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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Negative attacks are as American as apple pie. Since the early days of the republic, candidates attacked with a vigor that contemporary strategists would admire. In the 1800 presidential election, for example, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams criticized one another with a stunning ferocity on everything from foreign and domestic policy to private character and personal behavior. Later campaigns weren't much better. Critics of Andrew Jackson in 1836 accused him of murdering Indians. In 1884, Grover Cleveland was ridiculed for fathering an illegitimate child. William Jennings Bryan was characterized as a dangerous radical in 1896 who would ruin the economy. Despite these historical precedents, the 2008 campaign has reached all-time lows in the use of misleading and inaccurate political appeals. Even Karl Rove, the architect of negative ads in previous campaigns, has complained about the tenor of this year's campaign. John McCain broadcast an ad taking Barack Obama's words out of context and suggesting Democrats were trying to compare GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to a pig. The McCain campaign ran another spot erroneously claiming Obama favored comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners. Democrats have not been above reproach either. After McCain secured the GOP nomination this spring, outside groups falsely claimed the Republican supported a 1,000-year war in Iraq and therefore was not worthy of the presidency. These misleading appeals suggest voters must remain vigilant about candidate, party, and group claims. Generally, the most misleading commercials have come from independent groups uncoordinated with the candidates. These organizations feel free to run emotional and inaccurate content designed to play on voter's fears and anxieties. Some of the worst ads in recent memory, such as the Willie Horton ad in 1988, have been broadcast by these kinds of groups. In past years, the only upside of attack ads was that they generally contained more issue content than other types of ads. Since reporters police campaign appeals, the ads generally stick to the issues and rely on factually-accurate information. Ad sponsors and candidates realize they will be held accountable for unfair ad content. However, commercials run this year represent a break with this general pattern. Attack ads broadcast in recent months have twisted the truth, lied about personal background, taken statements out of context, and clearly sought to manipulate voter sentiments. Most worrisome from a factual standpoint is McCain's claim that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class. Although Obama has pledged to increase income taxes on those earning more than $250,000, he has been careful not to make proposals that would raise taxes on the middle class for fear of being labeled a tax-and-spend liberal. McCain's tax claims have been condemned by leading editorial boards and surely will attract considerable attention in upcoming debates. With all the factual inaccuracies that have taken place, voters need to protect themselves from efforts at political manipulation. Non-partisan Web sites such as www.factcheck.org represent one source of unbiased information. They analyze ads and compile factual information in support of or in opposition to ad claims. Other trustworthy fact-checkers include ad watches and reality checks run by leading news organizations. These features dissect candidate claims in regard to accuracy, strategy, and impact. But the best thing for voters to do is to watch the candidate debates and judge for themselves. Study the statements and the factual bases of policy claims. Pay attention to how the candidates speak and what they say. Find out what non-partisan groups think and see what they have to say regarding the major issues. By the time the campaign is over, the presidential candidates are expected to have spent 55 percent of their overall budget on ads. Strategists put together spots very carefully and pre-test major messages on small groups of voters. Most of this money will be devoted to television spots. But increasingly amounts are being targeted on radio, direct mail, and Internet appeals. In the end, voters are going to have to decipher competing charges and counter-charges amid considerable noise from all sides. The 2008 election is unusual in having so many big issues on the agenda: the economy, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars | [
"What has a long history in politics?",
"West said to use what to help voters sort out the media?",
"What should voters do?",
"What kind of resources should voters use?",
"What have this year's ads done?",
"Who is running against Obama?"
] | [
[
"Negative attacks"
],
[
"Non-partisan Web sites"
],
[
"need to protect themselves from efforts at political manipulation."
],
[
"Non-partisan Web sites"
],
[
"twisted the truth, lied about personal background, taken statements out of context,"
],
[
"John McCain"
]
] | Darrell West: Negative attacks have long history in U.S. politics .
This year's ads have hit new lows for distorting the truth, West says .
Ads against McCain and Obama have twisted their words, he says .
West: Voters should use fact-checking resources in media and on the Web . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- New Haven, Connecticut, firefighter Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff in perhaps the most controversial case involving Judge Sonia Sotomayor, said Thursday that Sotomayor's rejection of his reverse discrimination claim had undermined the concept of a merit-based civil service system. New Haven firefighter Frank Ricci sued after the city threw out results of a 2003 firefighter promotion exam. Ricci was one of a group of 20 mostly white firefighters who sued the city of New Haven after it threw out the results of a 2003 firefighter promotion exam because almost no minorities qualified for promotions. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, including Sotomayor, backed the city in the 2008 case Ricci v. DeStefano. The ruling of the Circuit Court was overturned in June by a 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The "belief that citizens should be reduced to racial statistics is flawed," Ricci told the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It only divides people who don't wish to be divided along racial lines. The very reason we have civil service rules is to root out politics, discrimination and nepotism. Our case demonstrates that these ills will exist if the rules of merit and the law are not followed." Watch firefighters testify » Ricci also criticized Sotomayor's 2nd Circuit for disposing of the case in an "unsigned, unpublished summary order that consisted of a single paragraph." Sotomayor was not present when Ricci spoke. She left the session after concluding her remarks earlier Thursday. Sotomayor argued before committee members Tuesday that her ruling in the Ricci case was decided on the basis of "a very thorough, 78-page decision by the district court" and followed an established precedent. "This was not a quota case or (an) affirmative action case," she said. The case was a challenge to a firefighter test that had a wide range of difference between the pass and failure rate of different groups. The city of New Haven, she noted, was at risk of being sued by employees who could show they were "disparately impacted" by the test. New Haven city officials, after a number of days of hearings, decided they wouldn't certify the test but would instead attempt to develop a test of equal value in measuring a candidate's qualifications without having a disparate impact, she said. The question before the 2nd Circuit, Sotomayor said, was whether the city's decision was based on race or its understanding of what the law required it to do. The Circuit Court ruled that it was based on the latter. Based on established legal precedent, the 2nd Circuit decided that the city's decision was proper under established law. The Supreme Court, however, applied a new standard, she said, based on a different area of law. If she were ruling on that case today, she said, she would be bound by the new standards set by the Supreme Court. Ricci was one of several witnesses who testified both for and against Sotomayor. Linda Chavez, head of the conservative Center for Equal Opportunity, which opposes affirmative action, argued that "it is clear" from Sotomayor's record "that she has drunk deep from the well of identity politics." It is impossible for Sotomayor to be a fair judge when she has "shown a willingness to let her policy preferences guide her," Chavez said. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel testified on Sotomayor's behalf, arguing that her opinion in the Ricci case was, in fact, an example of judicial restraint. It followed a string of legal precedents dating back almost three decades, he said. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also testified in favor of Sotomayor, telling committee members that she is an "independent jurist" with a "sharp and agile mind" who would bring "a wealth of unique experience" to the high court. | [
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] | [
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"New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg"
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"Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel testified on Sotomayor's behalf,"
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] | Frank Ricci one of 20 firefighters who claimed reverse discrimination in promotions .
Plaintiff: Decision undermined concept of a merit-based civil service system .
Sotomayor: Ruling was based on "a very thorough" decision by the district court .
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, others spoke in favor of judge's confirmation . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Newly released documents from Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's service on the board of a Puerto Rican civil rights organization show the group opposed Robert Bork's nomination to the high court more than two decades ago. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is set to face Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Sotomayor, a judge on the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, was nominated by President Obama in May to fill the vacancy of retiring Justice David Souter. Her confirmation hearings are set to begin July 13. She served as a board member of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund from 1980-92, leaving when she became a federal judge. During her years on the PRLDEF board, the group opposed President Reagan's 1987 nomination of the conservative Bork -- then a federal appeals judge -- "because of the threat he poses to the civil rights of the Latino community," according to the documents. The group's attorneys prepared press releases and "worked on numerous efforts to build coalitions against the nominee," according to the documents. Bork was ultimately rejected by the Senate. The Fund also met in 1987 with staff at the New York Daily News to address what it called "negative images of Puerto Ricans presented by the News' staff," including well-known columnist Jimmy Breslin. Republicans are challenging Sotomayor's record on affirmative action, and the newly released documents on her work at the Fund will likely be a centerpiece of debate at the upcoming confirmation hearings. The 350 pages of documents released Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee show the Fund filed hundreds of discrimination lawsuits over the years on behalf of Hispanics. The documents do not reveal whether Sotomayor was directly involved in them. She was a private attorney at the time, and was volunteering for the group. However, they reflect the Fund's strong push to establish a precedent of cases that would establish legal authority to uphold workplace quotas for minorities. One case dealt with promotions in the New York City Police Department. A May 1992 memo on "litigation highlights" noted, "We obtained quota promotions for Latinos and African Americans to the rank of sergeant." A PRLDEF class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of minority applicants claimed advancement exams were "discriminatory and not job related." The city settled, agreeing to promotions that reflected the percentage of Hispanic test-takers. Backpay and retroactive seniority were also provided. "As a result," said the memo, "almost 100 Hispanics were promoted, over twice the number that would have been promoted without the settlement." Fast forward 17 years to a case Sotomayor heard as an appeals judge. She and her colleagues rejected a lawsuit by white firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut, after the city threw out the results of promotional exams because too few minorities qualified for advancement. In the case, one Hispanic and 19 white firefighters who scored high on the exams and would have gained captain and lieutenant positions claimed "reverse" discrimination. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the so-called "New Haven 20," concluding "the city rejected the test results solely because the higher scoring candidates were white." Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority said, "No individual should face workplace discrimination based on race." The high court said municipalities would now have to establish "a strong basis of evidence" that promotion tests were unfairly designed or administered before nullifying them, and not simply because too many minorities did poorly. Sotomayor's views in the case have been criticized by some conservatives, saying it shows she supports racial preferences for Hispanic and other minorities. The high court dissent, however, criticized the ruling for reinterpreting what Congress intended. "Congress endeavored to promote equal opportunity in fact, and not simply in form," wrote Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. "The damage today's decision does to that objective is untold." Supporters also contend the PRLDEF documents add nothing to the nomination debate. "Documents that Judge Sotomayor did not write, or approve -- many of them more than | [
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] | Sotomayor once served on the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund .
Group opposed the 1987 nomination of Robert Bork to the high court .
Supporters: PRLDEF documents add nothing to the nomination debate .
Republicans are challenging Sotomayor's record on affirmative action . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- North Korea has positioned what is thought to be a long-range missile on its launch pad, a U.S. counter-proliferation official said on Wednesday.
A North Korean soldier stands guard in the border village of Panmunjom on December 1, 2004 in South Korea.
