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With an increasingly bleak economic outlook, president-elect Barack Obama and other Democrats are planning a enormous fiscal stimulus program that could end up costing as much as $700 billion over the next two years.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that a new stimulus package should focus on creating jobs and could possibly include a tax cut, the BBC reports.
The Washington Post said that Obama hopes to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, although it is unknown what exactly would be have to be done or how much money would be needed.
The plan would have funding for public works projects intended to improve the nation’s infrastructure, money to promote green technology and tax cuts targeted at a variety of different demographics, the Washington Post reports.
David Axelrod, Obama’s senior campaign strategist, was quoted by the BBC as saying that Obama would do “what’s necessary� as president, saying that it is going to take a combination of stimuli to get the economy moving again.
Axelrod did admit to the BBC that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, which Obama promised to repeal repeatedly on the campaign trail, may be left in place for a time after Obama takes office.
Republicans criticized the plan, the Washington Post reports, instead pushing for more tax cuts that they think would spur economic growth.

Posted by Conor Shine at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President-elect Barack Obama announced Thursday that he will be resigning his senate seat effective Sunday.
The timing of his resignation means that he will miss next week’s Senate session that will deal with the economic crisis and a possible bail out for U.S. automakers, Reuters reports.
The Democrats will have a 50-49 majority in the senate, including the two independents who align with the party, after Obama’s departure.
Obama said that he was stepping down in order to focus on his transition to the White House, leaving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a democrat, responsible for choosing Obama’s replacement, Bloomberg said.
It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate," Obama said in a statement reported by Reuters.
Whoever is chosen to replace Obama would serve until 2010, which is when Obama’s term ends.
Bloomberg points to Jesse Jackson Jr., a seven-term congressman and son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, as a possible replacement for Obama. Tammy Duckworth, the director of Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, and Jan Schakowsky, who also serves in the U.S. Congress.

Posted by Conor Shine at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Food and Drug Administration made mistakes in determining the safety of a chemical commonly used in baby bottles in other plastics, a report released Friday said.
The report, released by an FDA advisory board, did not state whether the chemical, known as bisphenol-A, should be considered unsafe but instead called for the agency to redo its assessment of the substance, the Washington Post reports.
According the advisory panel, the agency’s BPA evaluation “creates a false sense of security� and “overlooks a wide range of potentially serious findings,� the New York Times reports.
According to the New York Times, BPA is a chemical commonly used in plastic bottles, baby bottles and canned foods. The chemical appears to have estrogen mimicking effects, which could lead to accelerated puberty or increased cancer risk.
The Washington Post reports that FDA’s current stance on BPA is controversial because it stands against more than 100 studies that say there is “some concern� BPA may affect brain development in small infants.
There is a widespread call for manufacturers to drop BPA from their products but John Rost, chairman of the North American Metal Packaging Manufacturing Association, tells the Washington Post there is no immediate replacement for BPA and it could take up to two years for the FDA to approve an alternative.

Posted by Conor Shine at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gas prices fell more over the past two weeks then at any other point in history, according to a nationwide Lundberg survey.
CNN reports that the slide in prices can be attributed to a fall in crude prices and reduced demand as more drivers stayed off the road during the widespread economic downturn.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $2.7785, according to Reuters, which is about 53 cents less per gallon then the price two weeks ago.
Crude oil prices have fallen from a high $147 a barrel in July all the way to $64.15 a barrel.
Trilby Lundberg, who edits the survey of 5,000 nationwide service station, said that the slide in prices should continue, but a much less drastic pace.
"The price of oil doesn't seem likely to jump up substantially any time soon and, considering the U.S. economy, it seems likely that oil prices will stay in their current neighborhood," Trilby said to CNN.

