Obama ordering 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is sending 30,000 extra U.S. troops to Afghanistan on an accelerated timetable that will have the first Marines there as early as Christmas and all forces in place by summer. But he'll also declare Tuesday night that troops will start leaving in 19 months. In a prime-time speech to the nation from West Point, N.Y., that ends a 92-day review, Obama will seek to sell his bigger, costlier plan for the 8-year-old stalemated war to a skeptical public in part by twinning it with some specifics about an exit strategy, said two senior administration officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the president had not yet laid out his plans.
Salahi denies being White House party crasher
WASHINGTON (AP) — The couple that got into the White House state dinner for the visiting Indian prime minister without invitations denied Tuesday that they were gatecrashers and said the uproar over the incident had "destroyed" their lives. Appearing on a nationally broadcast morning news show with his wife, Tareq Salahi said the furor surrounding his and his wife Michaele's attendance at the dinner a week ago has been a "most devastating" experience. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs described President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as angered by the incident.
Defense official communicated with WH crashers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The couple who crashed the Obama administration's first state dinner communicated with a senior Pentagon official about going to the event, but the official denies that she helped the couple get in. Michele Jones, a special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said in a written statement issued through the White House on Monday evening that she never said or implied she would get Michaele and Tareq Salahi into the Nov. 24 White House dinner.
New $100 billion safety net for jobless in works
WASHINGTON (AP) — As unemployment spikes, the cost of compassion is going up too. By as much as $100 billion.
PROMISES, PROMISES: Friday is still WH 'trash day'
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama entered the White House promising a new era of openness in government, but when it comes to bad news, his administration often uses one of the oldest tricks in the public relations playbook: putting it out when the fewest people are likely to notice. Former White House environmental adviser Van Jones' resignation over controversial comments hit the trifecta of below-the-radar timing: The White House announced the departure overnight on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, when few journalists were on duty and few Americans awake, much less paying attention to the news.
Gov't fines El Paso Corp., subsidiary $2.3 million
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department said Tuesday it has fined the El Paso Corp. and a Colorado subsidiary $2.3 million for safety violations in connection with a pipeline explosion in Wyoming three years ago that killed one worker and sent a giant fireball hundreds of feet into the air. The fine is the largest it has levied against a pipeline company, the department said.
Women's insurance amendment gets first Senate vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan amendment to increase insurance benefits for women through yearly screenings gets the first Senate vote Tuesday on health care overhaul legislation. The amendment — co-sponsored by Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine — would require policies to include a variety of yearly screenings and was inspired in part by controversial recommendations last month that women undergo fewer mammograms and Pap smears to test for cancer.
Gibbs: Deployment to Afghan will be accelerated
WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House spokesman says President Barack Obama is ready to lay out an end-game scenario for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan because "we can't be there forever." Robert Gibbs also told MSNBC that Obama's prime-time West Point speech also will lay out a faster deployment plan than initially envisioned in a war review written by commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Gibbs said the troop build up "will be accelerated. We're going to get in there quickly" and transfer responsibility for security to the Afghans quickly. Gibbs called that "an end game" for the American commitment. He said, "They're going to get in sooner, quite frankly, than the original assessment asked them to get in" — less than the two year deployment that was once under consideration.
Clinton daughter, Chelsea, engaged to be married
NEW YORK (AP) — Turns out those discredited rumors of a possible Chelsea Clinton wedding last summer were mostly just premature: The 29-year old daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has become engaged to her longtime boyfriend, 31-year old investment banker Marc Mezvinsky. The couple sent an e-mail to friends Friday announcing the news, saying they were looking at a possible wedding next summer. Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, confirmed the engagement Monday.
Court won't disturb $82.6M award in SUV rollover
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has left in place an $82.6 million award to a woman who was paralyzed after her Ford Explorer rolled over. The justices on Monday rejected Ford Motor Co.'s challenge to the portion of the award, $55 million, that was intended as punitive damages. Ford argued that it should not be punished because its design of the vehicle met federal safety standards.