The official confirmed a Japanese media report.
North Korea recently informed a pair of U.N. agencies that it plans to launch a satellite. The launch is slated for sometime between April 4-8, according to Yonhap, South Korea's state-sponsored news agency.
North Korea is technically capable of launching a rocket in as little as two to four days, according to Kim Taewoo, an expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, but who doubts a launch will come that soon.
It would not make sense for Pyongyang to make such a move after going through official channels with its plans, Kim said.
"The North could delay the launch if they experience problems with the weather, or within the leadership, but I don't see any reason why they would fire it ahead of time," Kim said.
North Korea's announcement has triggered international consternation. U.S. and South Korean officials have long said the North is actually preparing to test-fire a long-range missile under the guise of a satellite launch. Watch what might motivate Pyongyang to pursue missile tests »
Japan said this month that it could shoot down the satellite that North Korean officials said they plan to launch. What the North Koreans would be testing may not be known until an actual launch.
A U.N. Security Council resolution in 2006 banned North Korea from conducting ballistic missile activity. Japanese officials said they could shoot down the object whether it is a missile or a satellite.
"As the U.N. resolutions prohibit (North Korea) from engaging in ballistic missile activities, we still consider it to be a violation of a technical aspect, even if (the North) claims it is a satellite. We will discuss the matter with related countries based on this view," Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said this month.
The United States has no plans to shoot down the North Korean rocket, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday, but will raise the issue with the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang carries out a launch.
"We are doing our best to dissuade the North Koreans from going forward, because it is provocative action," Clinton said. "It raises questions about their compliance with the Security Council Resolution 1718. And if they persist and go forward, we will take it up in appropriate channels."
South Korea echoed Clinton's statements.
"The South Korean government believes that if the North conducts its launch despite continuous warnings of the South Korean government and the international community, it is a provocative action that constitutes a serious threat to the security of northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-Young.
"The launching of the long-range rocket is a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution No. 1718, and we strongly urge North Korea to immediately stop such measures."
The North Korean Taepodong-2 missile is thought to have an intended range of about 4,200 miles (6,700 kilometers) that -- if true -- could strike Alaska or Hawaii. | [
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] | NEW: U.S. Secretary of State Clinton says U.S. has no plans to shoot rocket down .
N. Korea positions what analyst is believes is long-range missile for launch .
Taepodong 2 rocket could launch either a warhead or a satellite .
North Koreans have said they intend to launch a communications satellite . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- North Korea's rhetoric toward the United States has always had a certain bizarre, over-the-top quality to it. Under the Bush administration it labeled Undersecretary of State John Bolton "human scum." "Complete and irreversible denuclearization is the only viable path for North Korea," Hillary Clinton says. But the North Korea's latest comments about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are stunningly personal. An unnamed North Korean official quoted by the state-run KCNA news agency calls Clinton "by no means intelligent" and a "funny lady." "Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping," he said. The remarks seem to be a reply to Clinton's comments to ABC News in which she compared North Korea's leadership to "small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention." Behind the scenes, U.S officials for months have made similar comparisons, claiming the Pyonyang's modus operandi is to be deliberately provocative, to "act out" to get the United States' attention and be rewarded for its "misbehavior." This time, they say, it's not going to work. Clinton said Pyonyang has "no friends left." After North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in May and fired several ballistic missiles over Japan, the United States rallied the United Nations to pass resolution 1874, which invoked strong sanctions, including targeting top North Korean officials connected to Pyonyang's nuclear program. Significantly, the resolution was supported by Russia and China, countries that have been reluctant to impose strict sanctions on North Korea. "Complete and irreversible denuclearization is the only viable path for North Korea," Clinton said at the Association of Southeast Asia Nations meeting in Thailand this week. "We do not intend to reward North Korea just for returning to the table, nor do we intend to reward them for actions they have already committed to taking and then reneged on. The path is open to them, and it is up to them to follow it. Unless and until they do, they will face international isolation and the unrelenting pressure of global sanctions." North Korea, however, says the six-party talks with the United States, South Korea, Russia, China and Japan are dead and it's not going back. The country has the right to a nuclear program, it says, since it must defend itself against possible attack from the United States. With strong words on both sides, the standoff seems intractable. Clinton maintains the door still is open to the North, but only if Pyonyang does what it already has committed to: resume talks and dismantle its nuclear program -- completely, irreversibly and verifiably. "We have made it very clear to the North Koreans that if they will agree to irreversible denuclearization the United States, as well as our partners, will move forward on a package of incentives and opportunities, including normalizing relations that will give the people of North Korea a better future," she said. But a North Korean official, quoted by South Korean news agency Yonhap, calls the package of incentives "nonsense." "The U.S. is telling us to take off all of our clothes," he's quoted as saying. "The most important thing for us is sovereignty. Sovereignty, security, namely life, should be guaranteed. How can we barter life with money?" | [
"what does the official reportedly says about Clinton?",
"When was North Korea's nuclear test?",
"what's the reason behind the U.S. officials that likened North Korea's provocative actions?",
"What strengthened call for sanctions?",
"Who remains defiant?",
"What has officials likened N Korea's actions to?",
"What does official say of Clinton?"
] | [
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"\"by no means intelligent\""
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"\"small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention.\""
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"\"by no means intelligent\" and a \"funny lady.\""
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] | "Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl," official reportedly says of Clinton .
U.S. officials have likened North Korea's provocative actions to children acting out .
North Korea's nuclear test in May strengthened U.S. call for sanctions .
North Korea remains defiant, showing no signs of abandoning nuclear program . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Officials in the United States are looking into the recent arrest of an Iranian-American student in Tehran who was working on a research project on women's rights in Iran. Esha Momeni was arrested October 15 in Tehran, Iran, officials said. Esha Momeni, a graduate student at California State University-Northridge, was arrested October 15 in Tehran for unlawfully passing another vehicle while driving, according to Change For Equality, an Iranian women's movement. "We're seeking additional information about this case," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Wednesday. "We stand with all those in Iran who are working for universal human rights and justice in their countries." Momeni, who was born in Los Angeles, California, is a member of Change for Equality's California chapter. She arrived in Tehran two months ago to work on her masters thesis project on the Iranian women's movement, according to the group, which is in touch with Momeni's family in Iran. Momeni is being held in a section of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison that is managed by the Intelligence Ministry, the group said. Evin Prison houses many Iranian dissidents and political prisoners, and it is where four Iranian-Americans were held for several months last year. All have been released. Iranian officials had promised Momeni's family that she would be immediately released if the news of her arrest was not published, the organization said. "While Esha's friends and colleagues were insistent about announcing the news of her arrest immediately, based on requests from her family this news was announced with delay," Change for Equality said on its Web site. Momeni's parents decided to release the information after they went to Iran's Revolutionary Court on Sunday -- five days after her arrest -- to inquire about her case, and they were told not to return until the investigation into her case has been completed, according to Change for Equality. The Momeni family returned to Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, but Esha had gone back to the United States several years ago to study for her masters degree, according to a blog post from her journalism professor, Melissa Wall. A separate blog calling for her release (for-esha.blogspot.com) has been established and includes an interview with Wall, who describes her student as "an exceptionally bright person, very creative and artistic." She calls herself "shocked" to hear of Momeni's arrest. "I'm aware that such things happen in Iran, but I'm confident that they have nothing to fear from Esha's research project," Wall said. "It is simply an academic exercise, not meant for publication outside of academic circles. I cannot image why she should be held in detention." On her personal blog, Wall said, "She is a videographer who was simply interviewing Iranian women. She has broken no laws, has not done anything wrong." | [
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"What was Momeni doing in Iran?",
"Where is she being held?",
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"Why was she arrested?",
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"women's rights in Iran."
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] | Esha Momeni was was working on her thesis on women's rights in Iran .
She was arrested for unlawfully passing another vehicle while driving October 15 .
Momeni is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison .
News of arrest withheld because family was told she would be released . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ohio congressman David Hobson is the latest Republican to announce his exit from the House of Representatives, telling constituents Sunday he would step down in 2008 after nine terms. Rep. David Hobson, shown in February, was the lone Republican on Rep. Nancy Pelosi's Mideast trip this year. Hobson, 71, is a senior member of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Pentagon. He has represented his district, which includes parts of the Dayton and Columbus areas, since 1991. His fellow Ohio Republican, House Minority Leader John Boehner, praised his "effective leadership and dry wit" in a statement issued Sunday evening. "During the remainder of his term, I am certain that Dave will continue to represent his constituents with the same energy and dedication that have been the trademarks of his tenure in the U.S. House," Boehner said. "I look forward to continuing our close work over these next 14 months, and when the 111th Congress begins, I'll be eager to work beside a new Republican from Ohio's 7th District." Hobson is the 12th GOP House member to announce retirement ahead of the 2008 elections, when the Republican Party will be seeking to reclaim the congressional majorities it lost to Democrats in 2006. Another Republican representative, New Mexico's Heather Wilson, has said she will run for the Senate seat being given up by Sen. Pete Domenici -- one of five Republicans retiring from the Senate in 2008 rather than seeking a new term. "Ohio's 7th Congressional District is a strong Republican seat that will continue to elect candidates that fight to keep taxes low, the economy strong and the nation secure," said Rep. Tom Cole, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "We will be working with local activists and party leaders to send a candidate that fights for those same values back to Congress in 2008." E-mail to a friend CNN's Jessica Yellin and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report. | [
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] | Rep. David Hobson tells constituents he will step down in 2008 after nine terms .
Hobson is a senior member of a House Appropriations defense subcommittee .
GOP will be seeking to reclaim the congressional majorities it lost in 2006 . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On Inauguration Day, there's one scene at the White House that won't be playing out exactly as it has during past transitions: the traditional moving of the outgoing first family's belongings.
President Bush walks out of the White House Oval Office on January 10.
Anita McBride, chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, tells CNN that the Bushes have moved almost all of their belongings out of the White House ahead of schedule.
"There won't be ... the moving trucks for the Bushes coming here," McBride said, adding, "The only things really left for President and Mrs. Bush are their personal belongings and luggage that they'll take that day."
McBride said Mrs. Bush directed residence staff early -- in the summer of 2008 -- to prepare the White House for the personal transition.
"It's probably the librarian in her," McBride said of Mrs. Bush, a former librarian. "Maybe we've got a bit of a Dewey Decimal system of move-out process, but that certainly made it easier for the residence staff, and they very much appreciate it," McBride said.
The actual clearing out of the Bushes' belongings began over the summer, McBride says, when many items were packed and taken to Crawford, Texas. Then, during the Christmas holiday, the Bushes moved their personal things out of Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, according to McBride.
