Obama, lawmakers target bailout fund for jobs bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's options for spurring job growth may be limited by out-of-control budget deficits, but with the unemployment rate hovering at 10 percent he is warming to moves by his congressional allies for a jobs-boosting bill. Obama got some encouraging news Friday, with the government reporting that job losses in November fell to the smallest number since the recession's start and the jobless rate dropped, from 10.2 percent in October.
Clinton says allies can help turn the Afghan tide
BRUSSELS (AP) — Some two dozen countries will send an estimated 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan next year, the chief of NATO said Friday as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told her allied counterparts that an infusion of forces is crucial to turning the tide in the long war. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark told reporters at NATO headquarters that at least 25 nations would provide the additional forces in Afghanistan in 2010, "with more to come." And he said the 44 countries now involved are "absolutely united" in their commitment to seeing the eight-year war through to a successful outcome.
Dems seeking compromise on public insurance option
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the Senate floor, Democrats are debating Republicans on health care. Behind the scenes, they're debating each other. Those closed-door discussions may be less predictable — and more consequential — as majority Democrats struggle to settle controversies within the party that are standing in the way of passage of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul. The most contentious of these is a proposal for the government to sell insurance in competition with private companies, an approach supported by liberals but opposed by most Democratic moderates and conservatives.
Few concerns as US-Russian nuclear treaty expires
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Cold War-era nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia expires Friday, but its key provisions are likely to remain in effect while negotiators work out the final details of a replacement treaty. Neither the U.S. nor Russia anticipates security problems after expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Negotiators had given up hope months ago of having a new deal ratified and in place before the expiration at midnight Greenwich Mean Time, which is 7 p.m. EST.
Lawmakers demand testimony by WH social secretary
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Democrat says someone from the White House social secretary's office should have helped the Secret Service clear people into last week's state dinner, saying "even Walmart has a greeter." Continuing a 10-day uproar over the security breach last Tuesday, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California told NBC's "Today" show she believes Congress has a right to hear social secretary Desiree Rogers explain how a Virginia couple got into the state dinner without invitations.
Sarah Palin's fans push for 2012 presidential run
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Lynn Giese calls Sarah Palin the best thing that's happened to the U.S. in a long time, and the 57-year-old housewife says she'd work tirelessly for the former Alaska governor were she to run for president in 2012. "I'd do anything, go anywhere," said Giese, of Bokoshe, Okla., while waiting in line at a Sam's Club in Fayetteville where Palin signed copies of "Going Rogue," her best-selling memoir.
'Bruno' pastor runs for mayor of Birmingham, Ala.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Moviegoers know Jody Trautwein as the smiling Alabama pastor who tries to talk Sacha Baron Cohen's character out of being gay in the hit movie "Bruno." Trautwein is now auditioning for another role: Mayor of Birmingham. Trautwein is among 14 candidates in next week's election to replace Larry Langford, who was booted from office in October after being convicted on 60 felony counts in a bribery scheme.
House votes to extend tax on wealthy estates
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Thursday to indefinitely extend a 45 percent inheritance tax on estates larger than $3.5 million, canceling a one-year repeal of the tax set to begin next month. A similar effort is afoot in the Senate, but the health care debate there could preclude action on the estate tax before Congress breaks later this month for holidays. There are also disagreements among senators over the tax rate and the size of estates that should be exempt, further clouding the bill's prospects.
Congress worries about Obama's plan for Pakistan
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing the prospect of more American deaths in Afghanistan as the war escalates, lawmakers lashed out at neighboring Pakistan on Thursday as an unreliable ally that could spare the U.S. its bruising fight with al-Qaida if it wanted. "They don't seem to want a strategic relationship," New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez said of the government in Islamabad. "They want the money. They want the equipment. But at the end of the day, they don't want a relationship that costs them too much."
Obama family lights National Christmas Tree
WASHINGTON (AP) — Surrounded by celebrity performers and characters from the North Pole, the Obama family on Thursday led a countdown and lighted the National Christmas Tree. First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha helped President Barack Obama press a button to light the tree, an annual tradition since the 1920s. "I'm technologically challenged and I might not get this right," the president joked. "Everybody has got to help me out here."
