Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as President Barack Obama prepares his opening bid on long-term deficit reduction, the White House wants to keep the focus on jobs and is determined to avoid getting sucked into another budget fight with lawmakers. Administration officials see the task of attending to deficits as necessary but not necessarily urgent, compared with the need to revive the economy and increase employment. The White House also sees this as the time to draw sharp contrasts with congressional Republicans, whose public approval ratings are lower than Obama's. As a result, when Obama announces at least $2 trillion in...

A suspicious package at the mail center of an Illinois Air Force base prompted the evacuation of several buildings, officials said Wednesday, and three people were taken to a hospital. The report of the package at Scott Air Force Base came in at 9:26 a.m. (10:26 a.m. ET), said Lt. Benjamin Garland, base spokesman. The building containing the mail center was evacuated, along with surrounding buildings (Snip) The three people were taken to the hospital as a result of possible chemical exposure, said another base spokesman, Thomas Kistler. Thirteen people were being decontaminated on the scene as a precaution, Garland

A former porn actress who says she messaged disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner today revealed that he asked her to lie about their sordid on-line ‘sext’ sessions. Ginger Lee said she and Weiner exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, beginning after Lee posted a supportive statement about the congressman on her blog. She said they mostly discussed politics, but he would often turn the conversation to sex. Candid: Former porn actress Ginger Lee, left, and her attorney Gloria Allred address a news conference at the Friars Club today 'I have wardrobe demands too. I need to highlight my package,'...

One Main Place in Dallas is being evacuated after a bomb-sniffing dog hit on a package. The on-site dog smelled something suspicious in a FedEx package and notified his handlers. The area around the office building, located at 1201 Main Street, is being blocked off and the building evacuated. A Dallas police ordinance squad is headed to the location, police said.

A package that was found smoldering at a Washington, D.C., post office on Friday was addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a DHS official confirmed. The package bore similar markings to the two that were found flaring at Maryland state offices on Thursday, according to an initial analysis by security officials. It was discovered by a postal worker sorting mail Friday afternoon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A package addressed to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ignited on Friday at a postal facility in Washington, D.C. but was quickly extinguished and no one was injured, authorities said. A postal worker was tossing mail into a bin when the package was discovered "popping, smoking and with a brief flash of fire," Cathy Lanier, chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said during a news conference. The package was addressed to Napolitano and was believed to be similar to others found in two incidents involving packages delivered to Maryland state offices on Thursday, a Department...

Greek police said it had intercepted on Monday a booby-trapped parcel addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, after another package exploded at a courier company in Athens. "One of the explosive devices that the suspects were carrying was addressed to the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy," a police spokesman told Reuters. He said the other parcels were addressed to the embassies of Belgium, Netherlands and Mexico. The latter one exploded earlier in Athens, slightly injuring one female employee at a courier company. The others were detonated by police.

Washington DC's Thomas Circle has been shut down because of a suspicious package. As I write, cop cars are surrounding the traffic circle, located just a half-mile north of the White House, and the area is blocked off by yellow police tape. While the cops declined to comment on the situation, I spoke to somebody who works in one of the affected buildings, and she told me that around 10:30 am, an announcement came across the PA system instructing everybody that they had to evacuate because of a suspicious package.

FDIC Mulls Linking Fees To Bank Pay 01-07-2010 | Source: emii.com People & Companies in the News The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is considering linking fees paid by lenders to the agency for deposit insurance to the risk profile of compensation packages for executives, The Wall Street Journal reports. Banks with compensation structures viewed as less risky by the FDIC may be given a break on the fees they pay on deposit insurance. Banks that the FDIC considers to have pay structures that gives officials an incentive to put the company at more risk might be forced to pay...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Secret Service said on Tuesday they were investigating a suspicious package near the White House complex and a few nearby streets were closed.

