U.S. News

Real-Time News from Around the Nation

UPDATED: 6:15 a.m.

Associated PressAttorney General Michael Mukasey is pictured in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, during a photo opportunity with President Bush, not pictured, last month.

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey was hospitalized but conscious and alert early Friday after collapsing during a late-night speech to a conservative legal group.

It was not clear when the nation's 67-year-old chief law enforcer would be released from George Washington University Hospital, where he was admitted overnight for observation after briefly losing consciousness at the black-tie dinner.

Justice Department spokesman Gina Talamona would not comment when asked if Mukasey suffered a stroke. She had no information about his medical history.

Mukasey opened his speech on terrorism with a wry remark about expecting the mood at the conservative Federalist Society dinner to be "somber or sober." He slumped over the podium about 15 minutes later after slurring his words and could be seen swaying and shaking slightly. Three or four men in suits rushed on stage and caught him at the lectern.

See a slide show of images from throughout the nation. For a selection of images from around the world go to cleveland.com/world.

This slide show was created by The Plain Dealer night picture desk.

AP, File In this Sept. 20, 2008, photo, Barack Obama, center, holds the hands of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, left, and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano during a rally in Daytona Beach, Fla.

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.

Obama is enlisting former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as his health secretary. Hillary Clinton, a well-known Washington personality, seemed more likely than ever to be his secretary of state. Clinton is deciding whether to take that post as America's top diplomat or stay in the Senate, her associates said Wednesday

Obama is ready to announce that his attorney general will be Eric Holder, the Justice Department's No. 2 when Clinton's husband was president. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, is another veteran of the Clinton White House.

Holder, 57, would be the first black person to serve as the country's top legal official.

Daschle's selection to head the Health and Human Services Department isn't at the same level of Cabinet prestige as the top spots at the State and Justice departments. But the health post could be more important in an Obama administration than in some others, making Daschle a key player in helping steer the president-elect's promised health care reforms.

APIn this July 20, 1999, photo, President Bill Clinton shakes hand with Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, right, as Attorney General Janet Reno looks on at a American Bar Association Presidential Call to Action event at the White House in Washington. Holder is President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to be the next attorney general, and aides have gone so far as to ask senators whether he would be confirmed, an Obama official and people close to the matter said Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.

WASHINGTON -- The first black man elected U.S. president is poised to name Washington lawyer Eric Holder as the nation's first black attorney general -- a historic appointment but one with some potential political problems over a 2001 pardon.

A source close to the selection process said Wednesday that President-elect Barack Obama has "informally" offered the post to Holder, who has accepted. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made and because the process of vetting the nomination is still going on.

Holder, 57, met Obama only four years ago, but the affable Bronx-born son of a Barbados immigrant quickly won a seat in the Democrat's inner circle. If he becomes the next chief U.S. law enforcement officer, Holder will try to win back the public's confidence in the Justice Department -- an agency whose fiercely independent image was tarnished by GOP political meddling during the Bush administration.

"Internally, there is a morale problem the likes of which I have never seen before," Holder said in an interview late last year. "Externally, there is a crisis of confidence that the nation has with regard to the department."

Holder's nomination is expected to be formally announced as soon as this week.

Holder helped lead the team that selected Sen. Joe Biden as Obama's running mate. Throughout his career as a judge, a prosecutor and a defense attorney for the prestigious law firm Covington & Burling, Holder's independence rarely has been questioned. But one of his final acts as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general in 2001 could come back to haunt him as he seeks Senate confirmation for the Justice Department's top job.

APRep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. walks away after talking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, after the House Democratic Caucus elected him as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee over long standing chairman Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.

More Plain Dealer political coverage: Cleveland.com/open

WASHINGTON -- Democrats steered the House toward more aggressively tackling global warming and other environmental problems Thursday, toppling veteran Michigan Rep. John Dingell, a staunch supporter of Detroit automakers, from an important energy panel in favor of California liberal Henry Waxman.

AP, FileJohn Dingell, D-Mich., presides over a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce committee April 22, 2008.

