Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |

Politics
Published Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

A moderate Democratic senator who voted to allow debate over a health care bill says he might not support the bill in its next hurdle in the Senate.

Published Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

A Democratic senator says moderates in his party shouldn't be allowed to dictate the terms of the health care debate and that the final bill should include a government-run option for Americans lacking insurance.

Published Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

A Democratic lawmaker who has been treated for breast cancer says worries that the proposed health care overhaul would limit cancer screenings are overblown.

Published Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver wanted people to stop complaining for a day and count their blessings.

Published Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will be a tough act to follow, even for the Kennedys. His death, coupled with the decision by family members not to seek the seat he held for nearly five decades, has prompted predictions that the family's long-running political dynasty is over.

Published Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

During his first 10 months in office, as global trade contracted sharply, President Barack Obama avoided pursuing free-trade pacts and limited his public moves on the trade front to high-profile and often politically popular retaliatory actions.

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

The 60-39 roll call Saturday by which the Senate voted to advance a measure overhauling health care to a full debate.

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

The Senate voted 60-39 Saturday to clear the way for consideration of historic legislation to overhaul the nation's health-care system, but reluctant Democratic moderates sent strong signals that the bill has an uncertain future.

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

President Barack Obama and his family spent a low-key night out at the home of a senior White House adviser after a whirlwind week spent on a presidential trip to Asia.

Fort Hood Senate
AP

file - This Oct. 2008 file photo by Muhammad ud-Deen shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. The imam, who communicated with the Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, said he did not pressure Hasan to harm Americans, The Washington Post reported Monday, Nov 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File) MANDATORY CREDIT NO SALES

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

WASHINGTON - The government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between the alleged Fort Hood gunman and a radical Muslim cleric, and a key senator says there could be more communications that might have tipped off law enforcement or military officials.

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

(EDITORS: Update expected after final Senate vote this evening.)

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

A bruising debate on health care awaits the Senate after Thanksgiving now that the historic legislation has cleared a key hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

In a show of unity, Senate Democrats sealed a 60-vote majority needed to advance health care legislation Saturday ahead of an evening showdown with Republicans eager to doom the bill and inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.

Courts vs Commissions
AP Photo

FILE - In this March 1, 2003 file picture, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan. The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee.

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee.

Obama
AP Photo

President Barack Obama exits Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009.

Published Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

President Barack Obama's eight-day trip to Asia produced no tangible wins for the United States, though he is citing talks with Asian allies that he says could help create thousands of job and open new markets for American goods in the future.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Military prosecutors said Friday they plan to seek new charges against the alleged mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

A retired State Department employee will spend life in prison without parole after he and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to serving as covert agents for Cuba for three decades.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

The Federal Aviation Administration is blaming an equipment outage this week for delaying 819 flights.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

A retired State Department employee and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to charges that they have been spying for Cuba for decades.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

WASHINGTON - The government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between the alleged Fort Hood gunman and a radical Muslim cleric, and a key senator says there could be more communications that might have tipped off law enforcement or military officials.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

The Senate is poised to approve on Saturday the start of a historic debate over health care legislation aimed at making coverage easier, less expensive to obtain and harder to lose.

Blackwater Prosecution
AP Photo

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2009, file photo Blackwater Worldwide security guard Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., right, and his attorney Thomas Connolly leave federal court in Washington after pleading not guilty to manslaughter charges. In court documents Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, prosecutors said they have asked that the case against Slatten, one of the Blackwater Worldwide contractors charged in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, be dropped.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents Friday.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

A retired State Department worker and his wife accused of a decades-long plot to spy for Cuba pleaded guilty Friday in a deal that will leave him behind bars for the rest of his life but gives her a chance at freedom in six years.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

The Army says there will be an outside review of how body armor for its soldiers is tested.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

A retired State Department employee and his wife are expected to plead guilty Friday in federal court to charges that they have been spying for Cuba for decades.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, one of three moderate Democratic senators wavering on whether to allow debate on health care legislation to proceed, said Friday that he would vote to move the bill forward.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is a "yes" in a crucial weekend test vote on health care.

