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Ex-refugee now 1st Vietnamese-American congressman
When Anh "Joseph" Cao was 8 and Saigon was about to fall, his mother asked if he wanted to take a trip to the beach.
"I said, 'Mom, we're not going to the beach. We're going to America," Cao recalled recently. "And she said, 'Yes. Yes, you are going to America.'"
On Tuesday, more than 30 years after that refugee child escaped aboard a U.S. military transport plane with his uncle, brother and sister, leaving their parents behind, Cao was sworn in as the first Vietnamese-American to serve in Congress.
The slender 5-foot-2 Republican attorney's history-making victory came...
The Senate put Washington\'s massive shift of power on public display Tuesday when senators convened for the opening of the 111th session of Congress.
There, for example, was a tanned and grinning Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who _ bizarrely _ was sworn in to a seventh Senate term. He\'ll resign from the Senate before he\'s sworn into the higher office with President-elect Barack Obama at the end of the month, ending eight years of the Republican Bush administration.
Biden brought the biggest Bible _ an ancient, leather-bound volume about six inches thick. He held it by...
After a year in which U.S. auto sales tumbled 18 percent and GM had its worst year in nearly a half-century amid slack demand fueled by a terrible economic outlook and growing job worries, automakers are reluctant to predict when a recovery might occur.
An even sharper sales decline in December alone means that record high rebates and low-interest financing deals will stick around until at least February. But those deals will likely disappear as the remaining 2008 models are sold and inventories are lowered to match demand.
One automaker, Hyundai Motor America, is trying to...
Gov. Bill Richardson\'s gold-plated resume had never been tarnished as he moved up the political ladder from congressman and diplomat to governor.
But a day after backing out of consideration for U.S. commerce secretary, Richardson faced a murky political future as a grand jury probed a possible pay-to-play deal involving one of his big political donors.
Among the looming questions: Was a $1.5 million state contract awarded to that California donor in exchange for political contributions? And if so, how close was Richardson or his staff to any illicit...
Welcome to Washington, Mr. President-elect.
Just two weeks before Inauguration Day, congressional Democrats have stalled Barack Obama\'s economic recovery legislation while his pick for Commerce secretary, Bill Richardson, has withdrawn under an ethics cloud. It\'s a hard dose of reality to swallow at the threshold to the White House.
While these are hiccups in what has otherwise been a smooth transition, Obama\'s response suggests that he is a patient and pragmatic politician, willing to trade time for consensus on legislation and to jettison allies who jeopardize his...
President-elect Barack Obama declared the national economy was \"bad and getting worse\" Monday as he began crisis talks with congressional leaders on emergency action. He predicted lawmakers would approve hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending and tax cuts within two weeks of his taking office.
\"The economy is very sick,\" Obama said after meeting with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. \"The situation is getting worse. ... We have to act and act now to break the momentum of this recession.\"
Obama, whose inauguration is two weeks from Tuesday on Jan. 20, said he...
President-elect Barack Obama declared the national economy was \"bad and getting worse\" Monday as he began crisis talks with congressional leaders on emergency action. He predicted lawmakers would approve hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending and tax cuts within two weeks of his taking office.
\"The economy is very sick,\" Obama said before meeting with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. \"The situation is getting worse. ... We have to act and act now to break the momentum of this recession.\"
Obama, whose inauguration is two weeks from Tuesday on Jan. 20, said...
President-elect Barack Obama, commencing face to face consultations with congressional leaders Monday, is embracing an unexpectedly large tax cut of up to $300 billion. Obama said the country faces an \"extraordinary economic challenge.\" Besides $500 tax cuts for most workers and $1,000 for couples, the Obama proposal includes more than $100 billion for businesses, an Obama transition official said. The total value of the tax cuts would be significantly higher than had been signaled earlier.
\"The reason we are here today is because the people\'s business cannot wait,\" Obama said...
President-elect Barack Obama, commencing face to face consultations with congressional leaders Monday, is embracing an unexpectedly large tax cut of up to $300 billion. Obama said the country faces an \"extraordinary economic challenge.\"
Besides $500 tax cuts for most workers and $1,000 for couples, the Obama proposal includes more than $100 billion for businesses, an Obama transition official said. The total value of the tax cuts would be significantly higher than had been signaled earlier.
