Obamalog: A Brief Summary of the President’s

Actions since Taking Office on January 20, 2009



What has President Obama Done since taking Office?

Check Out this log from the Democratic Party of Douglas County.



WEEK ONE

January 21, 2009

1. Held a war-strategy session with the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, the General responsible for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Defense Secretary Gates, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

- pushed for a faster timetable for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq

2. Called the leaders of Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan.

3. Froze salaries for all White House staff earning $100,000 or more.

- about 100 people in all

4. Ordered new Freedom of Information Act rules, making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.

5. Tightened ethics rules governing administration officials who work on issues for which they previously lobbied government agencies.

- new rules ban them from lobbying the Obama administration after they leave government service

January 22, 2009

1. Signed an executive order that closes the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year.

2. Visited the State Department to underscore a major theme of his administration: that diplomacy will play a more central role in American foreign policy.

- not just the use of diplomacy in seeking peace in the Mid-East, but also in defending the U.S. against global terrorist threats

- named former Senator George J. Mitchell as an envoy to the mid-East

- named former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke as a special coordinator of U.S. policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan

3. Announced a ban on interrogation techniques that some experts have described as torture.

January 23, 2009

Overturned a controversial ban on U.S. support to international aid groups that provide abortion services around the world.

- called “Mexico City Policy”

- also announced he would release federal funding for the U.N. population Fund as soon as Congress makes it available, insuring renewed support by the U.S. for the U.N. family planning agency.

January 26, 2009

Chose an Arabic satellite TV network (Dubai-based Al Arabiya) for his first formal television interview as president.

- part of a concerted effort to repair relations with the Muslim world

January 27, 2009

Visited the Hill and devoted nearly three hours to separate groups during meetings with the House and Senate Republicans.

- as a show of good faith in his efforts to work “across the aisle”

January 28, 2009

1. Meeting at the White House with the four U.S. military service chiefs.

- one more step toward fulfilling his promise of withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq

- the Joint Chiefs of Staff were to be ready with a rough sketch of what would be required to fulfill the timetable for a 16-month withdrawal

2. Meeting with the leaders of American companies like IBM, Jet Blue, and Honeywell to discuss how to get the economy moving again.



WEEK TWO

January 26th

Chose an Arabic satellite TV network (Dubai-based Al Arabiya) for his first formal television interview as president:


January 27th

Visited the Hill, and devoted nearly three hours to separate groups during meetings with the House and Senate Republicans:


January 28th

1. Meeting at the White House with the four U.S. military service chiefs:

a. one more step toward fulfilling his promise of withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq;

b. the Joint Chiefs of Staff were to be ready with a rough sketch of what would be required to fulfill the timetable for a 16-month withdrawal.

2. Meeting with the leaders of American companies like IBM, Jet Blue, and Honeywell to discuss how to get the economy moving again.

January 29th

Signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Bill:

a. makes it easier for women and others to sue for pay discrimination, even if the discrimination has prevailed for years or even decades;

b. the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Ledbetter’s complaint in a 2007 ruling, saying she was required to file suit within 180 days of the initial act of discrimination even though she was not aware at the time that she was receiving less than her male colleagues;

c. it’s estimated that Ledbetter lost more than 52K during her tenure with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Gadsden, Alabama (1979 to 1998).


January 30th

1. Signed executive orders that the president felt should “level the playing field” for labor unions against management:

a. one order requires federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change;

b. another order reverses a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives;

c. a third order prevents federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.

2. Obama also used the occasion at the White House ceremony to formally announce the formation of The White House Task Force on Middle Class Families:

a. installed Vice-President Biden as its chairman;

b. includes Cabinet departments whose work has the most influence on the well-being of the country’s middle class: Education, Commerce, Health & Human Services, and Labor.


WEEK THREE

February 2nd

1. Promised to establish a review board to oversee the government’s $700 billion rescue package and aimed at avoiding a financial meltdown:

a. declared some banks would have to mark down bad debts, while other banks may fail;

b. said that he was taking full responsibility for rescuing the U.S. economy which is in its worst downturn in 80 years.

2. Nominated Ron Sims, top official in Washington State’s King County to be the second in command at the Department of Housing and Urban Development:

3. Promised a review of the Food & Drug Administration, a direct result of the far-reaching salmonella outbreak tied to the peanut industry.


February 3rd

Nominated Sen. Judd Gregg (R) as Commerce Department Secretary:

a. gives Obama his top choice for a team working toward leading the nation out of recession;

b. continues the president’s commitment to having both parties represented in his cabinet.


February 4th

1. Announced limits on CEO pay for businesses receiving federal funds:

a. imposes a $500,000 salary cap on executive salaries of banking officials who get bailouts from the government;

b. the demand for limits was reinforced by revelations that Wall Street paid more than $18 billion in bonuses in 2008, even amid the massive infusion of taxpayer dollars;

c. pay cap would apply to institutions that negotiate agreements with the Treasury Department for “exceptional assistance” (large bailouts like those given to Citigroup Inc. and American International Group Inc.) in the future, but would not apply retroactively to those that have already received aid.

2. Cancelled 77 leases in the red-rock country of Utah that were sold to oil and gas companies by the Bush administration:

a. the December auction of more than 100,000 acres of federal land was one of a number of last-minute environmental changes made by the Bush administration;

b. some of the parcels adjoined national parks such as Arches and Canyonlands, and contrary to normal procedure, the National Park Service was not consulted in the sale.

3. Signed legislation expanding publicly funded health insurance for children:

a. less than two years ago, similar bills were blocked by former President Bush and labeled as a step toward government-run health care;

b. bill is expected to provide government-subsidized insurance to four million mostly low-income children and would reduce the number of uninsured children in America by about half over the next 4½ years;

c. the measure will be funded by an increase of 61 cents per pack in the federal tax on cigarettes:

4. Congress voted to postpone digital TV transition until June, giving a victory to the Obama administration and congressional Democrats who maintain that the previous administration mismanaged efforts to insure that all Americans will be prepared for the switchover:

a. House vote: Democrats – 241 pro/10 con

Republicans – 23 pro/148 con

b. Senate vote: Unable to locate a Senate count

5. Signed an order establishing a White House faith-based initiative, the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, with a broader mission than the one overseen by his predecessor:

a. Joshua DuBois, who headed religious outreach for Obama’s Senate office and later for his campaign, will lead the partnership, and he will name 25 religious and secular leaders to a new advisory board;

b. before signing the measure, Obama said that the program would not favor any religious group and would adhere to a strict separation of church and state.


February 5th

1. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other top officials are putting the finishing touches on a plan to overhaul the government’s $700 billion financial rescue package:

a. Geithner is to speak Monday, outlining the new plan;

b. Geithner met with Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, and other officials who serve on the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets which was formed in the wake of the 1987 stock market crash with the goal of better coordination of the government’s response to market crises.


2. Karl Rove spoke Tuesday evening at Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, as part of the school’s “First Amendment Week”:

a. one questioner asked Rove if he would comply with Congressional subpoenas about his knowledge surrounding the firing of U.S. attorneys and the prosecution of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman, and Rove indicated that he would not;

b. his answer seems to be in contrast with the statement of his attorney, Robert Luskin, who told an investigative reporter earlier this week that Rove was cooperating with two Justice Department probes into these two issues.


February 6th

Created a new advisory board headed by Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve Chairman, to report on the impact of economic policies:

a. members will include former Securities & Exchange Committee Chairman William Donaldson, TIAA-CREF President-CEO Roger Ferguson, and Harvard University professor Martin Feldstein who wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece last year entitled “John McCain has a Tax Plan to Create Jobs;”

b. Obama’s friend and campaign finance chairwoman, Penny Pritzker, is also on the board, as is Caterpillar Inc. Chairman-CEO Jim Owens, and General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt;

c. two labor officials, Anna Burger of the Service Employees International Union and Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO also were named to the board;

d. the group is particularly heavy on executives of companies known for innovation and success in the international marketplace.


February 7th

Joe Biden, making his first major policy speech of this administration, spoke to the delegates at the annual security conference in Munich:

a. warned that the U.S. stands ready to take preventive actions against Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear ambitions and its support for terrorism;

b. also declared the U.S. was open for talks with Iran and Russia to repair relationships and reached out to the world with a promise that the Obama administration will work with its allies to solve global problems;

c. his speech got high marks from the world leaders in the audience, and while short on details of emerging administration policies, set a tone of partnership in contrast to what some allies saw as a more bullying posture by the previous administration.


WEEK FOUR

February 9th

1. The president takes his case for his $800 billion economic-recovery package to the American people as the Senate clears the way for its passage:

a. Obama warned in his first prime-time news conference that a failure to act could turn a crisis into a catastrophe;

b. the conference was the centerpiece of an intense campaign by the administration to wrest control of the stimulus debate from the Republicans and reframe it on Obama’s terms;

2. The president held a town-hall-type meeting in Elkhart, Indiana, to promote his economic-recovery package:



February 10th

1. Senate approves the president’s economic-recovery package by a 61-37 vote:

a. the approval vote includes three Republicans and two Independents;

b. a victory, but one that sets up difficult negotiations with the House that approved a slightly different version of the $838 billion bill.

2. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined a few of the details of how the Obama administration would spend the remaining $350 billion of the $700 billion bank bailout program started last fall under President Bush:



3. Geithner also announced a new public-private partnership to help strengthen banks by getting private investors to buy bad assets that are currently weighing down banks’ balance sheets:

a. federal regulators would be empowered to conduct “stress tests” on big banks to determine their financial health;

b. such tests could lead to bank closures to prevent their problems from worsening and compounding the economic contraction;

c. the plan will expand the role of the Federal Reserve:

4. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that a flurry of radical programs aimed at busting through debilitating credit clogs are showing promise and pledged to keep Americans better informed about efforts to battle the worst financial crisis since the 1930’s:

a. a federal program to buy mounds of “commercial paper” has helped to relieve strains for many companies that rely on this type of short-term financing to bankroll everyday expenses;

b. another program has bolstered the money-market mutual-fund industry, and withdrawals seen in September have since waned;

c. a program to buy mortgage debt has also helped to drive down mortgage rates.

5. The president said that he was considering overturning a Pentagon policy that bars the media from taking pictures of the flag-draped coffins of U.S. troops returning from the battlefield.

6. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, proposes a “truth committee” to investigate the Bush administration’s anti-terror programs and other matters:

a. among the matters he wants investigated are the firings of U.S. attorneys, treatment and torture of terror-suspect detainees, and the authorization of warrantless wiretapping;

b. received a lukewarm response from the president who said that he would rather “get it right moving forward.”

7. The Obama administration is also preparing a comprehensive effort to help foreclosures which increased nationwide by 81% last year:

8. Obama held his second town-hall-type meeting in Fort Myers, Florida, the area with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation.

9. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has rejected a Bush administration plan to open vast areas of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts to oil and gas drilling, promising “a new way forward” in offshore energy development, including new wind projects:

a. criticized “the midnight timetable” for new oil and gas development proposed by the Bush administration four days before Obama took office;

b. did not rule out expanded off-shore drilling, but criticized “the enormous sweep” of the Bush proposal which envisioned energy development from New England to Alaska, including lease sales in areas of California and the North Atlantic that have been off-limits for a quarter century.

10. Iranian President Ahmadenejad, in some of his most conciliatory remarks to date, said that Teheran is prepared to talk with the U.S.:





February 11th

1. House and Senate negotiators agreed to keep economic stimulation legislation below $800 billion and reached for a final deal with the White House on a bill designed to create millions of jobs:

a. the president said that executives at Caterpillar Corp. told him they would rescind some of the 22,000 layoffs they had recently announced once the stimulus is signed into law;

b. principal components of the measure include:

2. The nation’s top bankers pledged to build public trust with greater lending and fewer perks:

a. they told the House Financial Services Committee that lending has increased and CEO bonuses have been eliminated;

b. all eight executives said that they would pay back taxpayer money by 2012 and sooner if they could.



February 12th

1. The Senate confirmed Leon Panetta as director of the CIA, placing the nation’s top spy agency in the hands of a government veteran rather than an expert at intelligence gathering.

2. Selected Seattle’s police chief, Gil Kerlikowske, to be the nation’s next drug czar:



February 13th

1. Congress approved the $787 billion economic-recovery bill, and it will be signed by the president on Tuesday in Denver:

a. passed the House 246-183:

b. passed the Senate 60-38:

c. the package provides a down-payment on much of the president’s domestic agenda, including his pledges to:

2. Banks agree to freeze foreclosure seizures for three weeks pending the rollout of Obama’s housing-rescue plan:

a. Obama is now scheduled to present the plan in a speech in Phoenix on Wednesday;

b. banks agreeing to the moratorium, include J. P. Morgan, Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., and Citigroup Inc., as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

c. suspensions generally apply to single-family residences and small complexes of up to four units;

d. vacant homes are excluded.

3. Regulators closed banks based in Oregon, Nebraska, Florida, and Illinois, making 13 failures this year of federally-insured institutions:

a. Pinnacle Bank in Beaverton is the first bank in Oregon to fail since 1991;

b. the FDIC estimates that through 2013, there will be more than $40 billion in losses to the deposit-insurance fund.



February 14th

A 13-month investigation by the GAO reveals that the Pentagon has lost track of 87,000 weapons handed out to the Afghan army and police units without proper accounting and includes:

a. rifles, pistols, machine guns, grenade launchers, shotguns, and mortars;

b. about 240,000 small arms and other sensitive items, including 2,410 prized night-vision devices given to Afghan forces trained by the U.S. military;

c. about 79,000 AK-47 assault rifles;

d. a U.S. command failure to keep serial numbers on about 135,000 weapons donated by allies and handed over to Afghan security forces.

WEEK FIVE

February 15th

Obama plans to appoint senior administration officials to oversee the restructuring of the auto industry instead of a single “car czar”:

a. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers will oversee the “across-the-government”panel;

b. the President’s Task Force on Autos will use:

c. Obama also plans to name restructuring expert Ron Bloom a senior advisor to Geithner:


February 16th

As Hillary Clinton arrived in Japan, her first foreign visit as Secretary of State, North Korea threatened to test what its neighbors believe is a ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States:

a. Clinton did not directly address these reports, but on the flight over, her tone was notably softer than previous U.S. pronouncements;

b. she also repeated her offer to normalize ties with North Korea and help it to rebuild its economy if it abandons its nuclear weapons.


February 17th

1. The president signed the $787 billion stimulus bill into law:

a. in his second consecutive week of taking to the road for campaign-like appearances to build support for his agenda, Obama signed the measure in Denver, where he won the Democratic nomination for president;

b. even as Obama signed the bill, Republicans were denouncing it as a waste of money and asserting that it would not turn the economy around.

2. Hillary Clinton talked tough on her first overseas trip as Secretary of State, delivering a sharp warning to North Korea that its threatened missile test would harm its prospects for improving relationships with its neighbors and the U.S.

3. General Motors and Chrysler asked for an additional $14 billion in aid, an acknowledgment that conditions in the U.S. auto industry have grown significantly worse in just two months:

a. General Motors:

1) presented a plan calling for cutting 47,000 jobs globally and closing five more U.S. factories:

2) said it could need up to $30 billion, up from a previous estimate of $18 billion:

b. Chrysler:

1) said it would cut 3,000 more jobs and stop producing three vehicle models;

2) requested $5 billion in new loans on top of the $4 billion it received in December;

c. United Auto Workers union said it has reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler, GM, and Ford on modifications to labor contracts:

February 18th

1. The president marshaled $75 billion to tackle the foreclosure crisis in an effort to prevent up to nine million Americans from losing their homes:

a. Treasury Department will double the size of its lifeline to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

b. provides incentive payments to mortgage lenders in an effort to convince them to help up to four million borrowers on the verge of foreclosure;

c. the plan drew praise from consumer advocates as well as the financial industry:

1) analysts and administration officials alike cautioned that it would not come close to halting the tidal wave of foreclosures;

2) will not provide much help to millions of homeowners who are “under water” or holding mortgages that are bigger than the market value of their homes.

2. Obama approved adding some 17,000 U.S. troops for the war in Afghanistan:

a. military advisors have warned the U.S. is not winning this crisis;

b. planned deployment does not preclude sending more forces in the future.

3. A half dozen Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package:

a. the governors of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina, and Idaho have questioned whether the bill will even help the economy;

b. governors may be overridden by their own legislatures under language included in the bill by U.S. Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) that allows lawmakers to accept the federal money even if their governors object.

4. Secretary of State Clinton announced in Indonesia that the Obama administration intended to sign a treaty moving the U.S. closer to a key regional group, the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations:


February 19th

Obama met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for talks on:

a. the president’s pro-trade message intended to assuage Canadian fears over protectionism:

b. the United State’s increase in troop strength in Afghanistan just as Canada moves to pull its troops out of there;

c. clean industry cooperation as controversy hangs over Canada’s oil-rich sands:


February 20th

1. Secretary of State Clinton named a special envoy to North Korea, but warned them that ties with the U.S. will not improve unless it stops threatening South Korea:

a. normalize bilateral relations;

b. replace the long-standing armistice agreement with a permanent peace treaty;

c. assist in meeting energy and other economic and humanitarian needs.

2. The president met the nation’s mayors, telling them that they now have a friend in the White House, but that he would use the “full power” of the presidency to expose and crack down on them if they misuse the stimulus dollars.


WEEK SIX

February 23rd

1. The Obama administration will begin taking a hard look (called “stress tests”) at the financial condition of the country’s 20 biggest banks this week:

a. to judge whether they could hold up if the downturn worsens further than expected;

b . stress tests will use computer-run “what-if” situations to estimate what would happen to each bank under Depression-like conditions, such as:

c. Fed officials emphasized that these hypothetical events are highly unlikely to occur.

2. The National Association for Business Economics released the results from a survey of economic forecasters:

a. the country stands to lose a sizeable chunk of economic activity this year as consumers at home and abroad retrench in the face of persistent economic troubles;

b. the U.S. unemployment rate—now at 7.6 percent—is expected to hit a peak of 9 percent this year;

c. all told, the NABE expects the economy to shrink by 1.9%, a much deeper contraction that the 0.2% projected in the fall.

3. The president promised help for strapped Medicaid programs:

a. brought in advisors and adversaries to discuss keeping entitlement programs from exploding the federal deficit;

b. Obama revealed that his administration will release $15 billion February 25th to help governors meet Medicaid payments to poor Americans.

4. The president pledged to slash our skyrocketing annual budget deficit as he began to distribute the record economic stimulus package he signed last week:

a. will reinstitute a pay-as-you-go rule that calls for spending reductions to match increases;

b. called Social Security “the single most pressing fiscal challenge we face by far;”

c. said that reforming health care, including burgeoning entitlement programs, was a huge priority:

d. by the president’s account, his administration inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit for the current fiscal year from the Bush administration:

1) the stimulus law, coupled with rescue efforts for ailing automakers, the financial industry, and beleaguered homeowners, will raise this year’s red ink to $1.5 trillion;

2) hopes to trim the deficit by scaling back:

3) estimates the country spends $250 billion—one in every $10 of taxpayer money—in interest on the national debt.


February 24th

1. The president spoke at a joint session of Congress:

a. promised to lead an economic renewal that would lift the country out of its current crisis without bankrupting its future by means of:

b. without directly blaming former President Bush, Obama described an “era” of greed and short-term profit:

c. highlights of his address:

2. California Representative Hilda Solis won confirmation as labor secretary with an 80-17 vote:

a. her background as an advocate for organized labor makes her a favorite of union leaders;

b. she is the daughter of immigrants:

c. Solis has pledged to increase oversight of:

3. The Dow gained 3.3% after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress “there’s a reasonable prospect” that 2010 will be a recovery year, provided credit flows normally and financial markets work.

February 25th

1. Obama introduced former Washington Governor Gary Locke as his nominee for Commerce secretary:

a. Locke was the nation’s first Chinese-American governor, serving two terms in Washington from 1997 to 2005;

b. for lawmakers, business people, and elected leaders from the northwest, Locke represents a direct link to the White House and someone who might help the region address thorny issues, including:

2. Vice President Joe Biden served notice that the administration would be poised to take back stimulus money if the governors refuse to spend it:


February 26th

1. The president’s 10-year budget proposal will:

a. overhaul health care;

b. arrest global warming;

c. expand the federal role in education;

d. call for stricter limits on the benefits of itemized deductions taken by the wealthiest household and corporations;

e. use revenues from the centerpiece of his environmental policy to pay for an extension of a 2-year tax credit that benefits low-wage and middle-income people:

f. without trimming his ambitious campaign promises, the president predicts a fiscal 2010 budget of nearly $36 trillion and a deficit for the current year of $1.75 trillion—a level not seen in six decades.

2. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the Pentagon has decided to rescind a long-standing prohibition against media coverage of returning war dead:

3. The nation’s banks lost $26.2 billion in the last three months of 2008, the first quarterly deficit in 18 years:

a. the FDIC said that U.S. banks and thrifts more than doubled the amount they set aside to cover potential loan losses from $32.1 billion a year ago to $69.3 billion in the fourth quarter;

b. more than two-thirds of all banks and thrifts turned a profit, but their earnings were outstripped by large losses at a number of major banks.

4. GM reported that it lost $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter and $30.9 billion for all of 2008, its second worst year on record:


February 27th

1. The Commerce Department released a report showing the economy contracting at a staggering 6.2% at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter century:

2. The president announced that he would withdraw combat forces from Iraq by August 2010 and all remaining U.S. troops by December 2011:

a. training and advising Iraqi security forces;

b. hunting terrorist cells;

c. protecting U.S. civilian and military personnel.

3. The Office of Management and Budget announced that it was reviewing a proposal to lift the controversial “conscience” regulations granted by former President Bush in December:

a. these regulations give federal protection to health care workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal, moral, or religious beliefs;

b. this is the first step in the process of reviewing a policy written so broadly “it could make it harder for women to get the care they need,” according to an OMB official.

4. The FDIC raised fees paid by U.S. financial institutions and levied a large emergency premium:

5. The government made another run at saving Citigroup with a plan that could become a model for saving the nation’s most troubled banks:

a. it’s the third major bailout for Citi in five months;

b. the government will swap the $25 billion in preferred stock from its earlier bailout money into common stock, boosting taxpayers’ stake in Citi from 8 to 36%;

c. similar rescue plans could be used at other ailing banks, such as Bank of America Corp. and Well Fargo & Co.

6. The Obama administration said that the U.S. will boycott an upcoming conference on racism unless its final document is changed to drop all references to Israel and the defamation of religion:


February 28th

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius accepted the president’s request to become Health and Human Services secretary:

a. if confirmed by the Senate, she would fill the cabinet position originally slated to go to former Senator Tom Daschle;

b. anti-abortion groups vow to oppose her nomination.


WEEK SEVEN

March 1st

1. American International Group (AIG) will gain access to $30 billion more in taxpayer money as part of another restructuring of its federal bailout:

a. this makes the fourth time the government has stepped in to save the ailing insurance giant since September;

b. the reworked plan is aimed at helping AIG avert a potential disaster as it announces the biggest quarterly corporate loss in history: $62 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008;

c. the government reaction is rooted in the idea that AIG, which has ties to nearly every major financial institution in the world, cannot be allowed to fail:

1) as part of an effort to pay back its outstanding Federal Reserve loan, AIG will give the government equity stakes in two of the company’s crown jewels:

2) each subsidiary will be placed in a separate trust, removing both from AIG’s books, and the government will have direct ownership:

2. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said that the U.S. now believes that Iran has amassed enough uranium that it could, with further purification, build an atomic bomb:

March 2nd

1. Secretary of State Clinton pledged about $300 million in U.S. humanitarian aid for the war-torn Gaza Strip, plus about $600 million in assistance to the Palestinian Authority.

2. A tiny bit of good news:

a. consumer spending loss in January, after falling for a record six months, was pushed higher by purchases of food and other nondurable items;

b. personal income also rose slightly, partly reflecting the cost-of-living adjustments provided to millions of Social-Security recipients;

c. personal savings rate surged to 5%, the highest level since 1995 as consumers continued to sock away more of their incomes.

3. The president sent a secret letter to Russia’s president last month, suggesting that he would back up on deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons.

4. Health & Human Services nominee Kathleen Sibelius won’t handle healthcare reform alone:

a. Obama introduced Nancy-Ann DeParle who will head the White House Office for Health Reform;

b. in separating the roles of health czar and health secretary, the president adds to a large stable of experts to help him in his effort to overhaul the healthcare system.

5. A bill moving through Congress that gives Washington D.C. a voting representative in the U.S. House may also increase the likelihood that Oregon will get a sixth congressional seat after the 2010 Census.

6. Senator Gordon Smith said that he will be going to work at one of Washington D.C.’s most powerful law firms, a move that appears to diminish the chance that he will try to make a political comeback in 2010.



March 3rd

1. The Federal Reserve rolled out a program aimed at boosting the availability of credit to consumers and small businesses:

a. the Fed will lend up to $200 billion to spur consumer lending for autos, education, credit cards and other consumer debt;

b. the money will be used to provide financing to investors to buy up the debt.

2. President Obama is restoring a requirement that U.S. agencies consult with individual federal experts to determine whether their actions might harm threatened or endangered species:

3. Secretary of State Clinton, signaling a new direction in Middle East diplomacy, said that the Obama administration will dispatch two senior officials to Syria this weekend to begin discussions with that government.

4. Despite record incentives from carmakers, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, and Chrysler each reported declines of at least 40% in the U.S. market for February:

a. this made the past month the worst February since 1967, according to GM;

b. Korean automaker, Hyundai, provided one of the month’s few bright spots, reporting that its sales fell by only 1.5%.



March 4th

1. The Obama administration kicked off a new program designed to help up to nine million borrowers stay in their homes by means of refinanced mortgages or loans that are modified to lower monthly payments:

a. government officials acknowledge the initiatives are only a partial fix;

b. tens of thousands of home owners in some of the most battered real estate markets won’t be eligible for the two programs;

c. the Making Homes Affordable program will get $200 billion to refinance loans and $75 billion to prevent foreclosures.

2. Lawyers for former President Bush, the House of Representatives, and the Obama administration reached agreement to resolve a long-running dispute over the scope of executive power:

a. under penalty of perjury;

b. without cameras, reporters, or members of the public in attendance.

3. Craig Fugate, a Florida official well-versed in hurricane response and currently the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is President Obama’s choice to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

4. Secretary of State Clinton, in an unusual public criticism of Israel, said that its plan to destroy dozens of Palestinian homes in Arab East Jerusalem is “unhelpful” and contrary to Israel’s obligations under a U.S.-designed peace plan.

5. Ford Motor Co. said that it will try to erase as much as $10.4 billion of its debt by offering debt holders cash and stock:

a. Ford and its financial arm are putting up $2.2 billion in cash and about 500 million shares of stock to entice holders of bonds and secured-term debt into the swap;

b. the company said that reducing the debt will cut the amount it pays in interest and better position it to compete with GMC and Chrysler.

6. In an annual report filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, General Motors’ auditors raised “substantial doubt” about the automaker’s ability to continue operations:



March 5th

1. The House passed legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of troubled home mortgages, overcoming fierce financial industry opposition:

a. passed 234-191, largely along party lines;

b. all Oregon representatives except Walden voted in favor.

2. According to Secretary of State Clinton, the Obama administration is pushing to convene a high-level meeting on Afghanistan this month that would include an invitation to Iran.

3. The president reiterated his pledge to enact comprehensive healthcare legislation this year:

a. Representative Joseph Barton (R-TX), who was instrumental in killing “Hillarycare” in 1993, announced he supports the eight principles outlined by Obama;

b. Chip Kahn, now representing hospitals and who helped mastermind the “Harry & Louise” ads attacking healthcare overhaul 15 years ago, said that Obama had “successfully launched the process we need to achieve health reform, which we want;”

c. Karen Ignagni, who runs the leading insurance association today, told Obama, “You have our commitment to play, to contribute, and to help pass healthcare reform this year:”

4. The president’s proposed budget cuts most of the money for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project:

a. the decision could cost the federal government additional billions in payments to the utility industry;

b. if it holds up, it would mean that most of the $10.4 billion spent since 1983 to find a place to put nuclear waste was wasted.



March 6th

1. The nation’s unemployment rate hit 8.1% in February, the highest since late 1983 as employers slashed 65,000 jobs:

a. both figures were worse than analysts expected;

b. since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost 4.4 million jobs, more than half of which occurred in the past four months.

2. Secretary of State Clinton presented her Russian counterpart with a mock “reset button” designed to symbolize a break from the antagonistic relationship often seen during the Bush administration:

WEEK EIGHT

March 8th

1. According to U.S. military officials in Baghdad, the U.S. will reduce its presence in Iraq by 12,000 troops over the next six months as part of the first major draw down since the president announced his plan to end combat operations there by 2010.

2. The Pentagon charged that five Chinese ships shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close to an unarmed U.S. Navy vessel in an apparent attempt to harass the crew.


March 9th

1. The president signed an executive order reversing former President Bush’s policy on embryonic-stem-cell research, undoing a 2001 directive that banned federal funding for research into stem lines created after that date:

a. It is expected to set in motion research that supporters believe could uncover cures for serious ailments from diabetes to paralysis;

b. But Obama went one step further, issuing a memorandum that sets forth broad parameters for how his administration would choose expert advisors and use scientific data:

2. The Supreme Court narrowed the protections of the Voting Rights Act, saying it does not require governments to draw electoral districts favorable to minority candidates in places where minorities make up less than half the population:

a. By a 5-4 vote, the Court said race must be considered only in drawing boundaries where a “geographically-compact group of minority voters” make up at least 50% of a single-member district;

b. The decision will limit the legal options for minorities challenging redistricting efforts that they contend dilute their voting rights after the 2010 census.

3. The U.S. and South Korea began annual war games involving tens of thousands of troops, prompting North Korea to call its military into “full combat readiness,” saying it views the joint land and sea exercises as a prelude to an invasion.

4. The White House protested what military officials call China’s harassment and aggressive shadowing of a U.S. Navy ocean surveillance ship in international waters on March 8th, and it urged greater respect for maritime law:

5. Unionized workers at Ford Motor Co. have approved contract changes that include freezing wages and cutting benefits in a move aimed at helping the automaker remain competitive:


March 10th

1. The president called for sweeping changes in education, urging states to lift limits on charter schools and improve the quality of early childhood education, while also signaling he intends to keep his campaign promise to link teacher pay to performance:

a. His proposals reflected his party’s belief that education at all levels was under financed in the Bush years and that reform should encompass more than demands for schools to show improved test scores;

b. The proposals also showed a willingness to challenge teacher unions and public-school systems and to continue to demand more accountability.

2. President Obama pledged to work more closely with the U.N. to bring peace to Darfur:

3. The Senate gave final approval to a $410 billion spending bill to fund most of the federal government for the remainder of the year:

a. The bill, which included thousands of controversial earmarks inserted by members of both parties, was approved on a voice vote after eight Republicans joined 54 Democrats in backing a procedure to bring the long debate to a close;

b. The president has indicated he will sign the bill despite misgivings about its earmarks.

4. Vice President Biden urged NATO members to jointly confront al-Qaida and other groups in Afghanistan where he said that instability threatens all of the members of the alliance equally:

5. Martin Scheinin, U.N. expert, is accusing the U.S. and some of its allies of breaching international law for the so-called extraordinary renditions and subsequent alleged torture of terrorism suspects during the Bush administration’s global war on terrorism, and he is launching a probe into the detention of suspects.

6. Wall Street posted its best performance of the year with the Dow closing up 379.44 points, apparently triggered by a letter from Citigroup Chief Executive saying that the bank had operated at a profit for the first two months of this year and was on track, based on historical trends, to make $8.3 billion for the quarter.


March 11th

1. The president signed the $410 billion spending bill into law:

a. An estimated $211 million in Oregon projects is included in this bill that finances some of the government’s biggest agencies for the rest of the fiscal year;

b. The bill includes $8 million for the International Oregon Port of Coos Bay to help purchase the Coos Bay rail line.

2. A bill that would toughen protections around Mt. Hood and other public lands across Oregon and the nation was defeated in the House by a 282-144 vote, two votes short of the required two-thirds majority:

3. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford became the first governor to reject some of his state’s share of the economic stimulus money, spurning $700 million that he said would harm his state’s residents in the long run:

a. But South Carolina’s Republican-controlled General Assembly is poised to rebuff Sanford and seek the money on its own;

b. Sanford turned down the federal money despite new data showing that his state’s unemployment rate had risen to 10.4%, the second highest in the country.

4. Freddie Mac, facing mounting damage from the U.S. housing crisis, said it will ask the government for nearly $31 billion in additional aid after posting a loss of more than $50 billion last year:

5. The president signed an Executive Order to establish the White House Council on Women and Girls with the aim of addressing the challenges confronted by women of all ages:

a. The council will be chaired by Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, and Director of Public Liaison Tina Tchen will serve as Executive Director;

b. It will be made up of cabinet secretaries and other top White House staff.

March 12th

1. Texas Governor Rick Perry became the second governor to reject some of the stimulus money:

2. North Korea told two U.N. agencies that it plans to launch a communications satellite between April 4th and April 8th:

a. This is an unprecedented disclosure seen as trying to fend off international worries that the launch is really a test of long-range missile technology;

b. The U.S. and other governments have said that any rocket launch would violate a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution banning North Korea from ballistic missile activity.

3. Faint signs of optimism emerged from the banking system, the automakers, and retail stores which helped push the stock market to its best 3-day run in four months:

a. GM said that it told the Obama administration that it would not need a $2 billion government loan this month after all because its cost-cutting plan was taking hold;

b. Bank of America CEO said he did not expect his company to need additional financial help from the government;

c. The government reported that retail sales, excluding autos, fell just 0.1% in February, far less than analysts were expecting;

d. The Commerce Department also revised January’s figures to a gain of 1.8%, the best in three years.


March 13th

1. The Obama administration dropped the “enemy combatant” designation for prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay:

a. The president no longer claims that his title of Commander in Chief allows him to order dangerous people held without trial;

b. The Obama administration, however, claimed for itself roughly the same power as the previous administration to hold Guantanamo’s detainees indefinitely.

2. The Chinese prime minister questioned the “safety” of China’s $1 trillion in U.S. government debt and urged the Obama administration to provide assurances that the securities would maintain their value:

a. As the financial crisis has unfolded, China has become increasingly vocal about what it perceives as Washington’s mismanagement of the global economic and financial system;

b. He stopped short of any threat to reduce purchases of U.S. bonds, much less sell any of them, underscoring the two countries’ mutual dependency.