Posted by Conor Shine at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Retired general and former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President Sunday on “Meet the Press�, calling him a “transformational figure.�
Powell praised Obama's intellectual abilities and his ability to bring a fresh start to the presidency, the Boston Globe reports.
Powell also said that he was disturbed by the negative tone that John McCain's campaign had taken on in recent weeks, specifically criticizing his continued association of Obama with former 1960's radical William Ayers, according to the New York Times.
Powell also criticized McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as running mate, stating that he did not believe she was ready to president of the United States, the Boston Globe reports.
The New York Times described the endorsement as a “major blow� to John McCain's presidential hopes, as the Republican Powell has been a good friend for decades.
“Meet the Press� host Tom Brokaw asked Powell about the possibility of him serving a role in a potential Obama administration, Powell did not rule out the possibility, saying “if a president asks you to do something, you have to consider it.�

Posted by Conor Shine at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Bush signed an executive order Thursday that allows for the creation of a special council to ease the transition of his successor into the White House.
The Presidential Transition Coordinating Council will meet next week to begin mapping a plan to hand the keys to the presidency over to either John McCain or Barack Obama, the Washington Post reports.
The Associated Press reports that the council will consist of top officials from the Justice Department, the White House budget office, Homeland Security and various other agencies in fields ranging from intelligence to national security.
The council will work alongside officials from both campaigns who are already tasked with setting up policies for personnel selections after the election.
Congress has appropriated $8 million to finance the transition operations, the Associated Press reports.
White House press secretary Dana Perino was quoted in the Washington Post as saying, “It has probably never been more critical that a transition from an administration, from one to the next, is as seamless as possible.�

Posted by Conor Shine at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The number of immigrants entering the United States illegally has fallen since the first half of the decade a report released Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center indicates.
According to the New York Times the drop in low-wage jobs in America and increased enforcement at the border and at workplaces across the country have contributed to this decline. While the economy in the United States has been slowing down, economies in Mexico and other Latin American countries has been steady.
Immigrants from Mexico make up 58 percent of the illegals immigrants entering the U.S., more than any other country by far according to a statement made by the report's author to the New York Times.
The Washington Post cites figures from the report that show the number of illegal immigrants entering the country fell from 800,00 per year between 2000 and 2004 to 500,000 per year between 2005 and 2008.
The Washington Post also reports that the number of legal permanent residents has remained relatively stable at 650,000 per year, marking the first time in a decade that the number of legal residents entering the country has been larger then the number of illegal residents.
Illegal immigrants now make up about 4 percent of the U.S. population and about 30 percent of the foreign-born U.S. population.

Posted by Conor Shine at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday, the Bush administration made its formal proposal to Congress that would allow the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in in mortgage assets, the New York Times reports.
The proposal would be the largest government backed financial bailout in U.S. history. It aims to transfer the bad debts of Wall Street to the American taxpayers.
This planned bailout would be the third major action taken by the U.S. government in hopes of shoring up the economy. The Washington Post reports that the government has already pledged $200 billion to rescue mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and $85 billion in loans to the major insurance company American International Group.
President Bush justified the action, citing the scale of the crisis. He was quoted by the Washington Post as saying, “the risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package.�
Congressional committees began meeting immediately Saturday, with the New York Times anticipating the negotiations to be “complicated but quick.�
Although there is varying support across the board, Democratic leaders pledged to approve legislation quickly.

Posted by Conor Shine at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The effects of Hurricane Ike are beginning to be felt by residents in Galveston, Texas, the AP reports.
Although the storm isn't expected to hit land until late Friday or early Saturday, the city of Galveston was being hit with waves as tall as 15 feet.
Galveston residents had already been ordered to evacuate or they would face, as the National Weather Service put it, “certain death.�
In anticipation of the potentially devastating hurricane, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had already begun moving in millions of meals ready to eat into Texas.
The Houston Chronicle reports that “FEMA is anticipating that about 100,00 homes will be flooded and as many as several million people could be without power.�
The Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that “this is pretty much a worse-case scenario for flooding the Gulf Coast area.�
“Hurricane warnings were in effect over a 400-mile stretch of coastline from south of Corpus Christi to Morgan City, La.,� the AP reports. Houston is in Ike's potential path, although citizens there have been told not to evacuate.
The last time a major hurricane hit this Galveston and Houston was in 1983, when Hurricane Alicia caused $2 billion in damage.

Posted by Conor Shine at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)