2009年12月2日星期三

Yahoo! News: Elections

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Elections


Skeptical Dems resign themselves to Obama war plan (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 06:15 PM PST

U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, right, speaks to Afghan military officers following a briefing with coalition officers at the Kandahar Airfield, southern Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)AP - A deeply skeptical Congress on Wednesday resigned itself to President Barack Obama's escalation of the Afghanistan war, even as the president's chief military and diplomatic advisers sought to cool any expectations that the war would end in two years.


New stem cell lines approved for tax-paid research (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 06:09 PM PST

FILE - In this file photo originally made available by Advanced Cell Technology in 2006, a single cell is removed from a human embryo to be used in generating embryonic stem cells for scientific research. Shares of companies developing stem cell therapies surged Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 on news that the federal government has cleared 13 new stem cell lines for testing, bringing to a close nearly a decade of restrictions. (AP Photo/Advanced Cell Technology)AP - Scientists can start using taxpayer dollars to do research with 13 batches of embryonic stem cells and the government says dozens more cell lines should be available soon, opening a new era for the potentially life-saving field.


Congress, Obama spar over paying for Afghan plan (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 04:04 PM PST

From left, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - Amid soaring budget deficits, President Barack Obama is running into congressional qualms over how to pay for his troop buildup in Afghanistan. Military strategy aside, the $30 billion cost is causing concern on both sides of the aisle. Still, leaders in Congress predicted Wednesday that Obama would prevail in winning funding for the war escalation.


AARP backs Democrats in Senate health care fight (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 06:24 PM PST

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. greets participants after speaking at a rally to stop the abortion coverage ban in health care reform, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)AP - With a Senate showdown looming, the politically potent AARP rode to the rescue of Democrats on Wednesday, supporting $460 billion in Medicare cuts to help pay for landmark health care legislation.


Dobbs: Who does Obama think he is? (Politico)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 09:45 AM PST

Politico - Departing CNN host and rumored 2012 presidential candidate Lou Dobbs is attacking President Barack Obama's reported plan to commit the United States to emission standards reduction by asking “who the hell” Obama thinks he is.

WH social aide won't testify about gatecrashers (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 06:11 PM PST

FILE - In this April 13,2009 file photo, President Barack Obama walks with White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers at the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The White House says Rogers will not testify at a congressional hearing into the security lapse that mistakenly allowed a couple into last week's state dinner. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)AP - The White House is refusing to send its social secretary to Congress on Thursday to testify about the gatecrashing at last week's state dinner — a decision that prompted complaints from the top Republican on the committee holding the hearing.


Abortion showdown looms in Senate (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 04:37 PM PST

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. greets participants after speaking at a rally to stop the abortion coverage ban in health care reform, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)AP - Senators debating health care legislation are headed for a clash over abortion, the issue that threatened to derail the bill in the House.


Obama science advisers grilled over hacked e-mails (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 05:21 PM PST

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, pictured in November 2009, said Thursday he would attend this month's UN climate change summit in Copenhagen due to growing momentum towards reaching a deal.(AFP/File/Saeed Khan)AP - House Republicans pointed to controversial e-mails leaked from climate scientists and said it was evidence of corruption. Top administration scientists looking at the same thing found no such sign, saying it doesn't change the fact that the world is warming.


High court hears Florida beach dispute (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 01:20 PM PST

AP - The Supreme Court is weighing whether owners of beachfront homes in Florida must be compensated because a beach-widening project cost them their exclusive access to the Gulf of Mexico.

THE INFLUENCE GAME: Soda makers fight unlikely tax (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 02:54 PM PST

FILE - In this March 5, 2002 file photo, a Holstein cow eats hay in Pasco, Wash.  (AP Photo/Jackie Johnston, File)AP - Sometimes, it pays to be paranoid. That's apparently the belief of the trade group that represents the makers of sugary beverages like soft drinks, sports and energy drinks.


Obama's Afghan speech seen by 40 million Americans (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 05:23 PM PST

US President Barack Obama waves at the conclusion of his speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Obama's administration said that a July 2011 target date to begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan was not set in stone, while stepping up warnings over corruption.(AFP/Getty Images/Win Mcnamee)Reuters - Some 40.8 million Americans watched President Barack Obama outline his strategy on U.S. involvement in Afghanistan on prime-time television on Tuesday, audience figures showed on Wednesday.


Afghanistan plan roils the Hill (Politico)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 05:23 PM PST

Politico - Anxious Democrats show little appetite for seriously blocking President Barack Obama’s new war strategy for Afghanistan and appear to be looking for ways instead to bridge their differences with the White House before funding is debated next year.

More cash down proposed for FHA-backed loans (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 04:54 PM PST

AP - Homebuyers insured by the Federal Housing Administration would have to provide more cash up front and meet higher credit scores under an Obama administration plan to protect the financially stretched agency.

NY lawmakers approve deficit-cutting plan (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 04:52 PM PST

AP - New York's Senate has joined the Assembly in approving a measure to reduce the state's budget deficit by about $2.8 billion.

Obama set to meet with Lebanese president (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 04:48 PM PST

AP - President Barack Obama will meet with Lebanon's president at the White House on Dec. 14.

White House accepts some blame in gatecrasher saga (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 03:20 PM PST

Reuters - The White House on Wednesday shouldered some of the blame for an embarrassing breach of security that permitted an uninvited couple to gatecrash President Barack Obama's debut state dinner last week.

Health bill alone won't stem costs: White House (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 03:01 PM PST

Reuters - Healthcare reforms working their way through the U.S. Congress will help slow rising medical costs but more will have to be done in coming years, a top Obama administration official said on Wednesday.

Panel OKs key regulatory measure; House vote next (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 02:26 PM PST

File picture shows European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean Claude Trichet (L) at a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels. Financial markets are counting on signs from the European Central Bank Thursday that it will start unwinding some exceptional economic measures introduced in the teeth of the financial crisis.(AFP/File/Georges Gobet)AP - House Democrats cleared a crucial hurdle Wednesday in their drive to expand the government's power over Wall Street even as black lawmakers warned that they would use their votes as leverage to secure more economic aid to African-American communities.


Troop buildup has political risks for Democrats (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 01:33 PM PST

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L), U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton look on as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen testifies at a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the Afghanistan war on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 2, 2009. REUTERS/Jason ReedReuters - U.S. President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats in Congress face potential peril in next year's election resulting from his decision to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.


Iranian to be sentenced in arms smuggling case (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 03:46 PM PST

AP - An Iranian man who secretly pleaded guilty to plotting to ship sensitive U.S. military technology to Iran will be sentenced this month, federal authorities said Wednesday as they also revealed that the suspect told an undercover investigator Iran's leaders believe war is coming.
bnzv