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AP Political NewsBrief at 11:12 a.m. EDT
(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Report: More troops needed for Afghan war successWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama's top commander in Afghanistan has told him that without more troops the United States could lose the war that Obama has described as the nation's foremost military priority. Obama must now decide whether to commit thousands of additional American forces or try to hold the line against the Taliban with the troops and strategy he has already approved. Obama made clear in television interviews Sunday that he is reassessing whether his narrowed focus on countering the Afghan insurgency is working and will not be rushed into a decision about additional troops.
Obama starts big week with innovation speech in NYWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama, squeezing in an eleventh-hour pitch for his domestic agenda, is promoting his administration's promises of innovation at a New York community college before weeklong meetings on international priorities. Obama heads to Troy, N.Y., on Monday to discuss his already-in-place programs that he says help spur innovation and transform the U.S. economy. He then moves on to New York City, where he will become the first sitting U.S. president to appear on David Letterman's "Late Show" couch _ another example of a White House strategy designed to put Obama in front of as many cameras as possible to sell his message to a skeptical public.
House moves to extend unemployment benefitsWASHINGTON (AP) _ Despite predictions the Great Recession is running out of steam, the House is taking up emergency legislation this week to help the millions of Americans who see no immediate end to their economic miseries. A bill offered by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and expected to pass easily would provide 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for more than 300,000 jobless people who live in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent and who are scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of September.
SPIN METER: $2 trillion in health savings? Where?WASHINGTON (AP) _ It was a watershed moment in the health care struggle: Leaders of the insurance, hospital and other medical industries stood with President Barack Obama at the White House and promised steps to save $2 trillion over the next decade. Whatever happened to those savings, announced with much fanfare well before Congress had written any of the costly health overhaul bills now in play? Industry groups say they're a work in progress. Many health analysts say they're largely speculative.
Obama: Health insurance mandate no tax increaseWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama says requiring people to get health insurance and fining them if they don't would not amount to a backhanded tax increase. "I absolutely reject that notion," the president said. Blanketing most of the Sunday TV news shows, Obama defended his proposed health care overhaul, including a key point of the various health care bills on Capitol Hill: mandating that people get health insurance to share the cost burden fairly among all. Those who failed to get coverage would face financial penalties.
Obama favors investigation into ACORN scandalWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama says there should be an investigation into the hidden-camera video involving employees at the activist group ACORN and a couple posing as a prostitute and her pimp. The two ACORN workers are seen apparently advising the couple to lie about her profession and launder her earnings to get housing aid.
Obama: First family to follow rules on flu vaccineWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama says the first family will follow the rules like every one else on the swine flu vaccine. Obama says he's probably "fairly far down" the pecking order for being vaccinated.
IRS extends amnesty program for tax cheatsWASHINGTON (AP) _ Tax dodgers who hid assets overseas will get a few extra weeks to apply for an amnesty program that has been flooded with applications ahead of the Wednesday deadline. The Internal Revenue Service said Monday the deadline will be extended until Oct. 15.
Obama: Missile defense decision not about RussiaWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama sharply dismisses criticism that Russian opposition influenced his decision to scrap a European missile defense system, calling it merely a bonus if the leaders of Russia end up "a little less paranoid" about the U.S. "My task here was not to negotiate with the Russians," Obama told CBS' "Face the Nation" in an interview for broadcast Sunday. "The Russians don't make determinations about what our defense posture is."
Rep. Rangel: Popular lawmaker with ethics issuesWASHINGTON (AP) _ Rep. Charlie Rangel, the latest congressional titan with ethics problems, is described by a longtime House colleague as the guy who would make sure everyone put on oxygen masks during a flight emergency, but would have to be told to put on his own. If Rep. Gary Ackerman's characterization fits the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, then Rangel's inattention to his ethical conduct has reached epic proportions.
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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