3. The U.S. trade deficit plunged in January to the lowest level in six years:

a. While U.S. exports fell sharply, imports fell at an even faster rate as a deepening recession cut demand for goods from abroad;

b. The Commerce Department said the trade imbalance dropped to $36 billion in January, a decline of 9.7% from December to the lowest level since October 2002.

c. While the improvement was better than the $38 billion deficit economists had expected, they did not see the development as good news for the economy.


March 14th

1. Obama used his weekly radio and video address to announce his nomination of former New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to lead the Food and Drug Administration:

2. American International Group (AIG) is giving its executives tens of millions of dollars in new “bonuses” even though it received more than $170 billion in a taxpayer bailout:

* The Treasury Department has determined that the government does not have the legal authority to block the current payments by the company.



WEEK NINE

March 15th

1. Former Vice President Cheney said that by jettisoning key elements of the Bush administration’s approach to terrorism, President Obama had increased the risk of more attacks on the U.S.

2. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that the Bush administration’s treatment of al-Qaida suspects constituted torture:


March 16th

1. The president has decided to provide billions in federal lending aid to struggling small business owners:

a. The package includes portions of the $730 billion stimulus plan that will be used to immediately reduce small-business lending fees and increase the government guarantee on some Small Business Administration loans to 90%;

b. The government will also take aggressive steps to boost bank liquidity with more than $10 billion aimed at unfreezing the secondary credit market;

c. The administration also announced that the 21 largest banks receiving government money must report monthly on how much lending they do to small business.

2. The U.S. military confirmed that it shot down an Iranian remotely-piloted aircraft over Iraqi territory:

a. It was shot down by coalition forces approximately 60 miles northeast of Baghdad;

b. The U.S. said it was tracked for an hour and 10 minutes and that there was no chance that it had accidentally strayed across the border.

3. Of the nation’s $33 million in federal recovery funds designated for brush clearing and wildfire prevention, Oregon will receive half:


March 17th

The president named Pittsburgh Steelers’ owner Dan Rooney as U.S. ambassador to Ireland:


March 18th

1. The Obama administration is preparing to send federal agents to the southwestern border as reinforcements in the fight against Mexican drug cartels:

2. Under intense pressure from the Obama administration and Congress, the head of AIG told lawmakers that some of the firm’s executives have begun returning all or part of bonuses totaling $165 million:

3. Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk won Senate confirmation 92-5 to be the nation’s top trade official with responsibilities for advancing free trade:

4. Defense Secretary Gates announced that the Army will virtually eliminate “stop loss”—mandating that soldiers stay in the Army beyond their service obligation—by March 2011 and will offer extra pay to soldiers whose service is extended under the policy.

5. Attorney General Eric Holder signaled a change on medical marijuana policy, saying federal agents will target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state law.

6. Obama and his advisors have decided to significantly expand Afghanistan’s security forces:

a. A plan awaiting final approval by the president would set a goal of about 400,000 troops and national police officers, more than twice the force’s current size;

b. Cost projections of the program range from $10 billion to $20 billion over the next six or seven years.

7. The Federal Reserve announced that it would purchase more than $1 trillion in Treasuries and mortgage bonds in hopes of sparking greater economic activity:

a. The Feds’ rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said it would purchase another $750 billion of top-rated mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;

b. “To help improve market conditions in private credit markets,” the Fed will purchase up to $300 billion in longer-term Treasury securities over the next six months.

8. Consumer prices rose in February by the largest amount in seven months as gasoline prices surged again and clothing costs jumped the most in nearly two decades:


March 19th

1. The Treasury Department, in an attempt to stabilize the auto industry, will provide up to $5 billion in financing to troubled auto parts suppliers who are linked to Detroit’s carmakers:

a. The Auto Supplier Support Program will let troubled carmakers GM and Chrysler determine which suppliers need the credit;

b. The idea is to insure that suppliers to the two auto giants —which are trying to avoid bankruptcy—do not go bankrupt themselves and create problems for the automotive production chain.

2. The Senate confirmed Oregon State University marine biologist Jane Lubchenco as the new undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, making her the first woman in charge of the Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.

3. The Democratic House approved a bill imposing punishing taxes on big employee bonuses at firms bailed out by taxpayers:

a. The bill would impose a 90% tax on bonuses given to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at AIG and other companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money;

b. The House vote was 328-93, and all five Oregon legislators voted yes.

c. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate, and the president has signaled general support for the concept.

4. For the second time in two months, the Senate easily passed (77-20) a major conservation bill that would bestow wilderness protection on thousands of acres in Oregon and more than two million acres nationwide:

5. The national average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.94%—a historic low—after the Federal Reserve’s sudden decision to print $1.2 trillion and pump it into the economy:

a. This move means risking inflation—and there were early indicators that was exactly what was happening:

1) Both the Euro and the British pound gained against the dollar, which also fell sharply against the Japanese yen;

2) There was a dramatic jump in oil prices: a barrel of crude oil went up nearly $3.50, or 7%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest level since early December;

b. Most economist, however, believe that high unemployment and sluggish consumer spending will keep inflation in check as businesses hold down prices in order to maintain sales;

c. The Fed, for now, is more concerned about deflation: the country’s last serious bout of deflation came in the 1930s.

6. A federal judge blocked a federal rule allowing people to carry concealed, loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges:


March 20th

1. President Obama’s budget would generate deficits averaging almost $1 trillion a year over the next decade according to Congressional Budget Office figures:

2. The president reached out to the Iranian people in a new video with Farsi subtitles, saying the U.S. is prepared to end years of strained relations with Tehran:

3. With the help of local elementary school students, Michelle Obama broke ground for a White House garden and initiated a public campaign to help Americans better understand where food comes from:


WEEK TEN

March 22nd

Three prominent retailers—Starbucks Corp., Costco Wholesale Corp., and Whole Foods Corp.—broke with other leaders to offer a compromise proposal on the Employee Free Choice Act:

a. Their proposal would let management keep the right to secret ballot elections and does not include binding legislation;

b. It would, however, expand penalties, allow unions access to employees during non-working hours, and mandate a fixed time for elections so companies could not delay the process.


March 23rd

1. The Obama administration said that it would team with investors to buy up to two trillion dollars of bad assets from banks that have been reluctant to make loans to consumers and companies:

2. A federal judge ordered the Food & Drug Administration to make the Plan B morning-after birth-control pill available without prescription to women as young as 17:

3. A leap in existing home sales in February was a tentative sign of hope that the real estate market may be stabilizing:



March 24th

1. Douglas County will receive another $13 million in federal stimulus money, with the funding to be used mostly for paving projects:

a. At the same time, the International Oregon Port of Coos Bay will receive $2.5 million to assist with repairs on the 111-mile Coos Bay rail line recently purchased from Roseburg-based Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad;

b. The Umpqua National Forest has awarded five contracts for thinning and fuel reduction projects that will be paid through the stimulus program.

2. Treasury Secretary Geithner asked Congress for broad new powers to regulate non-bank financial companies like troubled insurer AIG whose collapse could jeopardize the economy:

3. In the president’s prime-time news conference, he tried to channel the outrage at Wall Street excess into support for changes in tax, health care, and energy policy, presently facing skepticism in Congress—even within his own party.

4. Obama administration officials said that hundreds of federal agents, along with high-tech surveillance gear and drug-sniffing dogs, are headed to the Southwest to help Mexico fight drug cartels and to keep violence from spreading across the U.S.-Mexican border:

a. The plan was announced as Secretary of State Clinton prepares to travel to Mexico on March 25th for the start of several weeks of high-level meetings between the two countries on the drug-violence issue;

b. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder are expected to meet with Mexican officials in early April.

5. The Senate easily confirmed former Washington Governor Gary Locke as Commerce secretary on a voice vote:

a. Locke, 59, was the nation’s first Chinese American governor, serving two terms from 1997 to 2005;

b. He has promised to focus on job creation and to closely oversee the 2010 census.

6. China is calling for a new global currency to replace the dominant dollar, showing a growing assertiveness on revamping the world economy ahead of next week’s London summit on the financial crisis:

7. The Commerce Department said that orders for durable goods —manufactured products expected to last at least three years—increased 3.4% last month, much better than the 2% expected by economists:


March 25th

1. Postmaster General John Potter warned that the financially strapped U.S. Postal Service will run out of money this year without help from Congress:

2. Congress passed sweeping legislation that protects 200,000 acres of mountains and forests in Oregon and millions more nationwide:

a. The 185-140 House vote sent the 1300-page public lands bill to the president, who is expected to sign it as early as next week;

b. It establishes three new national parks, including one for the birthplace of President Bill Clinton in Hope, Arkansas;

c. It protects more than 1,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers and streams from development, including about nine miles of rivers at the headwaters of the North Fork of the Elk River in Oregon;

d. The bill gives permanent wilderness protection—the highest the government can offer—to 127,000 acres surrounding Mt. Hood and millions more across nine states:

3. The president went to Capitol Hill to rally support among skeptical Senate Democrats for his $3.6 trillion spending plan:

a. Despite the meeting’s friendly tone, tensions continued as budget leaders in both chambers worked on competing proposals that would trim Obama’s spending request and sharply curtail his plans for tax cuts;

b. While acknowledging adjustments to Obama’s budget request, Democrats cheered the fact that budget leaders in both chambers would permit Obama’s most ambitious and costly initiatives on health care, education, and climate change to move forward so long as they do not interfere with deficit reduction.

4. President Obama and NATO’s chief, Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, discussed how to more effectively fight Islamic militants in Afghanistan and how to achieve Obama’s plan to put a U.S.-Russian relationship on a stronger footing.

5. Secretary of State Clinton arrived in Mexico City and offered a clear acknowledgment of the role the U.S. plays in the violent narcotics trade in Mexico:

a. Clinton’s remarks were coupled with a pledge that the administration would seek $80 million in funding from Congress to provide Mexican authorities with three Black Hawk helicopters to help police track drug-runners;

b. She also announced a new White House initiative to deploy an additional 450 law enforcement officers at the border and to crack down on the smuggling of guns and drug money into Mexico.

6. The Treasury Department unveiled proposed legislation that would give it broad powers to shut down financial institutions, the first step in overhauling regulation of the nation’s financial system and a move that could pave the way for nationalizing banks:

7. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner, saying the nation’s economic recovery will be driven in large part by small business, announced a number of measures intended to make it easier for small business to borrow, including the elimination of certain fees and the purchase of guaranteed portions of some loans made by the Small Business Administration.


March 26th

1. The president kicked off a first-of-its-kind Internet-era town hall meeting in the East Room of the White House, pushing hard for public support of his $3.6 trillion budget and asking people to be patient with the work his administration is doing to revive the tottering economy:

a. With an audience of about 100 people plus his Internet audience, Obama took the questions most asked from a pool of more than 100,000 sent to the White House web site, as well as from the audience on hand for the event;

b. Half the questions were selected from an online vote by visitors to the White House web site where about 3.6 million votes were cast:

2. The federal timber safety net, not set to expire again until the 2011-12 fiscal year, is receiving renewed scrutiny from Congress:

3. Vice President Biden said people who receive Social Security or disability benefits would share $13 billion in federal money, each receiving a one-time $250 payment beginning in May:

a. He also announced that $3.2 billion in grants are available for energy efficiency and conservation projects nationwide;

b . He also noted that a tax cut included in the stimulus bill would take effect April 1st.

4. The economy shrank even faster than thought at the end of last year, and job losses are continuing at a stunning pace:

5. Better than expected earnings from several big consumer brands sent the Dow Jones industrial average up 174 points to its highest level in six weeks:

a. Strong demand for government debt at the Treasury Department’s latest auction also lifted stocks by helping investors set aside recent nervousness about the government’s ability to fund its economic stimulus and financial bailout programs;

b. The advance technically put the Dow in bull-market territory—a bull market is defined as a 20% rise from a low point—but analysts are hesitant to call an end to the bear market too quickly.


March 27th

1. Douglas County will receive nearly half a million dollars as part of a series of energy efficiency awards handed out through a federal stimulus program:

a. Douglas County was awarded $442,900 as its share of $33.5 million given to nine counties, 14 Oregon cities, and 10 Indian tribes under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program:

b. The program, created through legislation passed late last year and funded through the stimulus program, is meant to spur job growth and promote projects that lower energy use, reduce fossil fuel emissions, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

2. The president ordered 4,000 more military troops into Afghanistan, vowing to “disrupt, dismantle, and defeat” al-Qaida in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

a. Obama warned that the terrorists who master-minded the September 11th attacks were actively planning further attacks on the U.S. from safe havens in Pakistan;

b. In announcing his plan, Obama stipulated that the troops would not carry out combat missions, but would, instead, be used to train the Afghan army and the national police.

3. Oregon Human Services Director Dr. Bruce Goldberg announced that 300 certified nursing assistants will be hired to work in nursing homes and long-term care facilities throughout Oregon, jobs created as a result of the federal stimulus package:

4. Federal officials said that nearly $330,000 has been earmarked to help about 50 people laid off by Boise Cascade in La Grande:

5. After half a year of declines, consumer spending edged up for a second month in February, even though incomes faltered under the weight of further job losses:

a. The spending increases were seen as a hopeful sign that this key sector of the economy is staging a modest rebound that could help pull the country out of recession;

b. Americans’ incomes dropped further in February, the fourth drop in the past five months, as wages and salaries continued to be pummeled by massive layoffs.

6. President Obama met with top executives of the nation’s biggest banks who described a positive meeting and pledged to work with the president in restoring the economy’s health.


March 29th

The president assured the nation that he was closely watching

the Midwest floods and putting the full weight of the government behind efforts to prevent disaster:




WEEK ELEVEN



March 29th

Administration officials said that GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner would step down immediately at the request of the White House:


March 30th

1. The president said that neither GM nor Chrysler has proposed changes large enough to justify further federal bailout, and he demanded “painful concessions” from creditors, unions, and others as the price for these two automakers’ survival:

a. Obama also raised the possibility of a controlled bankruptcy to help either or both “restructure quickly and emerge stronger:”

b. The president’s words underscored the extent to which the government is now dictating terms to two of the country’s signature corporations:

2. President Obama signed into law the largest conservation bill in a generation, providing stronger protection to 200,000 acres of public land in Oregon and millions more across the nation:

3. The United States government agreed, under a new review ordered by President Obama, to release a Yemeni who reportedly treated al-Qaida members wounded at Tora Bora in Afghanistan:

a. His lawyers said that he was volunteering at a clinic in eastern Afghanistan and was swept up as an innocent Arab trying to flee the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks;

b. He will be sent to “an appropriate destination country in a manner that is consistent with the national security and policy interests of the United States,” according to a Justice Department spokesman.


March 31st

1. A special court ordered further review of 400 absentee ballots in the Minnesota Senate race, dealing a crippling blow to Republican Norm Coleman’s legal challenge against Democrat Al Franken’s lead:

2. Democratic lawmakers proposed cutting greenhouse gases by one-fifth over the next decade, a faster pace than that urged by the president:

a. Establishes a cap-and-trade program for electric utilities, oil companies, and large industrial sources that release more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year;

b. Establishes increasingly tighter limits on greenhouse gas emissions from electric utilities, oil companies, and large industrial sources;

c. Requires retail electricity suppliers to produce a percentage of their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal;

d. Promotes development of technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide from coal-fired plants;

e. Limits the amount of carbon dioxide that new coal-fired power plants can release to 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour, beginning in 2015.

3. The Senate has endorsed using revenues from controversial cap-and-trade auctions of permits for emitting greenhouse gases to help consumers pay higher gasoline and electricity prices:

4. A senior U.S. official met with an Iranian diplomat during an international conference, marking the Obama administration’s biggest overture to Iran:

5. The Department of Energy plans to spend about $2 billion in stimulus money to speed cleanup at south-central Washington’s highly contaminated Hanford Nuclear Reservation:

6. Portland-area home prices dropped further in January, falling a record 14% compared with the same month a year ago, according to the Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index:


April 1st

1. Employers began withholding less federal tax this date under the economic stimulus legislation enacted this year by Congress:

2. The U.S. and Russia committed to resetting strained relations as presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev issued statements on global cooperation, including an agreement to quickly negotiate a new treaty to limit nuclear weapons.

3. Government attorneys filed notice in federal district court in Washington D.C. asking to withdraw the owl recovery plan finalized last year as well as the accompanying changes to critical owl habitat areas:

4. In a defeat for environmentalists, the Supreme Court (in a 6-3 decision) said that the Environmental Protection Agency may consider whether protecting fish and other aquatic creatures is worth the cost of the most advanced upgrades for older power plants.

5. In London for the G-20 summit, his first stop on an 8-day European trip, the president acknowledged that regulatory failures in the U.S. had a role in the financial meltdown, but he urged world leaders to focus on solutions rather than blame:

6. The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan is “increasingly dire,” according to top defense officials, and they said President Obama might have to send 10,000 more troops beyond the 21,500 he has announced since taking office:

7. The president called Israel’s new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, from London to tell him that the White House looks forward to working closely with him and the Israeli government on issues of mutual concern, including a peace agreement between the Arabs and Israelis.

8. Sales of new cars and trucks continued to be dismal, but while sales dropped 36.8% compared with the same month a year ago, the typical seasonal increase between February and March was the strongest it’s been in three years.

9. New reports on construction spending, manufacturing, and pending auto sales suggest the recession may be nearing a bottom:

10. Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley introduced a budget resolution that would fully fund the Healthy Restoration Act of 2003:


April 2nd

1. Umpqua Community Health Clinic, which has centers in Roseburg, Myrtle Creek, Glide, and Drain, is set to receive $208,996 in stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help meet the growing demand for community health service in Douglas County:

2. G-20 leaders, hoping to end the global financial crisis, pledged an additional $1.1 trillion in financing to the International Monetary Fund and other global institutions, and declared a crackdown on tax havens and hedge funds:

3. At the G-20 summit in London, President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bok issued a statement agreeing on “a stern, united response from the international community if North Korea launches a long-range rocket:”

4. The Interior Department reported that wind turbines along U.S. coastlines could potentially supply more than enough power to meet the nation’s current demand:

5. The Democratic-controlled Senate passed a budget drafted to the president’s specifications by a vote of 55-43 along party lines.

a. The plan calls for spending $3.5 trillion for the budget year beginning October 1st and has a deficit projected at $1.2 trillion;

b. The Democratic-controlled House earlier approved a budget drawn to Obama’s specifications with a vote of 233-196, largely along party lines;

c. Republicans in both houses accused Democrats of drafting plans that would hurt the economy in the long-run, but a Republican alternative fared poorly in the House as 38 Republican lawmakers voted against a plan supported by their leadership.

6. The House voted (298-112) to give the F.D.A. unprecedented powers to regulate the tobacco industry, but it may face a filibuster in the Senate.

7. The board that sets U.S. accounting standards gave companies more leeway in valuing assets and reporting losses:

8. Fresh signs that factories are coming back to life, as well as a bank CEO’s encouraging outlook, fueled more hopes that the economy may soon emerge from the cellar, and they briefly lifted the Dow beyond 8,000 for the first time in two months:

9. Thirty-year mortgage rates fell to the lowest level on record for the second consecutive week after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to assist the U.S. housing market.


April 3rd

1. The president pledged to repair damaged relations with Europe, underscoring European and American ties and apparently intent on improving the U.S. image abroad, which suffered under George W. Bush:

2. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are set to pay their employees “retention bonuses” totaling $210 million, despite calls from lawmakers to cancel these payments:

a. The companies’ federal regulator disclosed that 7,600 workers were scheduled to receive payouts aimed at retaining those “employees most critical to keep and difficult to replace;” 213 of these employees will receive bonuses worth more than $100,000, while one Freddie Mac executive will receive $1.3 million;

b. These figures drew sharp rebukes from lawmakers who noted that Freddie and Fannie had received pledges of $400 billion from taxpayers to offset huge losses since they were seized by the government in September.


April 4th

1. An Algerian held at Guantanamo is to be settled in France, marking a possible breakthrough in the president’s quest to close the prison and resettle dozens of prisoners in foreign lands.

2. The Obama administration intends to allow Americans to visit relatives in Cuba and to send money back to their families in the communist-controlled nation, according to senior U.S. officials:

a. The president plans to announce the policy change before the Summit of the Americas April 17-19 in Trinidad and Tobago;

b. Although some restrictions have been eased temporarily in legislation Obama signed last month, lifting the bans would meet a pledge he made during the presidential campaign and could signal a new openness with Cuba.

3. At the NATO summit, European leaders praised President Obama’s new Afghan strategy but held their ground on a central disagreement and offered only military trainers and extra security forces for upcoming elections:

4. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela said that he hopes to “reset” relations with the U.S. at an upcoming summit:



WEEK TWELVE


April 5th
1. Hours after North Korea’s missile test, the president called for new U.N. sanctions and laid out a new approach to American nuclear disarmament policy intended to strengthen the U.S. and its allies in halting proliferation:
President Obama told a crowd in Prague that black market trade in nuclear secrets and materials abound, but too few resources have been committed to developing a strategy to stop terrorist groups such as al-Qaida that are “determined to buy, build, or steal” a bomb.
2. At a luncheon for leaders of the European Union’s 27 nations in Prague, Obama said that the West should seek greater cooperation and closer ties with Islamic nations:
a. He contended that allowing Turkey to join the E.U. would deepen that message, a move that France, Austria, and other nations have long opposed;
b. Turkey is the only Muslim country in NATO, an alliance stalwart, and the U.S.’ best friend in the Islamic world.
3. Treasury Secretary Geithner said that the government might require new faces in executive suites at banks needing federal money in the future:
He said that exceptional assistance in the future would come with conditions to protect the taxpayer and to make sure that they undergo the kind of restructuring necessary for them to emerge stronger.
4. After receiving permission from family members, the military opened Dover A.F.B. in Delaware to the media for the return of the body of Air Force Staff Sergeant Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Virginia:
The Pentagon’s 18-year ban on media coverage of the return of fallen U.S. service members ended with the arrival of Sgt. Myers’ casket, and his family was the first to be asked under the Pentagon’s new policy whether it wished to have such media coverage.


April 6th
1. Barack Obama, making his first visit as president to a Muslim nation, declared that the U.S. “is not and will never be at war with Islam:”
Urging a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism.
2. Defense Secretary Gates outlined sweeping changes to the defense budget that would shift hundreds of billions of dollars in Pentagon spending away from elaborate weapons and toward programs more likely to benefit troops in today’s wars:
$2 billion more on intelligence and surveillance programs;
$500 million to field more helicopters;
2,800 additional special operations personnel focused on counter-terrorism;
The Navy’s DDG-1000 destroyer, a stealth ship whose cost has ballooned over the past decade took a hit;
He recommended halting a production of the Air Force’s new F-22 fighter jet and killing the new presidential helicopter program.
3. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court refused to permit prolonged, secret questioning of crime suspects:
a. The Court ruled that even voluntary confessions might not be used in federal court if the defendant was held for more than six hours before he talked;
b. The 6-hour rule applies only in federal prosecutions; state and local police must follow the 1966 Miranda ruling, which requires police to tell suspects that they have a right to consult a lawyer and the right to remain silent.

April 7th
1. The president made an unannounced visit to Iran where he declared it was time for Iraqis to “take responsibility for their country” after America’s commitment of six years and thousands of lives:
In office only 11 weeks, Obama has already announced plans to withdraw most U.S. combat troops on a 19-month timetable.
2. A reform-minded Democrat claimed the high-profile Illinois congressional seat relinquished by Rahm Emanuel when he accepted Obama’s offer to be his chief of staff:
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley will fill the remainder of the 2-year term Emanuel won in November.
3. Democrat Al Franken’s lead in the Minnesota senate race grew larger after some ballots were counted in court, but some issues remain to be decided in the case, and Franken’s opponent, Sen. Norm Coleman, plans to appeal:
After a 7-week case brought by Coleman and the counting of 351 ballots that had been wrongly rejected, Franken’s lead grew by 87 votes to 312, but the case, heard by a panel of three district judges, is still not over because the panel has to rule on two outstanding issues:
Coleman wants some ballots removed from the total because he says they have been counted twice, and he says that the 132 ballots that were lost in the recount should not be included in the final tally.
4. According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, Americans have grown more optimistic about the economy and the direction of the country in the 11 weeks since President Obama was inaugurated, suggesting that the president is enjoying some success in his critical task of rebuilding the nation’s confidence:
a. Americans said that they approve of Obama’s handling of the economy, foreign policy, and Iraq and Afghanistan; fully two-thirds approve of his overall job performance;
b. In contrast, just 31% of respondents said that they had a favorable view of the Republican Party, the lowest in the 25 years the question has been asked in New York Times/CBS News polls.

April 8th
1. During his first meeting with U.S. officials since falling ill in 2006, Fidel Castro asked visiting Congressional Black Caucus members what Cuba could do to help President Obama improve bilateral relations.
2. The U.S. said that it would directly participate “from now on” in international talks with Iran over its nuclear activities, the latest move in the Obama administration’s promised diplomatic outreach to the Iranian government:
The announcement, made in London after a meeting among the negotiating partners (Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China), broke with the Bush administration’s policy of supporting talks between Iran and the others but not participating in them.
3. Attorney General Eric Holder picked a long-time prosecutor to oversee internal ethics investigations as part of a larger reshuffling of the Justice Department staff:
Washington prosecutor Mary Patrice Brown will serve as acting head of the Office of Professional Responsibility and will become the third person to head the office, which was created in 1975.
4. The Treasury Department confirmed that life insurers are qualified to join banks and carmakers on the list of industries getting taxpayer bailouts:
“There are a number of life insurers who meet the requirements for the Capital Purchase Program because of their thrift or bank-holding-company status. These companies applied within the appropriate timeline,” said a Treasury spokesman.
5. The Commerce Department said that wholesale inventories dropped 1.5% in February, the most on record dating to February 1992 and more than double analysts’ expectations:
Sales at the wholesale level rose 0.6%, the first increase since June and a sharp reversal from January’s revised 2.4% drop.

April 9th
1. The U.S. trade deficit plunged unexpectedly in February as the recession pushed imports down for a seventh straight month while exports rebounded a bit:
Economists, who had expected the deficit to widen slightly in February, said that the smaller imbalance was one of many indicators that a steep plunge in U.S. economic activity may be leveling off.
2. New jobless claims fell more than expected last week but are stuck at elevated levels, while the number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance approached six million, setting a record for the tenth straight week:
The government data bolsters recent projections from the Federal Reserve and private economists that the nation’s job market will remain weak into next year as companies purge thousands more workers.
3. The president is seeking an additional $83.4 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a request that will drive the cost of the wars to nearly $1 trillion since 2001:
a. This money, which will fund operations for the rest of 2009, comes on top of $67.2 billion approved in fall 2008 as a down payment for the year, but the annual total—about $150 billion—is less than the amount spent in 2008;
b. Obama has criticized the use of such emergency funding measures to pay for the war, and the president’s first budget, for 2010, will move more of the war’s cost into the main Pentagon spending plan:
According to President Obama’s spokesman, Robert Gibbs, “This will be the last supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan.”
4. Tens of thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in the square where the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled six years ago, demanding that Obama fulfill his promise to withdraw U.S. troops.
5. There were fresh signs that after a 6-month descent, the full force of the recession may be petering out, according to President Obama’s top economic advisor, Lawrence Summers:
A strong profit forecast from Wells Fargo;
A drop in unemployment benefit filings;
Several retailers predicting solid April sales;
The Dow Jones industrials rose nearly 250 points;
But with unemployment still rising, it will be at least several months before the nation’s economic engine kicks into a growth gear:
Job losses—and the fear of them—act as a headwind against consumer confidence and spending, which account for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

April 10th
The president nominated a Native American who served as Attorney General of Idaho to become head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs:
a. Larry EchoHawk, a law professor at Brigham Young University and a member of the Pawnee tribe, also ran for governor of Idaho in 1994, losing by fewer than 35,000 votes to his Republican opponent;
b. The agency manages 66 million acres of land and oversees Native American schools and other programs.




WEEK THIRTEEN



April 13th

1. President Obama directed his administration to allow unlimited travel and money transfers by Cuban Americans to relatives in Cuba, and he is sponsoring greater telecommunications with the island while keeping in place a long-standing U.S. trade embargo, according to White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs:

2. The president said that the $787 billion economic stimulus plan is beginning to take hold and that work is coming in “ahead of schedule and under budget:”

a. Standing alongside Vice President Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Obama highlighted the administration’s 2,000th project funded through the $48.1 billion part of the program allocated specifically to transportation infrastructure projects;

b. Some 120 million families are taking home larger paychecks because of tax cuts in the measure the president said, while plans are underway to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, modernize airports and shipyards, develop high-speed rail networks, and restore aging public transit systems.

3. A Minnesota court confirmed that Democrat Al Franken won the most votes in his 2008 Senate race against Norm Coleman, who had already announced plans to appeal the decision:

a. Coleman has ten days to appeal to the Supreme Court, and once the petition is filed, it could delay the seating of Minnesota’s second senator for weeks;

b. In addition, Coleman can initiate a new action on a federal level: either side can appeal an eventual state Supreme Court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court or throw the disputed election before the U.S. Senate, which can judge the qualifications of its members.

4. The U.S. is considering new military and diplomatic strategies in the aftermath of the high-seas hostage drama, including adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate “mother ships:”

5. Eight days after North Korea’s rocket launch, the 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned the action, demanded an end to missile tests, and said that it will expand sanctions against the communist nation.


April 14th

1. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said there has been “tentative signs” that the recession may be easing, but he warned that any hope for a lasting recovery rests on the government’s success in stabilizing shaky financial markets and getting credit flowing more freely again:

2. The Energy Information Administration projected gasoline prices will stay relatively low, expecting regular gasoline to average $2.23 a gallon during the April through September traveling season:

3. North Korea vowed to restart its nuclear reactor, kicking out U.N. inspectors and pulling out of disarmament talks in retaliation for the U.N. Security Council’s condemnation of its rocket launch:

a. Pyongyang ordered U.N. nuclear inspectors to remove seals and cameras from its Yongbyon nuclear site and to leave the country as soon as possible, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency;

b. Russia, voicing regret over the move, urged Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table, and their Foreign Ministry called the U.N. statement “legitimate and well-balanced;”

c. In Washington, a senior U.S. official called the decision “unfortunate,” and said, “It will further isolate the North from the rest of the international community.”

4. The president invoked the Sermon on the Mount parable as he sought to explain why he wants to not only revive our struggling economy, but to virtually reinvent it, saying that, like the parable, a house build on sand cannot stand:

5. Iranian President Ahmadinejad said that Iran planned to launch a “more sophisticated” satellite into orbit, another potential step forward for the country’s space program that has raised concerns in the West:


April 15th

1. Consumer prices dipped unexpectedly in March, leaving prices over the past year falling at the fastest clip in more than a half-century:

a. Over the past 12 months, consumer prices have fallen 0.4%, the first 12-month decline since a similar drop for the year ending in August 1955;

b. The Fed also reported that production at the nation’s factories, mines, and utilities dropped a seasonally adjusted 1.5% in March, the fifth straight monthly decline and worse than the 1% dip analysts expected.

2. With just 15 days left before the U.S. government pulls the plug on Chrysler, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said the Italian automaker will walk away from its non-binding agreement to take a 20% stake in Chrysler and share its small car technology unless the U.S. automaker’s unions agree to major cost cuts.

3. In another small but important sign of improvement in the battered U.S. economy, almost half of the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts reported that economic deterioration had moderated in their zones and may be bottoming out:


April 16th

1. The Justice Department made public detailed memos describing brutal interrogation techniques used by the CIA as the president sought to reassure the agency that CIA operatives who carried out the techniques would not be prosecuted:

2. Defense Secretary Gates said that the Obama administration would move cautiously in shifting policies on gays serving openly in the military, but he signaled that military service members should prepare for possible changes:

3. In a direct challenge to Obama’s commitment to rejuvenate moribund Mideast peace talks, Israel dismissed U.S.-led efforts to establish a Palestinian state and laid out new conditions for renewing negotiations.

4. In his first official trip to Mexico, President Obama said that he would push for U.S. ratification of a treaty designed to lessen the flow of weapons to drug cartels and announced that the countries would work together on a number of issues, including the environment and energy:

5. Secretary of State Clinton flew to Haiti enroute to a summit with hemispheric leaders, and she said that because of Haiti’s dire economic situation, the Obama administration is considering granting temporary legal status to Haitians who have come to the U.S. illegally, so they could still keep sending money home:

6. The president unveiled a plan for an unprecedented level of funding for high-speed rail, including the potential for faster service from Eugene to Vancouver, B.C., as one of the nation’s ten priority corridors:

7. Umpqua Training and Employment has been awarded $1.5 million in federal stimulus money meant to boost the private, non-profit organization’s effort to retrain dislocated workers and provide spring and summer employment opportunities for youngsters:


April 17th

1. The EPA formally declared carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, setting in motion a process that will lead to the regulation of gases for the first time in the U.S.:

a. The ruling initiates a 60-day comment period before any proposals for regulations governing emissions of heat-trapping gases are published;

b. Many Republicans in Congress and industry spokesmen warned that regulation of carbon-dioxide emissions would raise energy costs and kill jobs, while Democrats and environmental advocates said that the decision was long overdue and would bring long-term social and economic benefits.

2. The Obama administration announced that it planned to lift some—but not all—of the financing restrictions on human embryonic stem-cell research put in place during the Bush administration:

a. The proposed guideline, which the administration plans to finalize by July 7th, would allow research only on stem cells derived from surplus embryos at fertility clinics;

b. Federal financing could still not be used to support the creation of embryos solely for the purposes of research or embryos created by therapeutic cloning.

3. A federal appeals court ruled that the Bush administration did not properly study the environmental impact of expanding oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast and cancelled a program to find new reserves:

4. A Palestinian state alongside Israel is the only way to end the Mideast conflict, according to George Mitchell, President Obama’s envoy to the region:

5. Seeking to thaw long-frozen relations with Cuba, the president told Western Hemisphere leaders that “the U.S. seeks a new beginning with Cuba,” and that he was willing to have his administration engage the Castro government on a wide array of issues:

6. GM Corporation’s CEO said that while it’s not the preferred option, bankruptcy remains a likely outcome of the automaker’s drawn-out saga, considering the demands of the Obama administration.

7. Companies are realizing surprisingly good quarterly earnings, but economists say a recovery is probably still months away:

8. Four million dollars in federal stimulus money will pay for a study on the feasibility of removing dams on the Klamath River to help struggling salmon runs.

9. The Obama administration said it will not appeal a federal court ruling that prohibits carrying loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges, and, instead, will conduct a full environmental review of an earlier Bush administration policy that allowed concealed, loaded guns in parks and refuges.


