January 30, 2009
The US House of Representatives has voted for the massive $US819 billion stimulus to jump-start the US economy – the first step towards its enactment – but President Barack Obama’s hopes for bipartisan support were dashed when not a single Republican voted for it.
The bill passed 244 to 188 on Wednesday with opposition from the entire Republican conference and 11 conservative Democrats.
January 29, 2009
The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives has approved an $US819 billion economic stimulus package critical to President Barack Obama’s plan to revive the economy.
The House vote came after days of intense lobbying by the new president, including personal appeals to congressional Republicans.
The minority party’s lawmakers spurned Obama, however, saying the bill contained too much spending and not enough tax cuts.
January 28, 2009
Despite all the talk by the US President, Barack Obama, of post-partisan politics, and a personal appeal to Republicans on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, today’s vote on the $US850 billion stimulus package looks set to go along party lines.
The huge spending package is almost guaranteed to pass the House of Representatives because the Democrats undoubtedly have the numbers. But only a handful of Republicans are expected to vote for it.
January 28, 2009
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded on Wednesday that President Barack Obama apologise for past US “crimes” against the Islamic republic, after the new US leader extended a hand of diplomacy to Tehran.
The firebrand Iranian leader also called on Washington to withdraw its troops from across the world as a proof of Obama’s promised policy of change.
January 27, 2009
Alaska governor Sarah Palin has launched a political action committee to help support candidates for federal and state office.
The committee, SarahPac, is dedicated to supporting “fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation,” according to its web site.
January 26, 2009
US president Barack Obama has begun to shred Bush administration climate policies, signing measures to encourage production of fuel-efficient cars and vowing to lead the fight against global warming.
In another sign of change, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton picked a veteran of the Kyoto Protocol talks as her envoy for climate change, as world leaders target a historic global warming pact this year.
January 26, 2009
In a trend that has celebrities the world over scrambling to change their online passwords, Kanye West says web miscreants hacked into his Gmail, MySpace and Twitter accounts and spread false reports that he would be open to launching a new career as a bisexual porn star.
The US rapper joins a growing list of celebrities who have had their online accounts compromised, including Barack Obama, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Timberlake, Hilary Duff, Alicia Keys and Soulja Boy.
January 25, 2009
A female flight attendant is suing US airlines JetBlue and Delta after being denied access to a flight because her outfit wasn’t provocative enough.
Karin Keegan, a 37-year-old flight attendant with Delta, said a male JetBlue worker wouldn’t let her on a flight in October 2007 because she wasn’t dressed provocatively enough, then allowed other flight attendants with less seniority to board the plane.
January 25, 2009
HER habit of making telephone calls to the President’s bedroom at the Elysee Palace was perhaps the beginning of the end for Rachida Dati, France’s justice minister.
One morning, the phone was answered not by Nicolas Sarkozy but by the President’s third wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the singer and former model. “You know, now that Nicolas is married you mustn’t ring him so early,” she admonished.
January 25, 2009
BARACK OBAMA has picked a fight with the US’s most influential right-wing commentator, telling Republicans in Washington to stop listening to the talk-show host Rush Limbaugh.
After less than a week in office, Mr Obama is encountering the partisan bickering he had pledged to stamp out during his first 100 days in office.
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