U.S. News

Real-Time News from Around the Nation

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Democrat Barack Obama is the only presidential candidate who "gets it" when it comes to the nation's economic problems, his wife Michelle Obama told supporters Monday.

Michelle Obama told a crowd of 2,200 gathered at the Mayo Civic Center that she and her husband both understand the difficulties people face because their families have experienced the same struggles.

"It's not just about politics. These issues are personal. I know that's true for everyone here," Obama said.

In southern Minnesota and again in St. Paul later in the day, Obama spoke about how her father had multiple sclerosis but still got up to go to work without complaining. She also told the story of Barack Obama's mother, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer. Obama used the story to explain why she and her husband support a health care system that doesn't deny coverage for preexisting conditions.

Continue reading "Michelle Obama speaks about family struggles, economic crisis, in Minnesota campaign stop" »

WASHINGTON -- John McCain said Monday that it was unfair for Rep. John Lewis to compare the negative tone of the Republican presidential campaign to the atmosphere that segregationist Gov. George Wallace fostered in the 1960s.

McCain suggested that the comments by the Georgia Democrat and veteran of the civil rights movement carry more weight than those of a Virginia Republican Party leader who compared Democratic rival Barack Obama to Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.

"This is not just some obscure party official," McCain said in an interview aired by CNN. "And that's what's so totally unacceptable about it."

According to Time magazine, Virginia Republican Party Chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick recently told McCain volunteers in the state that Obama and bin Laden "both have friends that bombed the Pentagon."

McCain has repudiated similar past statements about Obama, but did not specifically address Frederick's comments in the interview.

Continue reading "McCain disputes comparison to George Wallace" »

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration plans to spend as much as $250 billion of the $700 billion bailout buying stock in private banks, greatly expanding protections for the U.S. financial system out of deep concern for the faltering economy, industry and government officials said Monday night. President Bush planned to announce the details Tuesday morning.

Agreement on the plan came after a remarkable Treasury Department meeting between top government economic officials and executives of the nation's largest banks to revamp the most costly financial rescue in the nation's history.

The plan also would provide a way for the government to insure loans that banks make to each other, a critical part of the credit system that has become frozen and put many businesses in peril.

Earlier Monday, stocks soared around the world in response to dramatic government economic relief efforts in the U.S. and overseas -- and the possibility of the even bolder American action.

Continue reading "Bush to unveil expanded bank bailout details" »

OMAHA, Nebraska -- A Michigan mother drove roughly 12 hours to Omaha, so she could abandon her 13-year-old son at a hospital under the state's unique safe-haven law, Nebraska officials said Monday.

The boy from the Detroit area is the second teenager from outside Nebraska and 18th child overall abandoned in the state since the law took effect in July.

"I certainly recognize and can commiserate and empathize with families across our state and across the country who are obviously struggling with parenting issues, but this is not the appropriate way of dealing with them, whether you're in Nebraska or whether you're in another state," said Todd Landry, who heads the state's Department of Health and Human Services' division of children and family services.

There was no sign the boy was in immediate danger before he was abandoned early Monday, but an investigation into the boy's situation was still continuing, Landry said.

The boy has been placed in an emergency shelter. Landry said the family does not appear to have ties to Nebraska and he was not sure if the family had sought help in Michigan first.

Continue reading "Settle down kids, or we're driving to Nebraska!" »

COLUMBUS -- As oil prices zoomed toward an unheard of $147 a barrel this summer, it seemed every analyst prediction that oil would approach $200 was a self-fulfilling prophecy, until suddenly it was not.

Instead of $200 oil, oil is now $80. Instead of going up, the U.S. has seen the greatest destruction in demand since the oil-shocked 1970s. Drivers have dramatically cut down on driving since November.

Soaring prices for oil and other commodities this summer have turned out to be nothing short of another classic bubble and the bursting may not be over, one analyst said Monday.

"It's just amazing that the market gets suckered into this," said analyst Stephen Schork of the Schork Report, who called the idea of $150 a barrel oil "an obscene number, a perverted, illogical number."