April 18th

1. The president appointed Jeffrey Zients, founder of the investment firm, Portfolio Logic, as deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget to work at streamlining processes and cutting costs:

2. President Obama offered a spirit of cooperation to America’s hemispheric neighbors at the Summit of the Americas, listening to complaints about past U.S. meddling and even reaching out to Venezuela’s leftist leader, Hugo Chavez:



WEEK FOURTEEN



April 19th

1. Despite a pledge to open up government, the Obama administration has opted to continue a Bush-era decision to keep secret key details of an FBI computer data base that allows agents and analysts to search a billion documents with a wealth of personal information about Americans and foreigners.

2. Rebuffing criticism of the warm greetings he exchanged with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President Obama said that the U.S., with its overwhelming military superiority and need to improve its global image, could afford to extend such diplomatic courtesy:

3. A day after she was sentenced to eight years in prison, President Ahmadinejad of Iran said that a U.S. journalist convicted of spying for the U.S. should be allowed to offer a full defense during her appeal:

4. President Obama’s top economic advisors have determined that they can shore up the nation’s banking system without having to ask Congress for more money any time soon, according to administration officials:


April 20th

1. Taxpayers are increasingly exposed to losses, and the government is more vulnerable to fraud under Obama administration initiatives that have created a federal bank bailout program of “unprecedented scope,” according to a government report:

a. In a 25-page quarterly report to Congress, the rescue program’s official inspector general concludes that a private-public partnership designed to rid financial institutions of their toxic assets is tilted in favor of private investors and creates “potential unfairness to the taxpayer;”

b. Using blunt language, Inspector General Neil Barofsky offers a series of recommendations to protect the public and takes the Treasury to task for not implementing previous advice, while it also commends Treasury and the Federal Reserve for creating some safeguards;

c. Overall, the report says that the public-private partnership—using Treasury, Federal Reserve, and private investor money—could total $2 trillion.

2. President Obama called his full Cabinet together for the first time and instructed department heads to cut enough money from their budgets to set a new tone in Washington:

3. Oregon’s threatened species, and the special habitats they rely on, got $2.63 million lift from the U.S. Department of the Interior:


April 21st

1. President Obama left the door open to prosecuting Bush administration officials who devised the legal authority for gruesome terror-suspect interrogations, saying that the U.S. lost “our moral bearings” with use of the tactics:

2. A reversal in bank stocks pulled the market higher after Treasury Secretary Geithner told Congress that some banks could be allowed to repay financial bailout funds:

3. President Obama nominated Maria Eitel, the president of the Nike foundation, to become chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service if the U.S. Senate approves her:

4. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius won the endorsement of a divided Senate Finance Committee, most likely clearing the way for her confirmation as President Obama’s health and human services secretary:

a. However, eight of the ten Republicans on the panel voted against her, underscoring the increasingly partisan nature of the emerging healthcare debate on Capitol Hill;

b. Sebelius, the last of Obama’s Cabinet nominees awaiting confirmation, has received strong endorsements from Democrats who have praised her record of pushing health reform as governor and as insurance commissioner of Kansas.

5. Losses at financial institutions could approach $4.1 trillion worldwide, according to the International Monetary Fund, and it urged countries to take broader action to bolster banks or risk an even deeper recession:

6. Douglas County will receive $5 million in federal forest stimulus money and will share another $32.8 million with several other Oregon counties:

a. Senators Wyden and Merkley announced more than $120 million in additional funding for U.S. Forest Service projects in Oregon;

b. The Forest Service estimates that the projects, with a third of the money going toward hazardous fuels mitigation and reduction projects, will create more than 2,100 jobs in the state.


April 22nd

1. Morning-after contraceptive pills will soon be available to 17-year-olds without a doctor’s prescription after the FDA complied with a federal judge’s order and lowered the age limit by one year:

2. The Interior Department issued long-awaited regulations governing offshore renewable energy projects that would tap wind, ocean currents, and waves to produce electricity:

a. This framework establishes how leases will be issued and sets revenue sharing with nearby coastal states that will receive 27.5% of the royalties generated from the electricity production;

b. Interior Secretary Salazar said that applications are expected for dozens of proposed offshore wind projects, many off the north and central Atlantic, in the coming months.


April 23rd

1. Fourteen credit-card executives met with the president at the White House to talk about accusations of deceptive and unfair practices:

a. Complaints from consumers, contending that they have been unfairly treated by credit-card companies that hike interest rates, charge surprise fees, and generally squeeze reliable customers who normally abide by the rules, have become so loud and the practices so common that both the White House and Congress noticed, and both are moving aggressively to increase regulations;

b. In December, the Federal Reserve issued new rules to make credit-card policies more transparent and understandable, but the rules do not go into effect until July 2010.

c. Obama told the executives that the new rules do not go far enough, and that is why the White House is supporting efforts in Congress to pass stronger regulations.

2. The White House and the Democratic leadership in the Senate signaled that they would block for now any effort to establish an independent commission to investigate the Bush administration’s approval of harsh interrogation techniques:

In doing so, they sought to reduce pressure for a full inquiry that has grown more intense since Obama suggested he would be open to such an investigation.

April 24th

1. With the president opposed to an independent investigation of the harsh interrogation techniques approved by the Bush administration, committee leaders in both the House and the Senate said that they intended to press ahead with public inquiries.

2. Ford Motor Co. reported a smaller-than-expected loss, said that they were on track to at least break even by 2011, and reiterated that it does not expect to seek federal funding.

3. The government indicated that some distressed banks would need to raise more cash to meet the stricter standards it has set for the 19 financial firms that took its “stress tests,” and it suggested that it’s ready to step in with more federal help.

4. Monaco Coach Corp., shut down since last year, has reached an agreement to sell its recreational vehicle manufacturing business to Navistar International Corp., one of the world’s largest makers of school buses:

According to Monaco’s director of investor relations, the $52 million deal, pending approval by a Delaware bankruptcy court, will put people back to work in Oregon and Indiana.

5. With a government-imposed deadline for massive restructuring less than a week away, Chrysler and Treasury Department officials are still holding out hope that they can reach deals to keep the troubled automaker out of bankruptcy court:

a. Chrysler has until the deadline to reach deals with its unions in Canada and the U.S. to cement a technology-sharing alliance with Fiat;

b. Without the completed deals, the Obama administration has said that it won’t lend Chrysler more money, and that would certainly result in the automaker being auctioned off in pieces under court supervision.

April 25th

1. Secretary of State Clinton tried to reassure nervous Iraqis that the U.S. wouldn’t abandon them, even as she said that the American troop withdrawal would stay on course despite a recent surge in violence:

2. President Obama announced a plan for federal workers to propose ways to improve their agencies’ and departments’ budgets, and he said that employee’s ideas would be key as his cabinet officials try to cut millions from their budgets and trim the deficit.



WEEK FIFTEEN

April 26th

Chrysler cleared another major obstacle to its survival when it reached a tentative deal for concessions with the United Auto Workers’ Union:

The troubled automaker is just days from Thursday’s U.S. government deadline to gain concessions from its unions and debt holders and form an alliance with Italy’s Fiat Group SpA or face almost certain liquidation.


April 27th

1. President Obama said that the threat of spreading swine flu infection was a concern, “but not a cause for alarm,” while customs agents began checking people coming into the U.S. by land and by air:

a. The World Health Organization said that there were 40 confirmed cases in the U.S. but no deaths;

b. Dr. Richard Besser, the acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that Americans should be prepared for the problem to become more severe, and that it could involve “possibly deaths.”

2. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) announced that President Obama’s Democratic allies in Congress have sealed an agreement on a non-binding budget outline for next year:

a. The $3.5 trillion plan for the budget year starting October 1st embraces several of Obama’s goals, including health care reform, funds for domestic programs and clean energy, and a tax increase for individuals making more than $250,000;

b. But the plan would allow Obama’s signature $400 tax cut for most workers to expire at the end of next year, and even after squeezing the defense and war budgets to levels that are probably unrealistic, the plan would cause a deficit of $523 billion in five years.

3. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that a Bush administration regulation allowing mining companies to dump their waste near rivers and streams is legally defective, and he instructed the Justice Department to ask the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to vacate the rule.

4. Under the first surge of federal stimulus money, starting immediately and extending through next summer, nearly 2,000 Oregon teens will be employed at a minimum wage of $8.40 an hour to clean trails, dig out invasive species, and clean up parks and recreation areas:

Under the $6.5 million Oregon Youth Employment Initiative, teenagers in each of the state’s 36 counties will hit the woods this summer, collectively logging more than 100,000 hours of work, and an additional 290,000 hours of work will be performed next summer, most of it focused on projects that otherwise would go untouched.

5. In a bid to avoid bankruptcy, GMC launched a restructuring plan that would eliminate 2,600 dealers, 21,000 workers, $44 billion in debt, and four plants, while leaving the U.S. government owning at least half of the troubled automaker:

a. The automaker announced the sweeping moves as part of a revised business plan it is submitting to the Treasury Department, from which it is requesting $11.6 billion in loans on top of the $15.4 billion it has already received;

b. The new plan is centered on a debt-for-equity offering GM is extending to holders of $27 billion in bonds, and if at least 90% of holders of outstanding bonds do not accept, it will file for bankruptcy in June.


April 28th

1. Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter said that he would become a Democrat, bringing the Democratic party within one of the 60 Senate votes it needs to cut off extended debate and advance the president’s priorities:

a. Specter, a Republican senator since 1981, made his decision after reading 2010 reelection polls and realizing that conservative Pat Toomey, a former Pennsylvania congressman, was set to trounce him in the state’s primary;

b. Specter said, “I am not prepared to have my 29-year record in the U.S. Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate,” and he went on to say that the party he had joined in the mid-60s, after switching from the Democratic party, “has moved further and further to the right.”

2. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius won Senate confirmation as secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, placing her in the middle of a public health emergency with swine flu sickening Americans:

a. The 65-31 vote came after Democrats urged quick action so that Sebelius could get to work leading the federal response to the outbreak;

b. Immediately after the vote, Sebelius resigned as governor of Kansas and flew to Washington to be sworn in and where she was taken straight to the White House to take her oath in the Oval Office.

3. Oregon officials won $382 million of federal stimulus money for schools and colleges after Governor Ted Kulongoski convinced federal officials that he will spend enough state money on education that with the federal dollars, Oregon will be able to help struggling schools improve.

3. Administration officials confirmed that a preliminary deal has been reached with Chrysler’s largest creditors—four major banks that hold more than 70% of the company’s debt:

a. Other deals have unfolded that could give employees a 55% stake in the company, with Italian automaker Fiat eventually holding 35% and the government and Chrysler’s lenders owning 10%;

b. The deal could keep Chrysler out of bankruptcy although officials acknowledged that doesn’t seem likely since the automaker’s remaining debtors have not signed off on the agreement and could force the company into court as soon as the 30th.

6. Findings were released that show that consumer confidence zoomed past economist’s forecasts in April to its highest level since November:

It reflects a growing sense that the economy may have bottomed out, and Americans might be prepared to spend more money.

7. The Obama administration said that it is expanding its plan to stem the housing crisis by offering mortgage lenders incentives to lower borrowers’ bills on second mortgages:

The administration’s second-mortgage initiative will be funded out of $50 billion in financial rescue money already allocated.


April 29th

1. The National Endowment for the Arts has announced $19.8 million in grants from federal stimulus dollars to go to state and regional arts agencies and organizations, and in Roseburg, the Umpqua Valley Arts Center could receive as much as $30,000:

The Oregon Arts Commission will receive $307,600 of the federal money, which it will distribute to Oregon arts organizations to preserve jobs that are threatened or have been recently eliminated because of the economy.

2. The economy shrunk at a worse-than-expected 6.1% pace at the start of this year as sharp cutbacks by business and the biggest drop in U.S. exports in 40 years overwhelmed a rebound in consumer spending:

The Commerce Department report dashed hopes that the recession’s grip on the country had loosened in the first quarter, but, instead, the economy performed nearly as badly as in the final three months of last year when it marked the worst slide in a quarter-century.

3. The Obama administration joined a federal judge in urging Congress to end a racial disparity by equalizing prison sentences for dealing and using crack versus powdered cocaine:

Congress enacted the disparity during an epidemic of crack cocaine in the 1980’s due to a fear that violence would be greater among those using crack, but the administration believes that the best way to deal with violence is to punish anyone who commits a violent offense, regardless of the drug involved.

4. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that the primary U.S. lab for renewable energy will receive $110 million in federal stimulus funds and another $83 million will go toward wind energy and other alternative power and efficiency projects.

5. Democrats in Congress capped the president’s 100th day in office by advancing a $3.4 trillion federal budget for next year—a third of it borrowed:

a. The House and Senate vote to adopt the non-binding budget blueprint contains these highlights:

$3.4 trillion in new spending;

permits Obama’s health care reform initiative to advance under fast-track rules that block GOP filibusters in the Senate;

endorses extending middle-class tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 under President Bush;

projects deficits of $1.7 trillion in 2009, but projects such deficits to be reduced to only $523 million by 2014;

foresees an increase in the national debt to $17 trillion by 2014;

b. The budget passed the Senate on a 53-43 roll-call vote with both Oregon senators voting in favor of passage;

c. It passed the House on a 233-193 roll-call vote with all Oregon representatives except Walden (R) voting in favor of passage.

6. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, asking for help from Europe, said that the U.S. and its allies must make sacrifices in order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center:

There are 241 inmates at the facility, and Holder has spent the past several days privately asking European leaders in London, Prague, and Berlin for help in relocating detainees the U.S. wants to set free.

7. Thanks to $1.8 million in federal stimulus money, the 136-year-old Willamette Falls Locks, closed since January 2008 because of budget and maintenance issues, could reopen next year:

The locks function like elevators, and without them, boats have no way of getting past the 40-foot falls on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn.

8. Even though the economy shrank again in the first three months, Americans stepped up purchases of cars, furniture, and appliances, and the surge in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the economy, could set the stage for a rebound later this year.

April 30th

1. Chrysler will file for bankruptcy protection after talks with a small group of creditors crumbled just a day before a government deadline for the automaker to come up with a restructuring plan, according to the president:

a. The Obama administration said that it had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy for the nation’s third largest automaker, but it became clear that a holdout group would not budge on proposals to reduce Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt, which was a needed step for Chrysler to restructure by today’s deadline;

b. Under bankruptcy, Chrysler would still sell cars, and the government would back its auto warranties, according to President Obama, who said that he had “every confidence that Chrysler will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive.”

2. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood awarded $75 million in federal money to expand Portland’s streetcar system, a decision that signaled a new national embrace of urban transit:

a. The money unleashes an already approved pot of $55 million from local governments and another $20 million from state lottery bonds;

b. The expansion means jobs—not only for construction to expand the streetcar system by three miles and 18 stations—but also for manufacturing the streetcars, which will be built by United Streetcar, a subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works, in Clackamas.

3. Defense Secretary Gates suggested that as many as 100 detainees would be held without trial on U.S. soil if the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were closed, a situation that he acknowledged would create widespread, even unanimous, opposition in Congress:

The estimate was the most specific yet from the Obama administration about how many of the 241 prisoners at Guantanamo could not be safely released, sent to other countries, or appropriately tried in U.S. courts.

4. The Obama administration is pursuing employers who knowingly hire and exploit illegal workers, a policy not significantly different from the approach of the Bush administration:

The priority is to go after employers, but the policy says agents will continue to arrest illegal workers as long as local U.S. attorneys commit to prosecuting cases against their employers.

5. Americans spent less than expected in March, pulling back after a burst of buying in the first two months of the year, and the reversal was tied to a larger-than-anticipated decline in income:

However, consumer spending grew at an annualized rate of 2.2% in the first quarter, and many analysts say that the worst of the recession is over in terms of lost economic growth, but they caution that pain in the job market and elsewhere will persist well into next year or longer.

6. The Department of Labor announced a $2 million grant to assist 240 workers who lost their jobs when Fleetwood Enterprises closed plants in La Grande and Pendleton:

The grant, to the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, is for services and training for jobs in growing regional industries.

7. The House, on a bipartisan vote of 357-70 and following lobbying by the president and his administration, approved a bill to restrict credit-card practices and eliminate sudden increases in interest rates and late fees that have entangled millions of consumers.

8. The Commerce Department released $53 million to Oregon and California to help West Coast salmon fishermen after the third fishery failure in four years:

A total of $46.4 million will go to California and $6.7 million to Oregon.


May 1st

1. U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at a slower-than-expected pace in April, raising hopes the steep plunge that began last fall may be moderating:

The performance was driven by a rise in new orders, and as new orders rose, company inventories shrank for a 36th straight month—suggesting that future production will have to ramp up and eventually help stimulate the economy.

2. The White House added the features of the popular social net sites of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to its main Web page, whitehouse.gov:

a. The sites contain information about swine flu and will be updated with information on other topics as time goes by;

b. The White House new media director, Macon Phillips, said that the administration will not be able to reply individually to people who send messages via these three sites, but “people who join these groups can speak to one another, and we can see what they are saying.”



WEEK SIXTEEN



May 4th

1. In announcing a plan to close holes and clamp down on overseas shelters, the president vowed to “detect and pursue” American tax evaders:

a. Obama said he wants to prevent U.S. companies from deferring tax payments by keeping profits in foreign countries rather than recording them at home, and he called for more transparency in bank accounts held by Americans in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands;

b. The president said his plan would generate $210 billion in new taxes over ten years and “make it easier” for companies to create new jobs at home;

c. If enacted, the plan would:

2. KBR, the Army’s largest contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan, is linked to the vast majority of suspected fraud cases referred to investigators, as well as a majority of the $13 billion in contract costs that have been questioned by contract officials, according to the Pentagon’s top contract auditor:

a. In 2001, KBR was a subsidiary of Halliburton, and, according to a KBR spokesperson, it was awarded the opportunity to perform the Army’s war-zone logistics work “following a competitive bidding process,” and the value of that work is now $31 billion;

b. President Obama has made contract reform a top priority, and, shortly after taking office, he vowed to end no-bid contracts that he said, “have wasted billions of dollars in Iraq.”

3. Iraq’s government ruled out allowing U.S. combat troops to remain in Iraqi cities after the June 30th deadline for their withdrawal, despite concern that Iraqi forces cannot cope with the security challenge following a resurgence of bombings in recent weeks.

4. Evidence that housing is poised to improve and optimism about the results of banking “stress tests” raised hopes that the recession is easing:


May 5th

1. The health insurance industry offered to end its practice of charging higher premiums to women and to accept close federal regulation of their industry:

2. Crater Lake National Park and three other federal parks and monuments in Oregon will receive $1 million in federal stimulus money for upgrades:

a. The money is part of $750 million in stimulus money, announced by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, that will go to repair and restore national parks nationwide:

3. In his most optimistic prediction yet, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the economy should pull out of the recession and start growing again later this year:

4. The Obama administration proposed new standards for alternative motor fuels designed to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and to make sure that alternative fuels, such as ethanol or biodiesel, do not have indirect effects that could inadvertently increase levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

5. House Democrats announced a tentative deal to give consumers billions of dollars to trade in their old cars and trucks for models with somewhat higher gas mileage:

a. The “cash for clunkers” subsidy is intended to increase vehicle sales, prop up the faltering American auto industry, and make the nation’s car and truck fleet marginally more efficient;

b. Obama has lent support to the idea, and there is money in the stimulus package to finance it.

6. Oregon will get $51 million in federal cash to put people to work in the woods in coming months to reduce fire hazards and improve forest conditions:

a. The state will share $9 million more with Washington State for work on the Blue Mountains in the eastern portion of the two states;

b. Oregon received the largest share of $240 million in projects for 26 states, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, with California netting $31 million and Washington State receiving $3 million.

7. The White House announced that Mississippi state conservationist, Homer Lee Wilkes, a 28-year veteran of the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service, is being nominated as the new secretary of Agriculture for natural resources and environment:


May 6th

1. On a 91-5 vote, and in an attempt to curb home foreclosures, the Senate voted to make it easier for homeowners with risky credit to switch to a lower-cost mortgage backed by the government:

a. The bill would also give banks a break by encouraging reduced fees that most pay for the government to insure deposits;

b. While both steps put taxpayer money on the line, lawmakers say the legislation is needed to keep the economy from getting worse;

c. Absent from the bill is a bankruptcy provision that President Obama had promised to push through Congress, but backed down from amid stiff opposition from banks:

2. The House agreed to a Senate-passed bill that would hire hundreds more FBI agents and prosecutors to investigate mortgage fraud and would establish a $5 million independent commission to investigate the cause of the financial crisis and chart a path forward.

3. Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services secretary, rejected the idea of the government taking over the nation’s medical insurance program, saying that the Obama administration does not want to assume management of healthcare coverage:

4. Roughly 80% of the 547 projects funded by the state’s $175 million stimulus package have started putting people to work, and several other projects will get underway before June, according to testimony from the heads of several state agencies.

5. The president asked Congress to eliminate or trim 121 federal programs for a savings of $17 billion (about one-half of one percent of spending) in the coming budget year:

a. Obama’s allies in Congress have already rejected many of the proposed cuts, including some programs that President Bush sought to end;

b. Proposed cuts in the 2010 budget include:


May 7th

1. The Roseburg District of the federal Bureau of Land Management will receive $4.1 million in funding from the federal stimulus program:

a. The local projects are expected to provide jobs for 50-60 people, and the work will take between 12 to 18 months to complete:

b. Altogether, $32.4 million has been allocated for projects within Oregon, part of the $305 million provided to fund more than 650 projects across the country;

c. Besides the money for the Roseburg District, other projects will benefit Douglas County through money provided to other districts, such as the Coos Bay maintenance project at Loon Lake.

2. New applications for jobless benefits plunged to the lowest level in 14 weeks, a possible sign that the massive wave of layoffs has peaked, but the number of unemployed workers getting benefits climbed to a new record:

3. Republicans ramped up opposition to President Obama’s plan to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, even as Attorney General Eric Holder sought to reassure senators that the U.S. would not release anyone it considers a terrorist:

4. Federal regulators released the final results of the banks’ stress tests and ordered 10 of the 19 largest banks to raise a total of $75 billion in new capital to insure their survival should the economic downturn worsen:


May 8th

1. The president outlined steps to help the unemployed pursue education and training and still keep their unemployment benefits, and he has directed Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to implement the following changes:

a. The Labor Department will encourage states to update rules during economic downturns so that the unemployed can enroll in community colleges or training programs without giving up their benefits, using school attendance to satisfy the requirement that they be actively seeking new employment;

b. The Education Department will encourage colleges to increase financial aid packages for the unemployed;

c. Beginning in July, the maximum Pell Grant will be boosted by $500 to $5,350, and an unemployed person could get and use a Pell Grant to pay for education or job training without giving up unemployment benefits.

2. The pace of layoffs slowed in April when employers cut 539,000 jobs—the fewest in six months—but the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9%, the highest since late 1983, as many businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic uncertainties:

3. North Korea vowed to bolster its atomic arsenal in response to what it called Washington’s “persistent hostile policy,” even as a special envoy for President Obama traveled to the region in a bid to draw Pyongyang back to nuclear negotiations:

4. Fannie Mae said that it needs $19 billion in federal government aid as job losses grow and risky loans made during the housing boom go bad:

a. The mortgage finance company, which got a $15 billion government bailout in March, warned in a regulatory filing that it may need even more money and won’t be profitable for the foreseeable future;

b. Fannie Mae posted a quarterly loss of $23.2 billion ($4.09 per share), up from $2.5 billion ($2.57 per share) a year ago, and the Obama administration estimates the taxpayer bill for Fannie and Freddie will hit $147 billion by the end of September 2010.




WEEK SEVENTEEN



May 11th

1. President Obama brought leaders of the health care industry to the White House to build momentum for his health care agenda:

a. The president called it “a historic day, a watershed event,” because doctors, hospitals, drug companies, and insurance companies voluntarily offered $2 trillion in cost reductions over ten years, and he said that the savings “will help us to take the next and most important step—comprehensive health care reform;”

b. If history is a guide, their commitments may not produce the promised savings, and their proposals (none of which are enforceable) are vague—promising, for example, to reduce both “over use and under use of health care;”

c. None of the savings are guaranteed, and without such a guarantee, budget rules would normally prevent Congress from using the savings to pay for new initiatives to cover the uninsured, but the event was still significant—providing Obama with the opportunity to showcase his consensus-building approach.

2. The government will have to borrow nearly 50 cents of every dollar it spends this year, exploding the record federal deficit past $1.8 trillion under new White House estimates:

a. Budget office figures were released that would add $89 billion to the 2009 red ink, increasing it to more than four times last year’s all-time high;

b. The deficit figures flow from the deep recession, the Wall Street bailout, and the cost of the president’s economic stimulus bill, as well as seemingly embedded structural imbalances between what the government spends and what it takes in.

3. The EPA issued a final rule banning the use of the pesticide carbofuran on food crops, saying that it poses an unacceptable health risk, especially to children:

4. Defense Secretary Gates forced Army General David McKiernan to step down—a rare move against a top commander of a theater of war:

a. Army Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, who commanded special operations forces in Iraq, will replace him;

b. The move was supported by Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and followed criticism of McKiernan among military officials who have said that he has not moved aggressively enough to overhaul U.S. strategy in Afghanistan as Taliban groups and extremists gain an expanding hold.

5. An American journalist, imprisoned for four months on espionage charges in Iran, was freed and reunited with her parents—a move that clears a major obstacle to the president’s attempts at dialogue with the top U.S. adversary in the Middle East:

6. The Obama administration warned corporate America that the government would more aggressively investigate big firms that hurt smaller competitors, contending that tax enforcement by the Bush administration contributed to the current economic troubles:


May 12th

1. The Commerce Department said that the U.S. trade deficit widened to $27.6 billion in March, slightly lower than the $29 billion gap that economists had forecast:

2. A report issued by the trustees who monitor the government’s two main forms of help for the older population says that Medicare has become more fragile and is at greater risk than Social Security of imminent fiscal collapse:

3. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said that it needs $6.1 billion in additional government aid as the cost to taxpayers from the housing market bust keeps rising:

a. Freddie Mac, seized by federal regulators in September, posted a loss of $9.9 billion ($3.14 per share) for the quarter ending March 31st, and this request for federal aid is its third since the takeover—for a total of about $51 billion;

b. Sibling company Fannie Mae requested $19 billion in additional government aid last week, bringing the total for both companies up to $85 billion.

4. The Senate backed an amendment that would allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges:

a. The amendment would allow firearms in parks and wildlife refuges as long as they are allowed by federal, state, and local law;

b. Twenty-seven Democrats joined 39 Republicans and one Independent (final count: 67-29) in supporting the amendment, which was attached to a bill imposing restrictions on credit-card companies.


May 13th

1. President Obama said that he would fight to prevent the release of photographs documenting abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan by U.S. military personnel, reversing his position after commanders warned that the images could spark a deadly backlash against U.S. troops:

2. The Commerce Department said that retail sales declined for a second straight month in April, dashing hopes that consumer spending was starting to revive and would help end the recession:

3. The Obama administration is asking Congress to extend its oversight of the financial system to include the shadowy market of derivatives—the kind of complex financial instruments that helped catapult the world into an economic crisis:


May 13th

1. The Obama administration expanded its $50 billion mortgage aid program, announcing new measures that would help homeowners avoid a foreclosure if they do not qualify for other assistance:

2. Wholesale prices rose more than expected in April as the biggest jump in food costs in more than a year offset a second monthly decline in the price of energy products:

3. New jobless claims rose more than expected last week due to an increase in layoffs by the auto industry, while the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits set a record for the 15th straight week:


May 14th

1. The president called on Congress to send him a bill by Memorial Day that would curb what he described as abusive credit-card practices in which lenders raised interest rates and slapped customers with high fees:

2. The House delivered a big victory to President Obama, approving a bill to provide $97 billion for major national security initiatives, including U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan:

a. The bill passed 368-60 in a display of bipartisanship rarely seen as current Republican representatives seldom find common ground with the new president;

b. Opponents of the bill included 51 members of Obama’s party, a sign of the growing nervousness among Democrats on the left about his decision to step up operations in Afghanistan and to increase aid to Pakistan without strict preconditions;

c. All Oregon representatives, including Walden (Oregon’s lone Republican), voted in favor of the bill.

3. Attorney General Holder promised that the Obama administration would not jeopardize America’s safety by releasing dangerous Guantanamo prisoners into their communities:


May 15th

1. President Obama announced that he has selected Dr. Thomas Frieden, who has served as New York City’s health commissioner for the past seven years, to head the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

2. The president said that he would reform and restart the military tribunals he once reviled for Guantanamo Bay detainees, jeopardizing his timetable for closing the prison by January and dismaying many supporters who have suggested he is going back on his campaign promises:

a. After the detainees are given stronger legal protection, such as a ban on evidence obtained under cruel duress, trials of 13 defendants in nine cases will be started no sooner than September;

b. The rest of the 241 detainees would be released, transferred to other countries, tried in civilian U.S. federal courts, or, potentially, held indefinitely as prisoners of war with full Geneva Convention rights.

3. Further evidence emerged that the recession is easing, with output by the nation’s factories, mines, and utilities falling at the slowest pace in six months:

4. The federal government has agreed to extend billions in bailout funds to six major life insurers, helping them shore up their capital positions in the wake of major investment losses:


WEEK EIGHTEEN



May 18th

1. President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined the shared goals of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and of achieving a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians:

a. Obama has endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the best way to establish peace between Israel and other Arab nations, only two of which recognize the Jewish state;

b. But Netanyahu declined to endorse Obama’s call for a two-state solution, and he said that his interest in checking Iran’s nuclear ambition is far greater than his desire to revive dormant peace negotiations with a divided Palestinian leadership.

2. The Pentagon said that it no longer includes a Bible quote on the cover page of daily intelligence briefings it sends to the White House, as was its practice during the Bush administration:

a. The Pentagon spokesman said that he did not know for how long the Worldwide Intelligence Office cover sheets had quoted from the Bible, but for a period in 2003, at least, the daily reports prepared for President Bush carried quotes from the books of Psalms and Ephesians and from the epistles of Peter;

b. The Bible quotes apparently were intended to support Bush when soldiers’ deaths in Iraq were on the rise, according to the June issue of GQ magazine, but they offended at least one Muslim analyst at the Pentagon and they worried other employees who thought that the passages were inappropriate.

3. The Justice Department accused Wyeth, one of the nation’s biggest drug makers, of cheating Medicaid programs out of hundreds of millions of dollars by overcharging for a stomach-acid drug:

4. The House passed legislation that would give the federal government strong new tools to pursue financial fraud, clearing it for the president to sign into law:

a. The bill, which the Obama administration strongly supports, would also create a 10-member committee to study the causes of last year’s financial meltdown;

b. The House passed the bill 338-52, and the Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure last month.


May 19th

1. President Obama outlined the nation’s first comprehensive effort to curb vehicle emissions while cutting dependence on imported oil, calling the plan a historic turning point toward a clean-energy economy:

a. Joined in the Rose Garden by leaders of the auto industry, labor, government officials, and key national and state political leaders, Obama said the agreement was a “harbinger of a change in the way business is done in Washington;”

b. Obama said the new rules amounted to removing 177 million cars from the roads over the next 6½ years and that during that period, the savings in oil burned to fuel American cars, trucks, and buses would amount to last year’s combined U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Libya, and Nigeria.

2. The Senate voted to prohibit credit-card companies from arbitrarily raising a person’s interest rate and charging many of the exorbitant fees that have become customary:

a. The overwhelming bipartisan vote was 90-5, and with the House on track to endorse the measure by week’s end, the president could see a bill on his desk by the end of the week;

b. If enacted into law as expected, the credit-card industry would have nine months to change the way it does business:

3. President Obama’s allies in the Senate said that they would refuse to finance the move to close Guantanamo Bay until the administration delivers a satisfactory plan for what to do with the detainees there:

a. The Senate move matches steps taken by the House and threatens to paralyze the Obama administration’s entire plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January;

b. Sen. Durbin of Illinois said that the plan is not dead—only that the funding would have to wait until the administration devised an acceptable plan to handle the closure and transfer the detainees.

4. The Democratic-controlled Congress is moving to restore a Bush administration policy that allowed loaded guns in national parks:

a. The Senate voted (with support from 67 senators—including 27 Democrats) to allow guns in national parks and wildlife refuges, and the House could follow suit as soon as May 20th;

b. The measure is included in a popular bill imposing new restrictions on credit-card companies, and Democratic leaders have said that they hope to send a final version to the White House for the president’s signature by week’s end.

5. A Pentagon spokesman said that they have no plans to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gay troops:

6. The U.S. pledged an additional $110 million in aid to Pakistan, reflecting the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Swat Valley and what the administration says is its growing confidence in Pakistan’s efforts to combat the Taliban:

7. Congress sent the president legislation that encourages banks to spare homeowners from foreclosure after the industry helped scuttle a tougher measure that would have forced lenders to reduce monthly payments of owners in bankruptcy:


May 20th

Bank stocks led the stock market lower after the Federal Reserve cut its economic forecast and said that unemployment could get worse:

a. The Fed’s prediction that the jobless rate could approach 9.6%—worse than its previous forecast of 8.8 %—was especially ominous for banks since that data is a component of the government’s recent “stress tests” designed to determine how healthy banks are;

b. Fed Chairman Bernanke and his colleagues continue to believe that business sales and factory production will begin to recover gradually during the second half of this year as Obama’s stimulus package and the Fed’s aggressive efforts to lift the country out of recession take hold.


May 21st

1. President Obama said that some of the terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay would be brought to prisons in the U.S. despite fierce opposition in Congress, and he promised to work with lawmakers to develop a system for imprisoning detainees who cannot be tried and cannot be turned loose:

2. The Labor Department said that initial claims for jobless benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 631,000, down from a revised figure of 643,000 the previous week:

a. Many economists said that while layoffs are probably still declining, they might not be doing so as fast as had been hoped;

b. The number of people continuing to claim unemployment insurance rose to nearly 6.7 million from about 6.6 million, the department said, and that is the highest total on records dating to 1967 and the 16th straight record.

3. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a study of stored blood samples found that one-third of people older than 60 have antibodies that might protect them from infection with the swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus, a finding that may prove useful if a vaccine for the new flu strain becomes available:

4. Oregon Attorney General John Kroger announced that the Oregon Department of Justice has been awarded a $1.9 million grant from the Federal Office on Violence Against Women:

5. The Treasury Department said that it is providing auto lender GMAC with $7.5 billion in fresh aid to enable it to make new loans for GM and Chrysler vehicles, and the new aid is intended to ease financing and spur sales:

6. The Obama administration is restoring $50 million for a special Pacific salmon fund that pays for habitat restoration and other work in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho:


May 22nd

1. In an indication of how important this bill is to him, the president staged a signing ceremony in the Rose Garden to showcase his signing of the credit-card bill designed to protect debt-ridden consumers from surprise charges:

2. Federal regulators adopted a new system of special fees paid by U.S. financial institutions that will shift more of the burden to bigger banks to help replenish the deposit insurance fund:

3. In a new overture to Cuba, the Obama administration asked them to resume talks on legal immigration of Cubans to the U.S.—such talks were suspended under former President Bush:



WEEK NINETEEN



May 24th

1. In Oregon, one of the biggest recipients of the $787 billion stimulus program has been the Bonneville Power Administration that has gained $3.25 billion in additional borrowing authority in a move welcomed even by those lawmakers who opposed the stimulus bill:

a. The money will go to expand the BPA’s sprawling power-generating network, and supporters say that it will help the nation satisfy its increasing appetite for energy and provide jobs for the hard-hit Northwest;

b. Unlike most stimulus dollars, which add directly to the deficit, the BPA must repay with interest whatever it uses.

2. Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the Pentagon has enough challenges—including two wars—without rushing to overturn the decade-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy:

3. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is getting nearly $2 billion in stimulus money for job-creating projects:

May 26th

1. President Obama chose federal-appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor, a daughter of Puerto Rican parents raised in a Bronx housing project, to become the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:

2. Obama administration officials met with Northwest governors and tribes to discuss salmon recovery:

3. Even with unemployment still rising and home prices slumping, a widely watched barometer of confidence unexpectedly rose to the highest level since September, buoyed by an unexpected surge in the stock market, hopes that the job market might turn around, and the belief that the worst of the recession is behind us.

4. The president announced that he is combining White House staffs dealing with international and homeland security, predicting the change will make Americans safer:


May 27th

1. Like 17 other communities in Oregon, Tri City will receive federal stimulus dollars to improve its water system, and Tri City’s share will be $186,000:

2. A survey released by the National Association for Business Economics concludes that 90% of economists predict the recession will end this year, although the recovery is likely to be bumpy:

3. In a memo, the president ordered national security advisor James L. Jones to consult relevant agencies and recommend revisions in the existing presidential order on national-security classification that lays out the rules which agencies use to determine whether to stamp documents “confidential”, “secret”, or “top secret”:


May 28th

1. The Obama administration took its first substantive step into the fray of public lands’ logging, giving the head of the Agriculture Department sole say over road-building and timber sales on millions of acres of federal forests:

a. “This interim directive will provide consistency and clarity that will help protect our national forests until a long-term roadless policy reflecting President Obama’s commitment is developed,” said Agriculture Secretary Velsick, whose department oversees the U.S. Forest Service;

b. Velsick also issued a directive, reinstating for one year most of a Clinton-era ban against new construction and development in national forests.

2. President Obama demanded that Israel stop expanding its settlements in the disputed West Bank as a key step toward making peace with its Arab neighbors:

a. Obama made the demand after a White House meeting with Palestinian President Abbas, building on unusually blunt language the day before from Secretary of State Clinton;

b. He also urged the Palestinians to do their part by insuring security in the West Bank and curbing anti-Israel rhetoric in schools;

c. Obama’s meeting with Abbas was part of a growing effort to jump-start Middle East peace negotiations as he prepares for a major speech to the Islamic world that he’ll deliver in Cairo on June 4th.

3. In a plea to political supporters to pressure lawmakers to act, President Obama warned that if Congress doesn’t deliver healthcare legislation by the end of the year, the opportunity will be lost:

4. By offering a sweetened deal to holders of $27 billion of GM bonds, the automaker and the Obama administration are trying to follow Chrysler’s path to a quick exit from bankruptcy:


May 29th

The Obama administration insists it has no obligation to provide access to a top-secret document in a wire-tapping case, setting up a showdown next week with a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco who ordered it released:



WEEK TWENTY



May 31st

U.S. officials said that Cuba has agreed to restart talks with the

U.S. on immigration and has signaled its willingness to cooperate on issues including terrorism, drug trafficking, and even mail service—a sign that the island’s communist government is warming to President Obama’s call for a new relationship after decades of tension:


June 1st

1. General Motors, the auto giant that has been part of American life for more than 100 years, filed for bankruptcy protection in a deal that will give taxpayers a 60% ownership stake and expand the government’s reach into big business:

a. The purpose of the bankruptcy is to restructure the automaker, so that GM emerges from the process smaller—with fewer brands and less debt—but also more viable;

b. The U.S. will invest another $30 billion during and after the bankruptcy process, bringing the government’s commitment to $50 billion, and the money would come from what remains of the $700 billion rescue fund for the financial sector.

2. The president’s chief economic advisor said that slowing the growth in healthcare spending from 6% a year to 4.5% would have enormous benefits for the economy, creating as many as 500,000 jobs a year and increasing annual income for the average family of four by $2,600 over the next decade:

3. Fresh signs emerged that the recession is letting up as manufacturing’s slide slows, builders boost spending on construction projects, and consumers cut back less than some had feared:

4. Treasury Secretary Geithner arrived in China this week seeking to reassure America’s biggest creditor that its hundreds of billions of dollars of holdings in U.S. government debt remains safe:


June 2nd

1. President Obama nominated Rep. John McHugh, a 9-term Republican congressman and the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, as secretary of the Army:

2. Lt. Gen. McChrystal, President Obama’s choice to lead the war in Afghanistan, said that violence and combat deaths will intensify as more U.S. troops surge into Taliban-held areas, but he promised that if confirmed, he would execute a strategy in which killing insurgents would be subordinate to safeguarding Afghan civilians.

3. Senators who met with the president said that Obama is leaving the door open to taxing healthcare benefits, something he campaigned against while running for president:

4. Moody’s Economy.com predicts that Oregon, Washington, and three other states will lead the nation out of recession as Northwest job growth resumes toward the end of this year:

5. The National Association of Realtors reported that the number of U.S. home buyers who agreed to buy a previously occupied home took the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years in April, but there are still plenty of danger signs for the U.S. housing market:

6. Treasury Secretary Geithner said that the global economy is showing “early signs of stabilization” due to action by the U.S. and China to end the worst slump in decades:

7. The Oregon Health Network, a non-profit that aims to link hospitals, clinics, and colleges throughout the state so people can get high-quality healthcare wherever they live, has received more than $20 million in federal funds to set up a communications network to offer healthcare to people in rural areas:

8. National forest roads and bridges in 31 states will get long-needed repairs under an economic stimulus spending plan announced by the Obama administration:

a. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack said that $228 million in economic stimulus money would be used for road maintenance and decommissioning and for watershed restoration in dozens of national forests.

b. A total of 106 projects in 31 states will be paid for as the $1.15 billion in economic stimulus funding is awarded to the Forest Service, and Oregon will receive $32 million for 11 projects.


June 3rd

1. President Obama began his latest bid to open a dialogue with the Muslim world by seeking the counsel of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s two holiest sites—Mecca and Medina:

2. In a letter to two senators leading the healthcare debate, President Obama provided the first real details on how he wants to reshape the nation’s healthcare system, urging Congress toward a sweeping overhaul that would allow Americans to buy into a government insurance plan:

3. A rule limiting access to lawyers for immigrants facing deportation has been tossed out by the Obama administration:

4. According to U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke, President Obama has asked Congress for an additional $200 million in emergency aid for three million Pakistanis displaced by their government’s ongoing military offensive against Taliban extremists:

5. A pair of economic reports indicated only slight improvement in the service and manufacturing sectors, suggesting that any economic recovery will be gradual:


June 4th

1. Speaking from Cairo University and quoting from the Quran for emphasis, the president called for a “new beginning between the U.S. and Muslims,” and he said that, together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East:

2. Oakland city officials got word from the state that the small city had been awarded $94,000 in federal stimulus money:

3. Congressional Democrats are using an approximately $100 billion war-funding bill to give recently expanded G.I. Bill educational benefits to the children of military service members who died while on active duty:

4. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which had expected a 2% decline, sales at the nation’s major retailers fell 4.6% in May compared with the same period last year:

5. The government said that the number of people on the unemployment insurance rolls fell slightly for the first time in 20 weeks, and the tally of new jobless claims also dipped:


June 5th

1. The president toured Buchenwald, a World War II concentration camp, after prodding the international community to redouble efforts toward separate Israeli and Palestinian states in hopes of resolving a conflict fueled by the Jewish nation’s post-Holocaust creation:

2. South Carolina’s Supreme Court ordered Governor Mark Sanford to request $700 million in federal stimulus money aimed primarily at struggling schools, ending months of wrangling with legislators who accused him of playing politics with people’s lives:

3. Obama officials said that they would devote more resources to fighting Mexican drug cartels and using new technology to thwart them while trying to quell the U.S. demand for drugs:

4. For the first time since World War II, Americans are spending fewer dollars than they spent a year earlier:

5. Vice President Biden said that the administration would “ramp up” recovery efforts over the next several months, and his comments came just hours after the government announced that the unemployment rate for May was 9.4%—the highest in more than a quarter-century:


June 6th

1. The terminal for the last remaining ferry on the lower Columbia River will get $590,000 in federal stimulus money for repairs:

2. The president promised a new and stronger response to North Korea, saying that while he prefers diplomacy, he is now taking a “very hard look” at tougher measures, but a Pentagon official said that no military moves were planned:

3. President Obama said that he is not responsible for how other countries defend religious freedoms, but he added that the U.S. would not ever tell people what they could wear to express their faith:

4. Administration officials said that the White House is prepared to get louder and more involved in a healthcare overhaul—details that officials once were content to leave to Congress:



WEEK TWENTY-ONE

June 7th

After coming under stiff U.S. pressure to freeze West Bank settlement construction and endorse Palestinian statehood, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would soon deliver a major policy address laying out his proposed road to Mid-East peace:


June 8th

1. Oregon’s busiest road-construction session in 50 years will be fueled by federal stimulus money and the Oregon Transportation Investment Act, a series of funding packages that raised $2.96 billion for highway and bridge construction work:

2. The Umpqua National Forest will receive another financial boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

a. According to a news release, the forest will receive $2 million to build a new bridge, restore fisheries habitat, and maintain and repair roads;

b. The work will create jobs, enhance fish passage, improve water quality, and restore the spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead.

3. The president promised to spend federal money on hundreds of public-works projects this summer, vowing that 600,000 jobs will be created or saved:

4. North Korea convicted two journalists of committing a “grave crime” against North Korea and of illegally entering the country, and the Central Court in Pyongyang sentenced each of them to 12 years of hard labor:

5. In a 5-4 decision (Scalia and Roberts dissented), the Supreme Court put elected judges on notice that they must step aside from deciding cases involving big-money donors who helped them win their jobs:

6. A senior Obama administration official said that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson—who helped to win the release of Americans from North Korea in the 1990’s—and former Vice President Al Gore had been in touch with the White House about potential next steps to negotiate the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the two American journalists sentenced to 12 years hard labor in North Korea:

7. University of Oregon economist Tim Duy said that the University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators arrested its general decline for the first time since early 2008, rising by 0.3 percentage points:

* The gain resulted from increased Oregon tracking activity, a drop in the state’s initial unemployment claims, improvements in U.S. consumer confidence, and the interest-rate spread, but Duy said that while economic deterioration is slowing, there is no sign the state has hit bottom in anticipation of a turn-around, and he expects Oregon to remain mired in recession over the next term of three to six months.


June 9th

1. The House approved a “cash for clunkers” bill that aims to boost new auto sales by allowing consumers to turn in their gas-guzzling cars and trucks for vouchers worth up to $4,500 toward more fuel-efficient vehicles:

2. According to the Homeland Security Department, surviving immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens who die before they are married two years will get a break from deportation:

3. Seeking to calm a public spat with Israel, U.S. envoy George Mitchell assured its leaders that U.S. support for the Jewish state is “unshakable,” but he said that the Obama administration stands by a goal the new Israeli government has yet to embrace: an independent Palestinian state:

4. The Treasury Department said that ten of the nation’s largest bank-holding companies have gotten the okay to repay the federal government a combined $68 billion in taxpayer bailout money:


June 10th

1. Italy’s Fiat is the new owner of most of Chrysler’s assets, closing a deal that saves the troubled automaker from liquidation and clears the way for a new, leaner Chrysler Group LLC to emerge from bankruptcy protection minus billions in debt, 789 under-performing dealerships, and burdensome labor costs that nearly sank the automaker:

a. The new company will focus on smaller vehicles--areas in which Chrysler was weak—and while Fiat won’t put any money into the deal, it will give Chrysler billions of dollars worth of small car and engine technology;

b. The sale to Fiat SpA marks a victory for the Obama administration, which shepherded Chrysler into Chapter 11 protection on April 30th with the hope that the company would emerge in a matter of months with a new partner.

2. A judge ruled that federal agencies violated the Endangered Species Act by developing plans for national forests in California without adequately addressing the impact on endangered animals:

3. President Obama says that he will nominate Joan Evans, long-time chief of staff to former Oregon Congresswoman Darlene Hooley, as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs:

4. Western powers joined with North Korea’s key allies on a proposal that would impose tough new sanctions against the communist nation for its second nuclear test, paving the way for approval by the U.N. Security Council as early as June 12th”

5. The Obama administration rejected direct intervention in corporate pay decisions, even as officials argued that excessive compensation in the private sector contributed to the nation’s financial crisis:

6. The Federal Reserve reported that five of the Fed’s 12 regions had halted “the downward trend and are showing signs of moderating,” suggesting that the worst of the recession has passed:


June 11th

1. The number of newly laid-off Americans filing jobless claims fell more than expected last week, and retail sales grew in May for the first time in three months, but a rise in the number of people continuing to receive jobless aid signaled that an economic recovery is still far off.

2. The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes fell in May from April, and the annual increase was the smallest in three years:

3. The Senate overwhelmingly approved landmark legislation that would, for the first time, give government far-reaching power to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products:

4. President Obama, taking his case for a healthcare overhaul directly to the American people, defended his call for a government-sponsored health plan to compete with private insurers, saying that a “public option”—which is generating increasing skepticism on Capitol Hill—is necessary to spur competition in the marketplace:

5. Four Chinese Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay prison were freed and resettled in Bermuda, sparking complaints from China and Britain even as the Obama administration tried to iron out details for sending detainees to the Pacific Island of Palau:


June 12th

1. The Marine Corps commandant says that all but a few dozen of the 16,000 Marines now in Iraq will be out by next spring, putting a solid end date on a long-anticipated exit for the corps:

a. Gen. James T. Conway told a National Press Group audience that he sees the number of Marines in Iraq going down to essentially zero, and the only exception will be about 30 Marines who will be working with Iraq’s own fledgling Marine Corps securing oil platforms in the south around Basra;

b. All U.S. combat troops are scheduled to be out of Iraq cities by the end of this month and out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

2. The Obama administration said that it is prepared to confront ships believed to be carrying contraband material to North Korea but will not try to forcibly board them, in accordance with U.N. sanctions, and White House officials said that they expect North Korea to act “irresponsibly” to the sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council in response to the communist nation’s recent nuclear tests:


June 13th

1. For the first time since man walked on the moon four decades ago, an American president has ordered a top-to-bottom review of the space program’s future: at stake is whether the U.S. can afford to return an astronaut to the moon or to send humans toward Mars:

a. With retirement of the space shuttle scheduled for next year, and new leadership poised to take command of NASA, the next few months are pivotal to jobs of space center employees and NASA contractors;

b. The White House review panel is holding its first public hearing in Washington June 17th, and the panel’s recommendations are due at the White House by late August.

2. When the national scenic trails system was created four decades ago, the goal was to build a walking path across the U.S., and that goal came closer to reality in March, when the president signed a bill creating the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail and two others—the first such trails designated in 26 years:

a. The trail will eventually run from Glacier National Park in Montana to the Pacific Ocean at Cape Alava in Washington, and the federal designation means money will be provided to connect all portions of the trail, build bridges and other improvements, and erect signs and access points;

b. The U.S. Forest Service will manage the trail which passes through three national parks—Glacier, Northern Cascades, and Olympic—and seven national forests, and it is the only scenic trail that connects to others: the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail.

3. President Obama said that he wants to help pay for his healthcare overhaul by slowing Medicare and Medicaid spending, but hospitals, medical technicians, and others are resisting:

4. The Obama administration has begun shipping newly cleared Guantanamo Bay inmates abroad, including three sent at week’s end to Saudi Arabia, to regain momentum in its efforts to close the prison camp at the U.S. naval base in Cuba:

a. The White House said that the administration has not abandoned the possibility of releasing detainees in the U.S., but added that national security considerations would govern any moves;

b. Nine detainees have been transferred, under high security, to foreign nations over the past week, and one has been sent to the U.S. to face trial.




WEEK TWENTY-TWO



June 14th

1. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is offering cash incentives to achieve one of his priorities: developing national standards for reading and math to replace a current hodgepodge of benchmarks for states:

a. Duncan said that the efforts of 46 states to develop common, internationally-measured standards for student achievement would be bolstered by up to $350 million in federal funds to help them develop tests to assess those standards;

b. Education decisions are controlled by the states, and the federal government cannot mandate national standards—which makes for wide variation from state to state—so it will be up to the states to adopt new standards, but Duncan is using his “bully pulpit” and Washington’s checkbook to push the effort.

2. With Republicans fighting the idea of a government-run health insurance plan, Obama administration officials said that they are open to a compromise: a cooperative program that would expand coverage with taxpayer money but without direct government control:

3. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed a Palestinian state for the first time, reversing himself in the face of U.S. pressure but attaching conditions such as demilitarization that the Palestinians swiftly rejected:

4. On the eve of his visit to the U.S., South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak ordered his top security officials to deal “resolutely and squarely” with new North Korean warnings of nuclear war:

a. The trip comes after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry threatened war with any country that stops its ships on the high seas under new sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council in response to North Korea’s May 25th nuclear test;

b. North Korea vowed on June 13th to “weaponize” all its plutonium and acknowledged for the first time a long-suspected uranium enrichment program.

5. The crackdown on dissent following the disputed elections in Iran makes it tougher for the Obama administration to use diplomacy as the best way to end that country’s nuclear weapons’ program, but the charges of vote fraud and the battles between police and opposition protesters appear to be major setbacks for the new administration’s policy:


June 15th

1. President Obama pushed hard for a healthcare overhaul, saying the system is “a ticking time bomb” for the budget that could force America to “go the way of General Motors” without a legislative fix:

2. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has started expanding the number of non-disabled moderate-income veterans eligible for healthcare in its system:

3. U.S. General Stanley McChrystal formally assumed command of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, taking charge at one of the most violent junctures of the 8-year-old war:

4. Aiming for greater limits and more clarity in the nation’s financial system, the Obama administration proposed adding muscle to the Federal Reserve and new restrictions on complex securities whose collapse choked lending and hit millions of American households:

5. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said that Douglas County would be able to tap into $7 million in borrowing authority to pay for road, bridge, water, school, and transit projects:

6. President Obama will have an American Indian advisor in the White House to counsel him on tribal issues—a new post he promised while campaigning on Indian reservations last year:

7. The Senate wants to replace a Bush administration program for secure drivers’ licenses with a plan that would cost states less money:


June 16th

1. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius said that the insurance lobby won’t be able to block a public health plan because most Americans realize they would be better off if the industry had competition:

2. A divided House of Representatives approved, 226-202 (all Oregon representatives except Walden-R voted “yes”), a $105.9 billion emergency spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to help curb flu outbreaks:

3. Scientists behind the Obama administration’s first climate-change report said that global warming is unequivocal and has cut crucial snow pack in the northwest, and global warming has reduced Arctic sea ice and boosted Midwest heat waves:

4. The nation’s largest banks expect the economy to recover from its deep slump by late summer but remain weak until next year:

5. The Obama administration has asked Congress to repeal the widely ignored cell-phone tax:


June 17th

1. President Obama proposed sweeping new “rules of the road” for the nation’s financial system, casting the changes as a critically important response to the economic crisis and the greatest regulatory transformation since the Great Depression:

2. According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, a substantial number of Americans say that President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit, and support for his plans to overhaul healthcare, rescue the auto industry, and close the prison at Guantanamo Bay falls well below his job approval ratings:

3. Iran accused the U.S. of “intolerable meddling” in its internal affairs, alleging for the first time that Washington has fueled a bitter post-election dispute, and they summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents U.S. interests in Iran, to complain about American interference:

4. According to a release of government data, consumer prices rose less than expected in May, and they posted the steepest annual drop in 59 years, fresh evidence that the recession is keeping inflation in check:

5. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that the marbled murrelet in Washington, Oregon, and California should remain protected as a threatened species:

6. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the Obama administration will pursue talks with Iran on nuclear and other issues regardless of who emerges as president in the aftermath of Iran’s disputed election:



June 18th

1. The government said that the total number of people on the unemployment insurance rolls dropped for the first time since early January, while new claims for benefits rose slightly:

2. Reacting to reports that North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a missile toward Hawaii, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that he had ordered additional missile defenses deployed to shore up defense of the islands:

3. After Senate Democrats defeated a Republican effort to kill the plan, Congress approved a “cash for clunkers” program to provide government incentives of up to $4,500 to motorists who trade in their gas-guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles:

a. Senators from auto-industry states said that the program would help hard-pressed car dealers and automakers by bringing buyers into showrooms, and they got help from President Obama and Vice President Biden, who made calls to wavering Democrats, urging them to keep the plan alive;

b. The House approved the bill last week, and Senate Democrats attached it to the war-spending bill, and the overall bill now goes to the president for signature;

c. Four Republicans—Kit Bond (MO), Thad Cochran (MS), Susan Collins (ME), and George Voinovich (OH)—voted with two Independents and 54 Democrats in favor of the measure while Ben Nelson (NE) was the only Democrat—along with 35 Republicans—to oppose the bill.

4. Congress sent the president a massive spending bill aimed at insuring that the military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan do not run out of money in the coming months, and the $106 billion emergency war bill also branches out to provide money for programs ranging from pandemic flu preparedness to a “cash for clunkers” initiative:

a. The Senate passed the bill—passed by the House June 17th by a 226-202 vote—on a 91-5 vote despite complaints from several senators about the add-ons that pushed the total more than $20 billion above the funding request Obama made two months ago;

b. Voting against the bill were Senators Tom Coburn (R-SC), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Bernard Sanders (I-VT).


June 19th

1. The Labor Department reported that 48 states—all except Nebraska and Maine—and the District of Columbia saw employment conditions deteriorate last month, and the unemployment rate in the West jumped over 10%—the first time that threshold has been broken in about 25 years:

2. The president devoted much of his afternoon to emphasizing the importance of mentors and father figures for young people and to prodding young men to be better parents:

3. Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma questioned the validity of five of Oregon’s federal stimulus projects, but President Obama’s staff came to the rescue, issuing a rebuttal to Coburn’s report that highlights 100 questionable projects nationwide:

4. For a third month, Oregon registered the nation’s second highest jobless rate at 12.4% in May—behind only Michigan:

5. A group of GM’s bond holders and some of the automaker’s labor unions filed objections to GM’s plan to sell its assets to a new company that can emerge from bankruptcy protection:

6. The military said that a new anti-missile system ordered for Hawaii is partly a strategy to deter North Korea from test-firing a long-range missile across the Pacific and partly a precaution against the unpredictable regime:


June 20th

1. The pharmaceutical industry agreed to spend $80 billion over the next decade improving drug benefits for seniors on Medicare and defraying the cost of the president’s healthcare legislation:

2. In a condemnation of Teheran’s post-election response, President Obama, using the bluntest language yet, challenged Iran’s government to halt a “violent and unjust” crackdown on dissenters:




WEEK TWENTY-THREE



June 22nd

1. According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office review and an interview with one of its authors, The Department of Homeland Security spent three years pushing for a costly nuclear detection system that does not work as billed while neglecting to upgrade existing equipment that could have helped improve security:

2. According to his chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, the new U.S. military commander in Afghanistan will limit the use of air strikes in order to help reduce casualties:

3. A surprisingly bleak forecast by the World Bank about the world economy pushed stocks to their biggest loss in two months:


June 23rd

1. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that she would kill a controversial Bush administration program to expand the use of spy satellites by domestic law enforcement and other agencies:

2. The Obama administration plans to simplify the federal college aid form, which, at 153 questions, drives millions of families to give up before they finish it:

3. President Obama hardened his tone toward Iran, condemning the government for its crackdown against election protesters and accusing Iran’s leaders of fabricating charges against the U.S.:

4. According to two reports, home sales in the western region of the U.S. posted a 0.9% annual increase in May as homeowners jumped on low interest rates and falling prices:

5. Key Democrats reached a deal that its supporters hope will lead to House passage of the biggest environmental bill in decades, one aimed at slowing the gradual, destructive heating of the planet:


June 24th

1. North Korea threatened to wipe the U.S. off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days:

2. Instead of making the dire cuts predicted earlier this year, the Oregon Department of Human Services will be hiring more than 1,100 new workers, an increase of more than ten percent:

3. President Obama intensified his campaign to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system, as polls show Americans wanting change and a divided Congress grappling over what to do:

a. In an unusual, exclusive arrangement with ABC News, Obama taped a healthcare town hall meeting at the White House, and in an interview with ABC earlier in the day, Obama said he “absolutely expects Congress to pass comprehensive healthcare legislation by year’s end;

b. Obama also met at the White House with five governors who were part of a bipartisan group of governors that recently hosted healthcare roundtables around the country;

c. The scope of what Obama, many Democrats, and some Republicans want to do is massive, and lawmakers have various ideas about how to get it done, and the most controversial proposal in the emerging debate is the so-called “public option”, beyond Medicare and Medicaid, as an alternative to private insurance supported by the president.

4. New signals that the recession could be nearing a bottom emerged in figures showing that orders to U.S. factories surged last month for everything from computers to aircraft and a gauge of business investment rose by the most in nearly five years:


June 25th

1. Calling it one of the most crucial issues facing the nation, President Obama met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to jump-start an overhaul of a U.S. immigration system that the president said is “broken and needs fixing:”

2. Senators who are negotiating to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system broke off formal talks until after the Fourth of July, saying they lack consensus on how to pay for the $1 trillion or more that the changes could cost over the next decade:

3. After rejecting criticism that it’s taking on too much, the Obama administration has identified one area where ambitious reforms will have to wait: overhauling the nation’s aging, congested, and carbon-emitting transportation system:

a. The current 6-year transportation spending plan expires in October, and House members have worked for months to produce a new bill that would create a new fund for road repairs, increase funding for rail and public transit, and include reforms meant to wean the country from fossil fuels, but it became clear that the half-trillion dollar question is how to pay for the bill;

b. The 18.4-cent federal gas tax has not been raised since 1993, and revenue from the tax falls increasingly short every year, so the White House and some of its Senate allies are letting it be known that a means of expanding this revenue source is not a discussion they want to have now, in the middle of a recession and as Washington is consumed with battles over healthcare and energy.

4. According to Israeli security officials, Israel has agreed to give the Palestinian security forces more freedom of action in four West Bank cities, a move that implies a reduction in Israeli military activity in those areas as the Western-backed Palestinian forces assert more control, and the Israeli military also recently removed several significant checkpoints inside the West Bank in line with a policy of easing movement and improving daily life for Palestinians so long as calm prevails:

5. Despite persistent layoffs, the economy seems to be faring better than it was at the start of the year: economists generally think the economy is shrinking at a slower pace—about 2 percent—in the current quarter:


June 26th

1. House Democrats narrowly won a key test vote on sweeping legislation designed to combat global warming and usher in a new era of cleaner energy, but Republicans said the bill included the largest tax increase in American history:

a. The vote (219-212, with eight Republicans joining 211 Democrats in favor, and 44 Democrats joining 168 Republicans in opposition) established a marker for the U.S. when international negotiations on a new climate-change treaty begin later this year—the president has made the measure a top priority of his first year in office;

b. Three Oregon representatives voted “yes”, but Walden (R) and De Fazio (D) voted “no”:

2. Households pushed their savings rate to the highest level in more than 15 years in May as a big boost in incomes from the government’s stimulus program was devoted more to bolstering nest eggs than increased spending, and while a higher savings rate is healthy in the long run, economists said, without vigorous consumer spending, the government may have to do more to revive the economy:

a. The Commerce Department said that consumer spending rose 0.3% in May, in line with expectations, but incomes jumped 1.4%—the biggest gain in a year and easily outpacing the 0.3% increase that economists expected;

b. The government reported that the overall economy, as measured by the gross national product, shrank at an annual rate of 5.5% in the January-March quarter, slightly less severe than the 5.7% decline estimated a month ago.

3. The president acknowledged his hopes for a direct U.S.-Iran dialogue, one of his signature foreign policy initiatives, have been dashed for now by the Iranian government’s violent quashing of protests over the disputed June 12th election:

4. The U.S. Department of Energy announced $16.8 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Oregon:


June 27th

1. Federal stimulus money has provided a big boost for roadwork in Corvallis, where officials expect one of the busiest seasons in city history:

2. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed to make the U.S. regret its criticism of Iran’s post election crackdown and said the “mask has been removed” from the Obama administration’s efforts improve relations:

3. Hailing the House, President Obama put pressure on senators to follow its lead and pass legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions, helping the U.S. usher in a new age of energy efficiency:



WEEK TWENTY-FOUR



June 29th

1. President Obama praised the energy bill that passed the House late last week as an “extraordinary first step”, but he spoke out against a provision that would impose trade penalties on countries that do not accept limits on global-warming pollution:

2. After nearly seven years of denials, North Korea announced it could enrich uranium—a simpler method of building nuclear weapons than reproducing plutonium:

3. Iraqis danced in the streets and set off fireworks in impromptu celebrations of a pivotal moment in their nation’s troubled history—as of June 30th, this is no longer America’s war:

4. The EPA released a list of 44 coal-fired power plant waste sites in ten states with a high hazard potential, including 12 sites in North Carolina, seven in Kentucky, and a large storage pond in Pennsylvania:

a. The list is the result of an investigation that the EPA ordered after the failure of a Tennessee Valley Authority coal-ash pond in Kingston, Tennessee, flooded more than 300 acres of land in December;

b. Until Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chairman of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, pressed the agency to release the list, saying that the public had a right to know, the EPA had initially refused to disclose the location of the high-hazard sites, saying that they would share the information only with members of Congress and their staff.

5. President Obama said that the military ouster of Honduran president Manual Zelaya was illegal and could set a “terrible precedent”, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. government is holding off on formally branding it a coup, which would trigger a cutoff of millions of dollars in aid to the impoverished Central American country:

a. U.S. officials tried to avert the coup, warning the Honduran military and politicians against suspending democratic order, and the U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, sheltered one of Zelaya’s children to prevent him from being harmed;

b. But the Obama administration has had cool relations with Zelaya, a close ally of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, and although U.S. officials say that they continue to recognize Zelaya as president, they have not indicated that they are willing to use U.S. clout to force his return.


June 30th

1. The Minnesota Supreme Court declared Al Franken the winner of the state’s U.S. Senate race, ending an 8-month election saga and giving the Democrats a 60-seat majority that would, theoretically, allow them to block Republican filibusters:

2. One Rogue River dam, Gold Hill, is gone; another, Savage Rapids, is on its way out; and now federal stimulus money will speed the removal of a third, Gold Ray:

a. The dam project will share in $167 million of spending announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and was among 50 selected from more than 800 applications;

b. According to NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, $5 million would go toward removing the 38-foot-high Gold Ray Dam near Grants Pass, and once that dam comes out, probably in 2010, the Rogue River will run unimpeded for 153 miles for the first time in more than a century.

3. A federal judge struck down the Bush administration’s change to a rule designed to protect the northern spotted owl from logging in national forests:

4. Mounting job losses and other economic realities caught up with Americans in June, pushing down a key barometer of consumer sentiment after a streak of gains built on glimmers of hope:


July 1st

1. During an interview with The Oregonian, President Obama said that despite his agreement with “90 percent” of Sen. Ron Wyden’s thinking on his healthcare plan, parts of the plan are too “radical” for the country:

2. At least 230 recently returned Oregon veterans would receive “green-job” training under a $500,000 grant announced by U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis:

a. The grant will allow a coalition of county and state agencies to provide counseling, training, and employment assistance to help prepare veterans for jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries;

b. The grant will serve Oregon veterans in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, Marion, Yamhill, and Polk counties, and the grant comes one week after Solis announced $500 million in grants for similar jobs elsewhere in the country.


July 2nd

1. Employers cut a larger than expected 467,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate climbed to a 26-year high of 9.5%, while workers saw weekly wages fall, suggesting Americans will have little appetite to spend and the economic road to recovery will be bumpy:

2. Democratic leaders of the Senate Health Committee unveiled a revised plan to provide health coverage to nearly all Americans:

a. The plan would require most employers to offer benefits to their workers or pay fees to the government and would create a public competitor to insurance companies;

b. Attached to the revised outline was a new budget-office analysis projecting that the plan would cost $611 billion over a decade and, together with expected changes from the Finance Committee, cover 97% of Americans.

3. Days from his first Moscow summit, President Obama declared that former Russian President Vladimir Putin “still has a lot of sway” in his nation and needs an in-person reminder the Cold War is over:

4. Banks borrowed less from the Federal Reserve emergency lending facility over the past week and cut back on other programs designed to ease the financial crisis, encouraging signs that some credit stresses are easing:

5. Six Illinois banks and one in Texas were shuttered, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 52—more than double the 25 that failed in all of 2008:


July 3rd

The Obama administration said that it needs two more months to review an internal CIA report on the agency’s secret detention and interrogation program before making it public:


WEEK TWENTY-FIVE



July 5th

In an interview on ABC’s “This Week”, Vice President Biden signaled that the Obama administration would not stand in the way if Israel chose to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, even as the top U.S. military official said any attack on Iran would be destabilizing:

a. Biden’s remarks suggest a tougher U.S. stance against Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but administration officials insisted that Biden’s televised remarks reflected the U.S. view that Israel had a right to defend itself and make its own decisions on security;

b. Biden also said that the U.S. offer to negotiate with Tehran on its nuclear program still stands, although some thought the administration’s approach might change in light of the Iranian government’s harsh crackdown on protestors after the June 12th presidential election.


