Missouri went to McCain, by 4,300 votes
With the state's voting jurisdictions required to certify their votes by Tuesday, the Missouri secretary of state's office said McCain led Obama by 4,355 votes out of 2,923,496 cast. Assuming the state certifies the count, it will place the overall electoral vote at 365 for Obama and 173 for McCain. | 11/19/08 08:08:08 By - Dave Helling
Stevens' rise and fall: In the end Alaskans tired of scandal
For years, Alaskans spoke with trepidation of the day when "Uncle Ted" would leave the U.S. Senate, cutting off the flow of federal "Stevens money" that helped sustain Alaska's economy. Nobody imagined that when the day finally came, it would be because Alaskans themselves voted their "senator for life" out of the Senate. | 11/19/08 07:54:36 By - Tom Kizzia
Palin publicity blitz: no signs of slowing
She's a national political figure and one of the world's most famous people. She's also governor of Alaska. As Sarah Palin settles back into her job as the state's chief executive, a new ethics complaint filed Tuesday says she's already improperly mixing her official duties and broader political ambitions. | 11/19/08 06:42:02 By - Kyle Hopkins
In that other Alaska race, Berkowitz concedes to Young
Unlike the flip-flopping race for U.S. Senate, there really wasn't any doubt after Election Day on who won Alaska's sole seat in the U.S. House. It still took Democratic candidate Ethan Berkowitz until Tuesday afternoon, with the counting of another big batch of ballots, to concede defeat to Republican Don Young. | 11/18/08 21:32:16 By -
More minorities voted this year, but white turnout dropped
A new analysis of exit polling says that while the number of black and Hispanic voters surged two weeks ago, the number of white voters decreased compared to 2004. The number of voters aged 18-29 also increased. The analysis was done by Project Vote, a liberal leaning non-profit group. | 11/18/08 18:35:00 By - Greg Gordon
Obama moves to defrost relations between White House, Congress
Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago congressman who'll become President-elect Barack Obama's White House chief of staff, got a standing ovation on Tuesday when he met behind closed doors with House Democrats. | 11/18/08 18:08:00 By - Margaret Talev and David Lightman
Rejoice, Palin newshounds: Interviews prompt ethics complaint
Zane Henning, the Wasilla man who made a public records request for thousands of e-mails from Palin aides, has filed a new ethics complaint against the governor. His charge: That Palin is breaking state ethics rules by talking about her campaign and promoting her political career from her state office. | 11/18/08 18:40:25 By - Kyle Hopkins
Begich defeats Stevens in Alaska Senate race
The Democratic Anchorage mayor widened his lead to 3,724 votes in Tuesday's counting of absentee and questioned ballots. With only 2,500 special absentee ballots left to be counted, Begich was assured of victory — and the Democrats of a 58-seat majority in the Senate, just two shy of a filibuster-proof 60. | 11/18/08 17:23:44 By - Sean Cockerham
Public distrust of government could hobble Obama
Hold on to those clever caricatures of Barack Obama as Franklin D. Roosevelt for a bit. This election could end up more 1992 than 1932. Despite media-fed expectations of an FDR-like flood of legislation that would help Obama transform the country and its politics, there's also a real chance that he could face a Bill Clinton-like morass that would stymie some of his boldest promises and lead to a backlash against his party and him. | 11/18/08 17:04:00 By - Steven Thomma
Black Caucus members warn Obama can't do everything
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are still giddy that Barack Obama is about to become president. They recall crying, jumping for joy, and celebrating when he was declared the winner. But for some, Nov. 4's afterglow is accompanied by a recognition that Obama's election won't necessarily give them an express lane into the Oval Office. | 11/18/08 15:34:00 By - William Douglas
Senate Democrats let Lieberman keep committee chairmanship
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who this fall campaigned hard for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, got only a mild rebuke Tuesday from Senate Democrats. | 11/18/08 14:48:00 By - David Lightman
Bellingham publisher to release Michelle Obama comic book
Michelle Obama's fashion savvy may earn her a spot on a future cover of Vogue magazine. But her political influence has already won over Bellingham-based publishing company Bluewater Productions, which plans to feature the future first lady in the third book of its "Female Force" comic book series. | 11/18/08 13:23:05 By - Anna Walters
Senate Republicans postpone vote on Ted Stevens