That means on Inauguration Day, while President Bush and Mrs. Bush, along with President-elect Obama and his family, are at the Capitol, staff in the White House residence will have more time to unpack and prepare the Obamas' personal belongings.
"They have rehearsed this over the last few weeks, everyone has their marching orders, it will be all hands on deck," said McBride.
"The residence staff will be here that morning, and they know what their jobs are when the moving truck for the Obamas' move-in arrives," she said, adding, "Their things will be unpacked, and their clothes will be in their rightful place, and whatever furniture that they may have selected from the White House furniture collection will be in the place that they want it to be." | [
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"Crawford, Texas."
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"January 10."
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"summer of 2008"
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"Inauguration Day,"
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] | The Obamas' belongings will be moved into the White House on Tuesday .
Most of the Bush family items are already moved to Crawford ranch, Dallas home .
Bush move started last summer, according to a White House aide . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On his final full day in office, President Bush issued commutations for two former U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted in 2006 of shooting and wounding an unarmed illegal immigrant -- suspected of drug smuggling at the time -- and then covering it up. An artist's sketch shows Ignacio Ramos, left, and Jose Compean. The prison sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean will now end March 20. Ramos had received an 11-year prison sentence; Compean had received a 12-year term. They began serving their sentences in January 2007. The Office of the Pardon Attorney was still reviewing the clemency request when Bush made his decision, Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said. "The president has reviewed the circumstances of this case as a whole and the conditions of confinement and believes the sentences they received are too harsh and that they, and their families, have suffered enough for their crimes," a senior administration official said. "Commuting their sentences does not diminish the seriousness of their crimes. Ramos and Compean are convicted felons who violated their oaths to uphold the law and have been severely punished," the official stated. "This commutation gives them an opportunity to return to their families and communities, but both men will have to carry the burden of being convicted felons and the shame of violating their oaths for the rest of their lives." The official noted that both Democratic and Republican members of Congress have supported a commutation, including President-elect Barack Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and Texas GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. The head of the labor union representing Border Patrol agents told CNN Radio he was "grateful" that Bush commuted the sentences but questioned why the prison terms won't end until March 20. "I would be quite curious to learn why they have to wait another two months for an unjust sentence," said Rich Pierce, president of the National Border Patrol Council. He said the union's ultimate goal would be for the men to get their Border Patrol jobs back. The shooting happened February 17, 2005, on the border southeast of El Paso, Texas. During their trial, Ramos and Compean said the illegal immigrant, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, had brandished a gun while actively resisting arrest. Aldrete-Davila, however, said he was unarmed and was attempting to surrender when Compean attempted to beat him with a shotgun. Aldrete-Davila was shot while fleeing toward the Rio Grande. Ramos and Compean were ultimately convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, lying about the incident and violating Aldrete-Davila's Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure. After receiving immunity to testify in the case against the two agents, Aldrete-Davila was arrested in 2007 on charges of bringing more than 750 pounds of marijuana into the United States. The case quickly became a political flash point, with advocates of tighter border controls defending the agents and civil liberties groups saying that the agents had used illegal and excessive force against Aldrete-Davila. Bush has granted 189 pardons and 11 commutations over his eight years in office, far fewer than Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan in their two-term administrations. During the final months of the Bush administration, speculation has swirled around the question of whether former vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby would be granted the presidential favor. Libby was convicted in March of 2007 of four counts of lying and impeding a federal investigation into the leak of information that revealed that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA operative. Among the more notable people who have applied for -- but not received -- some form of clemency are: former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham, R-California, who was convicted of receiving bribes; publishing executive Conrad Black, who was found guilty of fraud; former junk bold salesman Michael Milken, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud; and former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, convicted of accounting fraud. The parents of John Walker Lindh, who was given a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty to supporting terrorists in Afghanistan, held a news conference | [
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"What were the pair convicted of?",
"Who received commuted sentences?",
"Who commuted these peoples' sentences?",
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] | [
[
"assault with a dangerous weapon,"
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[
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[
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[
"shooting and wounding an unarmed illegal immigrant"
],
[
"March 20."
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[
"Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean"
]
] | Bush commutes sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean .
President believes "the sentences they received are too harsh," official says .
Ex-Border Patrol agents will be released March 20 .
Pair convicted of shooting undocumented immigrant allegedly running drugs . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On the same day that it announced record suicides among its soldiers, the U.S. Army said Thursday that it will soon conduct service-wide training to help identify soldiers at risk of suicide. The program will teach soldiers how to recognize behaviors that may lead to suicide, and how to intervene. The program, which will run February 15 through March 15, will include training to recognize behaviors that may lead to suicide and instruction on how to intervene. The Army will follow the training with another teaching program, from March 15 to June 15, focused on suicide prevention at all unit levels. Earlier Thursday, the Army reported the highest one-year level of suicides among its soldiers since it began tracking the rate 28 years ago. The Army said that 128 soldiers were confirmed to have committed suicide in 2008, and an additional 15 were suspected to have committed suicide that year in cases under investigation among active-duty soldiers and activated National Guard and reserves. The Army's confirmed rate of suicides in 2008 was 20.2 per 100,000 soldiers. The nation's suicide rate was 19.5 per 100,000 people in 2005, a figure considered the most recent, Army officials said last month. In 2007, the Army reported 115 confirmed suicides, which was then the highest level since 1980, when it began tracking suicides. Suicides for Marines were also up in 2008. There were 41 in 2008, up from 33 in 2007 and 25 in 2006, according to a Marines report. In addition to the training the Army announced Thursday, the service has a program called Battlemind, intended to prepare soldiers and their families to cope with the stresses of war before, during and after deployment. It also is intended to help detect mental-health issues before and after deployments. The Army and the National Institute of Mental Health signed an agreement in October to conduct research to identify factors affecting the mental and behavioral health of soldiers and to share strategies to lower the suicide rate. The five-year study will examine active-duty, National Guard and reserve soldiers and their families. | [
"what was a record year for suicides",
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] | [
[
"2007,"
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[
"128"
],
[
"committed suicide in 2008,"
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[
"128"
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[
"soldiers at risk of suicide."
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[
"20.2"
]
] | Service-wide training to help soldiers identify those at risk of suicide .
2008 was record year for U.S. Army suicides, service reports .
Army: 128 soldiers confirmed to have committed suicide in 2008 . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On their son's last night as president, a melancholy former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, made an impromptu visit to the White House's press briefing room and told reporters how much they'll miss the building.
Ex-President George H.W. Bush says he'll miss coming and going from the White House.
"We will miss coming and going, but it's time to move on," said the former president, who was a frequent visitor during his son's two terms in office.
"The Bushes are going to a happy life."
When a reporter suggested that perhaps one of their other sons, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, will take the White House someday, the former president smiled.
"Maybe Jeb will do something. I'd like to see him try," the former president said.
Barbara Bush, who was first lady from 1989 to 1993, said the hardest part of the night was saying goodbye to the White House residence staff a second time.
"In tears twice," she said, her eyes red.
She added that she and her husband are looking forward to attending Tuesday's inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
"Very exciting day," she said.
In addition to the inauguration, the former first couple was to attend a final dinner at the White House with current President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and the first couple's two daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
As the former first couple left the briefing room, some reporters and photographers spontaneously started clapping out of respect. Your view of history
The ex-president, who was using a long walking stick to get around, quipped, "You didn't clap when I was president, what the hell is going on?" | [
"Who visited the White House on Bush's last night as president?",
"Who's son could run for president?",
"Who reflected on saying goodbye?",
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[
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[
"hardest part of the night was saying goodbye to the White House residence staff a second time."
],
[
"smiled."
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] | Former president, wife visit White House on son's last night as president .
George H.W. Bush smiles when reporter suggests other son could run .
Barbara Bush reflects on saying goodbye to White House staff for second time .
Former first couple attending inauguration of Barack Obama . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Once he roamed the streets, moving from shelter to shelter. Now, Oliver Gomes rubs shoulders with Washington's elite. Oliver Gomes says working in the halls of Congress gave him the motivation and money to get off the streets. Squatting next to a white wall outside a Senate hearing room recently with a cell phone glued to his ear, Gomes is being paid to hold a place in line for a lobbyist at a hearing on the climate-change bill. Gomes -- 6 feet tall, with long curly hair pulled back, wearing a polo shirt and shorts -- is one of the contracted men and women holding places in line for this hearing. Many have been waiting since midnight to ensure their clients a seat. By 9 a.m., more than 100 people are lined up for the hearing. Only 10 seats are available to the public, and the first 10 spots are held by line-standers. The rest are shut out. Though the practice is controversial, Gomes said it has lifted him from life on the street. "Sitting in the halls of Congress made me feel a little better," he said. "It elevated me and made me feel like, well, you know, maybe I do belong here, maybe I can contribute even at that little minute level." Watch Gomes tell his story » As the need for couriers on Capitol Hill declined with e-mail and fax, courier services like Quick Messenger Service of DC, Inc. have added the service of contracting men and women to hold places in line for lobbyists at hearings. The seats are valuable to lobbyists because the hearing is often their only face time with legislators. For big hearings with limited availability, line-standers may wait 20 to 30 hours. They're paid anywhere from $11 to $35 an hour. Gomes was living in a shelter when he started line-standing. He said working in the halls of Congress gave him the motivation and money he needed to get off the streets. He now makes extra money by recruiting men for the line-standing services from the homeless shelters where he used to stay. "When I was down and out and I was on the Hill and I had that little bit of hope that while I was actually here, it gave me the incentive to dress a little better, more professional," Gomes said. Many of the contracted line-standers are homeless or formerly homeless like Gomes. Williams Howard Johnson Jr., one of Gomes' recruits, found his bright yellow button-down shirt, green patterned tie, and slacks at a donation center because he wanted to dress well for his job. "That comes from being a part of something that's really meaningful to not only me but to society," Johnson said. Johnson was among those who had been in line since midnight for the 10 a.m. climate-change bill hearing, but he said he was happy to be there. "I'm a part of something today and I'm very happy about that," Johnson said. Although Johnson and Gomes are glad to have a job and a feeling of importance on Capitol Hill, many people are opposed to the practice of hiring line-standers. Kalen Pruss, a fellow at the Internet environmental group avaaz.org, and her group of cheering green T-shirted environmentalists were shut out of the hearing. "It's very unfortunate that the people who come here to line-stand always beat us here cause they can stand here all night," Pruss said. John Winslow, director of linestanding.com, said the committees might be creating the lines by limiting the number of seats for the public in the hearing rooms. At this hearing, some of his clients that paid for line-standers to wait at midnight were not able to get into the hearing. "It's really a question of logistics, how many people does the committee want to service," Winslow said. "And it seems like overwhelmingly they try to limit the number of people who attend these hearings and | [
"Who are lobbyists trying to get face time with?",
"What is the line-standers ensuring?",
"How much are they paid?",
"Approximate amount that line-standers are paid?"