July 6th

1. President Obama said that he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, with a preliminary agreement to reduce the world’s two largest nuclear stockpiles to as few as 1,500 warheads each, are countering “a sense of drift” in relations between their nations:

2. The federal government issued new rules allowing hundreds of embryonic stem cell lines, the use of which in the U.S. had been effectively curtailed by the Bush administration, to be used to study disorders and develop cures so long as researchers can show that the cells were derived using ethical procedures:


July 7th

1. President Obama asked the Russian people to “forge a lasting partnership” with the U.S., but he acknowledged after talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that on divisive issues, there will not be “a meeting of the minds anytime soon:”

2. Senate Democratic leaders rebelled against a proposed tax on health insurance, raising fresh doubts about the prospects for bipartisan legislation on President Obama’s top domestic priority:

a. The discontent surfaced as the White House and Vice President Biden readied a triumphant announcement for July 8th that the nation’s hospitals had agreed to give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of legislation Obama wants;

b. The pharmaceutical industry agreed to a similar, though smaller, deal last month, and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, would next try to win concessions from the AMA and perhaps other groups representing physicians.

3. Saying that global warming poses unprecedented threats to America’s way of life, four of President Obama’s top environmental and energy officials urged the Senate to pass legislation to reduce the pollution linked to the planet’s rising temperature:


July 8th

1. It cost about $150 and took about four minutes for government investigators, working a sting operation, to make small bombs from materials they carried into high-security federal buildings that house major agencies with national security or law-enforcement responsibilities:

2. The White House confirmed that Dr. Francis S. Collins, the geneticist who discovered the causes of a half-dozen diseases, oversaw the government’s efforts to map the human genome, and wrote a now-famous book presenting scientific evidence for a belief in God, will be nominated to head the National Institutes of Health:

3. As President Obama arrived in L’Aquila, Italy, for three days of talks, negotiators for 17 leading polluters abandoned targets in a draft agreement ahead of meetings here, but negotiators embraced a goal of preventing temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit and developing nations agreed to make “meaningful”, if unspecified, reductions in emissions:

a. The world’s biggest developing nations, led by China and India, refused to commit to specific goals for slashing heat-trapping gases by 2050, undercutting the drive to build a global consensus by the end of the year to reverse the threat of climate change;

b. The mixed results underscored the challenges for Obama as he tries to use his first summit meeting of the Group of Eight powers to force progress toward a climate treaty, and if he cannot ultimately bring along developing countries, no climate deal will be effective.


July 9th

1. The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits last week fell to its lowest level since early January, largely due to changes in the timing of auto industry layoffs, but continuing claims unexpectedly jumped to a record high, showing that while layoffs are slowing, jobs remain scarce and the unemployment rate is rising, which some economists worry could weaken or delay a recovery:

2. The Obama administration warned Americans to be ready for an aggressive return of the swine flu virus in the fall, announcing plans to begin vaccinations in October and offering states and hospitals money to help them prepare:

a. President Obama, by telephone link from Italy to the White House’s H1N1 Influenza Preparedness Summit held at the National Institutes of Health, said that with good planning, “we may end up averting a crisis. That is our fervent hope;”

b. The summit was jointly led by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and it gathered health and school officials from across the country and took questions by video link from the governors of several states;

c. Vaccinations will begin in October only if tests scheduled in August prove the vaccine is safe and effective, and even then, officials do not expect enough doses to be ready, so they will have to decide who is vaccinated first—the most likely candidates, according to Secretary Sebelius, are schoolchildren, healthcare workers, pregnant women, and people with asthma or other conditions that make the flu riskier.

3. After assembling $700 billion to deal with the bad home mortgages that plagued the Bush and Obama administrations, the government is devoting a relatively modest $30 billion to buy troubled mortgage-backed securities, and with that on the back burner, the big threat to the economy is now believed to be troubled credit card, commercial real estate, and commercial industry debt:


July 10th

1. Conservative House Democrats are demanding significant changes before they can support a sweeping healthcare overhaul, forcing the House to join the Senate in delaying action on President Obama’s top domestic priority:

2. A leaner General Motors, making an unusually quick exit from bankruptcy, has ambitious plans to make money and build cars people are eager to buy:

3. Lasting worldwide economic recovery “is still a ways off,” according to President Obama, but he also said, at the conclusion of a global summit, that a disastrous economic collapse has apparently been averted:

4. In May, the U.S. trade deficit fell to the lowest level in more than nine years as exports posted a small gain while the weak American economy pushed imports down for a tenth straight month:

a. The slight rebound in exports, combined with a slower pace of decline in imports, showed that the nosedive in global activity may be starting to ebb, and delayed revivals overseas likely will hinder a rebound in the U.S., but most analysts still expect the American economy to grow a bit later this year;

b. The Commerce Department said that the deficit narrowed to $26 billion, a drop of 9.8% from April and the lowest level since November 1999 (economists expected the deficit to widen to $30.2 billion in May), and so far this year, the deficit is running about half of the $695.9 billion deficit for all of 2008—economists believe that trend will continue as weakness in the U.S. depresses demand for imported goods.

5. A government review, mandated by Congress last year and produced by the inspectors general of five federal agencies, said that the effectiveness of the Bush administration’s program of wiretapping without warrants as a means of fighting terror was unclear:

6. According to government officials and human rights organizations, after a mass killing of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Taliban prisoners of war by the forces of a U.S.-backed warlord during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, Bush administration officials repeatedly discouraged efforts to investigate the episode:

a. Several officials said that U.S. officials had been reluctant to pursue an investigation—sought by officials from the FBI, the State Department, the Red Cross, and human rights groups—because the warlord, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, was on the payroll of the CIA, and his militia worked closely with U.S. Special Forces in 2001;

b. It is not clear how—or whether—the Obama administration will address the issue, but in recent weeks, according to several senior officials, State Department officials have quietly tried to thwart Dostum’s appointment as military chief of staff to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and suggested the administration might not be hostile to an inquiry.


July 12th

1. President Obama said the $787 billion stimulus program must be given a chance to work before consideration is given to a second such jolt for the still ailing economy:

2. According to Jane Lubchenco, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, commercial fishermen struggling from catch restrictions and high fuel prices will get part of a $700,000 federal stimulus grant to retrieve lost crab pots now littering the ocean bottom:

3. Key House Democrats decided to raise taxes on the wealthy to help pay for healthcare legislation, capping an up and down week for the president’s top domestic priority:


WEEK TWENTY-SIX



July 13th

1. According to Chris Shoopman, a UCAN program manager, more homeowners and renters will get help weatherizing their homes thanks to an infusion of federal stimulus money into Douglas County:

a. United Community Action network has been awarded $1.8 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and while the agency has not yet received the money, they are “expecting to get it any day;”

b. The funds will be spent over the next three years on weatherizing homes for low-income people in Douglas and Josephine counties, which are both served by UCAN—the only agency to receive the funding in the two counties.

2. President Obama presented his nominee, Regina Benjamin, for surgeon general during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden:

a. Benjamin, a family physician from Alabama, gained renown for founding the Bayou LaBatre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama in 1990 and rebuilding it after it was repeatedly destroyed in a series of disasters, including Hurricane George in 1998, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a fire after that;

b. Benjamin was also the first African American woman to head the Alabama Medical Association and was associate dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama’s College of Medicine.


July 14th

1. Retail sales advanced in June by the largest amount in five months, led by a surge in gasoline prices and a slight rebound in the auto sector:

2. House Democrats announced plans to begin voting this week on a bill that would guarantee health insurance for most Americans, a plan that explained how they would:


July 15th

1. Reversing a Bush administration stance in a legal battle over the possibilities for battered women to become refugees, the Obama administration has offered a way for foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse to receive asylum in the U.S.:

2. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, in a speech at Tsinghua University, China’s top science university, called for China to do more to address global warming, contending that China was particularly vulnerable to a changing climate:

3. The Obama administration drew a line in the sand on financial bailouts by denying emergency aid to CIT Group Inc., a struggling lender on the brink of bankruptcy:

4. In June, sharply higher prices for everyday goods reflected a surge at the gas pump, not the start of a dangerous bout of inflation, and, in fact, economists say falling prices are the bigger danger:


July 16th

1. The Interior Department announced it would pull back on a revised management plan for WOR forests to cut off a series of lawsuits that challenge the adequacy of consulting work on the plan:

2. Congress’ chief budget analyst delivered a devastating assessment of the healthcare proposals drafted by congressional Democrats, fueling an insurrection in the House and pushing negotiators in the Senate to redouble efforts to draw up a new plan that more effectively restrains federal spending:

3. The House broke with the Obama administration over a key part of the auto industry restructuring, pressing GM and Chrysler to restore dealerships shuttered by the car companies’ bankruptcies:

4. The Senate has agreed to expand the definition of hate crimes to those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation and gender identity as part of a Pentagon policy measure that is becoming a magnet for tough social issues:



July 17th

1. Suicide bombers, posing as guests, attacked American luxury hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, and set off a pair of blasts that killed eight people and wounded more than 50, according to authorities:

2. Commerce Department said that construction was started on more new homes in June than in any month since November, a signal that the housing market is improving despite a mixed outlook:

3. The House Intelligence Committee announced that it would investigate the CIA’s handling of its secret al-Qaida assassination program, including whether Vice President Cheney improperly intervened to stop the agency from telling Congress about the initiative:

4. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Oregon, with a 12.2% seasonally adjusted jobless rate in June, has the nation’s third-highest unemployment level, exceeded only by Michigan—with 15.2%—and Rhode Island:

5. The Interior Department appropriations bill before the U.S. Senate includes $1 million to help preserve land within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument:


WEEK TWENTY-SEVEN



July 20th

1. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Kurt Campbell discussed with chief South Korean envoy Wi Sung-lac a “comprehensive strategy” for persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs, breaking from the step-by-step process that has seen Pyongyang backtrack on pledges:

a. Campbell first spoke of the idea on July 18th, saying the U.S. and its partners would be prepared to offer a “comprehensive package that would be attractive” to North Korea if it returned to the nuclear talks and took irreversible steps to disarm;

b. South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told lawmakers that such a package approach would be aimed at resolving all outstanding issues at once by putting all of North Korea’s obligations and demands on the table.

2. The National Association for Business Economics released its latest economic outlook, which finds that companies are still looking at job cuts in the coming months:

3. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touted prospects for strengthening U.S.-India relations and prepared to sign at least one agreement designed to give U.S. companies more access to India’s expanding markets:

4. The chairman of the Republication Party called President Obama’s plan to overhaul healthcare “socialism”, accusing the president of conducting a risky experiment that will hurt the economy and force millions to drop their current coverage:

5. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the size of the Army would be temporarily increased by 22,000 soldiers to help meet the needs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other missions around the world:

6. More plans to build homes, higher stock prices, and fewer people filing a first-time claim for jobless aid sent a private-sector forecast of U.S. economic activity higher than expected in June:


July 21st

1. Oregon will receive up to $3.6 million through the federal stimulus program for its state-run program that provides rebates to buyers of energy-efficient appliances:

a. Oregon has an extensive program that provides money back to the purchasers of appliances such as heat pumps, water heaters, air conditioners, refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers, and other items;

b. All of the appliances must be Energy Star certified, but Oregon’s standards in many cases exceed national Energy Star eligibility, so all appliances with the national certification qualify under Oregon’s program.

2. In a rare defeat for defense contractors, Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined an odd coalition of conservative Republicans, budget hawks from both parties, and strident liberals to strip funding for the F-22 fighter—a state-of-the-art plane that critics said was unnecessary and too expensive:

a. The 58-40 vote could mean the end of a high-profile program and shifts $1.75 billion to the less expensive and more versatile F-35—the argument that won Merkley;

b. The Oregon senators were joined by a coalition not often seen: President Obama had lobbied aggressively to cut the funding, and fighting with the president were Republicans John McCain and Jim DeMint, a conservative from South Carolina who has been sharply critical of Obama on most issues.

3. On her second trip to Asia as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton is carrying a no-nonsense message about U.S. intention: “The United States is back,” she declared upon arrival in Bangkok:

4. President Obama’s plan to boost Pell Grants for low-income college students cleared the House education committee, a first step down a long and potentially rocky path through Congress:


July 22nd

1. Through Umpqua Training and Employment’s Summer Youth Employment Program, about 90 young people, ages 16 to 24, are helping county school districts spruce up buildings, learning along the way what goes into maintaining their schools:

a. Gaylene Nixon, the program’s coordinator, said the program has been on a 10-year hiatus and was resurrected this year through America’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds;

b. According to Umpqua Training and Employment Vice President Susan Buell, the program received more than $500,000 of federal stimulus money to help pay the minimum wage for a total of 278 youths who are working in schools, as well as other program sites—there are more than 200 sites throughout the county with youth-program workers.

2. The federal government announced that the first clinical trials for a swine flu vaccine would start shortly:

3. The Senate narrowly voted down a provision that would have allowed gun owners with valid permits from one state to carry concealed weapons in other states:

4. Stiffening the U.S. line against Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the U.S. would consider extending a “defense umbrella” over the Middle East if the country defies international demands that it not seek a nuclear weapons program:

5. Vice President Biden pledged support for efforts by Ukraine and Georgia to break free of Russia’s orbit, saying Washington did not recognize Kremlin claims to an exclusive sphere of influence over former Soviet states:


July 23rd

1. According to a newly released poll, President Obama’s popularity has boosted America’s image abroad even though deep suspicions about the U.S. persist in the Muslim world:

2. U.S. counter-terrorism officials said that the second-oldest son of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was apparently killed in a U.S. missile strike inside Pakistan this year:

3. Companies that a few months ago were too fearful to project their future earnings are now seeing glimmers of hope in the year ahead as the rate of home sales has increased for three straight months, and the number of people drawing unemployment insurance benefits has fallen back to April levels, receding for the third-straight week:

4. For the second time in three days, along with the Obama administration’s efforts to change the way the Pentagon funds its war-fighting program, the Senate sent a message by stopping funding for an extra jet engine for a next-generation jet fighter:

5. President Obama has compared overhauling of the nation’s healthcare system to one of the governments greatest triumphs: the NASA program that landed astronauts on the moon 40 years ago, but if Obama’s initiative is to be anywhere near as successful, it will require cooperation from a divided Congress:

6. The housing market is finally emerging from a 3-year crisis that pushed the nation into the longest recession since the Great Depression as, for the first time in five years, sales of previously-occupied homes rose for the third consecutive month in June, while foreclosures on sales and the glut of homes on the market both declined:


July 24th

1. The U.S. Forest Service is spending $274 million of its economic stimulus money on catching up on a huge backlog of maintenance of trails and facilities—and $10 million of that goes to Oregon:

2. States and school districts will soon be able to compete for more federal money to undertake school reforms sought by the president—the $5 billion education fund is Obama’s big shot at overhauling schools over the next couple of years as part of the economic stimulus law enacted earlier this year:

a. The president will use the money to prod states to toughen economic standards and find better ways to recruit and keep effective teachers, and states will also need to be able to track student performance, as well as having a plan of action to turn around failing schools;

b. Schools that resist making the kinds of reforms the White House envisions will risk losing out on the grants.


WEEK TWENTY-EIGHT



July 26th

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood fast behind the administration’s readiness to engage with foes like Iran and North Korea and heaped praise on China in advance of two days of critical talks aimed at easing the global economic downturn:

a. Insisting Washington remained open to dialogue with Tehran, Clinton declined to reveal any specifics of a possible defense umbrella she recently mentioned as a means of protecting Mideast allies against Iran’s nuclear program;

b. She also implicitly urged Israel to set aside any plans it might have for a preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear sites and to give U.S. policy time to work.


July 27th

1. New home sales jumped in June by the largest amount in more than eight years as buyers took advantage of bargain prices, low interest rates, and a federal tax credit for first-time homeowners:

2. According to a new poll, the share of Americans who think the Federal Reserve is doing an excellent to good job has sunk even as chairman, Ben Bernanke, has taken unprecedented steps to try to prevent a financial catastrophe:

a. Many analysts credit Bernanke’s unconventional approach with averting disaster last year, but his support of taxpayer bailout of big financial firms upset the public and many lawmakers;

b. The Gallop poll, conducted in July, showed that only 30% rated the Fed as doing an “excellent/good” job—the lowest such score out of nine government agencies and down sharply from the 53% who thought the Fed was doing an excellent to good job in a survey in 2003 when then-Fed chief Alan Greenspan was steering a fragile economy back from the 2001 recession, terror attacks, and corporate accounting scandals that rocked Wall Street.

3. Tensions between Israel and the U.S. over Iran bubbled up in high-level talks in which Defense Minister Ehud Barak bluntly told Robert Gates that “no option” should be ruled out:

4. The Energy Department is getting ready to hand out about $2 billion in grants for electric-car batteries, and 22 companies are scrambling to take part:


July 28th

The Gresham Police Department will receive $1.5 million in federal stimulus money, enough to hire six patrol officers:


July 29th

1. According to the Fed’s “beige book”, a compilation of impressions from businesses across the country, the slide of the U.S. economy is slowing, with more regions seeing signs of stabilization since mid-June:

2. According to an Associated Press analysis on newly released Labor Department data, more than 90% of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas saw their unemployment rates climb in June, rising from May to June in 348 of more than 370 metro areas:

3. After weeks of turmoil, House Democrats reached a shaky peace with the party’s rebellious rank and file conservatives and cleared the way for a vote in September on sweeping healthcare legislation:


July 30th

1. According to unadjusted figures released by the Oregon Employment Department, the unemployment rate for Douglas County fell for the third straight month in June, falling to 16.2% last month compared to a revised 16.6% in May and 17.2% in April:

2. Another round of earnings reports gave investors new reasons to be optimistic about the economy, and the Dow Jones industrial average rose to its highest level in nearly nine months—and the Nasdaq composite traded above 2,000 for the first time since October:


July 31st

1. In a triumph for the president, House Democrats narrowly pushed sweeping healthcare legislation through the Energy and Commerce Committee by a vote of 31-28—along party lines:

2. According to a new government report, the economy sank at a pace of just 1% in the second quarter of the year—a better-than-expected showing that provided the strongest signal yet that the longest recession since World War II is finally winding down:

3. The House has passed a far-reaching food safety bill requiring more government inspections and imposing new penalties on those who violate the law, reacting strongly to an outbreak of salmonella in peanuts that killed at least nine people:


August 1st

1. The NRA’s threat to punish senators who vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer has been dismissed by Democrats from conservative-leaning states and some Republicans who are breaking with their party to support her:

2. The Oregon Department of Forestry has $6.4 million in federal stimulus money to hire contractors to thin state and private timberlands:



WEEK TWENTY-NINE



August 3rd

1. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton begins a visit to Africa this week, where her 11-day, 7-country tour will reflect the range of U.S. strategic interests, from humanitarian relief to trade agreements:

2. The widely followed stock market measure, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, broke above 1,000 for the first time in nine months as reports on manufacturing, construction, and banking sent investors more signals that the economy is gathering strength:

3. Thanks to a wave of trade-ins, in July, Ford posted its first monthly sales increase for U.S. sales in more than a year and a half, and other automakers also appeared to benefit from the trade-in stimulus:

4. Frustrated with the pace of bipartisan talks, Democratic leaders promised to push a sweeping healthcare bill through the Senate whether they get Republican support or not:

a. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the third-ranking Senate Democrat, raised the prospect of the leadership crafting a bill to Democratic specifications and using a rare legislative procedure to expedite legislation, fulfilling President Obama’s top domestic priority;

b. Schumer said that Democratic leaders continue to look at invoking a procedural maneuver that would allow them to pass the health bill with 51 instead of 60 votes, but that route is viewed as a last resort since it limits what legislative measures would be allowed, and any broad policy initiatives would probably have to be limited.


August 4th

1. During a trip to North Korea, former president Bill Clinton won the freedom of two U.S. journalists, opened a diplomatic channel to North Korea’s reclusive regime, and dined with its ailing leader, Kim Jong II:

2. The Obama administration opened the first of what will become monthly reports on mortgage modifications, including a name-and-shame approach that will allow the public to see which banks are and are not working to help keep struggling Americans in their homes:


August 5th

1. Three former Northwest governors are urging the Obama administration to reject a Bush-era plan designed to save the region’s salmon, and the letter sent from John Kitzhaber, Cecil Andrus, and Mike Lowry is the latest high-profile plea to the president to engage on the problem:

2. Healthcare legislation before Congress would allow a new government-sponsored insurance plan to cover abortions, a decision that would affect millions of women and recast federal policy on the divisive issue:

3. The White House announced that Oregon will become one of five states to test-market Nissan’s new Leaf plug-in model and that Oregon has won millions of dollars in federal stimulus money to research and build better batteries:

a. The state is getting a chunk of $2.4 billion in federal grants aimed at launching the nation into a new transportation world where electric sockets replace gas pumps;

b. Much of the money is headed to traditional auto manufacturing centers in the Midwest, such as Michigan, where it will go toward innovation and production of electric motors, drive trains, and batteries, but Oregon stands to receive more than $40 million in battery research and production grants in addition to the Nissan pilot program.

4. Even as a growing chorus of Republicans called Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer unfit for the bench, Republican senators Kit Bond of Missouri and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire broke with their party to announce they would support President Obama’s nominee:


August 6th

1. The government said that the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign the job market is making gradual improvement:

2. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to “expand and extend” American support for Somalia’s weak interim government as it struggles against Islamic extremists believed linked to al-Qaida:

3. On a largely party-line vote (both Oregon senators voted yes), Sonia Sotomayer, 55, was confirmed by the Senate and will be sworn in as the 111th Justice of the Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts on August 8th:

4. Officials told Congress that the U.S. Postal Service plan to cut billions of dollars in losses would end regular Saturday mail delivery and reduce health benefits for retired postal workers:

5. The Senate voted 60-37 to approve another $2 billion for the “cash for clunkers” program, giving new life and money to the federal government’s popular economic stimulus program:

6. Fannie Mae plans to tap $11 billion in new government aid after posting another massive quarterly loss as the taxpayer bill from the housing market keeps growing:


August 7th

1. A better-than-expected government report strengthened the growing consensus that the worst economic downturn in generations is nearing an end—and may have ended already:

a. According to the Labor Department, employers shed 247,000 jobs in July—the best monthly performance since last August—and the nation’s unemployment rate fell from 9.5% to 9.4%, the first drop since April 2008;

b. In another bright sign, Labor Department statisticians revised earlier reports to show that job losses in the previous two months were not as bad as previously estimated.

2. Regulators seized control of Community First Bank, an 8-branch bank based in Prineville—the third Oregon bank to fail this year as well as its largest:

3. The Senate confirmed Francis Collins, a scientist who helped unravel the human genetic code, as director of the National Institutes of Health:

a. Collins led the Human Genome Project that, along with a competing private company, mapped the genetic code, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor;

b. The NIH is the nation’s premier medical research agency, directing $29.5 billion to spur innovative science intended to lead to better health.

4. In a Facebook posting, her first online comments since leaving office, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin called President Obama’s healthcare plan “downright evil”, saying that he would create a “death panel” that would deny care to the neediest Americans:


August 8th

There were loud outbursts, hot tempers, and pleas for civility at town hall meetings around the country as Democratic lawmakers returning home faced resistance to proposals to reform the nation’s healthcare system:


WEEK THIRTY



August 10th

1. The White House started a new web site to fight questionable, but potentially damaging, charges that the president’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system would lead to “socialized medicine”, “rationed care”, or forced euthanasia for the elderly:

2. The Obama administration is proposing to scale back a long-standing ban on tracking how people use government Internet sites with “cookies” and other technologies, raising alarms among privacy groups:


August 11th

1. Mt. Hood National Forest is getting $4.25 million in federal stimulus money to make improvements at Timberline Lodge:

2. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups across the country, militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly:

3. AARP, a group usually seen as one of President Obama’s allies in the healthcare debate, says the president went too far when he said that the senior citizens’ lobby had endorsed the legislation pending in Congress:

4. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used her unprecedented visit to Congo—she is the first secretary of state to venture into Congo’s war zone—to unveil a $17 million comprehensive plan to fight the stunning levels of sexual violence in eastern Congo, a problem that she said was “evil in its basest form”:

5. The government reported that businesses shed the smallest number of jobs in nearly a year last month; the savings rate, after rising rapidly, held steady at levels not seen in at least five years; and productivity surged to a six-year level:


August 12th

1. Almost two years after it embarked on the biggest financial rescue in history, the Federal Reserve said that the recession is ending and that it would take a step back to reevaluate policy:

2. U.S. airlines will begin asking travelers to provide their birth date and gender on August 14th for the first time under a federal aviation security requirement:

3. The World Trade Organization backed the U.S. in a major trade battle with China, issuing a ruling that could ease tight controls and open markets for U.S. makers of everything from DVDs to books and music downloads:


August 13th

1. The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes rose 7% from June to July as the escalating foreclosure crisis continued to outpace government efforts to limit the damage:

2. A Senate panel has decided to scrap the part of its healthcare bill that has given rise to fears of government “death panels” in recent days:

3. President Obama’s push to revamp healthcare got a boost as a new coalition of drug companies, unions, hospitals, and others launched a $12 million pro-overhaul ad campaign:


August 14th

1. The Obama administration filed court papers saying it will defend a 2001 rule imposed by Bill Clinton that blocked road construction and other development on tens of millions of acres of remote national forest:

2. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is joining forces with two unlikely allies, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to push cities to fix failing schools:

3. Consumer prices have fallen more in the past year than in any 12-month period in almost six decades—a huge break for shoppers but also a reminder that prices are being restrained by weak spending that is likely to slow an economic recovery:




WEEK THIRTY-ONE



August 16th

The White House, facing increasing skepticism over the president’s call for a public insurance plan to compete with the private sector, signaled that it is willing to compromise and would consider a proposal being developed in the Senate for a non-profit health cooperative:


August 17th

1. Investors’ rising fears about consumer spending are turning stocks into a risky investment again:

2. In a filing by the Justice Department, Obama administration lawyers made clear for the first time in court that the president thinks the 13-year-old Defense of Marriage Act, which denies benefits to domestic partners of federal employees and allows states to reject same-sex marriages performed in other states, discriminates against gays and should be repealed:


August 20th

1. The ranks of poor and uninsured Americans are likely increasing—with more than 38.8 million believed to be in poverty:

a. Rebecca Blank, undersecretary of economic affairs for the Commerce Department, spoke to the Associated Press in advance of next month’s closely watched release of 2008 census data and noted that, while the figures are not yet final, the numbers likely will show a “statistically significant” increase in the poverty rate—to at least 12.7%—and that would represent a jump of more than 1.5 million poor people compared with the previous year;

b. The number of uninsured is also expected to increase notably due largely to rising unemployment and the erosion of private coverage paid for by employers and individuals, but Blank declined to say by how much.

2. Delinquency and foreclosure rates for U.S. mortgages continued to rise in the second quarter with loans to the most qualified borrowers going bust at an unnerving clip, especially in hard-hit states such as Florida and California:

3. With his control of the healthcare debate slipping away, President Obama pitched his ambitious plan to both conservative talk radio and his own liberal supporters—and denied a charge that he was “bucklin’ a little bit” under Republican criticism:


August 21st

1. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared that the U.S. economy is on the verge of a long-awaited recovery after enduring a brutal recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression:

2. The U.S. housing market is rebounding faster than expected as July home re-sales posted the largest monthly increase in at least ten years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall:

3. According to White House officials, the Obama administration expects the federal deficit to be $2 trillion larger over the next decade than previously estimated, a setback for a president already facing a Congress and a public wary of overspending:

4. In a public statement filed with the Education Department, the National Education Assn. criticized the Obama administration, saying the president is relying too heavily on charter schools and standardized tests in his attempts to overhaul the nation’s schools:

5. The release of national statistics showed Oregon’s unemployment rate now tied with California’s at 11.9% for the fourth-highest in the nation—Oregon’s rate has been around 12% for five months—Michigan continues to have the nation’s highest rate at 15%:



WEEK THIRTY-TWO

August 23rd

1.     Military commanders with the NATO mission in Afghanistan told President Obama’s chief envoy to the region that they do not have enough troops to do their job, pushed past their limit by Taliban rebels who operate across borders:

·                    The possibility that more troops will be needed in Afghanistan presents the Obama administration with a new problem in dealing with a nearly 8-year-old war that has lost popularity at home, and it has new questions arising over the credibility of the U.S. backed Afghan government, which has just held an as-yet inconclusive presidential election beset by complaints of fraud.

2.     According to a person briefed in the matter, the Justice Department has recommended reversing the Bush administration and reopening nearly a dozen cases of prisoner abuse, potentially exposing CIA employees and contractors to prosecution for brutal treatment of terrorism suspects:

·                    The recommendation by the Office of Professional Responsibility, presented to Attorney General Eric Holder, comes as the Justice Department is to disclose on August 24th the details on prisoner abuse that were gathered in 2004 by the CIA’s inspector general but never released.

 

August 24th

1.     A top aide said that President Obama has approved creation of a new, special terrorism-era interrogation unit to be supervised by the White House, further distancing his administration from President George W. Bush’s detainee policies:

·                    Deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton told reporters that the unit will be situated at FBI headquarters in Washington, the unit would be led by an FBI official, with a deputy director from somewhere in the government’s vast intelligence apparatus, and it will include members from across agencies—directly supervised by the White House.

2.     Attorney General Eric Holder named a veteran federal prosecutor to examine the treatment of prisoners held by the CIA after the Justice Department released a long-secret report noting interrogators choked a prisoner repeatedly and threatened to kill another detainee’s children:

·                    Holder chose John Durham, a prosecutor from Connecticut who has been investigating the CIA’s destruction of interrogation videotapes, to determine whether a full criminal investigation is warranted.

3.     Administration officials said that the Obama administration would continue the Bush administration’s practice of sending terrorism suspects to third world countries for detention and interrogation but pledges to closely monitor their treatment to insure that they are not tortured:

·                    Human rights’ advocates condemned the decision, saying it would still allow the transfer of prisoners to countries with a history of torture, but administration officials said that, unlike the Bush administration, they would operate more openly and give the State Department a larger role in assuring that transferred detainees would not be abused.

 

August 25th

1.     In competing but similar economic forecasts, the White House and congressional officials projected exploding deficits and mounting debt over the next decade:

·                    Both the White House Office of Management and Budget and the non-partisan congressional Budget Office predicted the budget deficit this year would swell to nearly $1.6 trillion—far above the record 2008 budget deficit of $455 billion.

2.     Consumer sentiment rose more than expected in August and expectations hit the highest level since the recession began, indications that Americans’ pessimism about the economy may be lifting, and the housing sector also showed signs of life as a national measure of home prices posted its first quarterly increase in three years:

·                    The New York-based Confidence Board said that its Consumer Confidence index rose to 54.1 from an upwardly revised 47.4 in July—economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a slight increase to 47.5, but the index is well below 90, the minimum level associated with a healthy economy.

3.     President Obama named Ben Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, helping to soothe financial markets and drawing applause across party lines:

·                    Bernanke, 55, now faces the challenge of meeting the high expectations of the White House—and the rest of the country—to repair the battered economy, and, in order to keep inflation at bay, he must also tread carefully in unwinding hundreds of billions of dollars in Fed financial rescue programs once the recovery is underway.

4.     Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, 77 years old—the last surviving brother in a political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history—died at his home in Cape Cod after a year-long struggle with brain cancer:

·                    In nearly 50 years in the Senate, Kennedy, a liberal Democrat, served alongside ten presidents—including his brother, John F. Kennedy—and his death triggered an outpouring of superlatives from both Democrats and Republicans as well as foreign leaders.

 

August 27th

1.     Oregon state economist Tom Patiowsky issued his latest revenue and economic forecast and told lawmakers he expects the deep recession to begin easing its grip on Oregon this fall:

·                    Patiowsky warned that it would be an extremely slow recovery, joblessness would remain high for some time to come, and it could take until early 2013 for state employment to return to pre-recession levels.

2.     According to watchdog organizations, more than half the $1.1 million in campaign contributions received by the Democratic Party’s Blue Dog Coalition came from the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and health insurance companies:

·                    The Center for Public Integrity’s analysis determined that the amount outstrips contributions to other congressional committees during the same time period—the Blue Dogs, a group of fiscally conservative lawmakers, successfully delayed the vote on the healthcare overhaul proposals until this fall.

 

August 28th

        The Republican National Party has mailed a fundraising appeal suggesting Democrats might use an overhaul of the healthcare system to deny medical treatment to Republicans:

·                    A questionnaire accompanying the appeal says the government could use voting registration records, “prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed healthcare rationing system.”

 

WEEK THIRTY-THREE

August 31st

1.     Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation’s biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics expected never to be seen again:

a.     According to calculations compiled for the New York Times, the profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15% annually;

b.     These early returns are by no means a full accounting of the huge financial rescue undertaken by the federal government last year to stabilize teetering banks and other companies, and the government still faces potentially huge long-term losses from those bailouts of insurance giant AIG; mortgage companies, Fannie May and Freddie Mac; and automakers GM and Chrysler, and the Treasury Department could also take a hit from its guarantees on billions of dollars of toxic mortgages.

2.     Thousands of Oregonians and small businesses are facing medical insurance rate increases in the double digits:

a.     Small business owners say they are struggling and may cut benefits or drop plans altogether, and insurers estimate 750,000 to 800,000 are now uninsured in a state of 3.7 million people;

b.     Insurers say they have no choice but to raise rates to cover the increasing costs and frequency of health care claims, and Jack Friedman, CEO for Providence Health Plans, said, “That is one reason why we need health reform so badly.  We need to get everyone under the tent (of the insured) because the costs for those who remain is getting pretty tough.”

3.     President Obama notified Congress that he was reducing pay increases for federal workers from 2.4% to 2%:

·                    Using powers employed by his two most recent predecessors, the president cited the national unemployment rate and the budget-busting federal payroll.

 

September 1st

1.     Sen. Max Baucus of Montana says a healthcare overhaul will happen this year even if Republicans back out of bipartisan talks under growing public pressure and that the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy could help hold together a compromise deal:

·                    Baucus is leading a panel of two other Democrats and three Republicans that is being watched closely by everyone from the White House and beyond, and the chances of a breakthrough appear to be diminishing in the face of an effective public mobilization by opponents during the August congressional recess.

2.     State TV reported that Iran ’s top nuclear negotiator said that his country is ready to hold talks with world powers over its nuclear activities and has prepared a revised package of proposals for western countries:

·                    Nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili told reporters of the country’s new proposals a day before a meeting in Germany of the six countries trying to address concerns about Iran’s nuclear program—the U.S., France, Britain, Russia, China, and Germany.

3.     Ford Motor Co. said that its U.S. sales in August rose 17.2% over last year, fueled by the government’s Cash for Clunkers program:

·                    Meanwhile, according to a person familiar with the matter, low supplies of fuel-efficient vehicles at Chrysler kept the automaker from taking full advantage of the program, and sales at the company fell 15%—this person declined to be named because Chrysler’s official sales figure had not yet been announced.

