Other Political News
Group says estate tax affects few, should be kept
WASHINGTON - Thursday, 04 December 2008 19:22:12
By JIM ABRAMS - Associated Press Writer
Fewer than 1 percent of deaths result in estate tax liabilities, and President-elect Barack Obama's proposal to keep the tax alive after it is slated to expire in 2010 is too generous to the wealthy, a tax policy advocacy group said Wednesday.
Experimental cotton unlikely to pose feed hazard
WASHINGTON - Thursday, 04 December 2008 08:20:17
By SAM HANANEL - Associated Press Writer
An unauthorized strain of genetically modified cotton was accidentally mixed in with other harvested cotton in Texas last month, but government officials on Wednesday played down any safety concerns.
Lawsuit: US responsible for man's UAE imprisonment
WASHINGTON - Thursday, 04 December 2008 07:09:19
By JESSE J. HOLLAND - Associated Press Writer
A federal judge wants the Justice Department to explain its involvement in an American's imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates, where the man's family says he was held and tortured only days after being interviewed by FBI agents.
Greenhouse gas emissions increase in US
WASHINGTON - Thursday, 04 December 2008 07:00:28
By H. JOSEF HEBERT - Associated Press Writer
The amount of U.S. greenhouse gases flowing into the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, increased last year by 1.4 percent after a decline in 2006, the Energy Department reported Wednesday.
Obama: Financial bailout must help homeowners, too
WASHINGTON - Thursday, 04 December 2008 05:21:36
By JIM KUHNHENN - Associated Press Writer
President-elect Barack Obama signaled a clear desire Wednesday to use a significant portion of $700 billion in financial bailout funds to stanch foreclosures by helping struggling homeowners with their mortgages. "The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes," he said.
Insurers like Obama health plan, with reservations
WASHINGTON - Thursday, 04 December 2008 04:32:41
By KEVIN FREKING - Associated Press Writer
The insurance industry embraced many of President-elect Barack Obama's ideas for better health care coverage Wednesday, though it opposes a key piece of his plan to require employers to help pay for that coverage.
California Democrat considered for trade job
WASHINGTON - Thursday, 04 December 2008 00:53:39
By ERICA WERNER
California Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra, a strong proponent of labor protections in free trade pacts, is in discussions with the Obama transition team about taking the job of U.S. trade representative.
Besieged: Nixon saw enemies all around him
WASHINGTON - Wednesday, 03 December 2008 17:07:11
By CALVIN WOODWARD - Associated Press Writer
In December 1972, when a less complicated president might have been relishing a big re-election victory a month earlier, Richard Nixon had enemies on his mind.
Insight: Nixon staffer memos
By The Associated Press
Some tidbits culled from the 90,000 pages of documents that offer insight into the power players of Richard Nixon's administration and re-election committee. The documents were released Tuesday by the National Archives' Nixon Library.
Nixon records show aides dishing dirt on critics
WASHINGTON - Wednesday, 03 December 2008 14:46:19
By CALVIN WOODWARD - Associated Press Writer
In Richard Nixon's time, all the president's men fretted about threats on every front: disquiet out on the streets, disloyalty inside the administration and trouble from political opponents who had to be discredited at any cost.