] | [
[
"legislators."
],
[
"10 seats are available to the public,"
],
[
"$11 to $35 an hour."
],
[
"$11 to $35 an hour."
]
] | Contracted line-holders stand for hours to ensure their clients get seats .
Seats at hearings often only chance for lobbyists to get face time with legislators .
Line-standers, some homeless, are paid anywhere from $11 to $35 an hour .
Critics see practice as another way lobbyists are buying influence on Capitol Hill . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One can only imagine the sights this hat has seen. Perched atop a man who towered over his peers at 6 foot 4 inches, this hat must have had quite a view. "Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life" will be on display through January 2011. It may have been there when a divided nation -- a devastating Civil War on the horizon -- elected a politician from Illinois as president. It could have watched as this president, so desperate to preserve the Union, carefully drafted the Emancipation Proclamation, thus changing the course of American history. And we know for sure that this hat was witness to a tragic April night when the same president was fatally shot while enjoying a play. The iconic top hat, part of a collection of items associated with Abraham Lincoln, is now on display at the National Museum of American History. Nearly three years in the making, "Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life" is part of the Smithsonian Institution's bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth and a rare glimpse into the life of one of our nation's greatest presidents. Nearly two centuries later, still adorned with a black band of mourning for a son who died too early, Lincoln's hat is worn-down, yet strangely magnificent. Maybe it is the hat's history that gives it such a majestic quality. Or perhaps it is simply that a top hat always commands a certain reverence -- an attribute that may reveal a great deal about the vanity of its owner. "Why would somebody who is 6 foot 4 inches decide to wear a tall hat?" asks Harry Rubenstein, curator of the exhibit. "He clearly has this desire to stand out in the crowd, to make his place in it." Rubenstein hopes this is the type of intimate detail about our 16th president's life that people will take away from the ongoing Lincoln exhibit. "This is the first time we've brought together all of the museum's best Lincoln objects to tell the story of Lincoln's life," Rubenstein says. "And I think it's a different kind of story that emerges -- one that's more intimate and more personal and one that brings this story to life in very tangible ways." Watch descriptions of items in the Lincoln exhibit » The Smithsonian Institution started its Lincoln collection more than 140 years ago, Rubenstein says. The exhibit, which opened in January, houses more than 60 items from Abraham Lincoln's life, spanning his humble beginnings, his political career, his life in the White House, and even relics recovered in the wake of his assassination. Rubenstein says the collection includes "little personal objects of things he touched and used at pivotal moments in his life," like his office suit, his gold pocket watch -- and a coffee cup he left on a windowsill the night of his assassination. The exhibit is also home to more significant objects, such as the inkstand Lincoln used to draft the Emancipation Proclamation, and a patent model of a device he invented for lifting boats over sand bars. See photos from the exhibit » Also on display is memorabilia from the 1860 presidential election campaign -- such as a replica poster portraying a young and masculine Lincoln splitting rail -- that reveal a candidate not impervious to the somewhat superficial aspects of the American political system. Rubenstein says that although Lincoln scoffed at his party's attempts to brand him as "Old Abe the Rail Splitter," he understood the importance of appealing to the masses and creating an image to "link him and his ideals in an iconic kind of way." Perhaps no one is more aware of the power of Lincoln's iconic image than President Barack Obama, who frequently cited his Illinois predecessor as a source of inspiration for his own presidency. While Rubenstein warns against drawing too much of a comparison between presidents -- the two Illinoisans have been linked by their reformist platforms, their penchant for eloquent speeches, and even for their physical likenesses -- he acknowledges the significance of the symbolic timing: As the first African-American becomes president, the nation celebrates the 200th birthday of | [
"What is the exhibit a part of?",
"What is it part of?",
"What is the exhibit part of?",
"Where are the exhibits shown?",
"What does the curator say?",
"Who is the exhibit honouring?",
"Who does the exhibit honor?"
] | [
[
"Smithsonian Institution's bicentennial celebration of"
],
[
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[
"Smithsonian Institution's bicentennial celebration of"
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],
[
"\"Abraham Lincoln:"
]
] | National Museum of American History exhibit honors Abraham Lincoln .
Exhibit is part of Smithsonian Institution's bicentennial celebration of Lincoln's birth .
Show brings together "all of the museum's best Lincoln objects," curator says .
Among objects on display are Lincoln's hat, suit, coffee cup, pocket watch . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | [
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[
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[
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[
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[
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[
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[
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[
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] | Marine Sgt. Michael Strank was among six who famously raised flag on Iwo Jima .
Strank, born in Czechoslovakia, became a U.S. citizen after his father was naturalized .
Strank, killed on Iwo Jima in World War II battle, didn't receive citizenship papers .
Certificate given to his sister on Tuesday . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the main stumbling blocks to talk with Iran has been the condition that Iran suspends its uranium enrichment. Now, the Obama administration may take that option off the table, at least for now.
This is from an Iranian nuclear plant in the central province of Isfahan on April 9.
The United States and its European allies, which have just invited Iran to a fresh round of nuclear talks, are coming to the realization that if Iran's nuclear program isn't quite at the point of no return, it will be soon. With 5,500 centrifuges, roughly enough for about two weapons worth of uranium a year, Iran isn't going to just shut down its enrichment facility as a goodwill gesture.
For years, Iran has been willing to endure sanctions and economic isolation. What it hasn't been willing to do is suspend enrichment.
Iran maintains enriching uranium for nuclear energy is its right. Now the West seems to have come around to Iran's way of thinking. Last week during a speech on proliferation in Prague, Czech Republic, President Obama admitted as much when he said, "We will support Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy with rigorous inspections."
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has long argued to allow Iran to maintain a small face-saving nuclear enrichment program under the guise of "research and development."
Allowing such a program under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, at least while negotiations continue, would involve strict IAEA inspections -- something which may give the international community the kind of insight into Iran's nuclear program which it has long sought.
It would also give Iran the cover to come back to the table without claiming it never gave in to the West. Rather, Tehran can boast the international community came around to its point of view. Preventing Iranian enrichment may be an ultimate pipe dream, but officials hope the right package of incentives, coupled with the threat of tougher sanctions, which could cripple its stumbling economy, could deter Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.
If adopted, the new strategy will undoubtedly be condemned by Israel, which has warned the U.S. that it has until the end of the year to put an end to Iran's uranium production before it takes matters into its own hands.
However, moving beyond the issue of enrichment helps Obama inch closer toward engagement with Iran, something he promised during the campaign and has begun to undertake with small, albeit significant, steps, most noticeably his New Year's message to the Iranian people.
Those who watch Iran closely say Obama's outreach is being warmly received in the region. While the response from spiritual leader Ayatollah Khamanei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems vague at first glance, experts argue the regime is being quite conciliatory, even flirting with the U.S. overtures and opening the door for talks.
Now the administration is taking another leap, inviting Iran to several meetings on Afghanistan as a way to engage on issues of mutual interest. The U.S. is also seriously considering allowing U.S. diplomats around the world to interact with their Iranian counterparts and setting up a U.S. interests section in Iran.
Officials say not to expect any dramatic breakthroughs before the Iranians head to the polls to elect a new president in June. But Obama's conservative critics, including several Republican lawmakers, worry Obama is making it too easy for Iran to come back to the table and is giving credibility to Iran's defiant Ahmadinejad in his bid for re-election.
The goal of stopping Iran from building a nuclear weapon remains, but the tactics are shifting and the rules of the game have changed.
Obama and his advisers are betting that by finally giving Iran what it thinks it wants, the U.S. and its allies will get what they need -- a way to bring Iran to the table and start meaningful negotiations, which have eluded them for the past four years. | [
"What does Israel want the U. S. to do?",
"What does the Obama Administration hope for?",
"Who is Barack Obama?"
] | [
[
"Iran's uranium production"
],
[
"deter Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb."
],
[
"President"
]
] | White House may drop key condition that Iran suspend its nuclear program .
Obama administration hopes change will bring Iran to negotiation table .
Obama says he supports Iran's nuclear program "with rigorous inspections"
Israel wants U.S. to force Iran to end its uranium production program . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the most unexpected controversies of the Obama administration came to a head Tuesday as the president delivered a hotly debated back-to-school speech to students across the country. President Obama speaks to students Tuesday at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. Many conservatives expressed fear over the past week that the president's address would be used to push a partisan political agenda. Obama, however, avoided any mention of political initiatives. He repeatedly urged students to work hard and stay in school. "There is no excuse for not trying," he told students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. Watch Obama speak to the students » "This isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future." Read text of Obama's speech to students (pdf) Several Cabinet officials are slated to deliver similar messages at various schools across the country throughout the day. In the past week, news of Obama's speech had upset some parents. "Thinking about my kids in school having to listen to that just really upsets me," suburban Colorado mother Shanneen Barron told CNN Denver affiliate KMGH last week, before the text of the speech was released. "I'm an American. They are Americans, and I don't feel that's OK. I feel very scared to be in this country with our leadership right now." But Amy Veasley, a parent from the Dallas, Texas, area, said Monday that she was surprised by the controversy. "The president of our country wants to call our students to action. I'm not sure why parents wouldn't want their students to hear out the leader of our country," she said. A Baltimore, Maryland, teacher who asked not to be identified bemoaned the fact that the country has "become so polarized that we believe that our president is an enemy and not our leader." During George W. Bush's presidency, she said, "whether I disagreed or not, I still saw him as a leader." iReport.com: Share your thoughts on Obama's speech White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that "it's a sad state of affairs that many in this country politically would rather start an 'Animal House' food fight rather than inspire kids to stay in school." Some school administrators had decided to show the president's speech, but others decided against it. And others were leaving the decision in the hands of individual teachers. One school district in Toronto, Ohio, decided to air the speech live for students in the third grade and up but not show it to younger children, according to CNN affiliate WTOV. Nine out of 550 students attending the Toronto schools showing the speech chose not to watch it, WTOV noted. Toronto Superintendent Fred Burns said the parents of the nine children were concerned that the speech was too political. Watch students respond to Obama's speech » "It's a very charismatic speech," Burns told WTOV. "It's very much a speech to help kids get involved in education and finish school." Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible contender for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination, said Sunday that Obama's speech could disrupt an already-hectic first day of school for many students. "I think there's concerns about the disruption," he said on CNN's "State of the Union," calling the scheduling of the speech a "little ham-fisted" by the White House. Watch CNN's Ed Henry talk about school speech uproar » Education Secretary Arne Duncan, however, noted that Obama's speech was not unprecedented. President George H.W. Bush delivered a nationally televised speech to students from a Washington school in fall 1991, encouraging them to say no to drugs and work hard. In November 1988, President Reagan delivered more politically charged | [
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"what did school administrators did not show?",
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[
"at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia."