4.     A gauge of future U.S. home sales rose more than expected in July to the highest level in over two years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a credit that expires this fall:

·                    The report showed the housing market is rebounding faster than expected from its historical bust, and that low prices and the looming expiration on November 30th of a first-time buyer’s tax credit of up to $8,000 have spurred sales.

5.     Energy companies operating three eastern Oregon wind farms were awarded more than $140 million in federal stimulus grants in a fast track process that saw their applications submitted and approved in 30 days:

·                    The subsidies, part of the Obama administration’s economic recovery program, are intended to jumpstart renewable wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass energy projects while providing jobs—the Oregon projects were awarded more than 25% of the $502 million granted to a dozen projects nationwide.

 

September 2nd

Worker productivity, the single biggest factor determining living standards, grew at the fastest pace in nearly six years in the spring while labor costs fell by the most in nine years, as companies slashed costs to survive the recession:

·                    This cost-cutting helped many companies report better-than-expected second-quarter earnings despite falling sales, but economists worry that such aggressive cuts will make it harder to mount a sustainable recovery because the lack of wage growth and shortage of jobs will depress household incomes and make the prospects for a sustained rebound in consumer spending less likely.

 

September 4th

1.     The unemployment rate jumped almost half a point to 9.7% in August, the highest since 1983, reflecting a poor job market that will make it hard for the economy to begin a sustained recovery:

·                    According to Labor Department data, while the jobless rate rose more than expected, the economy shed a net total of 216,000 jobs, less than July’s revised 276,000 and the fewest monthly losses in a year—economists expected the unemployment rate to rise to 9.5% from July’s 9.4% and job reductions to total 225,000.

2.     Reversing a policy employed by previous presidents of both parties, the Obama administration will make public a listing of visits to the White House:

·                    The White House characterized the move as another step in making the administration more open.

3.     Starting September 8th, federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to use a federal verification program to check whether their employees are eligible to legally work in the U.S. :

·                    The compulsory E-verify is a sign of increased scrutiny of employers on immigration compliance, but while instituting the program, the Obama administration dropped the more controversial Social Security No-Match Rule, which would have required all businesses to terminate workers who received “no-match” letters and can’t resolve the discrepancy in their Social Security numbers—for now, there is no indication that Congress plans to make E-verify required of all employers.

4.     Oregon schools received roughly $150 million from the stimulus to spend this school year on special education and in schools with concentrations of low-income students:

·                    Although the stimulus money adds only about 3% to the $5 billion Oregon schools will spend this year, it represents a 25% spike in federal funding for public schools, and educators say it comes at a crucial time.

 

September 5th

Top finance officials from rich and developing countries agreed to curb hefty bankers’ bonuses, but the proposed crackdown so far falls short of European demands after the U.S. and Britain shied away from imposing a cap:

*      The Group of 20 finance ministers also pledged to maintain stimulus measures such as extra government spending and low interest rates to boost the global economy, warning that the fledgling recovery that provided the backdrop to their meeting here is by no means assured.


WEEK THIRTY-FOUR

September 9th

In an attempt to reframe the heated debate over health care, the president spoke before a joint session of Congress, setting some major guidelines:

·                    Insurers would not be permitted to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions nor cancel or dilute coverage when people get sick;

·                    No limits on how much coverage consumers could get in a year or a lifetime but limits on out-of-pocket healthcare expenses;

·                    People without coverage would be able to choose a not-for-profit government-run insurance plan with the same rules and protections as those of private insurers, and a government option plan might be available only if private insurers fail to meet coverage benchmarks in designated markets—alternatively a nonprofit co-op might administer a competitive insurance plan;

·                    Individuals would be required to carry basic health insurance, and businesses would be required to offer their workers healthcare or chip in to help cover the costs—95% of small businesses would be exempt because of their size and narrow profit margins;

·                    The Obama administration will seek experimental “demonstration projects” in different states aimed at helping revamp the tort system.

 

September 10th

1.     According to annual survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the early impact of the worst recession since the 1930s pushed median incomes down, forced almost 40 million more people into poverty, and left more Americans without healthcare in 2008:

·                    Poor people, working people, blacks, Hispanics, and children bore a disproportionate share of the hardship, but the new figures probably understate the severity of the downturn because a large portion of the nation’s job losses and unemployment rate increases occurred after the census data were collected in March as part of the annual Current Population Survey.

2.     The U.S. trade deficit shot up in July to the highest level in six months as a surge in shipments of foreign oil and autos pushed imports up by a record amount:

·                    The Commerce Department said that the trade deficit rose 16.3% to $32 billion in July, much larger than the $27.4 billion the economists had expected, the largest imbalance since January, and the percentage increase was the biggest in more than a decade.

 



WEEK THIRTY-FIVE

September 14th

1.     President Obama warned Wall Street against returning to reckless and unchecked behavior that “had threatened the nation with a second Great Depression”:

·                    Even as he noted the U.S. economy and financial system were pulling out of a downward spiral, on the first anniversary of the Lehman Bros. collapse, Obama warned financial titans that they could not count on any more bailouts.

2.     According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, one year after Wall Street teetered on the brink of collapse, seven out of ten Americans lack confidence the federal government has taken safeguards to prevent another financial industry meltdown:

·                    Even more—80%—rate the condition of the economy as poor, and a majority worry about their own ability to make ends meet.

 

September 15th

1.     According to a national health consumers group, the cost of family health insurance premiums in Oregon has doubled since 2000, outpacing increases in income by four times:

·                    Families USA, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Washington D.C., reports that between 2000 and 2009, the average annual premium paid by employers and workers for family health coverage climbed from $6,654 to $13,378—a 101% jump—and during the same period, the median earnings of Oregon’s workers rose from $22,401 to $27,743—about 24%.

2.     The U.S. government wants to do more to save Northwest salmon, and it wants to do it faster, and if enough is not done for the imperiled fish, it will consider breaching one or more dams on the Snake River in Washington, sacrificing power production to help fish swim to and from the sea:

·                    This approach, announced by the Obama administration for the Columbia River basin’s 13 federally protected runs of salmon and steelhead largely continues a course set last year: improve river and habitat conditions for fish throughout Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho, and help them safely past the dams.

3.     Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the deep recession that has gripped the U.S. economy since December 2007 is “very likely over at this point”:

·                    However, Bernanke painted a picture of an under-performing economy as he fielded questions after a speech at the Brookings Institute, a center-left research center in the nation’s capitol, saying, “It is still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time, as many people will still find that their job security and employment status is not what they wish it was.”

4.     Divided along party lines, the House formally rebuked Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) for shouting, “You lie” at President Obama during last week’s nationally televised speech to Congress:

·                    The rare resolution of disapproval was pushed through by Democrats insisting that Wilson violated basic rules of decorum and civility in his outburst, while Republicans dismissed the vote as a political witch hunt and a waste of time and taxpayers’ money.

5.     A new poll by the Associated Press-National Constitution Center shows that Americans decidedly oppose the government’s effort to save struggling companies by taking ownership stakes, even if failure of the businesses would cost jobs and harm the economy:

·                    Roughly a third of Americans favor government intervention—with nearly two-thirds opposed—to keep a company in business to prevent harm to the economy, and similarly strong views showed up over whether the president should have more power at the expense of Congress and the courts if doing so would help the economy—three-fourths of Americans said no, up from two-thirds last year.

6.     The Obama administration formally proposed new fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks—a move that would mark the first time the federal government has set limits on greenhouse gas pollution:

·                    The net effect would be to require manufacturers to ratchet up their fuel economy five percent per year—in 2016, new cars and trucks would have to average 35.5 mpg (cars must, currently, average 27.5 mpg and light trucks must average 23.1 mpg).

7.     In a letter to Congress, the Justice Department said that the Obama administration supports extending three key provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year:

·                    Lawmakers and civil rights groups had been pressing the Democratic administration to say whether it wants to preserve the post September 11 law’s authority to access business records, as well as monitor so-called “lone wolf” terrorists and conduct roving wiretaps.

8.     According to a U.S. Commerce Department report, the government’s popular Cash for Clunkers program helped propel retail sales in August to the highest level in three years:

·                    August sales jumped 2.7% from the previous month, beating many economists’ predictions, and auto sales led the way with a 10.6% gain from July as consumers rushed to trade in their old vehicles and get a federal credit toward more efficient ones.

 

September 16th

1.     Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) unveiled a centrist blueprint that promised changes of historic proportions in the nation’s healthcare, even though it omitted the public option demanded by liberals:

a.     The Baucus proposals would sharply expand consumer protections and, for the first time, require almost all Americans to have medical insurance;

b.     The long-awaited measure, released after months of so-far fruitless efforts to win Republican support, may be crucial to the overhaul effort because it is designed to attract moderate and conservative Democrats whose support is needed for passage of a Senate bill.

2.     According to U.S. officials and a court filing by the Justice Department, the Obama administration is planning to seek a third continuance in several cases at Guantanamo Bay, including those of defendants charged in the September 11, 2001, attacks:

·                    The expected request for a 60-day delay, which military judges must still rule on, comes as the administration continues to formulate its plans to close the military prison—plans which hinge on several other developments, including the completion of the Justice Department’s review of the cases of the 226 remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

3.     According to Secretary Ken Salazar, the Interior Department is ending its controversial oil-and-gas royalty program that was at the center of a sex-and-drugs scandal in the federal Minerals Management Service:

·                    Testifying before the House Resources Committee, Salazar said that he would phase out the program, which allows energy companies drilling on federal lands to pay royalties in the form of oil or gas instead of cash.

4.     The Obama administration delivered about 50 measures to Congress designed to determine whether a broad military and nation-building campaign to stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan is succeeding, paving the way for the White House to argue that the U.S. combat effort in the region will not be open-ended:

·                    The long-awaited measures were delivered in closed meetings with key members of the House and Senate, just as President Obama emphasized that he would take his time in evaluating a forthcoming request from the military for more combat forces.

5.     The nation’s factories upped their output in August, for the second straight month, the latest confirmation that an economic expansion is underway:

·                    According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production rose 0.8% last month following a 1% increase in July—the July increase had been the first since October 2008, and the report is among the strongest evidence that this summer the economy made a shift from contraction to expansion—at least as measured by gross domestic product.

 

September 17th

1.     Government investigators say that it will cost taxpayers $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to maintain the southwest border fence, and the Government Accountability Office says that as the Obama administration begins to understand the long-term costs of the border fence, it does not have a way to evaluate whether this investment has helped control the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country:

·                    The $6.5 billion price tag is in addition to the $2.4 billion that has already been spent to build fence segments along the U.S.-Mexico border—a Bush administration initiative that has faced several delays and cost increases.

2.     President Obama shelved a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defense plan that has been a major irritant in relations with Russia, and said that a redesigned defensive system would be cheaper, quicker, and more effective against the threat from Iranian missiles:

·                    The missile defense system, planned under the Bush administration, was to have been built in the Czech Republic and Poland, and the president called the prime ministers of both countries to alert them of his decision.

3.     According to a confidential report seen by the Associated Press, Iranian experts at the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency think Tehran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and has worked on developing a missile system that can carry an atomic warhead:

a.     The U.N. document on Iran, drafted by senior officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency, is the clearest indication yet that its officials share Washington’s views on Iran’s weapon-making capabilities and missile technology;

b.     The Obama administration’s plan (after having said it was scrapping a Bush administration plan for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe) would deploy systems designed to shoot down short- and medium-range missiles, with construction to begin around 2011, and systems to counter long-range missiles would be in place around 2020.

4.     The House voted for the biggest overhaul of college aid programs since their creation in the 1960s—a bill designed to oust private lenders from the student loan business and put the government in charge:

·                    The vote was 253-171 on a bill that fulfills nearly all of President Obama’s campaign promises for higher education, ending subsidies for private lenders, boosting Pell Grants for needy students, and creating grant programs to improve community colleges and college graduation rates.

5.     According to the Federal Reserve, for the first time in two years, Americans actually got a little wealthier, as household wealth grew $2 trillion, or about 4% this spring, ending the longest stretch of quarterly declines on records dating to 1952:

·                    But the collective American wallet is still almost 20% thinner that it was when net worth peaked two years ago, and some analysts say it could take as long as four years for households to recoup trillions in losses and get back to where they were before the downturn struck in December 2007.

 

September 18th

Forty-two states lost jobs last month, up from 29 in July, with the biggest net payroll cuts coming in Texas, Michigan, Georgia, and Ohio, resulting in a 9.7% U.S. jobless rate:

*      The Labor Department also reported that 27 states saw their unemployment rates increase in August, and 13 states and Washington D.C. reported unemployment rates of 10% or higher—one of those was Oregon, where the seasonally adjusted level climbed to 12.2% in August, tying it with California for the fourth highest in the nation.



WEEK THIRTY-SIX

September 21st

1.     In a copy of a 66-page document obtained by the Washington Post, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns, in an urgent and confidential assessment of the war, that he needs more forces within the next year, and he bluntly states that without them, the 8-year-long conflict “will likely result in failure.”

·                    General Stanley McChrystal, in an assessment sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and now being reviewed by President Obama and his security team, repeatedly warns that without more forces and the rapid implementation of a genuine counter-insurgency strategy, defeat is likely.

2.     According to a paper published in the scientific journal, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, the CIA’s harsh interrogations are likely to have damaged the brains of terrorist suspects, diminishing their ability to recall and provide the detailed information the spy agency sought:

·                    The paper scrutinizes the techniques used by the CIA under the Bush administration through the lens of neurobiology and determines the methods to be counterproductive, no matter how much the suspects may have eventually talked.

3.     Despite predictions the “Great Recession” is running out of steam, the House is taking up emergency legislation this week to help the millions of Americans who see no immediate end to their economic miseries:

·                    A bill offered by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), and expected to easily pass, would provide 13 weeks of extended benefits for more than 300,000 jobless people who live in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5% and who are scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of September.

4.     In its first look at health insurance, the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey reinforces other surveys that show 16% of Oregonians, or about 614,000, lack insurance, and elsewhere in the country, the uninsured rates range from 2% in Massachusetts to 20% in Nevada:

·                    Health and census experts said the number of uninsured in Oregon has almost certainly climbed after the survey was conducted before the brunt of the recession drove the state’s unemployment rate to 12.2%.

September 22nd

1.     President Obama declared that the U.S. is a serious partner in combating global warming, seeking to show U.S. resolve ahead of crucial talks in Copenhagen in December, when nations will try to reach a new global treaty to address change:

·                    In his first presidential visit to the U.N., Obama also sought to show a clear break from former President George W. Bush, saying his administration has made the “largest-ever” American investment in renewable energy, and he called on other nations—the rich and developing nations alike—to rise to the challenge.

2.     More than $1 billion in federal stimulus money will flow through the Oregon Department of Human Services over the next 15 months:

·                    The bulk of Oregon’s stimulus money—about $900 million—will insure that the poor have access to healthcare;

·                    Oregon’s food stamp program will receive a total of $255.4 million;

·                    Stimulus money for child care for families on welfare totals $19.7 million;

·                    Training or employment help for people with disabilities gets $6.2 million;

·                    Loans and subsidies to 21 Oregon communities to bring infrastructure up to federal drinking water standards totals $27.8 million;

·                    Oregon will receive $3.1 million for vaccinations; and

·                    Oregon’s meals for seniors will receive $1.2 million.

3.     In a bid to mollify angry liberals and unify his divided party, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) moved to boost subsidies for financially strapped people who would be required to buy health insurance under his plan; slashed proposed penalties for those who did not comply with the insurance mandate; and sought to limit how many people would be subject to a new excise tax on so-called Cadillac health plans:

·                    The precise cost of the revised plan was not available, but Baucus said it would be near or below the $900 billion, 10-year target set by President Obama.



September 23rd

1.     In a blunt challenge to our nation’s critics, President Obama exhorted world leaders who once accused the U.S. of acting alone to now join with him in solving global crises rather than wait for America to do it on its own:

·                    In his first address before the U.N. General Assembly, Obama sought to set a new tone in U.S. relations, moving away from the unilateralism of his predecessor, and he coupled conciliatory words about a “new era of engagement” with a blunt challenge for other nations to shoulder more of the burden.

2.     Sweeping healthcare legislation cleared its first hurdles in the Senate Finance Committee as Democrats turned back a series of proposed changes by Republicans who attacked it as a threat to Medicare:

·                    Republicans criticized several cost-cutting provisions, in particular an estimated $500 billion that would be cut from projected Medicare payments over a decade, but some Democrats noted that other portions of the bill would increase benefits for all beneficiaries on Medicare, sweetening prescription drug benefits, for example, and Max Baucus (D-MT) said that the net result of the legislation would be added years of solvency for the program’s troubled trust fund.

3.     Giving some ground on a top priority of President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that sanctions are rarely productive, but he opened the door to tougher ones to halt Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons’ program:

·                    Obama wants to pursue tougher sanctions if the meetings among a group of six nations, including the U.S. and Russia, and Iran over its nuclear ambitions yield nothing, and Russia—which has strong economic ties with Iran—has stood in the way of stronger action against Iran in the past.



September 24th

1.     With President Obama presiding over a historic session, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a U.S.-sponsored resolution committing all nations to work for a nuclear weapons-free world:

·                    Russia, China, and developing nations supported the measure, giving it clout and strong political backing.

2.     World leaders closed ranks on pay limits for bankers whose risky behavior contributed to the global financial meltdown, and with economies on the mend, a summit mood of cautious optimism replaced last year’s fear and uncertainty:

·                    U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner cited progress on several fronts, predicting that summit partners would endorse the broad outlines of a proposal to deal with huge imbalances in the global economy, such as large trade surpluses in China and record budget deficits in the U.S., and he said that other countries also seemed willing to scale back subsidies supporting fossil fuels that aggravate global warming.

3.     Sales of existing homes dropped 2.7% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million, the first decline in five months, prompting the National Assn. of Realtors to again plead for more taxpayer subsidies for their business:

·                    Most economists had not been anticipating a decline in sales, and the median forecast by economists surveyed by MarketWatch was for a small gain, to a 5.40 million annual rate from 5.24 million in July.



September 25th

1.     President Obama and the leaders of France and Britain said that the revelation of a previously secret Iranian nuclear facility puts heavy new pressure on Tehran to quickly disclose all its nuclear efforts—including any moves toward weapons development—“or be held accountable.”

·                    The three leaders hoped the disclosure would increase pressure on the global community to impose new sanctions on Iran if it refuses to stop its nuclear program.

2.     The White House acknowledged for the first time that it might not be able to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay by January as President Obama has promised:

·                    Senior administration officials told the Associated Press that difficulties in completing the lengthy review of detainees’ files and resolving thorny legal and logistical questions mean the president’s self-imposed January deadline may slip, but that Obama remains committed to closing the facility.




WEEK THIRTY-SEVEN

September 28th

1.     Douglas County has been awarded nearly $443,000 to conduct an energy audit and to make county buildings more efficient:

·                    The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the grant, and it is providing $32 billion to more than 2,300 cities, counties, states, and Indian tribes nationwide.

2.     Iran tested its most advanced missile to cap off two days of war games, raising more international concern and stronger pressure to quickly come clean on the newly revealed nuclear site Tehran was secretly constructing:

·                    After strong condemnations from the U.S. and its allies, Iran said on September 27th that it would allow U.N. nuclear inspectors to examine the site.

3.     According to newly released census figures, the recession has hit middle income and poor families the hardest, widening the economic gap between the richest and poorest Americans:

·                    The wealthiest 10% of Americans—those making more than $138,000 each year—earned 11.4 times the roughly $12,000 made by those living near or below the poverty line in 2008—that ratio was an increase from 11.2% in 2007 and the previous high of 11.22% in 2003.



September 29th

1.     After an intense debate, a pivotal Senate committee rejected two Democratic proposals to create a government insurance plan to compete with private insurance:

a.     One by Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia was rejected 15-8 as five Democrats joined with all Republicans on the panel in voting no;

b.     The second proposal, by Senator Charles Schumer of New York, was defeated 13-10, with three Democrats voting no;

c.      The votes in the Senate Finance Committee underscored divisions among Democrats and were a setback for President Obama, who has endorsed the public plan as a way to “keep insurance companies honest.”

2.     According to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the number of Oregon residents without health insurance would jump to 979,000 in ten years, and the costs for those with insurance could increase 70% if Congress does not pass reform legislation:

·                    The report, which provides state-by-state assessments as well as national totals, concludes that the impact to individuals and the economy would be large, with a crippling impact on workers, employers, and state budgets.

3.     U.S. officials said that Cuban authorities had invited a State Department official to turn a brief visit to the communist-controlled island into a 6-day stay that included meetings with officials, opposition figures, and people from Cuban civil organizations:

·                    Bisa Williams, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, was in Cuba for talks on September 17th about re-establishing postal service between the two countries, which was cut off in 1963.

4.     A window case displaying a life-size cutout of President Obama was pelted with a bucket-size load of feces early this morning at the Douglas County Democratic Headquarters in downtown Roseburg:

·                    The window that was plastered contains only the Obama cutout; the main display window that contains photographs of Governor Ted Kulongoski, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Rep. Peter DeFazio and other prominent state Democrats was not touched



September 30th

1.     Senate Democrats introduced legislation establishing mandatory, nationwide limits on greenhouse gases, hoping to spur political momentum on the issue before negotiators meet in Copenhagen in December to try to forge a new international pact:

·                    The bill would cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emission 20% by 2020 compared with 2005 levels and cover roughly 7,500 coal-fired plants, oil refineries, and other facilities across the country.

2.     Wall Street’s major indexes ended the July-September period with big gains as the Dow Jones industrials and Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index both ended the quarter with gains of more than 15%:

·                    The average, which had its best 3-month showing in nearly 11 years, came within 82 points of reclaiming 10,000, only to fall back as investors’ optimism was chilled by news that housing and manufacturing were not as strong as many had thought.

3.     The economy shrank less than expected in the second quarter as businesses and consumers trimmed and spent at a slower pace, buttressing beliefs that the economy is now growing:

·                    The new reading on second quarter gross domestic product, reported by the Commerce Department, shows the economy shrinking at less than the 1% pace estimated, and it was also better than the annualized 1.1% drop economists predicted.



October 1st

1.     A senior U.S. official met Iran’s top atomic negotiator for face-to-face talks—the first such encounter in years of big-power attempts to persuade Tehran to freeze a program that could create nuclear weapons:

a.     While diplomats and officials disclosed no details of the meeting, this appeared to be concrete proof of President Obama’s commitment to engage Iran directly on nuclear and other issues in a sharp break from policy under the Bush administration.

b.     According to the European Union’s top foreign policy official, Iran also said it would allow the inspection of its uranium enrichment plant near Qom, and he said that they could come within weeks, adding that the next talks among Iran and six world powers would be held this month.

2.     The Senate Finance Committee moved to soften the impact of financial penalties that would be imposed on people who did not obtain insurance under sweeping healthcare legislation:

·                    Members of the committee said they would change the bill to exempt an estimated two million people who would face financial burdens in buying even the cheapest insurance available, and lawmakers said they would delay and reduce the penalties for others.

3.     Wall Street’s bears went running for cover after a fusillade of reports suggested that the economy’s rebound could be leveling off, stirring worries that the recovery would come in fits and starts over the rest of the year:

·                    It was the stock market’s worst daily performance since July, as the Dow Jones industrial average fell 203 points, and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 2.5%, but the Nasdaq sank the most, tumbling 3% on losses in software makers and network companies.

4.     The federal government announced that Oregon would get $9.5 million in federal stimulus money for a variety of energy projects, including one that’s being billed as the nation’s biggest “solar highway”:

·                    The money goes to the State Department of Energy, which doles it out to qualified projects—a big chunk, $1.7 million, has been earmarked for a project to line parts of Interstate 5 and 205 with solar panels to power highway lights.



October 2nd

1.     A House-passed bill to give another 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to people from states where the jobless rate is at least 8.5% has bogged down in the Senate because of resistance from lawmakers whose states have lower unemployment and would be left out:

·                    About one-third of 15 million out-of-work Americans have been without a job for six months, a figure that outpaces recent recessions, and there are currently about six people looking for every job available.

2.     In a worse-than-expected report, the government said that the nation’s unemployment rate ticked up to 9.8%, its highest level in 26 years, as employers quickened the pace of layoffs:

a.     U.S. employers shed 263,000 jobs in September, more than the 150,000 to 200,000 that forecasters had expected as employment fell in manufacturing, construction, retail, and government;

b.     Since the recession began in December 2007, the number of unemployed Americans has risen from 7.6 million to 15.1 million, and the unemployment rate has doubled to 9.8%—the highest since June 1983.



WEEK THIRTY-EIGHT

October 5th

1.     The U.S. service sector grew in September for the first time in 13 months, an encouraging sign for the fledgling economic recovery, although jobs remain scarce:

·                    The Institute for Supply Management said that its service index hit 50.9 last month, up from 48.4 in August, and analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a reading of 50—the dividing line between growth and contraction.

2.     In an executive order, President Obama directed all agencies to set the first-ever target for reducing climate-altering pollution from government buildings, fleets, and federal workers’ commutes:

·                    The agencies will have 90 days to tell the White House how much they plan to measure and reduce greenhouse gases from buildings and vehicles by 2020, and targets for employees’ commutes and travel will be due June 2010.



October 6th

1.        President Obama told congressional leaders that he would not substantially reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan or shift the mission to just hunting terrorists, but he indicated that he remained undecided about the substantial troop buildup proposed by his commanding general:

·                    Meeting with leaders from both parties at the White House, Obama suggested that he was searching for some sort of middle ground, saying he wanted to “dispense with the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving Afghanistan,” as White House officials later described his remarks.



October 7th

1.     U.S. officials said that President Obama’s national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against al-Qaida in Pakistan while arguing that the Taliban in Afghanistan does not pose a direct threat to the U.S.:

·                    Obama met with advisors for three hours to discuss Pakistan, and the White House said that he has not decided whether to approve a proposed troop buildup in Afghanistan.

2.     Congressional budget analysts gave an important political boost to a Senate panel’s healthcare overhaul, projecting that the $829 billion measure would both dramatically shrink the ranks of the uninsured and keep President Obama’s pledge that doing so would not add “one dime” to federal budget deficits”

·                    With the report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the measure, crafted by the Senate Finance Committee has emerged as the only one of five bills drafted by various committees that achieves every important goal Obama has set for his top domestic initiative.

3.     Consumers reduced their borrowing for the seventh straight month in August, as households worked to pay off debt and banks reduced credit card limits:

·                    Americans are saving more and borrowing less as wide-spread job losses, stagnant wages, and dwindling home values have spurred a move to greater frugality, and while that is a positive trend in the long run, economists say that it can weaken the fledgling recovery, as consumer spending powers about 70% of the economy.



October 8th

1.     Senate leaders announced a climatic Finance Committee vote next week on healthcare legislation, even as Democrats and Republicans continue feuding over its cost and breadth of coverage:

·                    Majority leader Harry Reid said the Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on a 10-year, $829 billion proposal that would expand coverage to 94% of eligible Americans—while reducing the federal deficit.

2.     The number of newly laid off workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since early January, as layoffs eased a bit amid a fledgling economic recovery:

·                    The fourth drop in new claims in five weeks is a sign the labor market is slowly healing, but employers are reluctant to hire new workers and the unemployment rate is expected to keep climbing well into next year.

3.     The House voted to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to cover those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protection to lesbian, gay, and transgender people:

·                    Democrats hailed the 281-146 vote (all Oregon Representatives voted yes), which brought the measure to the brink of becoming law, as the culmination of a long push to curb violent expressions of bias like the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student.

4.     Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that only 17 of 77 oil and gas leases on Utah public lands that the Bush administration had auctioned off in December are valid and that his agency will prevent development on the remaining parcels, at least in the near future:

·                    Salazar revoked most of the leases upon entering office and said his staff would study which were appropriate, and he said the review found that eight of the parcels should never be leased and the remainder could be leased someday after additional review and regulations.

5.     Americans are finally spending a little more, but they are playing hard to get:

·                    A tally of top stores managed a gain in September for the first time in more than a year, but analysts say shoppers still are not coming in the door unless they see deep discounts, but the small increase in sales from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs was significant because analysts had expected sales to keep falling, as they had since August 2008.



October 9th

1.     President Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in a stunning decision designed to build momentum behind his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world, and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism:

·                    Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said their choice could be seen as an early vote of confidence in Obama intended to build global support for his policies, and they lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama’s calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations, and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.

2.     The Congressional Budget Office reported that medical malpractice reform is unlikely to cut healthcare spending significantly, and enacting a cap on pain-and-suffering and punitive damages, changing liability laws, and tightening the statute of limitations on malpractice claims would lower total healthcare spending by about one-half of one percent each year--$11 billion at the current level—according to an estimate by this nonpartisan congressional office:

·                    The amount is far less than previous estimates by groups backing malpractice reform, but reform advocates cast the report as an endorsement of their efforts, noting that the government would save $41 billion over 10 years on such programs as Medicare and Medicaid.

3.     The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in August as exports posted a small gain, while imports fell on a big drop in demand for foreign oil:

·                    The fourth straight rise in exports was an encouraging sign that the global economy has started to recover from a severe recession that began in the U.S. and quickly spread to other parts of the world, but many economists expect the deficit to rise in coming months on the back of a rebounding U.S. economy, which will start importing foreign products.



October 10th

1.        Iran warned that it would enrich uranium to a higher level needed to power a research reactor if talks with the U.N. nuclear watchdog and world powers fail to help Iran obtain the fuel from abroad:

·                    Such a step would heighten tensions in the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program that are already running high over last month’s revelation that the country is building a second enrichment facility, and the U.S. and its partners in the negotiations want Tehran to send some of its low enriched uranium to Russia to further process the material for use in a medical research reactor in the Iranian capital.

WEEK THIRTY-NINE

October 12th

1. Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 11.5% in September, down one-half percent from the 12% recorded the month before:

2. So far this year, researchers at the University of Oregon have received 34 grants worth $12.3 million from the federal stimulus bill:

3. According to state officials, federal stimulus spending has created or saved thousands of Oregon jobs, but at least three of every four positions were in government work, by the state’s own figures:

a. The lion’s share of the money, about $750 million, went to beefing up entitlement programs such as Medicaid, unemployment benefits, and food stamps, but the remaining one-quarter billion has been spread among public schools, universities, public safety, and construction projects that have spared teacher layoffs, kept prisons open, and allowed contractors to hire new workers.

b. According to the state’s report—which was delivered to federal authorities over the weekend—in all, the spending accounts for the equivalent of 8,239 full-time jobs, and of those, more than 6,000 were in education and public safety—fewer than 2,000 were in the private sector.


October 13th

1. The last of five congressional committees completed work on a healthcare reform package, and lawmakers braced for a debate before the full House and Senate:

2. The EPA released a copy of a long-suppressed report by officials in the George W. Bush administration concluding that, based on science, the government should begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions because global warming posed serious risks to the country:

3. In response to U.S. pressure for tougher stands against Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Russia’s top diplomat said that further sanctions against Iran would be “counter-productive”:


October 14th

1. The government said, in its first comprehensive official tally released since the war began, that at least 85,000 Iraqis lost their lives in violence from 2004 to 2008:

2. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar put forward the administration’s plan to balance the economic needs of rural logging communities with environmental mandates for about 2.5 million acres of forest in western Oregon administered by the BLM:

3. When the Dow Jones industrial average passed 10,000, it was a milestone capping a strong 53% comeback for the Dow since March when stocks were at their lowest level in more than a decade.

4. President Obama asked Congress to authorize a second $250 stimulus check to be sent early next year to an estimated 57 million Social Security recipients, veterans, and people with disabilities:


October 15th

1. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. is prepared to begin negotiations on a global treaty regulating trade in conventional weapons, but she said that Washington would sign the accord only if all other states agreed:

2. The Obama administration said that the federal budget deficit for the fiscal year that just ended was $1.4 trillion—nearly a trillion dollars greater than the year before and the largest shortfall relative to the size of the economy since 1945:


October 17th

1. According to data released by the state of Oregon, nearly $45 million has been spent in Douglas County through money provided by the federal stimulus program:

a. That amount is 47% of the $94.3 million earmarked to come to the county through the state, and it does not include another $10.8 million awarded to companies and government agencies through direct payments not channeled through the state;

b. Over the next three years, Oregon is expected to receive $3.9 billion that Congress and the Obama administration have targeted in spending, and so far, $3.1 billion has been allocated to the state, with $1.1 billion already spent;

c. Of the $44.9 million spent so far in Douglas County, most has gone to fund education, health and human services, transportation infrastructure, and unemployment benefits, and while 162 jobs have been created, the biggest benefit may be for workers whose jobs were saved because of the cash infusion:

2. According to OHSU officials, the university has attracted $51.5 million in federal stimulus funding so far this year:


WEEK FORTY

October 19th

1.     The Obama administration told federal authorities not to prosecute medical marijuana users and suppliers, paving the way for some states to move forward with plans to create officially sanctioned dispensaries to provide the drug as relief for various maladies:

·                    The move by the Justice Department ended months of uncertainty about how far the Obama White House planned to go in revising the Bush administration’s federal stance on the controversial issue—the previous administration held that authorities should continue to enforce federal drug laws even in states with medical marijuana laws on the books.

2.     The White House unveiled a new policy on Sudan that seeks a middle ground between punishing the country’s defiant regime and opposing it—a step away from the get-tough policy advocated by President Obama during his election campaign:

·                    The policy came after seven months of internal administration debate and was cautiously welcomed by international advocates of stringent measures to end violence in the Darfur region, who expressed relief the White House did not adopt an even more conciliatory approach.

3.     A Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health plan to compete with private insurance has rebounded from its summertime lows and now wins clear majority support from the public:

·                    Americans remain sharply divided about both the overall healthcare package and President Obama’s leadership on the issue, but majorities now back its key and controversial provisions: the so-called public option and a mandate requiring all Americans to carry health insurance.



October 20th

1.     The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed, and a revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans lived in poverty last year—seven million more than the government’s official figure:

·                    According to the revised formula used by the National Academy of Science:

§        About 18.7% of Americans 65 and older (or nearly 7.1 million) are in poverty compared to 9.7% (3.7 million) under the traditional measure;

§        About 14.3% of people 18 to 64 (27 million) are in poverty, compared to 11.7% under the traditional measure, and many of the additional poor are low-income, working people with transportation and child-care costs;

§        Child poverty is lower, at about 17.9% (roughly 13.3 million), compared to 19% under the traditional measure, and that’s because single mothers and their children disproportionately receive non-cash aid such as food stamps;

§        Poverty rates were higher for non-Hispanic whites (11%), Asians (17%), and Hispanics (29%) when compared to the traditional measure;

§        For blacks, poverty remained flat at 24.7%, due to the cushioning effect of non-cash aid;

§        The Northeast and West saw bigger jumps in poverty, due largely to cities with high costs of living such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

2.     U.S. and Iranian negotiators met to try to kick-start stalled talks meant to persuade Tehran to send most of its enriched uranium abroad and thus delay its potential to make a nuclear weapon, and the head of the U.N. nuclear agency said that progress was slow, but he expected a breakthrough:

·                    A diplomat at the closed-door talks told the Associated Press that a deal was close, and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France, one of the nations negotiating with Iran, warned that it and its partners in the talks “won’t back down” on insisting that Tehran export most of its enriched material.

