Archive for January, 2009

Economy shrank at fastest clip since ’82
“The economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as the deepening recession forced consumers and businesses to throttle back spending.

Although the initial result was better than economists expected, the figure is likely to be revised even lower in the months ahead and some believe the economy is contracting in the current quarter at an even faster pace.”

Senate Passes Health Insurance Bill for Children
“The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation yesterday to provide health insurance to 11 million low-income children, a bill that would for the first time spend federal money to cover children and pregnant women who are legal immigrants.”

“Lawmakers voted 66 to 32, largely along party lines, to renew the joint state-federal program and spend an additional $32.8 billion to expand coverage to 4 million more children. The expansion would be paid for by raising the cigarette tax from 39 cents a pack to $1.”

A Bitter End for Blagojevich
“The state senators stood up one by one in a hushed chamber on Thursday to call Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) a liar and a hypocrite who put his ego and his pocketbook ahead of the interests of Illinois.”

“Together, they voted 59 to 0 to reject Blagojevich’s theatrical last-minute pleas and remove him from office, ending a stormy tenure that left the nation’s fifth-largest state paralyzed by its governor’s alleged misdeeds and nationally ridiculed for its latest bout of corruption.”

Iraqis Stake Hopes on Election
“As Iraq prepares to vote Saturday in its first election since 2005, the conversation has changed, too. The words of the cafe-goers, laced with proverbs and poetry, illustrate what may stand as the legacy of an election that will begin shaping a new political landscape, as the Obama administration prepares to withdraw U.S. troops.

In a country long bedeviled by questions of legitimacy — over the American presence, the constitution, a de facto sectarian and ethnic system, and the excesses of security forces of dubious loyalty — elections have now won an enthusiastic if grudging fealty, emerging as a true arena for contest in which nearly every sect, ethnicity and tribe in the country has staked its future.”

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Obama Signs First Piece of Legislation Into Law
“President Obama this morning signed a law that expands the time frame in which workers can sue for discrimination they have experienced based on gender, race, national origin or religion.

The legislation — the first Obama has signed since becoming president nine days ago — makes clear that workers may bring a lawsuit for up to six months after they receive any paycheck that they allege is discriminatory. It is named for Lilly Ledbetter, who after years as a manager at Goodyear Tire & Rubber discovered she was being paid less than her male counterparts. She filed suit and won a jury verdict in 2003. But the lawsuit was deemed invalid because it wasn’t filed within six months of when the discrimination — unknown to Ledbetter at the time — began.”

House Passes Stimulus Plan
“President Obama won House approval on Wednesday for an $819 billion economic recovery plan as Congressional Democrats sought to temper their own differences over the enormous package of tax cuts and spending.

“As a piece of legislation, the two-year package is among the biggest in history, reflecting a broad view in Congress that urgent fiscal help is needed for an economy in crisis, at a time when the Federal Reserve has already cut interest rates almost to zero.”

Impassioned Blagojevich Finally Pleads Case
“For a trial that has at times seemed sleepy in the absence of its star defendant, a dramatic turn came Thursday morning as Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich arrived here in the capitol and delivered an impassioned closing argument in his impeachment trial before the Illinois State Senate. The city was captivated — as were people all across the state — as Mr. Blagojevich pleaded his innocence in blunt, unsparing terms.”

Military Judge Denies Obama Request to Suspend Hearings at Guantanamo
“A military judge in Guantanamo Bay today denied the Obama administration’s request to delay proceedings for 120 days in the case of a detainee accused of planning the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship, an al-Qaeda strike that killed 17 service members and injured 50 others.

The decision throws into some disarray the administration’s efforts to buy time to review individual detainee cases as part of its plan to close the U.S. military prison at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. The Pentagon may now be forced to temporarily withdraw the charges against Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen of Yemeni descent.”

Education chief: Schools crucial to recovery
“Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the economy won’t improve without the billions of dollars for schools in President Barack Obama’s recovery plan.

“If we want to stimulate the economy, we need a better-educated workforce,” Duncan said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.”

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