],
[
"the president's speech,"
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[
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[
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[
"urged students to work hard and stay in school."
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[
"the president's"
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[
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],
[
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],
[
"Some"
],
[
"President Obama"
],
[
"Obama"
],
[
"Obama's speech was not unprecedented."
],
[
"back-to-school"
],
[
"Arne Duncan,"
]
] | President Obama speaks to students about education's importance .
"There is no excuse for not trying," Obama says .
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says speech not unprecedented .
Some school administrators did not show speech; others let teachers decide . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Over-the-counter cold and cough medicines don't work for children under age 6, and giving the common medicine to young children cannot be recommended, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee said in October. An FDA panel has called for more studies on how cold medicines affect children. The panel of health experts, which looked at how safe and effective antihistamines, decongestants, antitussins and expectorants are in children, said it is not appropriate to take data from adults and apply it to children under 12. After a two-day hearing, the panel called for more studies about how the medicines affect children. Although the panel's recommendation is nonbinding, it could lead to changes in how cough and cold medicines are used. The votes are to be taken into consideration by FDA regulators, who might take action against the products at a later time. Dr. Jeff Jenkins, of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said it could take a year or even years for the agency to make a final decision on the recommendations. During the panel's meeting, the experts looked at a number of proposals, including whether multiple-symptom over-the-counter pediatric cough and cold medicines should be banned for children under 6 years old. FDA experts voted 13-9 that certain cold medicines with certain ingredients should not be used by young children. The committee said medicines with the same ingredients could be used by children ages 6 to 12. The experts voted unanimously to require that standardized dosing devices accompany all liquid medicines, in an effort to reduce the likelihood of excessive or unintentional overdosing. Separately, the committee voted to allow marketing of multiple-symptom products to children between the ages of 2 and 12 if new research showed the products to be safe and effective. Combination products can be particularly susceptible to problems with overdosing because parents sometimes don't realize they are duplicating ingredients. Committee members also emphasized the importance of proper and easy-to-read labels. Dr. Daniel Rausch, director of the pediatric hospital program for New York University, said that cold medicine is effective only at doses that are too strong for young children. Rausch recommends a more traditional treatment where dosing isn't a problem: chicken soup. "A cold does not kill, so people should just relax," Rausch said. "Kids get sick and there's nothing that people can do about it, but they will get better." About 800 pediatric cough and cold products are sold in the United States, many using multiple ingredients that have been marketed for use in children for some 30 years. Earlier this year, the FDA completed a review that found that between 1969 and the fall of 2006, there were 54 reported child deaths from decongestants and 69 from antihistamines. Watch one family's tragic ending » Most of the deaths occurred in children under 2. In August, federal health officials recommended the "consult your physician" advice to parents on the labels of cold and cough medicines aimed at young children be replaced by a warning not to use the medications in children under 2 unless directed to do so by a health care provider. Before the FDA hearings, some of the leading manufacturers of cold and cough medicines announced a voluntary recall of more than a dozen cold medicines for infants. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association said the products were being pulled "out of an abundance of caution." Potential misuse of the medications, not product safety, is driving the voluntary withdrawal, the group said. The American Academy of Pediatrics applauded last week's decision to pull those products, saying, "These medicines are ineffective and can have serious side effects. There are other ways to treat cold symptoms." The AAP suggests: When the drug industry voluntarily withdrew products last week, it insisted that when used as directed, the drugs are safe, and they work. "Parents can continue to trust over-the-counter cough and cold remedies for their children," said Linda A. Suydam, president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association | [
"what did the study do",
"how many pediatric cough and cold products are sold in the United States?",
"what is more study sought for?",
"what helps young children"
] | [
[
"looked at how safe and effective antihistamines, decongestants, antitussins and expectorants are in children,"
],
[
"800"
],
[
"how cold medicines affect children."
],
[
"chicken soup."
]
] | Panel: No evidence that the over-the-counter medicines help young children .
More study sought about how cough, cold medicines work in children .
About 800 pediatric cough and cold products are sold in the United States .
Pediatrics group suggests "other ways to treat cold symptoms" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pakistan is optimistic about the Obama administration's commitment to its region and will work with the United States on trying to root out extremism within its borders, Pakistan's foreign minister said. Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi meets U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi cited a "convergence of interests" between Washington and Islamabad and a "willingness to work together." "I see a lot of hope in the new administration, the new leadership, and Pakistan is willing to work with the American administration to fight extremism and terrorism," he said Tuesday. "We are determined to defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." Qureshi is in Washington to take part in strategic review of U.S. policy to stabilize Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. The effort is being led by South Asian security expert Bruce Reidel and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy. Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin D. Spanta also was leading a delegation from his country to take part in the review. He and Qureshi will meet with both Clinton and Holbrooke this week. U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton tapped Holbrooke as special representative for the two countries, a signal of how the new administration considers Afghanistan and Pakistan intertwined in any solution to the war in Afghanistan and the terrorist threat along their shared border. "We are consulting very closely with the government of Pakistan on our strategic review of our way forward and I'm very grateful for the minister's advice and counsel," Clinton said after meeting with Qureshi. Last week Obama announced he is sending another 17,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight a strengthening insurgency, which Obama has called the "central front in our enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism." The troops will be sent to southern Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan and is a haven for Taliban insurgents. Pakistani officials have expressed concern the deployment will push the Taliban across the border into Pakistan and further destabilize their country. The Obama administration is conducting several reviews of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, including a review by Gen. David Petraeus, the commander in the region. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said the original mission in Afghanistan was "too broad" and needs to be more "realistic and focused" for the United States to succeed. Pakistan is engaged in its own effort against Taliban militants in its Northwest Frontier Provence. The militants, who effectively control the country's Swat Valley, extended a cease-fire Tuesday as part of an agreement with the government, a deal the U.S. and NATO warn risks granting a safe haven to extremists near the Afghan border. Watch why the deal is being viewed as a capitulation » Swat Valley was once one of Pakistan's biggest tourist destinations. It is situated near the Afghanistan border and about 186 miles (300 kilometers) from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. In recent months, militants have unleashed a wave of violence that has claimed hundreds of lives across the province. The militants want to require veils for women and beards for men and to ban music and television. The fighting has displaced nearly half of Swat's population, officials said. The central government has long exerted little control in the area, but it launched an intense military offensive in late July to flush out militants. As retaliation for the military presence, the Taliban carried out a series of deadly bombings, beheadings and kidnappings -- and said the attacks will continue until the troops pull out. The Taliban said Tuesday it was indefinitely extending a cease-fire Taliban leaders declared eight days ago after signing a controversial deal with the government to impose Islamic law, or Sharia, in the region. The Pakistani government's decision now to negotiate with Pakistan has been met with international criticism. Holbrooke has said the Obama administration was "troubled and confused" by the truce in Swat. Holbrooke and NATO officials have expressed concerns that such an accord could cede effective control of the Swat Valley to extremists. | [
"What say Qureshi?",
"Where will U.S. troops be sent?",
"What does Qureshi see a lot of hope in?",
"What does Taliban militants extend as part of their deal with Pakistan?",
"Who will meet with Clinton and Holbrooke?",
"Where will US troops be sent?"
] | [
[
"will work with the United States on trying to root out extremism within its borders,"
],
[
"southern Afghanistan,"
],
[
"new administration, the new leadership,"
],
[
"cease-fire"
],
[
"Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi"
],
[
"southern Afghanistan,"
]
] | Qureshi: "I see a lot of hope in the new administration, the new leadership"
He and Afghan foreign minister will meet with Clinton, Holbrooke this week .
U.S. troops will be sent to southern Afghanistan .
Taliban militants extend cease-fire as part of deal with Pakistan . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Participation in government health insurance programs -- particularly those aimed at children -- increased from 2006 to 2007, leading to a decrease in the number of Americans lacking insurance, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.
The Census Bureau says 15.3 percent of Americans lacked health insurance in 2007.
Overall, 45.7 million people, or 15.3 percent of U.S. residents, did not have health insurance in 2007, the bureau said in releasing reports on poverty, income and insurance. That represents a decrease from the 2006 level of 47 million, or 15.8 percent.
The decrease came as a surprise, as the number of uninsured Americans had been expected to rise for a seventh straight year. It also gives a boost to proponents of expanding government health-care plans such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP.
In December, President Bush signed legislation that extends SCHIP federal funding through the end of March 2009. That action came after Bush vetoed two congressional attempts to expand the program. In vetoing one of the measures, Bush said the proposed expansion "moves our country's health-care system in the wrong direction."
The percentages of people covered by private health insurance and by employment-based health insurance both decreased slightly in 2007, the Census numbers showed, although the number of those covered by employment-based insurance, 177.4 million, was not statistically different from 2006.
However, the percentage of people, including children, covered by government health insurance programs increased to 27.8 percent in 2007 from 27 percent in 2006. The number of children under 18 without health insurance fell to 11 percent, or 8.1 million -- lower than the 2006 numbers of 11.1 percent and 8.7 million. See a state-by-state breakdown of uninsured Americans »
Meanwhile, participation in Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income Americans, increased to 13.2 percent and 39.6 million in 2007, up from 12.9 percent and 38.3 million in 2006.
Using a three-year average from 2005-2007, data showed that Texas had the highest percentage of uninsured, with 24.4 percent, the bureau said.
With 8.3 percent, Massachusetts and Hawaii had the lowest estimates for uninsured rates, according to the Census Bureau, but the two were not statistically different from Minnesota (8.5 percent), Wisconsin (8.8 percent) and Iowa (9.4 percent). Hawaii also did not differ statistically from Maine (9.5 percent), it said.
But "even with the overall drop in uninsured Americans, the 45.7 million uninsured number for 2007 exceeds the combined population of 24 states plus the District of Columbia," a group called Families USA said in a written statement. The group says on its Web site it is "dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans."
Being uninsured is a stark reality many Americans live with daily.
They include Linda Pendleton of Greensboro, North Carolina. Pendleton was unable to afford private coverage when the convenience store where she worked stopped offering insurance to its employees two years ago. It worked out fine, she said, until she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer last month.