3.     Companies that ship coal, chemicals and other products to emerging markets like India and China appear to be snapping out of the recession faster than those closely tied to the U.S. and Europe:

·                    Earnings’ reports show that sales in emerging markets are providing a glimmer of hope for both the companies and their investors, while in more developed parts of the world, companies still have to rely on cost-cutting to muddle through.



October 21st

1.     Iranian negotiators said that they had tentatively agreed to a deal under which Iran will transfer about three-fourths of its enriched uranium out of the country and, if completed, the deal would buy time for a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran’s nuclear ambitions:

·                    The agreement, announced in Vienna after nearly three days of talks involving the U.S., Russia, and France, still must be approved by the leadership in Tehran—the top Iranian negotiator praised the deal, but there is no guarantee Tehran’s leaders would accept the idea.

2.     The Midwest is starting to see a comeback in manufacturing and technology, and home sales are rising in parts of the northeast, but states such as Florida, Nevada, and California, still suffering from the housing bust, remain depressed:

·                    According to two government reports, the economy’s tentative recovery is occurring in pockets around the country, with some cities and states starting to rebound while neighboring areas still struggle.

3.     U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that North Korea continues to pose a grave threat to international peace and pledged to protect South Korea with Washington’s full military might, including its nuclear capabilities:

·                    Gates and his South Korean counterpart, Kim Tae-young, said that their two nations would never accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, and they accused the regime of undermining global security with its nuclear defiance.



October 22nd

1.        A bill to make violence against gays and lesbians a hate crime cleared the Senate and is headed to the White House for final approval:

·                    The 68-29 vote (both Oregon senators voted yes) was a victory for civil rights groups that have been fighting for years to expand the federal hate-crimes law beyond attacks motivated by bias based on religion, race, national origin, or color, and the new bill—which President Obama is expected to sign—includes penalties for assaults based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender, disability, or gender identity.



October 23rd

1.     Home resales in September clocked the largest monthly increase in 26 years as buyers scrambled to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires:

·                    According to the National Assn. of Realtors, sales jumped 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.1 in August.

2.     In settlement of a lawsuit, the EPA, for the first time, will put controls on the emissions of hazardous pollutants such as mercury from coal-fired plants by November 2011:

·                    Many other polluters were forced to reduce emissions of toxic material such as mercury, arsenic, and lead after the Clean Air Act was strengthened in 1990, but power plants, the largest source of mercury pollution, aren’t subject to nationwide rules.

3.     With the shut down of seven banks by federal regulators, the cascade of bank failures this years surpassed the 100 mark—the most in nearly two decades (106 bank failures in all—the most in any year since 181 collapsed in 1992 at the end of the savings-and-loan crisis)—and the trouble in the banking system from bad loans and the recession goes even deeper than the number suggests:

·                    Dozens, perhaps hundreds of other banks remain open, even though they are as weak as many that have been shuttered, and regulators are seizing banks slowly and selectively—partly to avoid inciting panic and partly because buyers for bad banks are hard to find.

WEEK FORTY-ONE

October 26th

1.     In a sign of Democrats’ growing confidence that they have the votes to pass a far-reaching overhaul of healthcare, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), said that the bill he sends to the Senate floor next month will include a public option:

a.     The provision would allow the federal government to create an insurance plan to be offered to Americans who do not receive medical coverage through their employers;

b.     Bolstered by polls showing steady support for the public option, Senate Democrats believe they are within one or two votes of securing the 60 needed to cut off an expected Republican filibuster—polls have consistently shown that at least 55% of Americans favor a government insurance plan.

2.     The Obama administration came out strongly against efforts by Islamic nations to bar the defamation of religion, saying the moves would restrict free speech:

a.     Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was rolling out the State Department’s annual report on international religious freedom, said that the U.S. was opposed to negative depictions of specific faiths and would always fight against belief-based discrimination, but she said that a person’s ability to practice their religion was entirely unrelated to another person’s right to free speech;

b.     Her comments came as the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a 56-nation bloc of Islamic countries, is pressing the U.N. Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution that would broadly condemn the defamation of religion.

 

October 27th

1.         According to the Iranian news media, an Iranian official said that even if the country agreed to a U.N.-sponsored plan to ship its uranium abroad for further processing, it would not ship it all at once:

 

October 28th

1.     Census data reveals the first detailed look at U.S. migration data since the recession began in late 2007, broken down by education and income:

·        Many college graduates are passing up industrial centers and former hot spots in the Southwest, which have been hit hard by the recession, in favor of life in urban, high-tech Mecca’s, and their moves are fueling a resurgence of brainiacs in parts of California, Oregon, North Carolina, and Texas.

2.     The government has overstated by thousands the number of jobs it has created or saved with federal contracts under the president’s $787 billion recovery program, according to the Associated Press’ review of data released in the program’s first progress report:

·        The discrepancy raises questions about the reliability of a key benchmark the administration uses to gauge the success of the stimulus, and the errors could be magnified when a much larger round of reports is released on October 30th—it is expected to show hundreds of thousands of jobs repairing public housing, building schools, repaving highways, and keeping teachers on local payrolls.

3.     President Obama signed the first major piece of gay rights’ legislation, a milestone that activists compared to the passage of 1960s civil rights legislation empowering blacks:

·        The new law adds acts of violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people to the list of federal hate crimes, and gay rights’ activists voiced hope that the Obama administration would advance more issues, including legislation to bar workplace discrimination, allow military service, and recognize same-sex marriages.

4.     After teetering on the edge of permanent closure for almost two years, the Willamette Falls Locks appear ready to open next year after several months of repairs:

·        As workers prepared to replace the biggest gate of the Willamette Falls Locks this month, Congress approved more than $900,000 to keep the 136-year-old facility open—the bill which President Obama signed October 28th will receive $230,000 for minimal seasonal operations.

 

October 29th

1.     After months of struggle, House Democrats unveiled sweeping legislation creating a new option of government insurance, and a vote is likely next week on the plan patterned closely on President Obama’s own:

·        Officials said the measure, once fully phased in over several years, would extend coverage to 96% of Americans, and its principal mechanism is creation of a new government-regulated insurance “exchange” where private companies would sell policies in competition with the government—federal subsidies would be available to millions of lower-income individuals and families to help them afford the policies, and to small businesses as an incentive to offer coverage to their workers.

2.     The economy grew at a 3.5% pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes:

·        The Commerce Department report delivered the strongest signal yet that the economy has entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended.

3.     A U.S. District Court judge dismissed a federal lawsuit challenging President Obama’s election on the grounds he was not born in the U.S. :

·        In his opinion, Judge David O. Carter stated it is not within the constitutional power of the federal courts to overthrow a sitting president.

4.     Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed her blitz on Pakistani public opinion, bluntly challenging the country to defend its territory from an onslaught by religious extremists and asking why Pakistan ’s powerful military was unable to find Saudi-born terrorist, Osama bin Laden:

·        Pakistan’s commentators praised Clinton’s spirit for touring a country in which the president, Asif Ali Zardari, is rarely seen in public out of his fear for his safety, but Pakistani analysts said that distrust of the U.S. was so deep that Clinton had little hope of swaying attitudes—Islamabad may be a crucial partner in the U.S. drive against Islamic terrorists, but the anti-American attitude is so ingrained that the Pakistani public, news media, and political opposition blame the surge of violence in the country in large part on the U.S. presence in the region.

 

October 30th

1.     Wages and benefits rose by the smallest amount on record in the 12 months ending in September, as high unemployment limited the income growth of workers still receiving paychecks:

·        According to the Labor Department, the average cost of wages, healthcare, and other benefits increased 1.5% in the year ending in September, the smallest gain since records began in June 1982.

2.     According to the White House, about 650,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, and they said that it is on track to reach the president’s goal of 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year:

·        New job numbers from businesses, contractors, state and local governments, non-profit groups, and universities were scheduled to be released later today.

4.     Concerns about the economy, sparked by disappointing government data on spending and incomes, sent stocks down, erasing the previous day’s big gains, and the Dow Jones industrial average lost about 250 points, with broader indexes also falling:

·        The Commerce Department reported that personal incomes were stagnant in September, while the all-important wage and salary category dropped 0.2%, as unemployment rose, and consumer spending—which accounts for 70% of total economic activity—dropped 0.5%, the first decline in five months and the biggest since December.

 

WEEK FORTY-TWO

November 1st

1.        CIT Group, after months of struggling, filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York Bankruptcy Court in an attempt to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of midsize and small businesses:

·                    CIT made the filing after a debt-exchange offer to bondholders failed, and CIT said that its bondholders overwhelmingly opted for a prepackaged reorganization plan that will reduce total debt by $10 billion while allowing the company to do business.

 

November 2nd

1.     Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, former Washington governor, announced that the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Indians was awarded a $2.75 million grant to be used for its business incubator and data center in downtown Roseburg, and he said that the project is expected to create 165 jobs and generate $60,000 in profit investment.

2.     Hopes for the fledgling economy got a boost from better-than- expected news on manufacturing, construction, and contracts to buy homes:

·                    The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of manufacturing activity grew in October at the fastest pace in more than three years, driven by business replenishing of stockpiles, higher demand for American exports, and support from the government’s $787 billion stimulus program.

3.     Ford is making money again and looking for better times in no more than two years:

·                    Emerging from a three-year makeover with popular cars and trucks, Ford said that it earned nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and will be solidly profitable by 2011, a more optimistic forecast than earlier.

 

November 4th

1.     The Senate voted to extend unemployment insurance for hard-hit workers while also continuing a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers and offering a credit for other buyers:

a.     The legislation sailed through the Senate 98-0, but its passage had been delayed for weeks by partisan bickering;

b.     The $24 billion bill comes to the rescue of more than one million out-of-work people who expect to run out of benefits by the end of the year, providing these people with 14 weeks of additional benefits, while those in states such as Oregon and Washington, with unemployment rates of 8.5% and above, get another six weeks on top of that;

c.      The bill extends the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, enacted as part of the stimulus package in February and set to expire this month, and adds a $6,500 credit for buyers who have lived in their current residences at least five years.

2.     The Federal Reserve pledged to keep a key interest rate at a record low for an extended period, signaling that the weak economy remains dependent on government help to grow:

·                    The Fed said economic activity has “continued to pick up” and that the housing market has strengthened—a key ingredient for a sustained recovery, but Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues warned that rising joblessness and tight credit for many people and companies could restrain the rebound in the months ahead.

3.     The House voted to accelerate the enactment date of tough new rules for credit card companies after voters complained of rising interest rates and steep new fees:

·                    The bill, approved 331-92, would force lenders to comply with the new rules immediately unless they agree to freeze interest rates and fees.

 

November 5th

1.     The Obama administration endorsed full-scale job discrimination protections for gay and transgender workers, giving a major boost to legislation written by Sen. Jeff Merkley that is based on similar protections offered in Oregon:

·                    Although similar legislation has been introduced in past years, objections from businesses and religious groups have derailed it, but this year, Merkley and other lawmakers think they have both the votes and public support necessary for passage.

2.     Stocks climbed as investors cheered improving economic data, including a surge in worker productivity and an unexpectedly strong weekly jobless report:

·                    Investors have swung between optimism about signs the economy is healing and concerns about the pace of recovery, but after a week of largely positive economic news, a broad rally left the Dow Jones industrial average above its benchmark level of 10,000 for the first time in two weeks, and every stock on the index closed in positive territory.

3.     Fannie May is asking for an additional $15 billion in government aid after posting another big loss in the third quarter as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps rising:

·                    The government-controlled company continued to see a surge of borrowers fall behind as the unemployment rate climbed, and at the end of last month, about 4.7% of Fannie May’s borrowers had missed at least three payments—nearly triple last year’s level.

 

November 6th

1.     The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983—and it is likely to go higher:

·                    The 10.2% jobless rate for October shows how weak the economy remains even though it is growing, and rising unemployment could also threaten the recovery if it saps consumer confidence and makes them more cautious about spending as the holiday season approaches.

2.     Freddie Mac, the mortgage lender in government conservatorship, posted a narrower $5 billion third-quarter loss and said that it has no immediate need for more federal aid as the value of its securities improved:

·                    The loss narrowed from a record $25.3 billion a year earlier, and Freddie Mac, which buys mortgages and guarantees home-loan security, had recorded $63.6 billion in net losses over the seven quarters ended in March following a three-year housing slump.

 

November 7th

        The Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark healthcare legislation to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry:

·                    The 220-215 vote (Republican opposition was nearly unanimous) cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue.

 


WEEK FORTY-THREE

November 9th

1.        Unemployment figures for Oregon suggest the state economy may be in even worse shape than indicated by a jobless rate of 11.5%:

·                    Recent figures show that about one in five Oregonians in the labor force can’t find a job, are working fewer hours than they would like or simply have given up looking, and the Statesman Journal cited a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that indicates Oregon has the second highest figure for unemployment in the country.



November 11th

1.     Job offers are at rock-bottom levels, according to government and private surveys, a trend that could keep the unemployment rate high even as layoffs slow:

a.     Small businesses, in particular, are reluctant to add workers as they struggle to obtain credit, and economists say that small businesses account for about 60% of new jobs;

b.     According to government reports and job-search sites, there are, however, some pockets of hiring as demand for information technology and sales professionals grows, and there are signs that companies are adding more human resources personnel, which could signal more hiring down the road.

2.     A report issued by the Pew Center names Oregon as one of ten states at greatest risk of following California over a state budget cliff:

·                    As her reasoning for this prediction, Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center, says:

§        Oregon’s unemployment will remain high, causing tax revenues to stay low;

§        Federal stimulus money to bailout state budgets has largely run out;

§        Voter mandates, including long sentences for repeat criminal offenders, mean some budget cuts are off-limits.

3.     The number of homeowners on the brink of losing their homes dropped in October, the third straight monthly decline, as foreclosure prevention programs helped more borrowers:

·                    But RealtyTrac Inc. said that foreclosure filings are still up 19% from a year ago, and rising job losses continue to threaten the stabilizing trend—Oregon had the 16th highest rate, with one foreclosure for every 509 housing units.



November 12th

1.     Administration officials say that President Obama rejected the Afghan war options before him and asked for revisions, amid an argument by his own ambassador in Kabul that a significant U.S. troop increase would only prop up a weak, corruption-tainted government:

·                    According to an administration official, Obama’s ambassador, Karl Eikenberry, who is also a former commander in Afghanistan, is voicing strong dissent against sending large numbers of new forces, and this puts him at odds with the current war commander, General Stanley McChrystal, who is seeking thousands more troops.

2.     President Obama announced that he would host a White House summit next month on combating the chronic joblessness that continues to be a drag on a struggling economy:

·                    Speaking at the White House, Obama called a report showing fewer claims for jobless benefits “a hopeful sign”, but with millions of Americans out of work, Obama said the government has “an obligation to consider every additional responsible step we can” to get people back to work.

3.     The Federal Reserve announced that, according to new rules, banks would have to secure their customers’ consent before charging large overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions:

·                    The rule responds to complaints from consumer groups, members of Congress, and other regulators that overdraft fees are unfair because many people assume they can’t spend more on a debit card transaction than is available in their account, but many banks allow the transactions to go through, then charge fees up to $35.

4.     U.S. banks will prepay about $45 billion in premiums to replenish a federal deposit insurance fund now in the red, under a plan adopted by federal regulators:

·                    The FDIC board voted to mandate the early payments of premiums for 2010 through 2012 because amid the struggling economy and rising loan defaults, 120 banks have failed so far this year, costing the insurance funds more than $28 million.

5.     Diplomats told the Associated Press that Iran’s recently disclosed uranium enrichment hall is a highly fortified underground space that appears too small to house a civilian nuclear program, but large enough to serve for military activity:

·                    Both the construction timeline and the size of the facility—inspected last month by the International Atomic Energy Agency—are significant in helping shed light on Tehran’s true nuclear intentions, and while Iran says it wants to enrich fuel only for energy production, the West fears it could retool its program to churn out fissile warhead material.



November 13th

1.     The federal deficit hit a record for October as the new budget year began where the old one ended:

·                    The Treasury Department said that the deficit for October totaled $176.4 billion—even higher than the $150 billion imbalance that economists expected—and the imbalance came mostly from lower receipts of individual and corporate taxes.

2.     A government report was the latest evidence that the U.S. trade deficit jumped in September by the largest percentage amount in more than a decade, and a big culprit was foreign oil, whose prices hit their highest point in nearly a year and helped to eclipse a fifth straight gain in U.S. exports:

·                    Economists think a rebounding global economy will keep raising demand for U.S. exports—a lower dollar can help boost U.S. exports because it makes them cheaper for foreigners to buy, and the question is how fast a lower dollar can narrow the trade gap and invigorate the U.S. economy.

3.     Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the Obama administration would insist on measures to give legal status to an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants as it pushes early next year for legislation to overhaul the immigration system:

·                    In her first major speech on the overhaul, Napolitano dispelled any suggestion that the administration would postpone the most contentious piece of immigration legislation until after midterm elections next November, and laying out the administration’s bottom line, Napolitano said officials will argue for a “3-legged stool” that includes tougher enforcement laws against illegal immigrants and employers who hire them and streamlining the system for legal immigration as well as a “tough and fair pathway to earned legal status.”

4.     Buoyed by strengthening rebounds in Germany and France, the 16-nation euro zone officially climbed out of its worst recession since World War II, fueling hopes that a lasting global recovery is beginning to take shape:

·                    Unemployment rates continue to climb from Europe to the U.S., and national debt levels in many nations are at their worst levels in years, so while government stimulus spending worldwide may have succeeded in jumpstarting the global economy for now, some nations may be forced to scale down spending in 2010 due to soaring budget deficits.

5.     The government-chartered company that insures the pensions of one in seven Americans said its deficit this year nearly doubled to $22 billion, but that is an improvement over the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s midyear record deficit of $33.5 billion, which spiked as automakers and other companies faltered and caused the insurance fund’s liabilities to spike:

·                    Experts and officials say the long-term picture is grim and that without major changes, such as higher insurance premiums and less risky investments, the fund eventually will require a taxpayer bailout.




WEEK FORTY-FOUR

November 16th

1.     Even as drug makers promise to support Washington’s healthcare overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation’s drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been quietly raising its prices at the fastest rate in years:

·                    According to industry analysts, in the past year, the industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9%, which will add more than $10 billion to the nation’s drug bill, which is on track to exceed $300 billion this year, and this trend is at odds with the direction of the Consumer Price Index, which has fallen by 1.3% in the past year.

2.     America’s small cities are losing some of their traditional appeal to upwardly mobile families seeking wholesome neighborhoods, a stable economy, and affordable living:

·                    A review of newly released census data shows, for example, that cities of between 20,000 and 50,000 residents have lagged behind their larger counterparts in attracting higher-educated residents in this decade.

3.     CEO Fritz Henderson said that GM will begin repaying $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans by the end of 2009 and could pay off the full amount as early as 2010, five years ahead of schedule:

·                    The government debt represents about 13% of the $52 billion that U.S. taxpayers have invested in GM, the majority of which was exchanged for a 61% ownership stake in the company.

4.     More than one in seven American households struggled to put enough food on the table in 2008, the highest rate since the Agriculture Department began tracking food-security levels in 1995:

·                    That’s about 49 million people, or 14.6% of U.S. households, and the numbers are a significant increase from 2007, when 11.1% of U.S. households suffered from what the USDA classified as “food insecurity”—not having enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.

5.     The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iranian technicians have moved highly sophisticated equipment into a previously secret uranium enrichment site in preparation for starting it up in 2011:

·                    The report offered no estimate of the new plant’s capabilities, but a senior international official familiar with the watchdog agency’s work in Iran said that it appeared designed to produce about a ton of enriched uranium a year, and the official—as well as analysts—said that would be enough for a nuclear warhead, but too little to fuel the nearly finished plant at the southern part of Bushehr and other civilian reactors Iran is planning to bring online in the coming years.

6.     Improved retail sales gave Wall Street a boost but provided little hope for a robust holiday shopping season that might invigorate the economic recovery:

·                    The October figures, driven by a surge in auto sales, exceeded economists’ expectations, but consumers are so squeezed by tight credit and rising unemployment that economists do not expect to see significant spending until well after year’s end—even optimists predict scant improvement over last year’s holiday season.



November 17th

1.     The unemployment rate in Oregon did not change last month, suggesting the recession may be easing, although economists also warned it’s too early to tell:

·                    Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 11.3% for October, the same as the revised number for September—the figures released by the Oregon Employment Department showed the state jobless rate has fallen nearly a full percentage point from a high of 12.2% in May and has hit the lowest level since February, when the statewide rate was 10.7%.

2.     According to new details released in a government financial report, about 5% of spending in federal programs in fiscal year 2009 was improper:

·                    More than $98 billion in taxpayer dollars spent by government agencies was wasted, much of it on questionable claims for tax credits and Medicare benefits, representing an increase of $26 billion from the previous year.

3.     The Senate adopted the latest in a continuing series of major budget increases to provide medical care for veterans:

a.     The move came after the Senate passed—by a rare 100-0 vote—a $134 billion spending bill for veterans’ programs and military construction projects, and the pending measure awards a 9% increase over last year’s budget for veterans’ healthcare;

b.     The House passed a companion measure this summer, and the bill now heads to House-Senate talks to produce a final version for President Obama to sign.



November 18th

1.     Democratic leaders in the Senate unveiled their proposal for overhauling the healthcare system, outlining legislation that it said would cover most of the uninsured while reducing the federal budget deficit:

·                    Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said at an evening news conference that the legislation would impose new regulations on insurers, extend coverage to 31 million people who do not have any, and add benefits to Medicare, and he said that the bill, despite having a price tag of $849 billion over ten years, would still reduce projected budget deficits by $127 billion over a decade because the costs would be more than offset by new taxes and reductions in government spending, particularly on Medicare.

2.     President Obama sent his top diplomat to Afghanistan to press President Hamid Karzai to deliver “measurable results” on governance and corruption as the White House prepared specific new demands to accompany a U.S. troop buildup:

·                    In an unannounced visit to Kabul, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Karzai privately that future civilian aid would depend in part on how his government performs in areas such as developing an effective army and curbing cronyism, according to an American official, and publicly she told reporters that Karzai had begun to tackle corruption, but “not nearly enough.”

3.     Iran’s foreign minister said that it will not ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country for processing, once again rejecting a U.N. plan aimed at thwarting any attempt by Tehran to make nuclear weapons.



November 19th

1.     Congressional budget crunchers said that the Democrats’ latest healthcare plan would hold down federal red ink for at least a 20-year stretch, an assessment that boosted the plan’s advocates as the Senate moved toward a historic debate:

·                    The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that Majority Leader Harry Reid’s 10-year, $848 billion bill would produce a net reduction of $130 billion in federal deficits in its first decade, and perhaps more significantly, the legislation would continue to give back over the next ten years and beyond because “added revenues and costs savings would probably be greater” than the costs of covering uninsured Americans.

2.     President Obama said that the U.S. and its allies are discussing possible new penalties against Iran for defying international attempts to halt its contested nuclear program:

·                    Obama’s warning came after Iran rejected a compromise proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium abroad so that it could not be further enriched to make weapons, and the talk of fresh sanctions also showed that Obama was preparing for the next phase should Iran fail to meet his year-end deadline for progress in negotiations.

3.     According to state economist Tom Potiowsky, Oregon’s recession is over—or nearly over—and while there is no state agency that officially designates Oregon either as in or out of recession, Potiowsky told state lawmakers, “We have enough indicators that technically the recession has ended in Oregon or is about to:”

·                    Oregon economists are sticking with predictions showing a “jobless recovery,” and while Oregon state government does not face California’s dire deficits, the state budget outlook remains murky until voters endorse or reject $733 million in new taxes on the January 26th ballot.

4.     Nearly one in ten Oregon homeowners was late on at least one mortgage payment this fall, the highest rate on record, and those figures are expected to grow worse into 2010:

·                    The Mortgage Bankers Association says that about 9.4% of Oregon’s 631,000 mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure in the third quarter—that’s up 5.2% from a year ago and out paces the 7.7% high from the 1980s recession.

5.     A couple of subdued economic reports signaled that the recovery likely will remain weak in the coming months, rattling investors and sending major indexes tumbling:

a.     The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators rose less than analysts had expected in October—the index forecasts activity by measuring consumer expectations, building permits, and other data;

b.     The number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits, unchanged last week, remains above the level that would indicate the economy is adding jobs, and together, these two reports suggest that the lack of job creation is dampening consumer expectations and prospects for an economic rebound—uneasy consumers will probably curtail their spending, the main driver of the U.S. economy.

6.     In a display of populist anger toward the Federal Reserve, a House panel voted to let Congress carry out extensive new oversights of the central bank’s policy decisions and operations:

·                    The House Financial Services Committee approved a measure proposed by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) that would allow Congress to order audits of all the Fed’s lending programs as well as of its basic decisions to set monetary policy by raising or lowering interest rates.

7.     The Obama administration has delayed a decision on a request by Shell Oil Company to drill for oil and gas in Alaska’s rugged Chukchi Sea, and the delay came after the oil company asked for time to respond to criticism of its plan to drill in the icy sea, a prime habitat for threatened polar bears:

·                    Nicholas Pardi, a spokesman for the Minerals Management Service, an arm of the Interior Department, said, “We hope to come to a decision as expeditiously as possible,” adding that the extension should allow the agency to make a better decision on the oil exploration plan.

8.     The U.S. House has lent support to efforts to restore a Willamette Valley stream degraded over the years by lightly regulated logging, trashy campers, and rowdy partiers:

·                    Its vote would protect a 21-mile stretch of the headwaters of the Molalla River in Clackamas County under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and the bill now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain.



November 20th

1.     With roughly a quarter of the $787 billion stimulus money out the door after nine months, the accumulation of hard data and real-life experience has allowed analysts to reach a consensus that the stimulus package is working:

·                    A variety of economists say that the legislation is helping an economy in free fall a year ago to grow again and to shed fewer jobs that it otherwise would, and Obama’s promise to “save or create” about 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010 is roughly on track, though far more jobs are being saved than created, especially among states and cities using their money to avoid cutting teachers, police, and other workers.

2.     In a sharp improvement, more than half of U.S. states added jobs in October, though economists said many of the gains likely occurred in temporary employment:

a.     That is customarily a positive sign as employers usually hire temporary workers before they add full-time jobs, but in this case, the temporary hiring may be inflated by the auto sector, which has boosted production to replace depleted inventories and may not be sustainable;

b.     According to the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank, 28 states added jobs in October, that is up from only seven in September and eight in August, and it is also the largest number to record increases since 33 states did so in February 2008.



November 21st

1.        Democrats in the Senate united with a 60-39 vote on historic healthcare legislation, over the opposition of Republicans, to clear the way for a full-scale debate beginning after Thanksgiving:

·                    The bill is designed:

a.     to extend coverage to roughly 31 million Americans who lack it;       

b.     to crackdown on insurance company practices that deny or dilute benefits;

c.      and to curtail the growth of spending on medical care nationally.



WEEK FORTY-FIVE

November 23rd

1.     The unadjusted unemployment rate in Douglas County rose slightly in October, reaching 14.2%, according to figures released by the Oregon Employment Department:

·                    The jobless rate increased from an adjusted 13.8% in September, and that rate was down two-tenths of a point from the original 14% estimates released last month.

2.     Home resales for October are projected to rise to the highest level in more than two years as first-time homebuyers, anticipating that a tax credit would soon expire, rushed to beat the clock:

·                    Sales are expected to show a 1.4% increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.65 million, up from 5.57 million in September, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters—if accurate, it would be the best month for home sales since July 2007.

3.     The U.N. weather agency said that greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere reached record highs in 2008, with carbon dioxide levels increasing faster than before, and it follows a trend of rising emissions that began with the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th century:

·                    The report by the World Meteorological Organization comes as the European Union urged the U.S. and China to set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions at next month’s climate conference in Copenhagen, and the European Union said that delays by those countries were hindering global efforts to curb climate change.



November 24th

1.     The economy is growing modestly, with consumers too wary about spending to invigorate the recovery:

a.     The economy grew at a 2.8% rate last quarter, and forecasts for the current quarter are for similarly lackluster growth before a drop-off next year;

b.     The Federal Reserve doesn’t expect the rebound to be strong enough to quickly drive down the jobless rate, now at 10.2%, instead the Fed foresees a gradual recovery, with an elevated unemployment rate over the next several years.

2.     The U.S.-government administered insurance fund that protects depositors has gone into the red for the first time since the fallout from the savings-and-loan crisis of the early 1990s as the pace of bank failures accelerated:

·                    Federal regulators said that the fund had a negative balance of $8.2 billion at the end of the third quarter, but bank customers should remain confident that their deposits would be protected since most of the amount reflects money the FDIC has already set aside to cover the losses from future bank failures.



November 25th

1.        In a hopeful sign for the economy, the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims last week for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 for the first time since January:

·                    Consumer spending also picked up in October, and new home sales hit their highest point in more than a year, and together, these reports suggest that the economy should be able to sustain at least a modest rebound—some economists have worried that the economy was at risk of slipping back into recession.



November 27th

1.        The censure of Iran by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, signals the start of a potentially more confrontational phase in the Obama administration’s dealings with the Islamic republic, including the prospect of strengthened U.S.-led efforts to cut off Iran’s economic links to the world:

a.     The 35-nation board approved by 25-3, with seven abstentions or absences, a resolution rebuking Iran for its continued defiance of U.N. resolutions that demand a halt to uranium enrichment and other activities that U.S. officials say are aimed at developing nuclear weapons and is particularly critical of Iran’s secret construction of a second enrichment plant inside mountain bunkers near the ancient city of Qom, southwest of Tehran;

b.     The resolution, which was supported by China and Russia, two longtime skeptics of taking a hard line against Iran, said the government’s failure to notify the IAEA of the project was a “breach of its obligations” under U.N. treaties.



November 28th

1.        A conservative Iranian legislator warned that his country may pull out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty after a U.N. resolution censoring Tehran—a move that could seriously undermine world attempts to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons:

·                    If Iran withdraws from the treaty, its nuclear program would no longer be subject to oversight by the U.N. nuclear agency, and that, in turn, would be a significant blow to efforts to ensure that no enriched uranium is diverted from use as fuel to warhead development.



WEEK FORTY-SIX

November 29th

1.         Iran’s government will build ten new sites to enrich uranium, President Ahmadinejad said, a dramatic expansion of that country’s nuclear program and one that is bound to fuel fears that it is attempting to produce a nuclear weapon:

a.     Ahmadinejad told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that construction of at least five nuclear facilities was to begin within two months, and the announcement came two days after a censure of Iran by the International Atomic Energy Organization over the Islamic republic’s refusal to stop enriching uranium;

b.     In a further sign of growing hostility toward the West, Iran’s parliament called on Ahmadinejad’s government to reduce ties with the International Atomic Energy Organization—a move that could limit the agency’s access to Iran’s nuclear sites.

 

November 30th

1.  As the Senate opened debate on a landmark plan to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system, congressional budget analysts said the measure would leave premiums unchanged or slightly lower for the vast majority of Americans, contradicting assertions by the insurance industry that the average family’s coverage would rise by thousands of dollars if the proposal became law:

·                    Democrats, who had been anxiously awaiting the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s pronouncement on premiums, hailed the report as a political vindication that should help reassure wavering moderates in both parties.

 

December 1st

1.     NATO officials said that President Obama is asking European members of the military alliance to contribute up to 10,000 new troops to the international force in Afghanistan :

·                    A diplomat from a European nation said the troop figure was included in an official NATO document compiled on the basis of information received from Washington before Obama’s announcement later today of new U.S. troop deployments.

2.     The economy seems on track for slow but steady gains, after reports today showed growth in manufacturing activity, construction spending, and contracts to buy homes:

·                    A private measure of manufacturing activity grew for the fourth straight month in November, though more slowly than in October, and economists were encouraged that new orders—a gauge of future production—jumped to 60.3 from 58.5 in October, while construction spending also showed growth with the first increase in six months, largely on the strength of home building.

3.     In ordering the accelerated deployment of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan , President Obama made clear that he would demand a far greater effort from President Hamid Karzai to staunch corruption in his government and from Afghan soldiers and police officers to fight Taliban insurgents:

·                    The president said that the extra U.S. soldiers would be on the ground for a limited time to insure the Afghans follow through, and that is at the heart of the problem: in laying down the gauntlet for the Afghans, Obama is setting criteria for the success that he and his field commanders may be able to influence but ultimately will not be able to control.

 

December 2nd

1.     Failure in Afghanistan would mean a Taliban takeover of the country and “have severe consequences for the U.S. and the world,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said as the Obama administration set out to sell its new war strategy on Capitol Hill:

·                    “Failure in Afghanistan would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country and likely a renewed civil war,” Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee, and “Taliban-ruled areas could, in short order, become, once again, a sanctuary for al-Qaida as well as a staging area for resurgent militant groups on the offensive in Pakistan .”

2.     The Obama administration approved the first human embryonic stem cells for experiments by federally-funded scientists—part of a policy designed to dramatically expand government support for one of the most promising but contentious fields of research:

·                    The National Institutes of Health authorized 11 lines of cells produced by scientists at the Children’s Hospital in Boston and two lines created by the researchers at Rockefeller University in New York —all were obtained from embryos left over by couples seeking treatment for infertility.

3.     In a defiant speech, Iran ’s president declared that his country would enrich uranium to a much higher level—a fresh rejection of an international plan to curb Tehran ’s nuclear program:

·                    Experts said that could put Tehran on the road to making the material needed to arm a warhead within months, but Iran denies any interest in developing nuclear arms, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was ready to enrich some of its present stockpiles to 20%, the grade needed to create fuel for a small medical research reactor in the Iranian capitol.

4.     The monthly University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators report concludes that while the recession may have ended as far back as August, job seekers still face difficulties and the economy remains fragile:

·                    A separate report by the Federal Reserve found that economic activity since October moved up moderately across the western U.S.