I’ll admit I have way too much time. However feeling a little down over the passage of the “Stimulus“ bill, I decided to cheer myself up a bit. Not being a drinker, my vice was an anagram generator I found on the web. So using only the letters found in “President Obama”, what would be the most satisfying anagram? The exercise resulted in 1000’s of anagrams some of which were spot on and others that were just plain funny. Beware they’re lots of anagrams to be derived from President Obama, and much time to waste. Here’s mine in no particular...

It's impossible to say for sure if New York rookie Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand's attitude is representative of all those nay-voting Democrats, or even the frosh cohort among them, but here's her explanation for her vote*: While I am fully aware of the seriousness of the financial problems in the market, I do not believe the bill Congress voted on today was the right approach. The bill has insufficient oversight and protections and does not address the root causes of the crisis or the poor economy. While the bill is better than the three page document the Bush Administration tried to...

Angry Republican senators vowed Thursday to put up a fight against President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill after the package passed the House of Representatives with no opposition support.

The House is expected to approve today an $825 billion economic stimulus package that supporters say could help create nearly 4 million jobs at a time when the U.S. economy is in tatters. The plan could pump billions of dollars into Wisconsin's economy through funding for highway and water projects, food stamps and unemployment benefits, and education and law enforcement grants, among other things. Rep. Dave Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, helped craft the stimulus package, which he calls an honest effort to prevent the economy from falling further into the abyss. The Wausau Democrat is urging lawmakers...

STRASBOURG (AFP) – The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the EU's climate change package, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020, lifting the last hurdle to the ambitious plan. Six texts on the package, already agreed by the 27 European Union member states, were passed by a large majority of the MEPs present. "We have sealed the climate package," said European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering, after the vote. The so-called "20-20-20" climate package, which Europe hopes will serve as a model to other nations, will oblige EU nations to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2008 – Whether you are a young soldier leaving boot camp for a tour in Germany or a seasoned military police officer working in Iraq, receiving a care package from home can be a huge pick-me-up. A Web site launched in September provides many ideas to families and friends wanting to send care packages to love ones stationed abroad. Abby Tymchak of Wayne, N.J., was inspired to create the site, called “The Soldiers Family,” when she found out her husband, Army Sgt. Scott Kowalski, was being deployed overseas for at least a year. Initially, she said,...

The Denver Police Department's bomb squad responded to reports of a suspicious package at an intersection near downtown at 2:30 p.m. today. Authorities said the suspicious package was reportedly at East 14th Avenue and Ogden Street in Capitol Hill. Police have closed Ogden from East 14th Avenue to East Colfax Avenue. The street remains closed while police continue to investigate.

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday signed a multibillion-dollar economic rescue package on Wednesday that means $300 to $1,200 rebates for many American households. Bush called the measure "a booster shot for our economy" to stave off a recession. Several dozen members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stood on the stage behind Bush as he signed the bill. Rebates are to go out beginning in May to taxpayers and low-income people, including seniors living off of Social Security and veterans who depend on disability checks. Businesses would get tax breaks for investing in new plants and equipment. Most...

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats will move to add to a $150 billion economic stimulus package rebates for senior citizens living off Social Security and an extension of unemployment benefits, setting up a clash with the White House and House leaders who are pushing a narrower package. As the House planned a vote Tuesday on a plan that would speed rebates of up to $600 to most income earners — more for couples and families with children — the Senate was planning to draft its own measure with the add-ons, said senior Senate aides in both parties, speaking on condition of...

Bloomberg Rips Federal Stimulus Package Wednesday January 23, 2008 10:46 PM By DEVLIN BARRETT Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg accused the White House and Congress on Wednesday of negotiating a shortsighted economic stimulus package after years of lousy financial management. ``We can't borrow our way out of this. The jig is up,'' Bloomberg said in prepared remarks to be delivered Wednesday evening before the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is honoring his environmental efforts. The billionaire mayor, who is said to be considering an independent presidential bid yet denies that he is a candidate,...