Unable to work, she moved in with her daughter and her three grandsons. She has applied for Medicaid and disability, but has yet to receive a response. "So right now I'm trying to pay for everything," said her daughter, Randi Sharp.
But that's not easy. With two of her sons disabled, Sharp stays at home to care for them. Her eldest son receives disability payments of $632 per month, which supports the family, she said. The father of Sharp's children is supposed to pay support, but "he up and left and the court can't find him."
Though her monthly rent is $600, Sharp said her landlord has cut her some slack. And she goes to churches for her food and didn't buy her sons school clothes this year, she said. Meanwhile, her mother is so dragged down by her reaction to the chemotherapy that she "can barely do things for | [
"What will give boost to backers of expanded government health-care plans?",
"Whom is backing such plans?",
"How many million Americans were uninsured in 2007?",
"Surprising in what way?"
] | [
[
"The decrease"
],
[
"State Children's Health Insurance Program,"
],
[
"45.7"
],
[
"the number of uninsured Americans had been expected to rise for a seventh straight year."
]
] | Census: 45.7 million Americans uninsured in 2007, down from 47 million in 2006 .
Decrease a surprise, number was expected to increase for seventh straight year .
Findings will give boost to backers of expanded government health-care plans .
Real median household income increased 1.3 percent nationwide, Census finds . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pentagon officials have begun preparing for the first transfer of power during war since Vietnam. They insist that the complicated transfer from the Bush administration to the Obama administration will go smoothly. The coming transfer of power during wartime will be the first since 1968. President Bush met Thursday with members of his Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and urged them to cooperate. "We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us, and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people," Bush said. "For the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running." Teams in Gates' office and that of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, have been working on the transition for months, according to Pentagon officials. See who Obama may be considering for his Cabinet » With ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it will mark the first time a transfer of power has taken place during wartime since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson handed over power to Richard Nixon while the Vietnam War raged. "We are preparing to make this as smooth a transition as we can," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said this week. Although officials say the transition is in good hands, little is being said about what discussions will occur between the Pentagon teams and President-elect Barack Obama's transition teams when they begin showing up within days or weeks. "There is a recognition that given that we are a nation at war, that energy and effort [should] be sufficiently placed to ensure that we don't drop any balls, because national security and supporting our fielded forces that are engaged in combat is of paramount importance to this country," Whitman said. Robert Rangel, special assistant to Gates and the deputy secretary of defense, is in charge of the transition process in the Pentagon, while Marine Brig. Gen. Frank McKenzie, who reports to Rangel, is leading the effort for the Joint Chiefs. Last month, Gates issued guidelines for the transition, stressing that the department must maintain continuity of operations and ensure efficient and effective transition between the outgoing political leaders and the incoming administration, according to Whitman. The Pentagon has opened offices for Obama's transition staff. The nondescript offices are just down the hall from the secretary of defense's office and have been readied with computers, phones and filing cabinets. The offices remain empty until staff members are designated by Obama's team and cleared through the White House. "The initial contact point for the Obama transition team will be through the White House, and there will be a discussion on the way forward on the transition, and what will happen out of that will be a memorandum of understanding that says, 'these people will be working with the Defense Department,' so we know who has been sanctioned and designated by the president-elect," Whitman said. In his comments Thursday, Bush said, "ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible is a priority for the rest of my presidency." | [
"When was the last time there was a wartime transition of power?",
"What war was ongoing at this time?",
"When will the new president take office?",
"Who began transfer of preparations?",
"What was President Bush worried about during the transfer of power?",
"What did Pentagon officials say?",
"Who was the new president?",
"What did President Bush say?",
"Who said that terrorists could use the transfer period to attack us?",
"What is a priority according to Bush?"
] | [
[
"1968."
],
[
"Afghanistan"
],
[
"75 days,"
],
[
"Pentagon officials"
],
[
"violent extremists"
],
[
"the transition is in good hands,"
],
[
"Obama"
],
[
"\"We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us, and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people,\""
],
[
"Bush"
],
[
"\"ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible"
]
] | Transition of power will be the first during wartime since Vietnam .
Pentagon officials say they began transfer preparations weeks ago .
President Bush says terrorists could use this transfer period "to attack us"
Smooth transition of power is a "priority for the rest of my presidency," Bush says . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pilot error was to blame in the April 2006 crash of an unmanned aircraft, despite the fact no pilot was on board, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its accident report issued Tuesday -- the NTSB's first-ever investigation into an incident involving a drone. A drone similar to this one crashed near Nogales, Arizona, on April 25, 2006. The agency also issued 22 safety recommendations for unmanned aircraft. It "is an indication of the scope of the safety issues these unmanned aircraft are bringing into the National Airspace System," NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said in a statement. The unmanned aerial vehicles have been touted as a possible solution to several issues facing the United States, from drug trafficking to illegal border crossings. But, as the NTSB report shows, integrating them into the nation's airspace raises questions regarding their safety status -- and whether they should be held to a different standard than manned aircraft. On April 25, 2006, a turboprop-powered Predator B, operated on a surveillance mission by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, crashed in a sparsely-populated area near Nogales, Arizona. There were no injuries, but the aircraft, which has a 66-foot wingspan, was "substantially damaged," the NTSB said. The probable cause of the accident was the failure of the pilot -- who was operating the aircraft remotely -- to follow checklist procedures when switching operational control from a console that had locked up, the agency said. That resulted in the fuel valve's being inadvertently shut off and a total loss of engine power to the aircraft. Another cause, the NTSB said, was the lack of a flight instructor in the ground control station. But in a meeting Tuesday, the board highlighted areas of interest including the design and certification of unmanned aircraft; pilot qualification and training; and audio records of all UAV operations-related communications, among others. The Federal Aviation Administration doesn't require a pilot's certificate to operate a drone. "This investigation has raised questions about the different standards for manned and unmanned aircraft and the safety implications of this discrepancy," Rosenker said in the statement. "Why, for example, were numerous unresolved lock-ups of the pilot's control console even possible while such conditions would never be tolerated in the cockpit of a manned aircraft?" The pilot, the NTSB noted, was not proficient in emergency procedures. "The pilot is still the pilot, whether he is at a remote console or on the flight deck," Rosenker said. "We need to make sure that the system by which pilots are trained and readied for flight is rigorous and thorough. With the potential for thousands of these unmanned aircraft in use years from now, the standards for pilot training need to be set high to ensure that those on the ground and other users of the airspace are not put in jeopardy." Also, there is no equivalent of a cockpit voice recorder at a pilot console, the board said, and the pilot's communication with air traffic controllers and others was not recorded. The NTSB has recommended the FAA require all conversations, including telephone conversations, between pilots of unmanned aircraft and others be recorded and retained. Other recommendations, sent to the FAA and Customs and Border Protection, include: • Requiring all unmanned aircraft operations to report incidents of equipment malfunctions that affect safety to the FAA , and require analysis of the data. • Requiring pilots be trained on the expected performance and flight path of an unmanned aircraft any time communication with the aircraft is lost. • Identifying and correcting the causes of the lockups in the pilot's control console. • Requiring that a backup pilot or another person who can provide an equivalent level of safety as a backup pilot be readily available during the operation of a UAV system. Board members also voted to convene a two- to three-day public forum on the safety of UAV operations and investigative procedures. E-mail to a friend | [
"What did NTSB say about the pilot?",
"Who is the pilot?",
"What are the new safety regulations?",
"How many safety issues did the agency issue?",
"On what date was the first unmanned aircraft given a test run?",
"Where did the crash happen?",
"What was the probable cause of the drone crash according to the agency?"
] | [
[
"was not proficient in emergency procedures."
],
[
"no"
],
[
"FAA require all conversations, including telephone conversations, between pilots of unmanned aircraft and others be recorded and retained."
],
[
"22"
],
[
"April 25, 2006."
],
[
"near Nogales, Arizona,"
],
[
"Pilot error"
]
] | Agency issues 22 safety recommendations for unmanned aircraft .
NTSB: The pilot is still the pilot, whether he is at a remote console or on board .
Agency: Probable cause of 2006 drone crash was pilot error . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Piracy off the coast of Somalia can't be stopped until there is some authority to bring pirates to justice, according to the commander of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.
U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortney: Need to hold pirates off Africa's east coast accountable.
Because there is no working government in Somalia and no country is willing to take captured pirates, bring them to trial and detain them, there is no deterrent for pirates to stop attacking ships, Vice Admiral William Gortney said at a Pentagon briefing Thursday.
"The problem is there's not a way to -- until we have a mechanism [to hold them] accountable and try them for their actions, there's no way to -- to finish the problem," Gortney said.
The United States is making a deal with a country in the eastern Africa region to hold and try pirates captured by the U.S.-led Combined Task Force 151, a new maritime anti-piracy mission started earlier this month.
He said an official announcement would be made after the deal with the country is official.
In the past three months, piracy attacks have averaged about 12 to 14 a month off the east coast of Africa. As of mid-January, the attack numbers are already at the average of the past three months, according to Gortney.
"That [number] should tell you that we're not -- we're not being 100 percent successful on the deterrence of the attempt. And that's where we have to go after," Gortney said.
The United States is expecting other nations to join the anti-piracy task force, but at the moment, the United States is the only country in the task force with just three ships off of the waters of Somalia.
There are ships from some European and Asian countries patrolling the waters independently as well, primarily guarding cargo ships from their own countries.
Pirates attacked nearly 100 vessels and hijacked as many as 40 in the waters off the coast of Somalia in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau. See how pirate attacks peaked in 2008 »
Pirating off of Somalia has increased during the past four to five years as fishermen from Somalia realize that pirating is more lucrative than fishing. Additionally, pirates are able to get away with the crimes because of the lack of government and overall lawlessness in the country.
Gortney said statistically the chances of ships being pirated off of Somalia less than one percent, but it won't be stopped until piracy is "disincentivized." | [
"who have own ships independently patrolling region?",
"Who are currently the only nation with anti-pirate task force?",
"Who said that the Somalian government is not working to detain pirates?",
"who is only country with anti-pirate task force?",
"What government is not working?",
"What are the pirates accused of?",
"What is the anti-pirate task force?",
"Who is Gortney?",
"What are the ships dedicated to?"
] | [
[
"European and Asian countries"
],
[
"United States"
],
[
"Vice Admiral William Gortney"
],
[
"the United States"
],
[
"Somalia"
],
[
"attacked nearly 100 vessels and hijacked as many as 40 in the waters off the coast of Somalia in 2008,"
],
[
"a new maritime anti-piracy mission"
],
[
"U.S. Vice Admiral"
],
[
"patrolling the waters independently"
]
] | Gortney: No working Somali government, country willing to detain, try accused pirates .