Sen. Ted Stevens' fellow Republicans have postponed a vote on whether to keep him in their GOP conference, saying they'll wait until after his Senate race in Alaska is resolved. | 11/18/08 10:43:00 By - Erika Bolstad
Jerry Brown asks Calif. Supreme Court not to stay Prop. 8
In a written responses to lawsuits seeking to overturn the initiative, Brown's office said the state's highest court should allow the measure to remain in effect during the review period because doing otherwise would cause confusion. Brown's office, which was asked last week by the court to weigh in on the lawsuits, called on the justices "to provide certainty and finality in this matter." | 11/18/08 08:05:44 By - Aurelio Rojas
Meet the man who delivered North Carolina to Obama
Marc Farinella, 50, cut his teeth on Chicago politics. North Carolina seemed destined to go for John McCain, just as it had voted Republican in nine of the last 10 presidential contests. Even in 2004, with its own senator on the Democratic ticket, North Carolina went for George W. Bush. Then Farinella arrived in July. | 11/17/08 18:53:28 By - Ron Christensen
Aid to automakers seems doomed amid wrangling
Even as top Senate Democrats rolled out new legislation to provide $25 billion in loans to America's domestic automakers, the prospects of emergency funds appeared bleak Monday as the White House and Congress tangled over how best to help the ailing industry. Supporters of helping the cash-strapped Big Three concede they are far short of the 60 votes needed to stop an anticipated Republican-led filibuster. | 11/17/08 18:41:00 By - David Lightman and Kevin G. Hall
Democrats eye Florida's Martinez as their next GOP target
Mel Martinez, an Orlando Republican, spent much of the fall campaigning for Sen. John McCain, leaving his own campaign coffers largely empty. Martinez says he will run for re-election, but there're signs he's lost precious time during his 9-month stint as GOP national chairman. | 11/17/08 07:37:51 By - Lesley Clark
Victory's glory eludes both parties in Florida elections
Leaders of Florida's Democratic and Republican parties are already looking down the road to the 2010 elections and this much is clear: Barack Obama's victory has shaken both sides, for very different reasons. | 11/17/08 07:13:05 By - Mary Ellen Klas
Alaska voter turnout, once thought low, may set record
Alaska voter turnout for this year's election appears now on track to be the highest ever. That's contrary to hand-wringing about why Alaskans didn't show up for this historic election, and even some speculation that ballots weren't being counted. Why? Because nearly a third of Alaskans chose to vote early and absentee. | 11/17/08 06:55:56 By - Sean Cockerham
What's the future for McCaskill, Obama friend, advocate?
It was on Barack Obama's third trip to Missouri in 2006 to help Claire McCaskill win a Senate race that she urged him to run for president. During the campaign she became one of Obama's most nimble surrogates. Now she's expected to be a forceful advocate for Obama's agenda in the Senate. | 11/17/08 06:00:00 By - David Goldstein
Obama brings the Chicago crowd to do his business in D.C.
A generation ago, it was a big deal when the late Mayor Richard J. Daley got invited to sleep in the White House's Lincoln Bedroom after delivering Illinois and the 1960 presidential election to fellow Democrat John F. Kennedy. It was a striking sign that an Irish Catholic from the South Side of Chicago had really arrived. Now a slew of Chicago Democrats are about to descend on Washington. | 11/16/08 15:38:00 By - Steven Thomma
Florida GOP facing questions about the way it spent money
At issue is why the state party bought tickets to sporting events such as Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees games, trips to Disney World, and spent $682,000 on chartered planes when it could have been spending on TV and radio advertising for John McCain. There were purchases at men's clothing shops this election cycle. | 11/16/08 15:32:53 By - Mary Ellen Klas
Winds of patriotism renewed
Ronnie Chapman's response to the presidential election reflects the emergence of an unusual -- and some might say contradictory -- new figure: the flag-waving liberal. | 11/16/08 07:24:50 By - J. Peder Zane and Kristin Collins
Alaska's Stevens faces party ouster, election defeat
WASHINGTON — If Republicans in the U.S. Senate ever secretly hoped for one of their own to lose an election, it might be Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who's in a cliffhanger of a race with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. | 11/15/08 15:30:00 By - Erika Bolstad
Alaska vote tally drama: 1 vote margin in state rep race
The closest race of this fall's election in Alaska drew even tighter Friday night, as Rep. Mike Kelly's lead on Democratic challenger Karl Kassel narrowed to a single vote. Kelly, a Fairbanks Republican trying for his third term in the Legislature, has 5,000 votes. Kassel: 4,999. | 11/15/08 15:21:59 By - Kyle Hopkins