\"The reason we are here today is because the people\'s business cannot wait,\"...
President-elect Barack Obama has arrived on Capitol Hill for talks with key congressional leaders, kicking his transition into high gear.
Obama\'s motorcade arrived at the U.S. Capitol in late morning and the president-in-waiting went immediately into the building for a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
It was the second Obama sighting early Monday. His wife, Michelle, earlier escorted daughters Sasha and Malia to school.
Obama, in brief remarks to reporters, said he was \"thrilled to be sitting with the speaker.\" He also said: \"The people\'s business cannot...
WASHINGTON _ The Cabinet that President-elect Barack Obama picked on a fast track has an unexpected opening, with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Obama\'s choice for commerce secretary, withdrawing under pressure of a federal investigation into how his political donors landed a lucrative transportation contract.
Richardson insisted he would be cleared in a grand jury probe. But he and Obama said the investigation would have likely disrupted a timely nomination to a top economic post.
\"I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay...
Barack Obama is heading to Capitol Hill to push for quick action on a broad economic stimulus package that congressional leaders are saying won\'t be ready until mid-February at the earliest _ almost a month later than the president-elect wanted.
Obama planned to meet Monday with House and Senate Democratic leaders and with a bipartisan group of key lawmakers. He had hoped to have Congress enact the recovery plan in time for him to sign his when he takes office Jan. 20. But even his spokesman, Robert Gibbs, conceded Sunday night that was \"very, very unlikely.\"
\"We don\'t...
President-elect Barack Obama rejoined his family in Washington on Sunday evening after bidding a poignant farewell to his Chicago home as he begins final preparations for his Jan. 20 inauguration.
\"I\'ve got to tell you, I choked up a little bit leaving my house today,\" Obama told reporters aboard a government 757 plane typically used by vice presidents and first ladies. It was his first trip on a government aircraft since winning election Nov. 4.
Obama said pictures of his daughter, 10-year-old Malia, and her friends triggered the emotion as he left his Hyde Park home in...
President-elect Barack Obama rejoined his family in Washington on Sunday evening after bidding a poignant farewell to his Chicago home as he begins final preparations for his Jan. 20 inauguration.
\"I\'ve got to tell you, I choked up a little bit leaving my house today,\" Obama told reporters aboard a government 757 plane typically used by vice presidents and first ladies. It was his first trip on a government aircraft since winning election Nov. 4.
Obama said pictures of his daughter, 10-year-old Malia, and her friends triggered the emotion as he left his Hyde Park home in...
President-elect Barack Obama landed in the Washington area Sunday evening, setting up the final march toward his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Obama landed hours after his pick for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, took his name out of the running amid a federal grand jury investigation into government contracts. Obama also faces other challenges in the coming days, including meetings with congressional leaders Monday to promote an economic plan.
But as he prepared to leave his hometown of Chicago, he preferred to keep talk personal.
\"I\'ve got to tell you,...
When he ran for president, Bill Richardson touted more than an adventurous style and impressive resume. He was the guy who embraced flaws as a strength, the one who said the American people \"don\'t want blow-dried candidates with perfection.\"
A federal grand jury investigation into what could be a serious flaw, however, has led New Mexico\'s governor to a tough decision to leave the national political stage--at least for now.
Richardson on Sunday scrapped his nomination to be Barack Obama\'s commerce secretary. A federal grand jury is looking into how a California firm that...
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama\'s commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.
Richardson\'s withdrawal was the first disruption of Obama\'s Cabinet process and the second \"pay-to-play\" investigation that has touched Obama\'s transition to the presidency. The president-elect has remained above the fray in both the case of arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the New Mexico case.
A federal grand jury...
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama\'s commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation.
Obama\'s transition office said Sunday that Obama has accepted Richardson\'s withdrawal.
A federal grand jury is investigating how a California company that contributed to Richardson\'s political activities won a lucrative New Mexico state contract.
A person familiar with the proceedings has told The Associated Press that the grand jury is looking into possible \"pay-to-play\" dealings between CDR Financial Products and...