U.S. currently only nation with ships dedicated to anti-pirate task force .
Asian, European nations have own ships independently patrolling region . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates in ships are searching for the lifeboat containing four pirates and their hostage -- the captain of a freighter they failed to hijack earlier this week -- according to a U.S. military official with knowledge of the situation.
Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama is being held by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia.
The pirates are using ships they have already hijacked and larger ships from which they are launching skiffs, the official said Friday.
One of the pirated ships is the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized April 4 off the coast of Somalia.
The U.S. military has been monitoring communications between the pirates, the official said. The guided missile frigate USS Halyburton, with helicopter capabilities, has now joined the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge in the area. A third ship, the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, which has a large medical facility on board, will be there within a day.
Richard Phillips, the hostage, tried to escape from the pirates Thursday night by jumping out of the lifeboat, a U.S. official said Friday. Watch what it's like inside a lifeboat »
Phillips was believed to be trying to swim to the USS Bainbridge, which is in communication with the four gunmen holding Phillips in the 28-foot boat off Somalia's coast, the official said.
Some of the kidnappers jumped into the water, recaptured Phillips, and returned him to the lifeboat, according to the official. Watch what happened when captain tried to escape »
The pirates fired shots, the military official said, but had no further details.
A Defense Department official told CNN that Phillips appeared to be tied up by the pirates after the escape attempt.
The U.S. official -- who did not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the situation -- said the escape attempt is being viewed by negotiators as an "optimistic sign" that Phillips is in good health. He has been held since Wednesday, when the hijackers seized control of his U.S.-flagged ship, the Maersk Alabama. Watch expert talk about hostage escape attempts »
The captain's wife Andrea Phillips thanked everyone for their support in a statement.
"My husband is a strong man and we will remain strong for him," she said. "We ask that you do the same. "
Phillips' 20-man crew regained control of the vessel, and they and the vessel are en route to Mombasa, Kenya, according to the father of one of the crew members.
The ship's owners -- the Norfolk, Virginia-based Maersk company -- would not say how the crew regained control. "There will be time for due diligence and retrospective review once we have the safe return of all parties and the opportunity for a full debriefing," it said in a statement.
For the U.S. Navy, the show of strength is more than just a means to resolve a hostage situation, said Chris Lawrence, CNN's Pentagon correspondent.
Attacks in the area have picked up so drastically in recent months that the Navy has to reposition some of its fleet to deal with the threats, he said. iReport.com: How should the U.S. respond?
The pirates have shown no signs of giving in.
The Maersk Alabama was on its way to Mombasa, Kenya, with a cargo of food aid when it was attacked Wednesday. It was the first time in recent history that pirates had targeted an American ship.
The ship was hijacked some 350 miles off Somalia's coast, a distance that used to be considered safe for ships navigating in the pirate-infested waters.
CNN's Mike Mount and Barbara Starr contributed to this report. | [
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"What did the pirates try to do?",
"what did the pirates use to look for lifeboat?",
"What is the name of the captain?",
"Who was tied up?",
"What happened to the captain?",
"who is being held?",
"what has happened to the captain",
"what are the pirates using to look for the lifeboat",
"where is the captain?",
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] | [
[
"Richard Phillips"
],
[
"are using ships they have already hijacked and larger ships"
],
[
"are using ships they have already hijacked and larger ships from which they are launching skiffs,"
],
[
"Capt. Richard Phillips"
],
[
"Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama"
],
[
"held by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia."
],
[
"Capt. Richard Phillips"
],
[
"is being held by pirates"
],
[
"ships they have already hijacked and larger ships from which they are launching skiffs,"
],
[
"lifeboat off Somalia."
],
[
"four"
],
[
"searching for the lifeboat"
],
[
"The pirates are using ships they have already hijacked and larger ships from which they are launching skiffs,"
]
] | NEW: Shots fired in escape attempt, captain apparently tied up, military officials say .
Pirates using other hijacked ships to look for lifeboat as Navy ships arrive .
Captain's escape attempt viewed as "optimistic sign" of his vitality .
Richard Phillips, captain of a U.S.-flagged cargo ship, is being held by four gunmen . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates off the eastern coast of Africa fired on U.S. sailors Saturday as they tried to reach the lifeboat where an American captain is being held, a U.S. official familiar with the situation told CNN.
The guided missile frigate USS Halyburton, with helicopter capabilities, is now at the scene.
The gunfire forced the sailors, who did not return fire, back to the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge, the official said.
Capt. Richard Phillips reportedly offered himself as a hostage to the pirates during an attack Wednesday on the U.S.-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean.
The Alabama was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, with a cargo of food aid when it was hijacked about 350 miles off the Somalia coast.
The American crew regained control of the vessel, but the Maersk company would not say how. There are about 20 crew members.
The Alabama arrived Saturday in Mombasa, along with an 18-person armed security detail on board.
"For security reasons, the vessel will berth in a restricted area of the port and will not be accessible to the media. FBI agents will debrief members of the crew on board the vessel before they disembark. The crew will not be available to the media in Mombasa," Maersk Ltd. said. Watch the latest Maersk briefing »
The U.S. Navy -- which is in charge of the situation -- requested help from the FBI to resolve the standoff.
The FBI is launching a criminal investigation into the hijacking and hostage-taking, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The probe will be led by the FBI's New York field office, which has responsibility for looking into cases involving U.S. citizens in the African region. Agents from the office were scheduled to leave for Africa sometime this weekend, the officials said.
Phillips lives in Underhill, Vermont, where neighbor and longtime family friend, Tom Walsh, told CNN the captain's wife, Andrea, was surrounded by relatives.
"If they need us to help with anything. That's kind of the way it is in these communities. ... just showing that we're concerned. We want to do whatever she needs," Walsh said. "She has a lot of family there." Watch more about the hostage situation »
Earlier Saturday, pirates sailing a hijacked German cargo ship returned to port after failing to reach the area of the standoff with the Bainbridge, a local journalist told CNN.
The German ship Hansa Stavanger was among several pirated vessels trying to sail to the area some 300 miles off the Somali coast, a Somali journalist told CNN.
The pirate crew had intended to help the pirates holding Phillips but turned back because of the U.S. naval presence, the journalist said. The Hansa Stavanger is now at the Somali port of Eyl, the journalist said.
The Hansa Stavanger was hijacked April 4 off the Somali coast.
Pirates have been searching the waters off Africa's coast for the Alabama's lifeboat, a U.S. military official with knowledge of the situation said Friday. They are using hijacked vessels and skiffs launched from larger ships, the official said.
The guided missile frigate USS Halyburton, with helicopter capabilities, has joined the Bainbridge in the area. A third ship, the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer -- with a medical facility aboard -- should be there by the end of the day. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on how the pirates are being handled
Phillips is being held by four gunmen in the covered, fiberglass lifeboat. He jumped overboard at one point to try to escape, but one of the pirates jumped into the water after him and brought him back onboard the 28-foot boat.
The pirates fired shots, the military official said, without providing further details.
Phillips appeared to be tied up by the pirates after the escape attempt, a Defense Department official told CNN.
For the U.S. Navy, bringing in more firepower is more than just a means to resolve a hostage situation, said Chris Lawrence, CNN's Pentagon correspondent.
Attacks in the area have picked up so drastically in recent months that the Navy has to reposition some of | [
"What is the FBI investigating?",
"where does alabama arrive",
"who launches criminal investigation into hijacking?",
"Who was responsible for gunfire?",
"what forces sailors to turn back?",
"where did Maersk Alabama arrive?",
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"who is being held"
] | [
[
"is launching a criminal investigation into the hijacking and hostage-taking,"
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[
"Mombasa,"
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[
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[
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[
"gunfire"
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[
"Mombasa,"
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[
"American captain"
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[
"an American captain is"
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] | NEW: Gunfire from pirates forces sailors, who did not return fire, to turn back .
NEW: FBI launches criminal investigation into hijacking, hostage-taking .
Maersk Alabama arrives in Mombasa, Kenya under armed guard .
Capt. Richard Phillips is being held by four gunmen in covered, fiberglass lifeboat . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates off the eastern coast of Africa fired on U.S. sailors Saturday as they tried to reach the lifeboat where an American captain is being held, a U.S. official familiar with the situation told CNN. The guided missile frigate USS Halyburton, with helicopter capabilities, is now at the scene. The gunfire forced the sailors, who did not return fire, back to the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge, the official said. Capt. Richard Phillips reportedly offered himself as a hostage to the pirates during an attack Wednesday on the U.S.-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean. The Alabama was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, with a cargo of food aid when it was hijacked about 350 miles off the Somalia coast. The American crew regained control of the vessel, but the Maersk company would not say how. There are about 20 crew members. The Alabama arrived Saturday in Mombasa, along with an 18-person armed security detail on board. "For security reasons, the vessel will berth in a restricted area of the port and will not be accessible to the media. FBI agents will debrief members of the crew on board the vessel before they disembark. The crew will not be available to the media in Mombasa," Maersk Ltd. said. Watch the latest Maersk briefing » The U.S. Navy -- which is in charge of the situation -- requested help from the FBI to resolve the standoff. The FBI is launching a criminal investigation into the hijacking and hostage-taking, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The probe will be led by the FBI's New York field office, which has responsibility for looking into cases involving U.S. citizens in the African region. Agents from the office were scheduled to leave for Africa sometime this weekend, the officials said. Phillips lives in Underhill, Vermont, where neighbor and longtime family friend, Tom Walsh, told CNN the captain's wife, Andrea, was surrounded by relatives. "If they need us to help with anything. That's kind of the way it is in these communities. ... just showing that we're concerned. We want to do whatever she needs," Walsh said. "She has a lot of family there." Watch more about the hostage situation » Earlier Saturday, pirates sailing a hijacked German cargo ship returned to port after failing to reach the area of the standoff with the Bainbridge, a local journalist told CNN. The German ship Hansa Stavanger was among several pirated vessels trying to sail to the area some 300 miles off the Somali coast, a Somali journalist told CNN. The pirate crew had intended to help the pirates holding Phillips but turned back because of the U.S. naval presence, the journalist said. The Hansa Stavanger is now at the Somali port of Eyl, the journalist said. The Hansa Stavanger was hijacked April 4 off the Somali coast. Pirates have been searching the waters off Africa's coast for the Alabama's lifeboat, a U.S. military official with knowledge of the situation said Friday. They are using hijacked vessels and skiffs launched from larger ships, the official said. The guided missile frigate USS Halyburton, with helicopter capabilities, has joined the Bainbridge in the area. A third ship, the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer -- with a medical facility aboard -- should be there by the end of the day. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on how the pirates are being handled Phillips is being held by four gunmen in the covered, fiberglass lifeboat. He jumped overboard at one point to try to escape, but one of the pirates jumped into the water after him and brought him back onboard the 28-foot boat. The pirates fired shots, the military official said, without providing further details. Phillips appeared to be tied up by the pirates after the escape attempt, a Defense Department official told CNN. For the U.S. Navy, bringing in more firepower is more than just a means to resolve a hostage situation, said Chris Lawrence, CNN's Pentagon correspondent. Attacks in the area have picked up so drastically in recent months that the Navy has to reposition some of | [
"What happened to the captain?",
"who opened gunfire?",
"Who is investigating the hijacking?",
"who is being held?",
"Who is the captain of the Maersk Alabama?",
"what crimes are being investigated?",
"Who fired on the sailors?"