States want their own federal financial bailout
Led by California with a $28 billion hole in its budget, 41 states are in financial trouble, and many of their leaders are looking to Congress to bail them out. | 11/15/08 06:00:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Obama will use YouTube to reach out directly to voters
Saturday, in the first visible result of a major transition-team effort to make Obama's conversations with the electorate more direct, Obama's radio address will be posted on YouTube. Obama's transition team is also considering other ways to use the Internet, including allowing users a chance to question him directly. | 11/14/08 17:38:00 By - Frank Greve
Obama picks another Chicagoan for senior post, sets meeting with McCain
Valeria Jarrett will be a senior Obama adviser in the White House. The meeting with McCain will happen Monday. Meanwhile, dozens of experts assigned to Obama's transition team began fanning out into federal departments, agencies and commissions to gather information to help plan the new administration's actions. | 11/14/08 20:57:00 By - Margaret Talev
Battle is on for Republicans' national chairmanship
Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan is closely allied with President George W. Bush. That connection has turned the race for the committee chairmanship into a symbolic fight over the ideological soul of the party. | 11/14/08 18:15:00 By - Halimah Abdullah
D.C.'s big Obama dilemma: What to do with the crowds?
As many as 1.5 million people may come to Washington for Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20, according to official estimates. That's five times the number that showed up for President Bush's two inaugurations. Congressional offices report they're overwhelmed by requests for the 240,000 free tickets to the event, hotel rooms are being snapped up, and some D.C. residents are making room for dozens of relatives and friends. And, of course, there are those seeking to profit. | 11/14/08 16:38:00 By - William Douglas
Dole's mistake: 'Godless' ad drove donors, voters to Hagan
U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan got 3,600 contributions within 48 hours of Sen. Elizabeth Dole's airing of a controversial ad that centered on Hagan's attendance at a fund-raiser at the Boston home of someone active in the atheist community. Analysis of voting patterns show she also picked up a big percentage of votes on Election Day, largely becasue of the ad. | 11/14/08 18:46:11 By - Lisa Zagaroli
White House's help to automakers might defuse Democrats' plans
The White House Friday tried to take steam out of Congress' bid to give new aid to the ailing auto industry, saying it would make it easier for the carmakers to tap $25 billion in an existing federal loan program. But Congress wants to spend more. | 11/14/08 18:13:29 By - David Lightman
Battle brewing over who will lead the GOP in the House
California U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren said Friday he'll challenge Ohio Republican Rep. John Boehner as House minority leader. He said that in light of the Nov. 4th election it would be a mistake for the Republican Party to reaffirm the status quo by re-electing Boehner to lead Republicans in the House. | 11/14/08 17:21:00 By - Rob Hotakainen
Loose talk replaces Obama's famed message discipline
With a penchant for secrecy finely honed during a disciplined campaign, President-elect Barack Obama may well have thought he could continue to control his message as he's hunkered down behind closed doors since he won the election. | 11/14/08 16:02:00 By - Steven Thomma
Feinstein might head secretive intelligence panel
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California will find both spotlight and shadows if she becomes the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. | 11/14/08 14:45:00 By - Michael Doyle
S. Carolina Catholic diocese backs warning to Obama voters
The priest at one of South Carolina's most prominent Roman Catholic parishes has warned his parishioners in an open letter that they are cooperating with "intrinsic evil" if they voted for Barack Obama because of Obama's pro-choice stance. A spokesman for the Diocese of Charleston said the priest is merely repeating church teaching. | 11/14/08 12:16:24 By - Carolyn Click
John Edwards events test the waters
Three months after confessing to an affair on national television, John Edwards ended his self-imposed exile this week with a pair of appearances that could be the beginning of a bid for public rehabilitation. | 11/14/08 07:07:23 By - Jim Morrill
Obama to step down from Senate seat Sunday
President-elect Barack Obama is giving up his Illinois U.S. Senate seat effective Sunday, intensifying the jockeying to replace the only African-American in Congress' upper chamber