Mexico\'s self-proclaimed \"Grand Warlock\" says the United States will pull troops out of Iraq in 2009 and send them to the border with Mexico in an attempt to expand its territory.
The prediction from Antonio Vazquez comes with a word of warning though: his record of projecting the future is spotty at best.
Vazquez has been making predictions since 1980 on events ranging from international events to the private lives of celebrities, based on his reading of tarot cards.
Vazquez erroneously predicted last year that oil prices would be stable and that Cuba\'s Fidel...
John Travolta\'s teenage son likely will be buried in Florida following his death at the actor\'s home in the Bahamas, an attorney said Saturday.
Preliminary plans are to fly the body of 16-year-old Jett Travolta to Ocala by midweek, Michael McDermott, Travolta\'s corporate and commercial attorney, told The Associated Press.
Travolta, 54, and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, 46, have a house in Ocala.
\"John and Kelly are still sleeping,\" McDermott said late Saturday morning. \"They probably stayed up most of the night ... It\'s heartwrenching. If you knew how much he...
An autopsy is planned for John Travolta\'s teenage son, who died after apparently hitting his head on the bathtub while the family was vacationing at their home in the Bahamas, authorities said.
Jett Travolta, 16, had last been seen entering the bathroom on Thursday and had a history of seizures, Police Superintendent Basil Rahming said in a statement.
A house caretaker found the teenager unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning. He was taken by ambulance to a Freeport hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the statement said.
Jett apparently hit his head on the...
Women\'s college hoops stars Renee Montgomery of Connecticut, Lauren Greif of California, Marissa Coleman of Maryland, Courtney Paris of Oklahoma, Angel McCoughtry of Louisville, Lindsay Wysdom-Hilton of Purdue and Jareica Hughes of UTEP will provide their thoughts throughout the NCAA season.
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SATURDAY, Jan. 3
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Well, it\'s after the holiday season and the New Year. While most students got to relax at home for a couple weeks, no such luck for us women\'s basketball players. We do get a few days off but it\'s mostly to get recharged for the...
Farmland owners counties can give prairie chickens a boost while earning income in an unsettling economy.
A new state-federal program will pay farmland owners in 11 Missouri counties to set aside land as habitat and nesting grounds for prairie chickens, which once roamed the state\'s prairies in the hundreds of thousands.
Iowa, New Mexico, and Texas are among the states making similar offers to their farmers to reverse the decline in prairie chicken habitat, according to the USDA\'s Farm Service Agency.
With fewer than 400 to 500 birds remaining in Missouri, their...
Motorists convicted of driving drunk will have to install breathalyzer-type gadgets in their cars under new laws taking effect in six states this week.
The ignition interlocks prevent engines from starting until drivers blow into the alcohol detectors to prove they\'re sober.
Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Washington state began Jan. 1 requiring the devices on all motorists convicted of first-time drunken-driving. South Carolina began Thursday requiring them for repeat offenders.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been conducting a nationwide campaign to...
AP News
Vice President Dick Cheney says Russia's military actions in Georgia "must not go unanswered."
Cheney spoke Sunday afternoon with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. "The vice president expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Cheney's press secretary, Lee Ann McBride, said.
Cheney told Saakashvili "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community," McBride said. Read More...
Iraq demands clear timeline for US withdrawal By Marko Drobnjakovic (AP)
Iraq's foreign minister insisted Sunday that any security deal with the United States must contain a "very clear timeline" for the departure of U.S. troops. A suicide bomber struck north of Baghdad, killing at least five people including an American soldier.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters that American and Iraqi negotiators were "very close" to reaching a long-term security agreement that will set the rules for U.S. troops in Iraq after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. Read More...
Texas 7 member volunteers for execution this week By (AP)
Michael Rodriguez remembers the exhilaration of newfound freedom when he hid in the back of a stolen truck as he and six of his buddy convicts staged one of Texas' most notorious prison breaks.
Then he recalls seeing his photo on national TV and grasping the reality that their Hollywood-style plan to rob a Nevada casino had gone terribly awry. He and his fellow fugitives were being hunted everywhere as the killers of a police officer, Aubrey Hawkins, at a store they robbed outside Dallas. Read More...
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