Continue reading "Analysts predicting $200 oil eat humble pie now" »

LOS ANGELES -- Two wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds threatened neighborhoods near Los Angeles on Monday, killing a man, destroying several dozen mobile homes and forcing frantic evacuations.

A second person died in a head-on crash on a freeway entrance ramp in traffic snarled by smoke and flames.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Firefighters were struggling with a 5,000-acre blaze in the San Fernando Valley's northeastern corner when a new blaze erupted at midmorning a few miles to the west in mountains above the Porter Ranch area and quickly grew to 2,000 acres as wind blew up to 45 mph, with gusts reaching 70 mph.

"It is a blowtorch we can't get in front of," said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Frank Garrido.

Fire officials could not immediately estimate how many homes in Porter Ranch were in the fire's path. Flames burned furiously at midday just across a road from one development of luxury homes. Fire officials alerted other communities as far south as Malibu, 20 miles away.

Continue reading "Wildfires burn homes, kill 1 in Los Angeles area" »

WASHINGTON -- The plans of presidential candidates are never set in stone, if only because circumstances and the makeup of Congress change after the election. The uncertainty is even deeper in this election because Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain laid out most of their agenda before the government committed up to $700 billion to address the financial crisis.

Obama acknowledges what is true for both: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals." Yet neither candidate has spelled out what promises might have to be postponed or changed.

With that caution, here's a look at where McCain and Obama stand on a selection of issues:

ABORTION

McCain: Opposes abortion rights. Has voted for abortion restrictions permissible under Roe v. Wade, and now says he would seek to overturn that guarantee of abortion rights. Would not seek constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

Obama: Favors abortion rights.

Continue reading "Where McCain, Obama stand on the issues:" »

WASHINGTON -- All he wanted to do was watch baseball and drink beer all day. Sounds like a reasonable request.

Instead, George W. Bush ended up being chosen as leader of the free world. Twice.

That's Oliver Stone's surprisingly fair and balanced assessment of the president, who truly needs no further parodying, in "W." Bush is an easy target anyway, and he inadvertently supplies enough ammunition on his own without anyone else's help.

From the earliest announcements about the film, it seemed inevitable what we'd be in for: an evisceration. No other perspective could be possible from any director in Hollywood and especially not from Stone, who previously dug up the White House dirt with the conspiracy-laden "JFK" and the campy and paranoid "Nixon." And he's rushing it into theaters so it arrives before Americans go to the polls to choose their next president. Surely he must have an agenda.

Instead, Stone has come up with a rather conventional biopic, albeit one about a person whose decisions have affected the entire planet for the past eight years. Considering its potential shock value, "W." hits all the expected notes. It could be "Walk the Line," it could be "Ray."

Continue reading "Film review: Don't misunderestimate Stone's 'W.'" »

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Republican John McCain delivered his toughest criticism so far of President Bush's economic policies as he unveiled a new campaign stump speech that promised an energetic fight to reverse his slide in the polls.

"We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change," McCain said while campaigning with running mate Sarah Palin in this once reliably Republican state that has become a battleground this year. "The hour is late; our troubles are getting worse; our enemies watch. We have to act immediately. We have to change direction now."

The Arizona senator insisted he understood Americans' concerns about the deepening financial crisis, even as fears about the meltdown have moved voters firmly in Democrat Barack Obama's direction in recent weeks.

The repudiation of the Republican incumbent's economic policies came as McCain has struggled to find a message that would reverse his sagging poll results nationally and in some battleground states. Yet, McCain echoed a line from President George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush, about Democrats "measuring the drapes" that proved ineffectual for the GOP in 1992 and 2006.

Continue reading "McCain offers tough criticism of Bush economics" »

WASILLA, Alaska -- Levi Johnston, who's having a baby with Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter, can't believe all the things he's hearing.

No, he wasn't held against his will on the campaign trail. No, he's not being forced into a shotgun wedding with 17-year-old Bristol Palin.

