Court bans sale of Word; Microsoft has fix ready
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal appeals court ordered Microsoft Corp. to stop selling its Word program in January and pay a Canadian software company $290 million for violating a patent, upholding the judgment of a lower court. But people looking to buy Word or Microsoft's Office package in the U.S. won't have to go without the software. Microsoft said Tuesday it expects that new versions of the product, with the computer code in question removed, will be ready for sale when the injunction begins on Jan. 11.
Dems, White House predict success on health care
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and Democrats are confidently predicting Senate passage of President Barack Obama's health overhaul by Christmas after the bill cleared its second 60-vote test. "The finish line is in sight," Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Tuesday at a press conference with other Senate leaders and cheering supporters. "We're not the first to attempt such reforms but we will be the first to succeed."
White House confident of health overhaul enactment
WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House spokesman says health care overhaul legislation has progressed to the point that its enactment is no longer in question. Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday that passage of a historic revamping of the nation's health system is no longer a question of if, but when. Gibbs added that he wasn't denying some issues remain to be resolved, but said the president is confident that will happen.
Officials: House Democrat will switch to GOP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Freshman Democratic House member Parker Griffith of Alabama is switching to the Republican Party, his office said Tuesday, another blow to Democrats facing a potentially tough midterm election. Griffith, 67, was narrowly elected last year from a region of northern Alabama that includes Huntsville and Decatur. President Barack Obama lost the district badly to Republican John McCain.
White House picks new cyber coordinator
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has tapped a corporate cyber security expert and former Bush administration official to lead the effort to shore up the country's computer networks and better coordinate with companies that operate 80 percent of those critical systems. Howard A. Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, will become the government's cyber security coordinator, weathering a rocky selection process that dragged on for months, as others turned the job down.
White House prods Iran over nuclear deadline
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is warning Iran's leader to take seriously a year-end deadline over its nuclear program, responding sternly to defiant language by the Iranian president. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) on Tuesday dismissed a looming deadline from the Obama administration and its allies for Tehran to accept a U.N.-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. President Barack Obama wants Iran to respond to an offer of dialogue and show it will allay fears of weapons development.
Americans' views of health care steady this year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The public's views on health care have stayed largely steady this year, despite dramatic swings in the political battle over President Barack Obama's drive to revamp the nation's medical system, a survey says. Overall, 82 percent say an overhaul of the nation's health care system is important for recharging the economy, according to an average of monthly polls conducted since April by the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The most recent survey, covering November, found that 77 percent agree with that connection.
Giuliani not running for NY Senate or governor
NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, viewed by many New York Republicans as a savior for the struggling party, said Tuesday he wouldn't run for political office in 2010, choosing to concentrate on his lucrative law and consulting businesses. Giuliani, whose most recent foray into politics ended with a stinging loss to John McCain in the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, told WABC-TV Tuesday that he will not commit to another high-profile run for office.
Obama: Big opportunities for businesses to grow
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sounding a friendly tone to the nation's community bankers, President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the White House will seek to cut bureaucratic restrictions so that local lenders can help businesses seize "enormous opportunities" for growth after bleak times. "We feel very optimistic that the worst is behind us," the president declared after meeting with heads of a dozen small and community banks.
Obama has powerful tool to pressure Myanmar
WASHINGTON (AP) — If talks with Myanmar over democratic reforms fail, the Obama administration could tie up large amounts of money that the country's ruling generals stash in international banks from the sale of natural gas. So far the administration has been hesitant to go that route.
