Politics

UPDATE: Senate votes 60-39 to begin health care debate

Democrats united Saturday night to push health care legislation past a key Senate hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama. There was not a vote to spare.
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Geithner urges prompt action on financial overhaul

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is pushing Congress to move quickly in overhauling the nation’s badly flawed financial rules, which he says is essential for the health of the economy.
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Details of Reid health bill revealed

Health care legislation heading for the Senate floor this week would extend coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $849 billion over a decade, a Democratic leadership aide said Wednesday, citing a report from congressional budget experts.
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Palin knocks campaign, Couric

Book tells of tension with running mate’s aides, news anchor

The rumors are true, according to Sarah Palin: The McCain-Palin campaign was not a happy family.
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Big question mark: Fate of health care in Senate

The glow from a health care triumph faded quickly for President Barack Obama on Sunday as Democrats realized the bill they fought so hard to pass in the House has nowhere to go in the Senate.
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Dingell takes gavel as House debates health plan

Democrats gave the gavel Saturday to the longest-serving House member ever as the chamber began debating legislation overhauling the country’s health care system.
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House Democrats say vote on health care may slip

House Democrats acknowledged they don’t yet have the votes to pass an overhaul of the nation’s health care system, and signaled they may push back the vote until Sunday or early next week.
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Obama to sign bill extending homebuyers credit

The White House says President Barack Obama on Friday morning will sign a bill that expands a popular homebuyers tax credit and extends unemployment benefits.
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Kerik pleads guilty to lying to White House

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to the White House and said he would also admit to tax crimes.
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House expecting ‘close’ health-care vote, Hoyer says

Democratic leader Steny Hoyer predicted that the House will narrowly pass the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. health-care policy in four decades as Democrats sought to resolve concerns about abortion and medical care for illegal aliens.
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Democrats advance hotly contested climate bill

Democrats have ignored a Republican boycott and pushed a climate bill through a key committee by a 10 to 1 vote.
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Senate OKs up to extra 20 weeks of jobless aid

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to provide the jobless with up to 20 weeks in additional unemployment benefits and expand a first-time homebuyer tax credit to include a far larger pool of people entering the dormant housing market.
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Huckabee touts vote results

He says GOP governorship wins show party on rebound

Victories in several of Tuesday’s off-year elections signaled a resurgent Republican Party, according to Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and unsuccessful contender in the 2008 race for the Republican presidential nomination.
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House leaders finalize health bill; vote looms

Last amendments filed, so debate is up next

Undeterred by Republican election triumphs in Virginia and New Jersey, Democratic leaders put the U.S. House on a path to vote as early as Saturday on the most sweeping overhaul of health-care policy in four decades.
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In Egypt, Clinton tries to calm settlement uproar

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday in a move to rescue shrinking Middle East peace prospects and regain the confidence of Arab nations angry that the United States has not pressed Israel harder to stop building settlements.
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