Burris Ethics
AP Photo

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2009 file photo Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill. is seen during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, the Senate ethics committee admonished Burris for making "inconsistent, misleading or incomplete" statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the seat once held by Barack Obama. The committee didn't recommend any punishment.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

The Senate ethics committee on Friday admonished Democratic Sen. Roland Burris for misleading investigators about his maneuvering to get Barack Obama's old Senate seat from the governor who was ousted for trying to sell it.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Suitably opaque, Section 2006 takes up only a few dozen lines in a sweeping health care bill that runs to 2,074 pages and mentions neither Sen. Mary Landrieu nor her state of Louisiana.

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

A look at key issues in the health care debate:

Published Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Fresh from his weeklong trip through Asia, President Barack Obama is taking time to catch up on dad duty.

Fort Hood Investigation
AP Photo

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, takes part in a news conference at the Pentagon, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, to discuss the Fort Hoods shootings.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

The Pentagon said Thursday it will scour its procedures for identifying volatile soldiers hidden in the ranks following the Fort Hood shooting rampage and lapses that might allow others to slip through bureaucratic cracks.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced Thursday that he's appointed two former heads of the Army and the Navy to review the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, amid questions about whether political correctness and a shortage of mental health professionals drove the military to keep Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan in the Army longer than it should have.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

The Senate on Thursday began what promises to be a bitter, lengthy battle over the future of health care in America, and taxes, abortion, affordability and federal deficits emerged as key flashpoints.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

A high-octane effort to let U.S. tourists visit Cuba got a major endorsement Thursday from one of the island's leading dissidents, who suggested that "along with suitcases, Bermuda shorts and sun block, support, solidarity and freedom could come, too."

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

A high-octane effort to let U.S. tourists visit Cuba got a major endorsement Thursday from one of the island's leading dissidents, who suggested that "along with suitcases, Bermuda shorts and sun block, support, solidarity and freedom could come, too."

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

It's the hottest ticket in town. Just don't ask the White House who got them.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

The Homeland Security Department wants to expand speedy screening of preapproved, low-risk air travelers arriving in the United States to most international airports in the country.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

A Conservative Party candidate is writing to supporters saying he lost a New York race for a U.S. House of Representatives seat because of scheming and needs money in case he lodges a legal challenge.

Obama
AP Photo

President Barack Obama waves as he exits Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

President Barack Obama will have scant time to rest up from his eight-day Asia trip. On Saturday, two days after his return to Washington, the Senate plans a make-or-break vote on his hard-fought plan to overhaul the nation's health care system. Obama also confronts a difficult choice on strategy and troop levels in Afghanistan, which will be criticized no matter what he decides.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

America's once clear dominance in space is eroding as other nations, including China, Iran and North Korea, step up their activities, a panel of experts told the House subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Thursday.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent steep Medicare payment cuts to doctors, a move Republicans denounced as a political payoff.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced criminal charges against more than two dozen people accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars from a telephone service for the deaf.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says warnings that politics could push back Iraqi elections scheduled for January aren't affecting his plans for a troop withdrawal now.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Republican Sen. Tom Coburn is backing off his threat to require that the Senate read the 2,074-page health care bill because some GOP colleagues aren't supporting the effort.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

A Michigan law firm has agreed to pay a $131,000 fine to resolve an investigation into donations to former Sen. John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has included at least $100 million in Medicaid funds for Louisiana in his health care bill at the same time he is trying to persuade that state's wavering Democratic senator to cast a pivotal vote for the overhaul legislation.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Congressional investigators said Thursday that tens of thousands of questionnaires aimed at measuring the mental and physical health of returning combat troops can't be found.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Facing a hail of criticism, Goldman Sachs' top officer has offered a halting apology for the premier investment bank's role in the subprime mortgage crisis that sank the nation's economy.

Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Like a boxer under siege, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday rebuffed calls from Republicans to resign and slugged it out with lawmakers over Obama administration economic policies.


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