The switch could help President-elect Barack Obama on Capitol Hill with one of his favored issues: trying to curb global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. But Waxman's combative stance on climate change and other issues also could alienate Republicans and moderate Democrats, making it harder to get the bipartisan support Obama will need.

Waxman is an avid environmentalist and booster of health care programs -- and a homestate ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He defeated Dingell on a vote of 137-122 in the Democratic Party caucus, capping a bruising fight within party ranks.

The Energy and Commerce panel is one of the most important House committees, with sweeping jurisdiction over energy, the environment, consumer protection, telecommunications and health care programs such as Medicaid and the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program.

APSen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, leaves the Senate chamber after making his last formal speech on the Senate floor and listening to tributes from his colleagues Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, on Capitol Hill in Washington. "I only look forward and I still see the day when I can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me," Stevens said.

WASHINGTON -- "Uncle Ted" Stevens, an old-style Senate giant and the chamber's longest-serving Republican, delivered his swan song address and yielded the floor for the final time Thursday. He was saluted by his colleagues as a staunch friend and teacher.

"My mission in life is not completed," Stevens said in his farewell speech on the Senate floor, as perhaps a quarter of the chamber's 100 members gathered to hear him and the gallery filled with his friends and family.

Stevens, 85, made only a passing reference to his felony convictions and the loss this week of his bid for a seventh Senate term.

"I look only forward and I still see the day when I can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me."

Family members and aides wept as Stevens recounted his six Senate terms that began not even a decade after his home state, Alaska, achieved statehood.

APThis undated photo provided by the Children's Museum of Manhattan shows one of the teaching tools used at workshops at the Museum to teach kids about proper portion sizes, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. The workshop was recognized with an award last month from the U.S. surgeon general's office for its work combating childhood obesity.

More health and fitness news: Cleveland.com/healthfit

ATLANTA -- A little less "I'm Lovin' It" could put a significant dent in the problem of childhood obesity, suggests a new study that attempts to measure the effect of TV fast-food ads.

A ban on such commercials would reduce the number of obese young children by 18 percent, and the number of obese older kids by 14 percent, researchers found.

They also suggested that ending an advertising expense tax deduction for fast-food restaurants could mean a slight reduction in childhood obesity.

Some experts say it's the first national study to show fast-food TV commercials have such a large effect on childhood obesity. A 2006 Institute of Medicine report suggested a link, but concluded proof was lacking.

"Our study provides evidence of that link," said study co-author Michael Grossman, an economics professor at City University of New York, in a prepared statement.

APPaul Nawrocki, from Beacon, N.Y., wears a sign as he walks through Times Square seeking employment, New York, Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008. The government says new claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening labor market.

More business, employment and economic news: Cleveland.com/business

WASHINGTON -- With weekly jobless claims benefits at a 16-year high, the White House said Thursday that President George W. Bush would quickly sign legislation pending in Congress to provide further unemployment benefits.

The Senate this week is expected to take up a bill, already passed by the House, that would extend unemployment insurance checks for up to 13 additional weeks for jobless people whose benefits have run out. The Senate vote could occur as early as Thursday evening and would require support from 60 senators to pass.

White House press secretary Dana Perino, discussing the worsening economic environment, said Bush is "always concerned" when people lose their jobs and is eager to help.

More than 1.2 million jobs have been lost so far this year and the civilian jobless rate is at a 14-year high of 6.5 percent of the labor force.

The White House earlier had threatened to veto a much broader, $61 billion stimulus bill that included aid to help states maintain Medicaid benefits and new spending for public works projects, in addition to the jobless benefit extension.

AP, FileVickie Flores, an employment specialist with the Nebraska Department of Labor's Workforce Development Career Center, helps a job seeker in Omaha, Neb., Friday, Nov. 7, 2008.

NEW YORK -- The numbers are alarming -- Citigroup alone plans to lay off 53,000 people.

With the seemingly endless stream of news about job cuts in recent weeks, you may be wondering about your own job security. How would you get by if you were suddenly out of work?

For the uninitiated, filing for unemployment may conjure images of standing in long lines to fill out forms, but that's not the case.

