News For Thursday Dec 4, 2008 News For Thursday Dec 4, 2008

Politics & Elections Politics & Elections

Minn. prepares for end of US Senate race recount - Added 22 minutes ago

A quick finish to Minnesota's U.S. Senate race seemed unlikely Thursday when the city of Minneapolis was given an open-ended extension to locate ballots counted on Election Day that have since gone missing. About 130...

Obama raised $104 million toward election's close - Added 27 minutes ago

Barack Obama's presidential campaign raised $104 million in the weeks around Election Day, a grand finale to a successful bid that shattered fundraising records. Overall, Obama raised nearly $750 million during his...

Texas Sen. Hutchison exploring run for governor - Added 6 hours ago

Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Thursday took the first step toward a run for governor, setting the stage for a contentious challenge in 2010 against fellow Republican Rick Perry, the longest-serving leader in state...

Coleman campaign withdraws 650 ballot challenges - Added 7 hours ago

Republican Sen. Norm Coleman is withdrawing 650 ballot challenges that his campaign lodged in the U.S. Senate recount. The incumbent's move Thursday surpasses one made by his opponent, Democrat Al Franken, who withdrew...

Jeb Bush's bid for Senate could clear GOP field - Added 16 hours ago

Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he's interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president's...

Palin files late disclosure for free 2007 trips - Added 21 hours ago

Gov. Sarah Palin has added to her financial disclosure forms two free trips that she took nearly two years ago but failed to report. Palin, who was Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, made the...

Franken says he'll drop 633 challenges in recount - Added 23 hours ago

Democrat Al Franken withdrew 633 challenges to ballots Wednesday in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race in what could be a first step toward a quicker conclusion to the recount. Franken's attorney, Marc Elias, said many more...

Democrat concedes in US House race in California - Added 1 day ago

Democrat Charlie Brown conceded defeat to Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock on Wednesday in their hard-fought race for California's 4th District House seat, leaving only four House races still unsettled. Brown...

Victorious Chambliss looks for bigger role in GOP - Added 1 day ago

A double digit win in Georgia's U.S. Senate runoff could make Saxby Chambliss a star in a Republican party hungry for fresh leadership. Just weeks ago, he was battling for political survival after neither he nor his...

National parties focus on La. Congress election - Added 1 day ago

Cameos by President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President Dick Cheney have brought star power to a hurricane-delayed battle between Democrats and Republicans for an up-for-grabs U.S. House seat. Obama recorded a radio...

Jeb Bush's bid for Senate could clear GOP field - Added 1 day ago

Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he's interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president's...

Va. GOP chief: Obama remark was stupid but true - Added 2 days ago

Virginia's Republican chairman said Tuesday that his remark tying Democrat Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden during the presidential campaign was stupid, but he refused to apologize. During the campaign, GOP head Jeff...

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Boeing engineers and tech workers ratify contracts, ensuring 4 years of labor peace. ...

Palin urges Ga. voters to back Chambliss in runoff - Added 3 days ago

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged Georgia voters to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Tuesday's runoff in an election eve appeal that underscored her popularity within the Republican Party and the GOP's efforts to stave off...

Palin campaigning in Ga. for Sen. Chambliss - Added 4 days ago

Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss enlisted Sarah Palin to rally conservatives while Democratic challenger Jim Martin pushed to activate black voters, as they grappled for advantage in a Tuesday runoff that will shape...

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Bush asks Secretary of State Rice to travel to India in wake of terror attacks. ...

Specter: 'I'll be prepared' for 2010 race - Added 4 days ago

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., says he's ready for a tough re-election race in 2010, whether it's against MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews or someone else. Specter, 78, declined to speculate on whether he would face Matthews,...

Obama plans to name 4 more Cabinet posts on Monday - Added 4 days ago

President-elect Barack Obama plans to announce longtime advisers and political foes alike as his picks for top administration jobs at a Monday news conference, nominating one-time political nemesis Hillary Rodham...

Liberals to keep pressure on Obama for results - Added 4 days ago

Barack Obama promises to steer the nation straight again. He better be ready for a strong force pulling left. The president-elect drew plenty of support from moderates, but the liberal side of the Democratic Party...

Official: MSNBC pundit may seek Pa. Senate seat - Added 5 days ago

A Pennsylvania Democratic party leader says MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews may be considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2010. The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports Matthews met with state party leaders this past week in...

Obama team repackaging Clinton after campaign digs - Added 5 days ago

It wasn't too long ago that Barack Obama and his advisers were tripping over one another to tear down Hillary Rodham Clinton's foreign policy credentials. She was dismissed as a commander in chief wanna-be who did...

Candidates crowd field for Emanuel replacement - Added 1 week ago

Clout-heavy Chicago politicians are lining up to replace U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, prompting some experts to wonder if the local Democratic party will split on whom to anoint as his successor. The strength of the...

After absentee ballot loss, Franken eyes options - Added 1 week ago

Minnesota's U.S. Senate showdown is veering down a path toward the courts and possibly the Senate itself after a panel's ruling on rejected absentee ballots dealt a blow to Democrat Al Franken's chances. For the first...

Board keeps faulty ballots from Minn. Senate count - Added 1 week ago

In a blow to Democrat Al Franken, a state board ruled Wednesday that absentee ballots that were rejected by poll workers won't be included in Minnesota's Senate recount. The five-member state Canvassing Board denied a...

AP poll: Few Obama, McCain backers were unwavering - Added 1 week ago

Inch by inch, voter by voter, Barack Obama and John McCain labored for more than a year to lock down supporters and woo defectors. It turns out, though, that the nation's voters were a lot more fickle than commonly...

