Dec 03 Watch Brooks, Marcus Tackle Tax Reform, Deficits, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Columnists David Brooks and Ruth Marcus sort through the week's top political headlines, including the November job numbers, the future of "don't ask, don't tell" and President Obama's surprise trip to Afghanistan. Continue watching
Dec 03 Watch Deficit Plan Dealt Setback, But Austerity Ideas to Live On The president's deficit commission voted 11-7 Friday on a combination of spending cuts and tax increases recommended by its co-chairmen, falling short of the 14 votes needed to send the plan to Congress. Co-chair Alan Simpson still showed optimism, saying… Continue watching
Dec 03 President Obama Issues First Pardons The Department of Justice announced Friday that President Obama has pardoned nine people, the first pardons of his presidency. Six of those pardoned had only been sentenced to probation, while the other three had been confined to jail… Continue reading
Dec 03 One-Week Wonders: We Pay Attention So You Don’t Have To By Gwen Ifill I have a new theory. Let me know what you think about it. Has it occurred to anyone lately that so many of the things we obsess about turn out to be stories that last for - give or take… Continue reading
Dec 03 Debt Commission Fails to Send Plan to Congress President Obama delivers remarks and signs an executive order establishing the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform on Feb. 18, 2010 at the White House with co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. (Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images) A majority… Continue reading
Dec 03 The Morning Line: Senators Prepare for Weekend Showdown on Tax Cuts If you didn't get your fill of the tax-cut version of "Masterpiece Theater" yesterday in the House, fear not. You will have a chance to tune in to C-SPAN2 this weekend and catch Democratic senators trying to win a… Continue reading
Dec 02 Censured by House Colleagues, Rangel Apologizes for ‘Awkward Position’ The House of Representatives voted 333-79 Thursday afternoon to censure Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., for violations of House ethics rules. The overwhelming rebuke followed a vote on an amendment to downgrade his punishment to a written reprimand. That failed… Continue reading
Dec 02 Watch Rare House Censure Ends 2-Year Ordeal for Rangel The House of Representatives took the rare step Thursday of censuring one of its own members, ending a two-year ordeal for long-serving Rep. Charles Rangel. Judy Woodruff has more on the ethics violation rebuke for the 20-term New York Democrat. Continue watching
Dec 02 The Complicated Equation Behind Unemployment Benefits On Tuesday, Congress refused to further extended long-term unemployment benefits, keeping the cut-off at 99 weeks. That doesn't mean the fight is over. Democrats continue to argue for more time, while Republicans say the country can't afford it. Continue reading
Dec 02 Watch Democratic-Backed Tax Cuts Bill Faces Senate Blockade After Clearing House House Democrats passed a continuation of tax cuts aimed at the middle class, but that largely symbolic vote appears headed for certain blockage in the Senate as Republicans push for extended cuts in all income groups. Judy Woodruff looks at… Continue watching