Feb 04 After SCHIP Bill Signing, Major Health Challenges Will Persist for Kids By PBS News Hour After a long, uphill battle and two presidential vetoes, a bill extending health coverage to millions of low-income children was signed into law by President Barack Obama Wednesday. Continue reading
Feb 04 House OKs Delaying Digital TV Switch Until June By PBS News Hour The country's transition to digital television is being postponed until June 12, following a vote in the House of Representatives that sends the bill to the White House, where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it. Continue reading
Feb 04 Obama’s Remarks on Executive Compensation By PBS News Hour President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner imposed tough rules Wednesday to rein in corporate pay, capping executive compensation at $500,000 a year for companies getting taxpayer funds. Here are the president's prepared remarks:… Continue reading
Feb 04 Obama Links $500,000 Executive Pay Cap to Bailout Funds By Admin, PBS News Hour President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced Wednesday a pay cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive federal dollars under the Troubled Asset Relief Program for struggling banks and corporations. Continue reading
Feb 04 Will a Stimulus Fix Our Problems? A question from various sources: “Will a stimulus fix our problems?” Paul Solman: Let’s begin with a prior question: What’s the economic justification for a stimulus? The answer is that an economy’s annual output — its Gross Domestic Product (… Continue reading
Feb 03 Watch Spending, Tax Cuts in Stimulus Package Provoke Fierce Debate in Senate Opponents of the stimulus package moving through the Senate are skeptical of the bill's increasing size, and of certain proposals they claim would not effectively boost the economy. Senators Jack Reed and John Thune debate the measure. Continue watching
Feb 03 Watch Tax Lapses Derail Daschle and Killefer Nominations Two prominent Obama nominees, Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer, withdrew their nominations Tuesday over controversies surrounding tax lapses. Political reporters mull the impact. Continue watching
Feb 03 Obama Names GOP’s Gregg for Commerce Post By PBS News Hour President Barack Obama named a third prominent Republican to his Cabinet Tuesday, selecting Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire as his replacement pick for commerce secretary. Continue reading
Feb 03 Countries Urge Tamil Tigers to Surrender as Civilians Flee Fighting By Admin, PBS News Hour As Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers lose more territory in their fight against the government, international powers including the United States, European Union, Japan and Norway have urged the rebels to lay down their arms to avoid more civilian deaths. Continue reading
Feb 03 Daschle Withdraws Nomination for Health Chief By Admin, PBS News Hour Former Democratic Senate majority leader Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination to be President Barack Obama's Health and Human Services secretary Tuesday, saying he did not want to be a distraction after paying $140,000 in back taxes. Continue reading