Congress scrutinizes Obama's Afghanistan plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Obama administration's new surge-and-exit troop strategy in Afghanistan is aimed more at wringing reforms from President Hamid Karzai than mollifying a war-weary American public. Appearing on network news shows a day after President Barack Obama announced his plan to send in 30,000 more U.S. forces, Biden said the principal aim of the new policy is to protect the United States from further terrorist attack while also keeping the Taliban from overrunning the country.
Analysis: A war strategy with echoes of Bush
WASHINGTON (AP) — It feels like 2007 all over again. Different war, different president, but "surge" is back in vogue. President Barack Obama's revamped Afghanistan strategy involves rushing — faster than may prove possible — 30,000 more troops into the fight by next summer. The abrupt infusion of U.S. military might is aimed at jump-starting a war that has crawled along for more than eight years, yielding few lasting gains.
WH gate-crashers went without confirmed invitation
WASHINGTON (AP) — Copies of e-mails between the White House party crashers and a Pentagon official undermine their claims that they were invited to President Barack Obama's first state dinner. Tareq and Michaele Salahi pressed the friendly Pentagon aide for four days to score tickets to the big event. By their own admission in the e-mails, they showed up at the White House gates at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 24 without an invitation — "to just check in, in case it got approved since we didn't know, and our name was indeed on the list!"
FACT CHECK: Obama skims over some Afghan realities
WASHINGTON (AP) — Can more U.S. troops in Afghanistan really convert Afghans into an effective fighting force? Will allies answer the call to do more? Is Pakistan truly prepared to take on the extremists who pose the greatest threat? President Barack Obama said yes in his speech Tuesday laying out his plan to pour 30,000 more troops into the Afghan war, then begin pulling out in 18 months.
House banking panel set for final regulations vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers are ready to clear a significant hurdle in their drive to slap new financial restraints on big Wall Street institutions and to demand greater openness from the nation's central bank. Motivated by the crisis that caused a near collapse in financial markets, a House committee scheduled a vote Wednesday on legislation that would give the government the right to dismantle financial firms that pose a risk to the economy, even if they are healthy.
Not HHS secretary, but in health care fight anyway
WASHINGTON (AP) — Look who's at the health care negotiating table — Tom Daschle. The former Senate Democratic leader's nomination as health and human services secretary was derailed over a back taxes flap earlier this year. But that's not stopping Daschle, a close ally of President Barack Obama, from playing a significant role in Capitol Hill health care talks — much as he'd be doing if he'd actually gotten the job.
Beachfront property dispute at Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is wading into a new property rights dispute over who owns the sand the state of Florida dumped onto a stretch of beach to control erosion. The justices are being asked to rule for the first time that a court decision can amount to a taking of property. The Constitution requires governments to pay "just compensation" when they take private property for public use.
Welcome to the White House: Are you on The List?
WASHINGTON (AP) — It all starts with an engraved invitation that comes in the mail, conveying the coveted offer to attend a state dinner. By the time guests walk up to the gates of the White House, though, that piece of paper is largely an afterthought, a memento for the scrapbook.
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.
Analysis: Obama faces heavy lifting at jobs forum
WASHINGTON (AP) — The trouble is, the jobs just aren't there and many aren't coming back. That's not just a huge economic problem for President Barack Obama — but a serious political one, too, as bailed-out Wall Street roars back while the already bleak U.S. unemployment rate grows worse.
