Obama, Palin trade telling jibes over crib sheets
WASHINGTON (AP) — The jokes about Barack Obama's close relationship with his teleprompter have been constant since he became president. Rush Limbaugh's poked fun at it on the radio. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi bantered about it during an international summit. Obama himself skewered his affinity for the speaking crutch in an appearance before reporters.
Obama would OK health bill minus items he pursued
WASHINGTON (AP) — Signaling he'd meet critics part way on health care, President Barack Obama said Tuesday he's willing to sign a bill even if it doesn't deliver everything he pursued through a year of grinding effort at risk of going down as a dismal failure. The Democrats' massive health overhaul legislation is stalled in Congress by disagreements within the party and the loss last month of their 60th Senate vote, and with it, control of the agenda. Republicans suspect that Obama's invitation to a televised health care summit Feb. 25 is a thinly disguised political trap. On Tuesday, the president tried to change the dour dynamic, indicating he could settle for less in order to move ahead.
PROMISES, PROMISES: War widows' futile fight
WASHINGTON (AP) — For a decade, war widows in matching yellow suit jackets and hats quietly and persistently have knocked on Capitol Hill doors seeking an end to the "widows' tax," a government policy that deprives them of benefits from their husbands' military service. They are always warmly received, but that's where the hospitality ends. Despite pledges of help from scores of federal officials — including President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — their long quest remains unfulfilled.
Gov't fitness efforts haven't stemmed kid obesity
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama isn't the first national leader to try to get America's kids off the couch. President Dwight D. Eisenhower tried more than 50 years ago, and it's been a losing battle since. Childhood obesity has been on the rise in recent decades, with 17 percent of children considered obese and about one in three of them overweight.
AP sources: FAA eyes hefty fines for American
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is close to wrapping up a two-year investigation of safety violations at American Airlines that could result in one of the largest fines in the agency's history, according to government and industry officials familiar with the investigation. Separately, the Transportation Department's inspector general is due to release an audit in the next several days that criticizes FAA for lax oversight of aircraft maintenance at American, the officials said Tuesday.
Despite all the nice talk, partisanship reigns
WASHINGTON (AP) — Partisanship is reaching new heights in Washington, even as President Barack Obama makes almost daily pleas to get along. He's scheduled a bipartisan health care summit, and just Tuesday he hosted GOP leaders at the White House for the first time in two months. But he often undercuts his overtures with his own jabs at Republicans. And there's little indication the GOP is taking his comments as anything but political.
Lawmaker's death a reminder of surgery risks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gallbladder surgery is usually a very safe operation, but a powerful congressman's death is a reminder of the known risks. Well over half a million people have their gallbladders removed annually, most of them minimally invasively just as the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.
Obama says music fueled civil rights movement
WASHINGTON (AP) — Crediting civil rights-era protest songs and their spiritual predecessors for his election, President Barack Obama on Tuesday sat in the East Room of his White House and listened to an all-star lineup of performers pay tribute to the music that he said fueled freedom marches and civil disobedience. The nation's first black president transformed the grand ballroom into a concert hall packed with members of his Cabinet, Congress, civil rights leaders and students for a program that will air on public television later this week for Black History Month. Queen Latifah's rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic "What's Going On" and Yolanda Adams' spirited rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" were early highlights of a night that continued the Obamas' effort to open the White House to America's soundtrack.
Former Va. governor urges DNC chairman's firing
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder is urging President Barack Obama to fire Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, another former Virginia governor. Wilder wrote of Kaine, in a column for the Politico news Web site, that "the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee is the wrong job for him."
Senate Democrats unveil jobs package
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats circulated a jobs bill Tuesday that's light on new initiatives on boosting hiring and heavy with provisions sought by lobbyists for business groups, doctors and the satellite broadcasting industry. Senate Democrats were working to round up Republican support, but more snow in the nation's capital made it unlikely the Senate could pass it this week and hand President Barack Obama a quick, badly needed political victory. Republicans are willing partners because much of the bill is made up of tax breaks they support, though many GOP senators said they were still waiting to see the details.
