Democrats reach deal on mortgage relief bill (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 05:50 PM PST AP - House Democrats, under pressure from a group of moderates in their ranks and the banking lobby, agreed Tuesday to narrow legislation that gives bankruptcy judges the power to force lenders to rewrite mortgages for debt-strapped homeowners. The compromise legislation was expected to come to a vote in the House as early as Thursday.
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Obama suggests buying stocks, defends econ plan (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:46 PM PST AP - Trying to pump up the nation's confidence, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Wall Street has been hammered so hard that "buying stocks is a potentially good deal," and he dispatched top aides to Capitol Hill to defend his plans for pulling the economy out of its deep recession.
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Senate ignores McCain, keeps thousands in earmarks (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 04:55 PM PST AP - The Senate voted overwhelmingly to preserve thousands of earmarks in a $410 billion spending bill on Tuesday, brushing aside Sen. John McCain's claim that President Barack Obama and Congress are merely conducting business as usual in a time of economic hardship.
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INSIDE WASHINGTON: Is the FDA a broken agency? (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 05:01 PM PST AP - Tainted peanuts. Unsterilized syringes. Salmonella in Mexican chili peppers. A contaminated blood thinner from China that sent patients into life-threatening shock. |
Obama, Brown: Isn't that special (Politico) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:07 PM PST Politico - Before the two men sat down Tuesday at the White House, the British press corps had already reached its conclusion on President Obama’s sentiments towards British Prime Minister Gordon Brown: He’s just not that into you. |
Lawyers ask Supreme Court to rule in terror case (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 04:07 PM PST AP - Lawyers for suspected al-Qaida sleeper agent Ali al-Marri asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to rule whether a president can indefinitely detain terror suspects in the United States. |
US, Britain discuss coordinated action on economy (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:56 PM PST AP - Prepping for a global financial summit, President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown signaled together Tuesday that internationally coordinated regulatory and stimulus action could help end the economic crisis that has swept the world.
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Analysis: Obama's big stride on Moscow 'reboot' (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:49 PM PST AP - President Barack Obama's push to reset U.S.-Russian relations took a huge stride when he signaled the Kremlin he might forgo an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe if Moscow uses its clout with a troublesome Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
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Obama resuming safeguards for endangered species (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:49 PM PST AP - President Barack Obama urged agency heads Tuesday to ignore a Bush administration regulation limiting scientific reviews of projects that might harm endangered wildlife and plants.
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Obama sending diplomats to Syria in peace probe (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:01 PM PST AP - The United States will dispatch two emissaries to Syria for "preliminary conversations" aimed at warming relations with an Arab adversary accused of supporting terrorism, seeking weapons of mass destruction, facilitating the insurgency in neighboring Iraq and balking at talking peace with Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.
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Obama sees economic hope as aides promote budget (Reuters) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 06:01 PM PST Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama expressed confidence on Tuesday his economic reforms would work as senior officials began lobbying Congress to support the administration's jaw-dropping budget proposal.
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Obama: Bush government tried to undermine unions (Reuters) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 05:15 PM PST Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the Bush administration had tried to undermine organized labor and he assured U.S. labor leaders they would always have a "place at the table" under his presidency. |
Moderate Dems feel sticker shock (Politico) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 05:15 PM PST Politico - Moderate and conservative Democrats in the Senate are starting to choke over the massive spending and tax increases in President Barack Obama’s budget plans and have begun plotting to increase their influence over the agenda of a president who is turning out to be much more liberal than they are. |
Obama administration backs Congress tax haven crackdown (Reuters) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 04:56 PM PST Reuters - The Obama administration on Tuesday endorsed legislation to crack down on offshore tax havens, raising the stakes in a showdown between the United States and bank-secrecy nations such as Switzerland.
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Obama's plan to hike taxes meets fierce opposition (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 04:29 PM PST AP - President Barack Obama's call to raise taxes on high earners and greenhouse gas polluters met fierce opposition Tuesday from congressional Republicans and also a few Democrats. "I would never want to adversely affect anything that is charitable or good," Rep.
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Obama: Stocks are a `potentially good deal' (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 03:41 PM PST AP - As Wall Street tumbles, President Barack Obama offered up some investing advice on Tuesday, telling a wary nation that stocks are becoming a "a potentially good deal" for those willing to think long term. The White House later cautioned people not to read too much into the statement.
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Marine Corps punishes 13 for San Diego jet crash (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 03:18 PM PST AP - Thirteen Marines have been disciplined for errors that led a disabled jet fighter to crash in a San Diego neighborhood last December, killing four members of one family, service officials told lawmakers on Tuesday.
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Ill. senator appears to survive Blagojevich furor (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 03:13 PM PST AP - Roland Burris seems to have weathered the storm. Fellow Democrats are no longer demanding his resignation. The new Illinois governor has stopped calling for a special election to replace him. And party leaders who control the Senate and Illinois Legislature are reluctant to risk losing his seat to Republicans.
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Fidel Castro: 2 leaders undone by 'honey of power' (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 03:00 PM PST AP - Fidel Castro said Tuesday that two of his closest lieutenants had become seduced by "the honey of power," and hinted that they were demoted because their angling for leadership roles in a post-Castro Cuba had become unseemly.
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Michelle Obama visits women's military memorial (AP) Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:39 PM PST AP - First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday observed women's history month by touring a memorial for women in the military. She said the country must do all it can to support not just the servicemember on active duty, but their families, too.
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