Mich. Republican Ehlers will not seek re-election
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Vernon Ehlers (A'-lers) of Michigan says in an interview with The Associated Press that he will not seek re-election to Congress in 2010. The moderate Republican plans to announce his retirement at a Wednesday morning news conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. Most of Ehlers' solidly Republican congressional district was once represented by President Gerald R. Ford.
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.
Mass. Sen. Brown writing a book about his life
WASHINGTON (AP) — A can't miss rung on the ladder to celebrity status in Washington: Newly seated Sen. Scott Brown will write a book about his life leading up to his upset election to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Brown spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said Wednesday the Massachusetts Republican hopes to provide "insight and encouragement" to others and to ensure the record is "complete and accurate." She said that part of the book's proceeds will go to charity.
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.
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.
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.
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."