Eligibility and compensation vary by state, but a few general guidelines apply across the board. Most states, for instance, now require people to apply for benefits online or by phone.

That may make filing easier for the freshly out-of-work. More than 1.2 million jobs have been lost this year. Last month, the unemployment rate jumped to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent and 10.1 million people are now looking for work.

Next year isn't looking any better, with the rate expected to climb to 8 percent or higher.

Here are some questions and answers about how to make the most of your unemployment benefits.

APDefense Secretary Robert Gates, right, and Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, for a closed session meeting with Senate Foreign Affairs Committee members regarding the new Iraq security pact.

More world news: Cleveland.com/world

WASHINGTON -- What Robert Gates once called "inconceivable to me" -- his remaining as defense secretary beyond Inauguration Day -- is looking a bit more conceivable to the rest of Washington.

The 65-year-old former spymaster has turned publicly mum on the circumstances under which he would stay, even briefly, after President-elect Barack Obama takes office. But one of the leading scenarios for a wartime transition at the Pentagon has Gates holding the fort, at least for some months.

If Gates does stay on, the announcement could come soon.

A national security spokeswoman for Obama, Brooke Anderson, said Thursday she had no comment on Gates or on whether the president-elect has held discussions with any candidate for the Pentagon job.

By keeping mum, both camps may preserve the option of walking away without hard feelings.

APArizona Gov. Janet Napolitano testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, before the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on health care coverage issues.

More political news: Cleveland.com/open

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama is likely to choose Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security, top Obama advisers and several Democrats said Thursday as the shape of Obama's Cabinet begins to emerge.

The Obama advisers cautioned that no final decision has been made on putting Napolitano in charge of the Homeland Security department, the massive agency created by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But the advisers said she was by far the top contender.

Thus far, Obama has informally selected Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as health and human services secretary. The plans could be sidetracked by unexpected glitches in the final vetting process, officials note.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton seems more likely than ever to be Obama's secretary of state. Clinton is deciding whether to take that post as America's top diplomat, her associates said.

Among other Cabinet posts: senior Democrats say there is a strong possibility that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would stay temporarily and later give way to former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig. Even so, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island also are said to be under consideration.

Associated Press fileThis Associated Press file photo shows kidnapped American soldier Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, an image made from video broadcast by Arab television station Al-Jazeera on April 16, 2004. The U.S. military said today an al-Qaida leader blamed in Maupin's death has been killed.

Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP fileKeith and Carolyn Maupin, parents of killed Army Reserve Sgt. Keith " Matt" Maupin, talk to the media in 2005.

BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi al-Qaida leader in Iraq blamed in the 2004 abduction and murder of an Ohio Army reservist and several other attacks over several years has been killed in Baghdad, the U.S. military said today.

Hajji Hammadi, also known as Hammadi Awdah Abd Farhan and Abd-al-Salam Ahmad Abdallah al-Janabi, was killed with another armed insurgent on Nov. 11 in a raid by U.S. forces acting on a tip in Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood, according to a statement.

Five other suspected insurgents were detained, it added. The military said it was announcing the death after Hammadi was positively identified.

It was the latest in a series of high-profile killings as the U.S. military targets the al-Qaida in Iraq leadership to shore up recent security gains.

See a slide show of images from throughout the nation. For a selection of images from around the world go to cleveland.com/world.

This slide show was created by The Plain Dealer night picture desk.

ST. LOUIS -- Some might call it unproductive. Or maybe a bad habit. Or just a frivolous distraction. Or even dangerous.

Julianne Howell, a freshman at St. Joseph's Academy, calls her daily Facebook routine time well spent.

"It's like a social connection," she said. "It's not a waste of time. It's like talking on the phone -- that isn't a waste of time."

Howell's justification for the hours she spends on the social networking site is dead on, according to a study released today by the MacArthur Foundation. A team of researchers working on the foundation's "Digital Youth Project" concluded that interaction with new media such as Facebook is increasingly becoming an essential part of becoming a competent citizen in the digital age.

And further, all that Web surfing isn't necessarily eroding the intelligence or initiative of the young generation.