Lawmakers struggle to finish health overhaul bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pushing toward a history-making vote, Democrats struggled to eliminate lingering complications standing in the way of House action this weekend on President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul. Their drive to change the way health care is administered and extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans took on a growing sense of inevitability, picking up endorsements from a longtime liberal holdout and from a retired Roman Catholic bishop and nuns who broke with church leaders over the bill's abortion provisions.
Poll: Boxer in tough fight to keep CA Senate seat
WASHINGTON (AP) — California Sen. Barbara Boxer's re-election campaign is shaping up as the fight of her political career, according to a Field Poll released Thursday. The survey shows a statistical tie in hypothetical matchups between the three-term Democratic incumbent and two of her potential Republican challengers, former congressman Tom Campbell and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina.
Gov't orders recall of 1.2 million high chairs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is announcing a recall of some 1.2 million high chairs, saying they pose a fall hazard to children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall Thursday involving the product made by Graco Children's Products, Inc., of Atlanta.
AP IMPACT: Gov't bank auditors got big bonuses
WASHINGTON (AP) — Banks weren't the only ones giving big bonuses in the boom years before the worst financial crisis in generations. The government also was handing out millions of dollars to bank regulators, rewarding "superior" work even as an avalanche of risky mortgages helped create the meltdown. The payments, detailed in payroll data released to The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, are the latest evidence of the government's false sense of security during the go-go days of the financial boom. Just as bank executives got bonuses despite taking on dangerous amounts of risk, regulators got taxpayer-funded bonuses despite missing or ignoring signs that the system was on the verge of a meltdown.
Obama back to campaign-style politics, a strength
WASHINGTON (AP) — After a rousing campaign rally for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine last summer, President Barack Obama flashed a broad smile to an aide as he boarded his helicopter back to the White House. "That was the most fun I've had in a while," he said.
Clinton in Moscow for Mideast, nuclear arms talks
MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday opened two days of talks with Russian leaders on nuclear arms control and other security issues, and separately with top international diplomats on the outlook for bringing Israel and the Palestinians back to peace talks. Clinton arrived in the Russian capital after an overnight flight from Washington and was to be joined by the Obama administration's special envoy for Mideast peace, George Mitchell, to participate in talks with diplomats from Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. They were discussing the crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations and stalled efforts to restart Mideast peace negotiations.
A symbol of the slave trade joins US and Cuba
WASHINGTON (AP) — Days from now, a stately black schooner will sail through a narrow channel into Havana's protected harbor, its two masts bearing the rarest of sights — the U.S. Stars and Stripes, with the Cuban flag fluttering nearby. The ship is the Amistad, a U.S.-flagged vessel headed for largely forbidden Cuban waters as a symbol of both a dark 19th century past and modern public diplomacy.
A Southern-style taste of health care politics
COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — It may not bode well for Rep. Travis Childers that many voters in his rural Mississippi district have stronger opinions about President Barack Obama's health care plan than they do about the Democratic congressman. Regardless of how Childers votes, the legislation is threatening to swamp the carefully crafted bipartisan brand he's been building with his Republican-leaning electorate for the past two years.
Idaho first to sign law against health care reform
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho is leading the charge in a states-rights push to defeat a proposal in Congress that would require people to buy health insurance, a key piece of reforms being pushed by President Barack Obama. Republican Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter used a ceremony Wednesday afternoon to become the first governor to sign into law a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government over any such insurance mandates.
Retired Catholic bishop endorses health care bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired Catholic bishop is announcing his support for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, despite the church's official opposition. Retired Bishop John E. McCarthy of Austin told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he is as opposed to abortion as every other bishop and that the bill before Congress would guard against the use of taxpayer funds to pay for it. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, however, says the restrictions don't go far enough.
