IL: StimPack Revives Controversial FutureGen Project (But Don't Worry, No Earmarks)

March 6, 2009

Deep inside the economic stimulus package is a $1 billion prize that, in five short words, shows the benefits of being in power in Washington. The funding, for “fossil energy research and development,” is likely to go to a power plant in a small Illinois town, a project whose longtime backers include a group of […]

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Jobless Rate Rises to 8.1 Percent, 651K Jobs Lost

March 6, 2009

WASHINGTON – The nation’s unemployment rate bolted to 8.1 percent in February, the highest since late 1983, as cost-cutting employers slashed 651,000 jobs amid a deepening recession. Both figures were worse than analysts expected and the Labor Department’s report shows America’s workers being clobbered by a relentless wave of layoffs unlikely to ease anytime soon.

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Waldman: Is the New Republic a Toxic Asset?

March 6, 2009

The historic journal of American liberalism, owned by CanWest, a media conglomerate that has gone bust, might be sold off by order of a Canadian bankruptcy court. Who will buy it? Will Martin Peretz retain control?

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Omnibus Still 1 Vote Short

March 6, 2009

What’s five more days when you’re already five months late? Democrats and the White House are keeping their fingers crossed after the Senate abruptly pulled back Thursday night from completing action on a long-overdue omnibus spending bill for the 2009 fiscal year — a year that began in October.

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Staffing Problems: Top Treasury Candidates Withdraw

March 6, 2009

WASHINGTON — Two candidates for top jobs at the Treasury have withdrawn their names from consideration, complicating efforts by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to staff his department at a time of economic crisis, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Pitt, Obama Aides Push Katrina Recovery

March 6, 2009

President Obama deployed two Cabinet secretaries to the Gulf Coast region Thursday to signal that his administration will push stalled rebuilding efforts, and in a stark change to the backslapping that residents usually witness from federal officials, neither was shy about frustration with red tape.

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A Poor Start: Human Rights and the New Administration

March 6, 2009

It has not been a promising start for the Obama administration in the area of human rights. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did the most damage with comments during her recent trip to Asia that could not have been more demoralizing to human rights defenders in China and around the world. Following her trip, Clinton […]

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Gupta Opts Out: Stands Down From Surgeon General Nomination

March 6, 2009

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, has withdrawn his name from consideration as surgeon general of the United States, he said Thursday.

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Chavez Declares War on Opposition Media

March 6, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela — As politicians in the U.S. discuss bringing back the so-called Fairness Doctrine, which would compel radio and TV stations to present both sides of any controversial issue, the question in Venezuela is far more serious: whether there can be more than one side — Hugo Chavez’s side — that gets aired about […]

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Krugman: Obama and Geithner Must Stop "Dithering"

March 6, 2009

Last month, in his big speech to Congress, President Obama argued for bold steps to fix America’s dysfunctional banks. “While the cost of action will be great,” he declared, “I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months […]

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