"None of that's true," Johnston, 18, said in a rare interview with The Associated Press. "We both love each other. We both want to marry each other. And that's what we are going to do."

Standing in the driveway of his family home in this small Alaska town, Johnston spoke about the rumors swirling around him.

The soft-spoken teenager discussed his relationship with Palin and how life has changed with fatherhood fast approaching. He agreed to talk despite the presidential campaign's advice in the days following Gov. Sarah Palin's nomination to avoid the media.

"They're not telling me anything right now," Johnston said as he checked his Blackberry. "It's pretty chill."

Continue reading "Boyfriend discusses Bristol Palin, Obama, baby" »

WASHINGTON -- Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives pushed dueling economic aid plans Monday as they jockeyed for political advantage on addressing a crisis that is shaping the last weeks of a high-stakes election.

Democrats scheduled hearings to consider a postelection stimulus package that could cost as much as $150 billion. Republicans, spooked by an issue that has damaged their presidential nominee John McCain as well as Republican House and Senate candidates, searched for traction in the debate, calling for more tax cuts and energy exploration to stabilize the economy.

Leaders of both parties appeared eager to pivot, three weeks from Election Day, from backing a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street firms, to advocating more economic aid for their constituents.

"We're at a time where we have to tighten our belt, take ourselves into survival mode," said the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, after a meeting with economic experts. "We plan to go forward expeditiously, but not hastily" after being "steamrolled" on the financial industry rescue.

Continue reading "Parties jockey for advantage on economic aid" »

WASHINGTON -- Stocks surged on Wall Street and around the world for the first time in days Monday as the U.S. said it plans to swiftly implement a broad financial rescue package and Europe put almost $2 trillion on the line to break the lending logjam threatening the world's economy.

The Bush administration summoned executives from leading banks to a meeting in Washington Monday afternoon to work out details of the $700 billion plan aimed at thawing the credit markets -- the economy's lifeblood.

The Dow Jones industrials gained more than 900 points in a stunning rebound from days of big losses. European markets rallied following Asia's lead in response to the widespread government initiatives.

"These are tough times for our economies yet we can be confident that we can work our way through these challenges and America will continue to work closely with the other nations to coordinate our response to this global financial crisis," President Bush said following a meeting with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

Continue reading "U.S. summons bankers; stocks surge 900 points" »

TOLEDO -- Democrat Barack Obama proposed more immediate steps Monday to heal the nation's ailing economy including a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures at some banks and a two-year tax break for businesses that create new jobs.

With the economic turmoil weighing down his Republican presidential rival, Obama also proposed allowing people to withdraw up to $10,000 from their retirement accounts without any penalty this year and next.

The Democratic presidential candidate said his proposals, with a price tag of $60 billion over two years, can be enacted quickly, either through the government's regulatory powers or legislation that Congress could pass in a special session after the election.

"I'm proposing a number of steps that we should take immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities and help struggling homeowners," Obama told a crowd of 3,000. "It's a plan that begins with one word that's on everyone's mind, and it's spelled J-O-B-S."

Obama delivered his economic message in Toledo, a struggling blue-collar city in a state that could be critical to Obama's presidential hopes. Polls show a close race between Obama and Republican John McCain in Ohio, which decided the 2004 presidential election. At stake are 20 electoral votes.

Continue reading "Obama offers new proposals to help economy" »

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Scraping for any advantage in the presidential campaign's waning days, John McCain and Barack Obama are introducing voters to a new cast of characters.

McCain would like people to know about a former 1960s radical and a corrupt government insider -- both with links to his Democratic opponent.

And Obama is raising the Republican candidate's connections to a disgraced savings and loan executive and a supporter of right-wing death squads.

Each candidate is trying to plant the idea that his opponent must be guilty of something if he has connections to such unsavory characters. Both candidates are guilty of stretching the facts, at times, to smear by association.

Here is a closer look at the relationships being mentioned in campaign videos, ads and e-mails:

Continue reading "Guilt by association: Checking campaign ad 'facts'" »