Rejected absentee votes the focus in Minn. recount - Added 1 week ago

More than 6,400 rejected absentee ballots are becoming the focus in Minnesota's contested Senate election, as the state Canvassing Board prepares to decide whether to let some into the recount. Campaigns for Democrat...

McCain will return to Senate and seek a fifth term - Added 1 week ago

Sen. John McCain said Tuesday that he intends to seek a fifth term in the Senate in 2010 and looks forward to resuming his duties in Washington. McCain said he looks back on his losing presidential campaign with pride...

Sarah Palin to stump with Sen. Saxby Chambliss - Added 1 week ago

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is calling in a closer: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will join him for four rallies across the state on the eve of his hotly contested Dec. 2 runoff. It will mark her return to the campaign...

Ohio Supreme Court to decide congressional votes - Added 1 week ago

The Ohio Supreme Court will have the final say on how thousands of outstanding provisional votes are counted for a tight congressional race. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the state high court...

Tension rises as Minn. recount enters 2nd week - Added 1 week ago

With just a fifth of the state's precincts left to go in Minnesota's Senate recount, supporters of Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman remain in the hunt for ballots that could tip the balance to their...

Minn. Senate recount recalls lengthy '62 gov race - Added 1 week ago

Last-minute allegations that hurt the incumbent. A statewide vote with only a tiny fraction separating the Democrat and the Republican. Teams of lawyers mobilized around the state to challenge questionable ballots. The...

Foes of stem cell research now face tough battle - Added 1 week ago

When the Bush presidency ends, opponents of embryonic stem cell research will face a new political reality that many feel powerless to stop. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal...

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Democratic official: Obama to name Bill Richardson as commerce secretary ...

Obama adviser issues warning to automakers - Added 1 week ago

President-elect Barack Obama's top adviser has a warning for U.S. automakers: Without a plan to retool and restructure, there is very little taxpayers can do to help. Congress last week refused to act on a bailout plan...

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Dalai Lama warns of eventual failure if Tibetan exile leaders are not prudent in their plans ...

Obama taps passionate defender for press secretary - Added 1 week ago

Two of the top qualities Robert Gibbs brings to the job of White House press secretary aren't found on his resume: He won't flinch at telling it like it is to the next president or telling it like he thinks it ought to...

Obama names longtime spokesman Gibbs press chief - Added 1 week ago

President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday named longtime spokesman Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary and reached outside his inner circle for the post of White House communications director. The director of...

Chicago, Clinton camps feed Obama's incoming team - Added 1 week ago

Two main quarries are supplying the building blocks for President-elect Barack Obama's new administration. Longtime, deeply loyal associates will dominate the White House inner sanctum. And veterans of Bill Clinton's...

4 more punished over 'Joe the Plumber' searches - Added 1 week ago

Two more senior managers at the Ohio agency where computers were used to dig up information about "Joe the Plumber" have been suspended without pay for their roles in the searches, an official at the agency said Friday....

Obama grabs lunch at local deli, greets patrons - Added 1 week ago

President-elect Barack Obama grabbed his lunch to go Friday and artfully dodged a question about the auto industry woes he'll inherit. "We got the corned beef," Obama said as he made his way around the counter at...

Disputed Senate ballots hold key to Minn. win - Added 1 week ago

!P>!!-- pobj:MNPAU101-1119082133 -->!!-- pobj:MNMPR101-1119800010 -->!!-- pobj:MNMIT101-1120081839 -->A recount watchdog for Norm Coleman flagged a ballot because the voter put a check next to Al Franken's name instead...

Disputed Senate ballots hold key to Minn. win - Added 1 week ago

!!-- pobj:MNPAU101-1119082133 -->!!-- pobj:MNMPR101-1119800010 -->!!-- pobj:MNMIT101-1120081839 -->A recount watchdog for Norm Coleman flagged a ballot because the voter put a check next to Al Franken's name instead of...

Adviser says Fred Thompson plans return to acting - Added 1 week ago

Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson is going back to the small screen after his foray into Republican presidential politics over the last year. Thompson, best known on TV for his role as a gruff district attorney on NBC's...

Obama records radio ad for Martin in Senate runoff - Added 2 weeks ago

President-elect Barack Obama has waded into Georgia's U.S. Senate runoff, recording a radio ad supporting Democrat Jim Martin, but there's still no word on whether the president-elect will make a personal appearance. ...

Provisional ballots could alter tight Ohio race - Added 2 weeks ago

Provisional ballots must be counted in a tight congressional race in central Ohio, one of the last undecided contests in the nation, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The decision by U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley...

Early, absentee voting pushed Obama to win in Fla. - Added 2 weeks ago

More Floridians voted for John McCain than Barack Obama on Election Day, but the Democrat sealed his victory in the state by winning more early and absentee votes. An Associated Press study of 94 percent of the state's...

Bum nominations hard to avoid, history shows - Added 2 weeks ago

No matter how careful he is, sooner or later President-elect Barack Obama is likely to make a bum nomination or two. "It's unavoidable," says Paul Light, a New York University professor and expert on presidential...

Politics' next step? Donations go high text - Added 2 weeks ago

In a 2008 Super Bowl ad, NFL golden boy Tom Brady asked nearly 100 million viewers to text "FIT" to donate $5 to the United Way. About 25,000 people responded, raising $10,000. Now imagine if President-elect Barack...

Ted Stevens' fall points to political shift - Added 2 weeks ago

Alaska's incoming senator is bullish on gun rights, wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling and believes less government is better. And he's a Democrat. But "definitely different than...

Minnesota Senate recount gets tedious, pretty fast - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:MNPAU101-1119082133 -->!!-- pobj:MNMPR101-1119800010 -->!!-- pobj:MNALB104-1119081914 -->!!-- pobj:MNALB101-1119081857 -->As the manual recount in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race began, one volunteer judge asked...