5.     The Labor Department said that unemployment worsened or stayed the same in most metro areas in October as jobs remained scarce nationwide:

·                    The jobless rate rose in 162 of the 372 metro areas tracked by the Labor Department, and the rate was unchanged in 42 areas, including Portland , while it dropped in 168 areas.

 

December 3rd

1.     The Senate cast its first votes on remaking the nation’s healthcare system, approving an amendment to safeguard coverage of mammograms and preventive screening tests for women:

a.     The 61-39 vote on a provision by Democrat Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine was the first substantive ballot in an acrimonious debate that promises to go on for weeks;

b.     Two Democratic senators voted against the Mikulski amendment—Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, but the measure was saved by three Republicans voting in favor—Snow, David Vitter of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine.

2.     Senate Democrats closed ranks behind $460 billion in politically risky Medicare cuts at the heart of healthcare legislation, thwarting a Republican attempt to doom President Obama’s sweeping overhaul:

·                    The bid by the bill’s critics to reverse cuts to the popular Medicare program failed on a vote of 58-42 (both Oregon senators voted no), drawing the support of two Democratic defectors.

3.     The House approved a measure that would make the current estate tax rate permanent, setting it at 45% for individual estates worth more than $3.5 million:

a.     The bill passed 225 to 200 (all Oregon Democrats voted yes; Walden voted no), with 26 Democrats joining all Republicans present in voting no;

b.     If Congress does not act, the estate tax will disappear in 2010, then return in 2011 under the higher rate—55% with a $1 million exemption—that existed before George W. Bush took office.

4.     President Obama promised at a White House job forum to take “every responsible step to accelerate job creation, “including some ideas he said could not be put into action quickly, and he cited an expanded program to help make more U.S. homes energy-efficient as an example:

·                    He also mentioned trade measures and possible new tax incentives among ways to stop job losses that are the worst since the 1930s.

 

December 4th

1.     A surprising drop in the unemployment rate and far fewer job losses last month cheered investors and raised hopes for a sustained economic recovery:

·                    The rate unexpectedly fell to 10%, from 10.2% in October, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since the recession began, and the government also said 159,000 fewer jobs were lost in September and October than first reported.

2.     The Senate turned back a Republican effort to eliminate a long-term care insurance program to help seniors and the disabled, saving the plan once championed by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy in its healthcare overhaul bill:

a.     Eleven Democrats voted with the Republicans, who said the program would turn into a drain on the budget, but Republicans fell short in a bid to strike the long-term care plan on a 51-47 vote (both Oregon Democrats voted no);

b.     Two leading Democrats who shaped the healthcare bill, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota , voted with the Republicans—underscoring the gravity of the fiscal concerns.

3.     The federal government is speeding up plans to produce more renewable fuels, announcing it will spend nearly $600 million to help build plants that turn wood chips, cornstalks, and algae into fuel:

·                    The government will team up with private companies to create 19 biorefinery projects in 15 states, including Oregon , and the government’s $564 million share will come from stimulus funds and will be combined with $700 million in private investments.

  

December 5th

1.     Senate Republicans forced Democrats to vote in favor of cutting billions from providers of home care for older people, as Republicans offered their third amendment in the debate:

·                    Like the other two, this measure by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE), would have eliminated $42 billion in cuts over ten years to agencies that provide home healthcare to seniors under Medicare, with four moderate Democrats joining all Republicans present in voting for the amendment: Senators Jim Webb of Virginia, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

 


WEEK FORTY-SEVEN



December 6th

1. The Senate intensified their yearlong effort to build a consensus around some form of a public insurance plan to compete with private insurance as Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada named ten senators—five centrists and five liberals—to seek a compromise:

2. According to a new Treasury report, the Treasury Department expects to recover all but $42 billion of the $370 billion it lent to ailing companies during the financial crisis last year, with the portion lent to banks actually showing a slight profit:


December 7th

1. The old Hanford nuclear reservation is the single biggest recipient of federal stimulus contracts—a plan to pump an additional $2 billion into the enormous effort to decontaminate the remote campus a few miles from the Oregon border:

2. Opening the door to possible broad federal regulations on U.S. power plants, heavy industry, and automobiles, the Obama administration officially declared that greenhouse gases produced by burning coal and oil are a danger to public health:

3. Several lawmakers said that Senate Democratic liberals are seeking expansion of two large federal programs, Medicare and Medicaid, in exchange for dropping a government-funded insurance option from healthcare legislation sought by President Obama:

4. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that it is too soon to know whether the economic recovery will last and again pledged to hold interest rates at record-low levels for an “extended period.”


December 8th

1. After a year of tensions, President Obama is sending a veteran diplomat to North Korea today for the highest profile talks between Pyongyang and Washington since he took office, pledging to reach out to U.S. adversaries:

2. President Obama outlined new multibillion-dollar stimulus and job proposals today, saying the nation must continue to “spend our way out of this recession” until more Americans are back at work:

3. After meeting today with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said it may be five years before his army is ready to take on insurgents—a blunt warning that the planned exit strategy for U.S. troops from Afghanistan 18 months from now could grind slowly through 2014:

4. Senate negotiators struck a tentative agreement to replace the controversial government-run insurance plan in their version of healthcare legislation, hoping to remove one of the last major roadblocks preventing the bill from moving to a final vote in the chamber:

5. In an effort to settle a dispute with roots in the 1880s that began one of the epic lawsuits of modern Washington, the Obama administration would pay $1.4 billion to a group of Native Americans who said the government mismanaged a century-old system of land trusts:


December 9th

1. The House voted to extend $31 billion in popular tax breaks, including an income deduction for sales and property taxes, to be financed with a tax increase on investment fund managers and a crackdown on international tax cheats:

2. A day ahead of testimony in which he is sure to be questioned about the controversial taxpayer-funded bank bailout program, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that he wants to extend it into late 2010:

3. Bank of America said that it has repaid the $45 billion it owed U.S. taxpayers as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program:

4. Only about 10,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifications this fall under the Obama administration’s mortgage relief plan, more evidence of serious failings in the government’s efforts to stem the foreclosure crisis:


December 10th

1. The number of homeowners on the brink of foreclosure fell in November, the fourth straight monthly decline, as mortgage companies evaluated whether borrowers were eligible for help:

2. President Obama’s envoy to North Korea said that his trip to Pyongyang yielded a common understanding on the need to restart nuclear disarmament talks—but no clear time frame on when the regime might return to the negotiations:

3. Expanding access to low-cost prescription drugs from overseas might look like a sure winner in the effort to make healthcare more affordable, but the seemingly popular idea brought the Senate healthcare debate to a standstill, as Democrats divided over whether they should bow to the drug industry’s fierce opposition:

a. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) temporarily halted Senate consideration of the healthcare bill after three days of inconclusive debate on an amendment by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and John McCain (R-AZ) that would allow U.S. pharmacies and wholesalers to import drugs from Canada and other countries with safety standards comparable to the U.S.

b. Despite Obama’s past support for such a measure, which he campaigned on last year and says he still supports, the White House feared if the amendment were approved, the powerful drug industry would turn against the entire healthcare bill.

4. Democrats are muscling through a deficit-swelling bill, giving domestic programs their third major boost this year and rewarding lawmakers with more than 5,000 home-state projects:

5. American householders’ net worth rose five percent, to $53.4 trillion, in the third quarter, the second straight quarterly increase, attributable to a surge in stock investments of about 17% and a rise in home values of a modest two percent:


December 11th

1. A loophole in the Senate healthcare bill would let insurance companies place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer, prompting a rebuke from patient advocates:

2. Signs of a strengthening global recovery emerged today, with consumers boosting retail sales, companies restoring stockpiles, and Chinese exports mounting a comeback:

3. Senators trying to craft bipartisan climate legislation offered a revised proposal that would add incentives for building nuclear power plants and open the way for expanding oil and gas drilling off the nation’s coastlines in hopes of attracting wider support:

4. On a party line 223-202 vote (no Republicans voted for the bill; 27 Democrats voted against it), the U.S. House passed legislation designed to bring the most sweeping rewrite of financial regulation since the New Deal-era following the Great Depression:

5. Temporary hiring is on the rise in Oregon, a trend that often foreshadows a ratcheting up of the permanent work force:


December 12th

1. The Obama administration says Oregon is better off to the tune of nearly 10,000 jobs because of the federal stimulus program—the latest tally on the Obama administration’s Web site puts the estimate number of jobs “saved or created” at the equivalent of about 9,600, a figure intended to express in full-time equivalents the variety of jobs it covers: full-time, part-time, and temporary:

2. The Democratic controlled Senate turned away a Republican filibuster of a huge end-of-year spending bill that rewards most federal agencies with generous budget boosts:

3. After weeks of conflicting responses, Iran abruptly said that it’s ready to exchange uranium for nuclear fuel—the key demand of a U.N-sponsored initiative to defuse global fears over its nuclear program:



WEEK FORTY-EIGHT

December 13th

1.        On a vote of 57-35 (Merkley did not vote; Wyden voted yes), the Senate passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill that contains thousands of earmarks and double-digit increases for several Cabinet agencies, and the measure now goes to President Obama for his signature:

·                    The House this week may vote to raise the federal debt ceiling by at least $1.8 trillion—the current limit is expected to be breached by New Years Eve.

 

December 14th

1.     President Obama challenged top bankers to explore “every responsible way” to increase lending, saying they were obliged to help after being rescued by taxpayers:

·                    In a statement after more than an hour with the executives, Obama said he reminded them that much of the financial crisis that took the U.S. banking system to the brink of collapse had been “of their own making”, and he also exhorted the executives—both in private and in public—to drop their opposition to an overhaul of the nation’s financial industry.

2.     Oregon’s job losses in November hit 4,600, a figure that disappointed economists and raised the specter of a longer and more painful recovery from recession:

·                    The seasonally adjusted job cut occurred the same month that national losses improved, showing that Oregon continues taking the economic slowdown harder than the nation—the state’s unemployment rate remained essentially flat in November at 11.1%, well above the nation’s 10% level.

3.     Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. said that they would repay their government bailout loans, freeing them from close scrutiny and marking the latest step toward recovery for the U.S. financial system:

·                    Citigroup, whose future looked uncertain as recently as the beginning of this year, will repay $20 billion, while Wells Fargo will repay the $25 billion it received—both banks announced significant capital raises in order to repay the money, and the government will also sell the one-third stake it holds in Citigroup.

 

December 15th

1.     President Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as part of an intense effort to draw the reclusive nation back to nuclear disarmament talks, according to a senior State Department official:

·                    The letter was delivered to North Korean officials last week by Obama’s special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, during a visit to Pyongyang aimed at restarting the stalled negotiations, the official said.

2.     The Senate rejected a plan to allow Americans to import low-cost prescriptions from abroad, handing drug makers a victory that may help secure passage of President Obama’s healthcare overhaul:

·                    The vote on the amendment by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) was 51-48 in favor, but 60 votes were needed to prevail under a special rule.

 

December 16th

1.     Federal regulators voted to require companies to reveal more information about how they pay their top executives amid a public outcry over compensation:

·                    The Securities and Exchange Commission voted four to one to expand the disclosure requirements for public companies—company policies that encouraged excessive risk-taking and rewarded executives for delivering short-term profits were blamed for fueling the financial crisis.

2.     Iran test-fired an upgraded version of its most advanced missile, which is capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe, in a show of strength aimed at preventing any military strike against it amid the nuclear standoff with the West:

·                    The test stoked tensions between Iran and the West, which is pressing Tehran to rein in its nuclear program—British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it showed the need for tougher U.N. sanctions on Iran.

3.     The House pushed through a last-minute flurry of legislation, including a $636 billion Pentagon funding bill, a short-term rise in the nation’s debt limit, and an extension of unemployment and health benefits for millions of jobless Americans.

 

December 18th

1.     President Obama announced that five major nations, including the U.S., had forged a climate deal, and while he called it “an unprecedented breakthrough”, he acknowledged that it fell short of what was required to combat global warming:

·                    The accord that Obama negotiated with the leaders of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa did not meet even the modest expectations that leaders set for the meeting, nor does the plan firmly commit the industrialized nations or the developing nations to firm pledges for midterm or long-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

2.     The Labor Department reported that in a reversal of earlier gains, more states lost jobs than added them in November, signaling that hiring is occurring only sporadically around the country:

·                    Unemployment rates dropped in 36 states and the District of Columbia, but the report underscored that employers have yet to ramp up hiring and many Americans can’t find work—the number of people jobless for at least six months rose last month to 5.9 million, and the average length of unemployment exceeds 28 weeks, the longest on records dating to 1948.





WEEK FORTY-NINE

December 21st

1.     Against unanimous Republican opposition and by the thinnest possible margin, all 58 Democrats and the Senate’s two Independents held together in a crucial test vote on the healthcare measure:

·                    The move overcame a procedural effort that could have scuttled a final vote on the massive bill, and President Obama said that the bill would reduce the deficit long term, countering criticism that the legislations is too expensive—the Senate is on pace to pass the bill before Christmas.

2.     The president has chosen a national cyber-security coordinator to take on the formidable task of organizing and managing the nation’s vulnerable digital networks:

·                    According to a senior White House official, Obama has tapped Howard A. Schmidt, a long time computer security executive who worked in the Bush administration and has extensive ties to the corporate world.



December 22nd

1.     Iran’s president dismissed a year-end deadline set by the Obama administration and the West for Tehran to accept a U.N.-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel:

·                    Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also accused the U.S. of fabricating a purported Iranian secret document that appears to lay out a plan for developing a critical component of an atomic bomb.

2.     Sales of previously occupied homes surged in November to the highest level in nearly three years, spurred by federal subsidies for starter homes and a massive Federal Reserve push to drive down mortgage rates:

·                    The strong figures were driven by a race to take advantage of a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers—the government initially planned to end the credit November 30th but has since extended it to next spring.

3.     Sales of new homes plunged unexpectedly last month to the lowest level since April, a sign the housing market recovery will be rocky:

·                    New home sales data are a better indicator of future real estate activity than sales of previously occupied homes but capture a smaller slice of the market.



December 23rd

1.     Consumer spending posted its second straight monthly increase in November, rising 0.5%, the government said, but new homes’ sales plunged unexpectedly to the lowest level since April:

·                    The reports were evidence that the recovery is proceeding in fits and starts, with households struggling in a bleak job market, but economists said the economy was much improved from this time last year, when the nation was gripped by the financial crisis.

2.     Citigroup and Wells Fargo said that they repaid the $45 billion the giant banks got from the Troubled Asset Relief Program in the midst of the financial crisis last year, freeing Citigroup from government restrictions on compensation.



December 24th

1.     Senate Democrats passed a landmark healthcare bill on a 60-39 vote after months of negotiations and 24 days of floor debate, with Vice President Biden presiding as 58 Democrats and two Independents voted yes to a unanimous no vote from the Republicans:

·                    The Senate bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before President Obama can sign a final bill—there are significant differences between the two measures, but Democrats say they have come too far to fail.

2.     The Senate voted to raise the ceiling on the government debt to $12.4 trillion, a massive increase in the current limit and a political problem that the president has promised to address next year:

·                    The Senate’s 60-39 vote follows House passage last week and raises the debt ceiling by $290 billion, and President Obama must sign the measure into law to prevent a first-ever default on U.S. obligations.

3.     The Labor Department said that the number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment aid fell more than expected last week, and the 4-week average for claims fell for the 16th consecutive week—to its lowest point since September 2008:

·                    Further evidence of a gradually healing economy was a Commerce Department report that orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket durable goods rose in November—the overall increase was less than expected, but excluding the transportation category, the gains were twice what economists had forecast.

4.     The Treasury Department said that it removed the $400 billion financial cap on the money it will provide to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat—taxpayers have already given $111 billion to the pair, but a senior Treasury official said losses are not expected to exceed the government’s estimate this summer of $170 billion over ten years:

·                    Treasury Department officials said that it would now use a flexible formula to ensure the two agencies can stand behind the billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities they sell to investors.



December 26th

        A 23 year-old Nigerian man who claimed ties to al-Qaida was charged with trying to destroy a Detroit-bound airliner, as authorities learned his father warned U.S. officials about his son’s religious beliefs:

·                    The Justice Department charged that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab willfully attempted to destroy or wreck an aircraft and that he placed a destructive device in the plane—the suspect claimed to have received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.




WEEK FIFTY

December 28, 2009

        Federal authorities met to assess the nation’s system of terror-watch lists to determine how to avoid the type of lapse that allowed a man with explosives to board a flight to the U.S. even though he was flagged as a possible terrorist:

·                    A senior U.S. intelligence official said that authorities were reviewing the procedures that govern the lists, which could include how someone is placed on, or moved between, the various databases.



December 29, 2009

        According to an intelligence report obtained by the Associated Press, Iran is close to clinching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium from Kazakhstan, heightening international concern about Tehran’s nuclear activities:

·                    Such a purified uranium ore deal would be significant because Tehran appears to be running out of the material, which it needs to feed its uranium enrichment program.



December 30, 2009

1.     President Obama is demanding answers on why information was never pieced together by the U.S. intelligence community to trigger red flags about an alleged terrorist and possibly prevent his botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner:

·                    Obama’s homeland security and counter terrorism advisor, John Brennan, is due to present the president with an early report by tomorrow, based on recommendations and summaries from across the government.

2.     The federal government gave GMAC Financial Services another $3.8 billion in cash and took a majority stake in the auto lender, aiming to stabilize the company as it struggles with big losses in its home-mortgage unit:

·                    The infusion is on top of $12.5 billion that Detroit-based GMAC has already received from the government, and the new aid will boost the government’s ownership in GMAC to 56%, from 35%, and means the U.S. now holds a majority stake in three companies that it bailed out with taxpayer funds: GMAC, GM, and insurer AIG—the government has also taken control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

3.     The U.S. government is imposing new duties on imports of steel pipe from China, the latest sign of trade tensions between the two nations:

·                    The case is the largest steel trade dispute in U.S. history and will affect about $2.8 billion worth of Chinese imports.



December 31, 2009

1.     In a New Year message, North Korea said that it remains committed to achieve a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through dialogue and negotiations:

·                    North Korea also said that it would strive to develop good relations and friendship with other nations while calling for an end of hostile relations with the U.S.

2.     Oregon lost 77,900 payroll jobs during the first 11 months of 2009, and economists say that while the state has technically climbed out of recession, non-farm job losses continue, with 4,600 gone in November, leaving 1,611,700 employed:

·                    The state’s 11.1% jobless rate—with 211,424 Oregonians unemployed—is higher than the national rate of 10%, and Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate would be even higher, economists said, if many job seekers had not given up.

3.     China condemned a U.S. agency’s rule that clears the way for tariffs on imports of steel pipe from China and asserted that the global economic slowdown is the real reason for lower demand for U.S.-made steel pipe:

·                    The ITC ruling involved one of the largest U.S.-China trade cases ever, focusing on the tripling of U.S. imports of steel pipe from China from 2006 to 2008 from $6.81 million to $2.8 billion—U.S. companies alleged that their Chinese rivals received discounts on raw materials and loans from government-owned firms.



January 2, 2010

1.     President Obama said that an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen apparently ordered the Christmas Day plot against a U.S. airliner, training and arming the 23-year-old Nigerian man accused in the failed bombing:

·                    Obama has ordered a thorough look at the shortcomings that permitted the plot, which failed not because of U.S. actions but because the would-be attacker was unable to ignite an explosive device, and Obama has summoned homeland security officials to meet with him at the White House Situation Room January 5th.

2.     Iran set a one-month deadline for the West to accept its counter proposal to a U.N.-drafted nuclear plan and warned that otherwise it would produce reactor fuel at a higher level of enrichment on its own:

·                    The U.S. and its allies have demanded Iran accept the terms of the U.N.-drafted deal to swap most of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel, reducing Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium—limiting its ability to make nuclear weapons—but Tehran’s counter proposal would have the West either sell nuclear fuel to Iran or swap its nuclear fuel for Iran’s enriched uranium in smaller batches instead of all at once as the U.N. plan requires.



WEEK FIFTY-ONE

January 3, 2010

1.     The U.S. and Britain closed their embassies in the capitol of Yemen, citing threats in the Arabian Peninsula from al-Qaida, the terrorist group linked to the attempt to bomb an international flight on its descent into Detroit on Christmas Day:

·                    U.S. military and intelligence officials said that the first warnings of imminent attack came three weeks ago, using information obtained through enhanced intelligence-sharing established with Yemen last year, and the information pointed to four suicide bombers headed to San’a to attack Western targets, possibly the U.S. and Britain embassies—military strikes thwarted those attacks, the officials said.

2.     Yemeni officials dismissed the threat posed by al-Qaida in their country as “exaggerated” and downplayed the possibility of cooperating with the U.S. in fighting Islamic militants:

·                    Analysts said the statements by Yemen’s foreign minister, chief of national security, and Interior Ministry, reflected domestic political concerns about making President Ali Adbullah Saleh appear weak and beholden to the West as he faces numerous political challenges.

3.     The Transportation Security Administration outlined new rules in a directive sent to the airlines, going into effect January 4th for people traveling to the U.S. from or through Yemen, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and 11 other countries, making them subject to extra security screening, including full-body pat-downs:

·                    Many other passengers who are not from those 14 countries or traveling through them will continue to see additional screening measures, and TSA also said that all passengers on U.S.-bound international flights will be subject to random screening, and airports were directed to increase “threat-based” screening of passengers acting in a suspicious manner.



January 4, 2010

1.     According to a new survey by the Conference Board research group, only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work, the lowest level ever recorded by this research group in more than 22 years of studying the issue:

·                    The drop in workers’ happiness can be partly blamed on the worst recession since the 1930s, but worker dissatisfaction has been on the rise for more than two decades, and if the job satisfaction trend is not reversed, economists say, it could stifle innovation and hurt America’s competitiveness and productivity.

2.     Upbeat news about manufacturing lifted the Dow Jones industrial average 155 points or 1.5%.

·                    The report by a private trade group signals that industrial production is likely to keep expanding in coming months, economists said, and that could lead, in turn, to increased hiring and job creation—it was the fifth straight month of expansion and the highest reading (55.9—a reading above 50 indicates growth) for the manufacturing index since April 2006.



January 5, 2010

1.     The U.S. Embassy in Yemen ended a 2-day closure triggered by a terrorist threat from al-Qaida:

a.     The Yemeni government, which sent thousands of troops this week to remote provinces where al-Qaida has set up strongholds, has been angered by suggestions that the state is too weakened to handle the fight against terrorists;

b.     The British Embassy, which had also closed, also reopened operations, and other Western embassies maintained heightened security, including the French and Czech, which closed to the public.

2.     The number of people preparing to buy a home fell sharply in November, a new sign that the housing market may be headed for a “double-dip” downturn over the winter:

·                    The figures came after a similarly discouraging report on new home sales, illustrating how heavily the housing market depends right now on government help.



January 6, 2010

1.     According to a person familiar with the meeting between President Obama and top Democratic House members, the president favors a tax on insurance companies offering more expensive healthcare plans as a means of extending insurance to millions of people who are not covered:

·                    The so-called Cadillac tax is a feature of a healthcare bill that cleared the Senate before the Christmas holiday, but the House has chosen another financing method—a tax increase on the wealthy:

  •        Powerful labor unions at the core of the Democratic base are opposed to the Cadillac tax, saying that in some cases, union members gave up wage increases in return for better healthcare benefits.

2.     Afghanistan asked the U.N. Security Council to lift sanctions on elements of the Taliban that renounce violence and agree to support the government, signaling a new strategy against the militants:

·                    Meanwhile, the U.S. said that it is tripling its civilian experts in the nation to almost 1,000—as a complement to the additional 30,000 U.S. troops the president has ordered to Afghanistan.

3.     According to a classified Pentagon report, one in five terror suspects released from the Guantanamo Bay prison has returned to the fight:

·                    The finding reflects an upward trend on the recidivism rate, although human rights activists who advocate closing the prison have questioned the validity of such numbers.



January 7, 2010

1.     The EPA proposes stricter health standards for smog, replacing a Bush-era limit that ran counter to scientific recommendations:

·                    The new limits—which are presented as a range—will likely put hundreds more counties nationwide in violation, a designation that will require them to find additional ways to clamp down on pollution or face government sanctions, most likely the loss of federal highway dollars.

2.     President Obama ordered intelligence agencies to streamline how they pursue and analyze terrorism threats, saying that the government had to respond aggressively to the failures that allowed a Nigerian man to allegedly attempt to ignite an explosive mixture on a commercial jetliner Christmas Day:

·                    The president directed the Homeland Security Department to acquire $1 billion in advanced-technology equipment for the screening of passengers, including body scanners at U.S. airports and international cities on flights headed to the U.S.

3.     Republicans in both houses called for hearings to investigate revelations that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, led at the time by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, pushed for greater secrecy on controversial bailout deals:

·                    Emails between lawyers for the New York Fed and bailed-out insurance conglomerate American International Group Inc. show that AIG wanted to disclose some details about billions in payments it made to banks to cancel financial deals, but lawyers for the New York Fed which engineered AIG’s bailout with the Bush administration’s Treasury Department, told AIG to remove the information from a draft.



January 8, 2010

1.     As the White House announced $2.3 billion in tax credits, three green-tech companies with Oregon operations or plans for one, captured $87 million in tax credits:

·                    The Oregon recipients were:

  •        Solar-World Industries America, which received $82.2 million in credits for its new solar wafer factory in Hillsboro;

  •        Centrosolar Oregon, which received $4.7 million in credits for a manufacturing plant proposed in Gresham; and

  •        Pacific Metal Fabrication in Eugene, which received $304,000 for producing solar hot water systems.

2.     The nation shed 85,000 jobs in December, a worse-than-expected performance, and economists said that 2010 would be a year of stubbornly high unemployment:

·                    The unemployment rate held steady at 10%, but only because so many people gave up and stopped looking for work, which meant they were no longer counted as unemployed, but the jobless rate is likely to rise in coming months as more people see signs of an improving economy and start looking for work again—some economists think it could be near 11% by June, which would be the highest since World War II.

3.     U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said that the newly mandated interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force will focus on rooting out four specific areas of financial crime, ranging from simple mortgage fraud to complicated scams designed to steal money from the government-stimulus programs:

·                    Holder said, “In establishing the new entity, President Obama recognized that mortgage-, securities-, and corporate-fraud schemes have eroded public confidence—both at home and abroad—in the strength and integrity of America’s markets. . . these crimes have only added to the challenges we face in overcoming the financial crisis that has gripped our economy for the past two years, and they have led to growing sentiment that Wall Street does not play by the same rules as Main Street.”

4.     Americans borrowed less for a tenth consecutive month in November with total credit and borrowing on credit cards falling by the largest amount on records going back nearly seven decades:

·                    The Federal Reserve said that total borrowing dropped by $17.5 billion in November, a much bigger decline than the $5 billion decrease economists had expected, and the dramatic decline raised new worries about whether consumers will cut back further on spending, making it harder for the economy to mount a sustained rebound.



January 9, 2010

1.        Days Creek and Elkton were two of six Oregon school districts to receive word shortly before the winter break that they had both received grant funding to convert their current boiler systems to biomass boilers, which would use wood as fuel—Douglas County Commissioner Joe Laurance has called Douglas County “the Saudi Arabia of biomass”:

·                    The grants, awarded by the State Energy Program through American Recovery and Reimbursement stimulus funds, total more than $230,000.



 WEEK FIFTY-TWO



January 11, 2010

1.     President Obama told union leaders at a private White House meeting that he remained committed to taxing high-cost insurance policies as a way to drive down health costs, but he also signaled that he was willing to amend the proposal to “make this work for working families”, a senior administration official said:

·                    Obama’s remarks, at an hour-long session with a dozen labor leaders in the White House Roosevelt Room, came just hours after the new president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, delivered a speech at the National Press Club in which he criticized the tax as a “policy that benefits elites and warned that Democrats would pay a price at the polls if enacted.

2.     An Associated Press’ analysis of stimulus spending found that a surge of more than $20 billion in federal stimulus money for roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment rates, raising questions about President Obama’s argument for billions more to address an “urgent need to accelerate job growth”:

a.     The analysis noted that it would not matter if a lot of money or none at all were spent on highways, local unemployment rose and fell regardless, and the stimulus only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry;

b.     In Oregon, the construction industry lost seven percent of its jobs between February and October despite $222 million in federal stimulus projects for roads and bridges—the AP numbers did not cover all construction jobs, just roads and bridges.

3.     Administration and congressional officials said that President Obama will try to recoup for taxpayers as much as $120 billion of what was spent to bail out the financial system, most likely through a tax on large banks:

·                    The officials said that the general idea is to devise a levy that would help reduce the budget deficit, which is now at a level not seen since World War II, and would also discourage the kinds of excessive risk-taking among financial institutions that led to a near-collapse of Wall Street in 2008.

 

January 12, 2010

1.     The Haitian capitol of Port-au-Prince was largely destroyed in the most powerful earthquake to hit that country in more than 200 years:

·                    Communications were widely disrupted, making it impossible to get a full picture of the damage as powerful aftershocks shook the desperately poor country where many buildings are flimsy.

2.     The Federal Reserve generated record profits last year, reflecting money made from its extraordinary efforts to rescue the country from the worst economic and financial crisis since the 1930s:

·                    The central bank announced that it had logged a record windfall of $52.1 billion, and of that total, a record $46.1 billion gets turned over to the Treasury Department—marking both the biggest profit and the biggest payment to Treasury on records dating back to 1914 when the Fed began operating.

3.     According to a Pew Research poll, despite a recession that has disproportionately affected their economy, African Americans are dramatically more upbeat about their progress in this country than at any time during the past quarter century—39% of African Americans say “the situation of black people in this country” is better now than it was five years ago, almost double the 20% who said that in 2007:

·                    Barack Obama’s election as the nation’s first African American president is credited for the increased optimism that is reflected in a range of issues, including race relations and expectations for further African American progress.

4.     According to Standard & Poor’s Indices, 2009 was a record year, with more than 800 companies cutting or canceling dividend payments—the most since the 1950s:

·                    But fewer companies cut dividends in the fourth quarter, and many are now sitting on piles of cash, both signs suggesting dividends could get a boost this year.

 

January 13, 2010

1.     President Obama, facing the first large-scale humanitarian crisis of his presidency, moved quickly to send help to Haiti, pledging that the Haitians and their devastated island nation would have the “unwavering support” of the U.S.:

·                    Within hours of Obama being informed of the quake in Haiti, U.S. officials were plotting a response that included ships, transport planes, helicopters, and thousands of Marines, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to cancel the rest of her Pacific trip and return to Washington.

2.     In a sharp course change from current policy, the Obama administration said that it wants far more of Oregon and four other states set aside to protect a native, wide-ranging fish called the bull trout:

·                    It would mean more than a 5-fold increase in the miles of rivers and acres of lakes dedicated as critical habitat for the threatened species and could mean more restrictions on recreation and development on federal lands, which cover roughly half of Oregon.

3.     The Federal Reserve said that little by little, regional economies in the U.S. are springing back to life, though several pillars—housing construction, real estate, and the job market—remain very weak:

·                    The central bank’s report on economic growth across the country, known as the beige book, registered modest improvement in such areas as consumer spending and home sales, but the Fed’s cautious tone suggested that a recovery would be slow and hesitant.

4.     RealtyTrac Inc. reported that a record 28 million U.S. households were threatened with foreclosure last year, and that number is expected to rise this year as many unemployed and cash-strapped homeowners fall behind in their mortgages:

·                    The number of households that received foreclosure related notices rose 21% from 2008—one in 45 homes was sent a filing, which included default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions, and bank repossessions.

 

January 14, 2010

1.     In dealing with the Haitian disaster, President Obama announced “one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history,” starting with $100 million in aid, while the U.S. Southern Command reported that the first 100 of a planned deployment of 900 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division landed in Haiti from North Carolina to support disaster relief, to be followed this weekend by 2,000 Marines:

·                    To help with the relief efforts for the massive 7.0 quake, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, other governments, the U.N. and private aid groups were sending planeloads of high-energy biscuits and other foods, tons of water, tents, blankets, water-purification gear, heavy equipment for removing debris, helicopters and other transport, and tens of hundreds of search-and-rescue, medical and other specialists.

2.     The White House, congressional leaders, and labor unions said that they had reached agreement on a proposal to tax high-cost health insurance policies, resolving one of the major differences between the House and the Senate over far-reaching health legislation:

·                    Under the agreement, revenues from the tax would help finance coverage for millions of people who are uninsured, and labor leaders hailed the deal, saying that they were prepared to fight for passage of the legislation.

3.     Early reports from stores on the holiday shopping season looked good, but it turns out retail sales actually fell in December, leaving economists puzzled about the fate of the recovery:

·                    The government said that sales dropped 0.3% from the month before, mostly because people spent less on cars and appliances—for the year, they fell 6.2%--and economists said that the monthly decline could just be a blip, but with unemployment so high and credit tight, the report shows the recovery remains tentative.

4.     In a plan designed to raise $90 billion over the next decade, while constraining the industry’s ability to take large risks and reap outsize rewards, President Obama proposed a sharp increase in the taxes paid by the nation’s largest financial institutions:

·                    “My commitment is to recover every dime the American people are owed,” Obama said in a statement announcing the proposal, “and my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people, who have not been made whole and who continue to face real hardship in this recession.”

5.     A law enforcement official said that all airlines flying to the U.S. or within the country were told to prepare for even tighter security because of the al-Qaida threat from Yemen:

·                    The U.S. increased the number of air marshals on international flights and pressed for more random screening at airports as intelligence officials warned that al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen was continuing to plot attacks on the U.S.

 

January 15, 2010

1.     America ’s inflation-adjusted weekly wages fell 1.6%—the sharpest drop since 1990—even as consumer prices rose only modestly:

·                    The Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index showed that overall consumer prices rose 2.7% last year as a surge in energy prices last year offset the biggest drop in food costs in nearly a half century.

2.     With his signature healthcare bill on the line, President Obama decided to join the political fracas in Massachusetts, where Republicans appear to have a chance to win the special election to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat:

·                    A Republican win in Tuesday’s election would strip Democrats of their 60-vote supermajority in the Senate and allow the Republicans to block legislation with filibusters, so the president:

o       will travel to Massachusetts on Sunday to campaign for the Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Martha Coakley;

o       has recorded an automated “robo-call” to urge Massachusetts’ voters to support the Democratic candidate; and

o       has cut a Web video with the same message.

 

January 16, 2010

        President Obama and former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton met in the Oval Office for about half an hour to discuss the assignment he gave them: to lead private fundraising efforts for Haitian relief, including immediate needs and the long-term rebuilding effort:

·                    Obama also sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Caribbean country for the first look at the devastation by a top U.S. official—the White House has said that the president has no immediate plans to visit.