Dec 06 Political Checklist: Tough Tax Debate for Dems DetectFlashDecision_Blog('news01s45edqff1', 'ssE7IK2Tq2k', '29'); Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondent Gwen Ifill evaluate the new political realities in Washington as Democrats in the lame duck Congress appear ready to concede on a major issue: repeal of the… Continue reading
Dec 06 9th Circuit Appeals Court Hears Calif. Same-Sex Marriage Case The 9th Circuit Appeals Court in San Francisco hears arguments Monday in a challenge to Proposition 8, the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The case is being heard by a randomly selected panel of three judges: Judge Randy… Continue reading
Dec 06 Poll: Americans Have Inflated View of Foreign Aid When asked in a recent poll how much the U.S. government spends on foreign aid, Americans vastly overestimated the amount -- which might explain why politicians look to that area first when considering budget cuts, some analysts say. The… Continue reading
Dec 06 Deal on Extending Tax Cuts Appears on the Horizon From left, Senate Democrats Jack Reed, Mark Begich, Ben Cardin, Sherrod Brown, Charles Schumer, Frank Lautenberg and Al Franken hold a news conference Saturday at the Capitol. Photo by Bill Clark/Roll Call. Almost as soon as President George… Continue reading
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