] | [
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"Capt. Richard Phillips reportedly offered himself as a hostage"
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[
"Pirates"
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[
"The FBI"
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[
"Capt. Richard Phillips"
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[
"Capt. Richard Phillips"
],
[
"hijacking and hostage-taking,"
],
[
"Pirates"
]
] | NEW: Gunfire from pirates forces sailors, who did not return fire, to turn back .
NEW: FBI launches criminal investigation into hijacking, hostage-taking .
Maersk Alabama arrives in Mombasa, Kenya under armed guard .
Capt. Richard Phillips is being held by four gunmen in covered, fiberglass lifeboat . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pledging to take "the air out of golden parachutes," President Obama announced Wednesday that executives of companies receiving federal bailout money will have their pay capped at $500,000 under a revised financial compensation plan. $500,000 will be the limit on executive salaries at companies receiving tax dollars, President Obama says. Last year's "shameful" handout of $18 billion in Wall Street bonuses "is exactly the kind of disregard for the costs and consequences of their actions that brought about this crisis: a culture of narrow self-interest and short-term gain at the expense of everything else," Obama said to reporters at the White House. "For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis isn't just bad taste -- it's a bad strategy -- and I will not tolerate it. We're going to be demanding some restraint in exchange for federal aid -- so that when firms seek new federal dollars, we won't find them up to the same old tricks," the president added. Under Obama's plan, companies that want to pay their executives more than $500,000 will have to do so through stocks that cannot be sold until the companies pay back the money they borrow from the government. The rules will be implemented by the Treasury Department and do not need to be approved by Congress. The restrictions will most affect large companies that receive "exceptional assistance," such as Citigroup. The struggling banking giant has taken about $45 billion from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. The new rules also will mandate that shareholders of banks have a greater say about the salaries paid to company heads. The measures will put in place greater transparency for costs such as holiday parties and office renovations. Obama also pledged further reforms in the future, promising that the administration will "examine the ways in which the means and manner of executive compensation have contributed to a reckless culture and quarter-by-quarter mentality that in turn have wrought havoc in our financial system." Watch Obama talk about limiting executive salaries » "We're going to be taking a look at broader reforms so that executives are compensated for sound risk management and rewarded for growth measured over years, not just days or weeks," Obama said. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report. | [
"What was the bailout money capped at?",
"What is the executive pay capped at?",
"At what amount will compensation have to be in stocks?",
"What does Obama pledge?",
"What will over 500,000 have to be?",
"Which President is making these rules and laws?",
"A company that would get affected by the plan?",
"What is the cap for executive pay in these certain companies?",
"Amount of money that the bailout money is capped at?"
] | [
[
"$500,000"
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[
"$500,000"
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[
"$500,000"
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[
"further reforms in the future,"
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[
"the limit on executive salaries at companies receiving tax dollars,"
],
[
"Obama"
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[
"Citigroup."
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[
"$500,000"
],
[
"$500,000"
]
] | NEW: Pay for executives at companies that take bailout money capped at $500,000 .
NEW: Obama pledges further rules on compensation .
Compensation over $500,000 will have to be in stocks with sales limit .
The plan will affect companies getting "exceptional assistance," like Citigroup . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Police arrested a man near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday after he drove up to one of the building's barricades with a rifle in his vehicle and told officers that he had a delivery for President Obama, a Senate spokesman said.
A man drove to the Capitol with a rifle and said he had a delivery for President Obama, police said.
Sgt. Kimberly Schneider identified the man as Alfred Brock, 64, of Winnfield, Louisiana. She said Brock was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.
Brock drove up to the north barricade at the Capitol late Tuesday afternoon, saying he had a delivery for the president, Schneider said.
After further questioning, he admitted he had a rifle in his truck. He was arrested and taken to police headquarters for processing, she said.
A search of his truck turned up several rounds of ammunition, Schneider said. Police also checked the area around the barricade, but found nothing hazardous.
Threats against Obama have led to arrests in previous cases.
In one, federal prosecutors concluded that three people arrested with drugs and weapons in a suburban Denver, Colorado, motel posed a "true threat" to Obama during the Democratic National Convention.
In the second, a Florida man was charged with threatening bodily harm against the then-candidate in August. He has pleaded not guilty. | [
"What was Brock charged with?",
"Who stopped Brock and prevented him from proceeding?",
"Who is Alfred Brock?",
"How old is Alfred Brock?",
"Where did Brock go after his arrest?",
"What is Brock charged with?",
"What did Brock tell the police?",
"What did Brock tell police that he had for the president?",
"How old is Brock?",
"What is the man's name that drove up to the Capitol with a gun?",
"Who was transported to Capitol Hill?"
] | [
[
"possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition."
],
[
"Police"
],
[
"64, of Winnfield, Louisiana."
],
[
"64,"
],
[
"taken to police headquarters for processing,"
],
[
"possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition."
],
[
"saying he had a delivery for the president,"
],
[
"a delivery"
],
[
"64,"
],
[
"Alfred Brock,"
],
[
"Alfred Brock,"
]
] | NEW: Alfred Brock, 64 drove up to Capitol barricade with a rifle in his vehicle .
NEW: Brock charged with possession of an unregistered firearm, ammunition .
Police say he told them he had a delivery for President Obama .
Man was arrested, transported to Capitol Hill police headquarters for processing . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday addressed issues ranging from the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church to the easy availability of pornography to the "alarming decrease" in Catholic marriages in the United States. The pope arrives to address U.S. bishops in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He spoke at a prayer service with U.S. bishops at Washington's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Roman Catholic church in North America. Benedict said the sexual abuse of children by priests has caused a "deep shame" and called it "gravely immoral behavior." "Many of you have spoken to me of the enormous pain that your communities have suffered when clerics have betrayed ... their obligations," he told the bishops. Responding to the situation has not been easy and was sometimes very badly handled, the pope admitted. Watch the pope address the issue » "It is vitally important that the vulnerable are always shielded from souls who would cause harm," he said. The pope then turned his attention to a different concern involving kids. "What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?" he asked. Benedict urged the media and entertainment industry to take part in a "moral renewal." Earlier Wednesday, President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and more than 13,500 spectators welcomed Benedict in an elaborate ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. In remarks greeting the pope to the White House, Bush called the United States "a nation of prayer." Bush was interrupted by applause as he said, "In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred and that each of us is willed." Benedict responded by praising the role of religion in the United States. "From the dawn of the republic, America's quest for freedom has been guided by the conviction that the principles governing political and social life are intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God the creator," he said. Watch Benedict talk about his hopes for the trip » Earlier, a U.S. Marine Corps band performed the national anthem of the Holy See as well as "The Star-Spangled Banner." A fife and drum corps in Colonial costumes also played tunes, including "Yankee Doodle," and soprano Kathleen Battle sang "The Lord's Prayer." The day, with perfect spring weather, was also the pontiff's 81st birthday. After the ceremony concluded, the crowd, led by Battle, serenaded Benedict with "Happy Birthday" as he smiled from a White House balcony. Watch a priest who has known Benedict for years tell what he's like » Guests on the South Lawn included Catholic clergy, ecumenical representatives, Catholic schoolchildren, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Sisters of the Poor and Knights of Columbus. Event planners faced an enormous demand for tickets for what White House press secretary Dana Perino called "one of the largest arrival ceremonies ever held at the White House." Following the ceremony, Bush and the pope had a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office. The pope left the White House at about noon in his distinctive "popemobile." His massive motorcade moved slowly down the wide avenues of the U.S. capital to the Vatican Embassy, where the pope is staying. Crowds of enthusiastic spectators waved U.S. and Vatican flags and screamed as the pontiff rode past. A smiling Benedict arrived Tuesday at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to cheers from a crowd of invited guests. The pontiff was greeted by Bush, the first lady and their daughter Jenna, each of whom shook his hand. It was believed to be the first time an American president has greeted a world dignitary on arrival at Andrews. It marks Benedict's first visit to the United States as pope. Watch how the pope's visit could affect the presidential campaign » Security will | [
"What transportation will the pope use?",
"What will he celebrate?",
"Who spoke to bishops about the abuse of children?",
"What did the Pope discuss?",
"what did the pope say",
"When did the pope and president discuss?",
"What was the behavior labelled?"
] | [
[
"\"popemobile.\""
],
[
"81st birthday."
],
[
"Pope Benedict XVI"
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[
"issues ranging from the sex abuse scandal"
],
[
"Benedict said the sexual abuse of children by priests has caused a \"deep shame\" and called it \"gravely immoral behavior.\""
],
[
"Wednesday,"
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[
"\"gravely immoral"
]
] | NEW: Pope tells bishops abuse of children was "gravely immoral behavior"
Pope, president discuss Middle East, Latin America, says White House .
Six-day, two-city visit to U.S. marks Pope Benedict XVI's first as pope .
Pope will celebrate Mass at stadium Thursday, travel to New York on Friday . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Poppy production in Afghanistan is at record levels and is threatening the government and security there, the U.S. State Department said in a report on worldwide drug sales and production.
In a photo from last year, villagers tend to opium poppies in southern Afghanistan.
"Although President [Hamid] Karzai has strongly attacked narco-trafficking as the greatest threat to Afghanistan, one-third of the Afghan economy remains opium-based," the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report says.
"The government at all levels must be held accountable to deter and eradicate poppy cultivation, remove and prosecute corrupt officials."
Poppy production soared last year in southern provinces controlled by insurgents, Assistant Secretary of State David Johnson told reporters.
"There is incontrovertible evidence that the Taliban use drug trafficking proceeds to fund insurgent activities," he said.
He said the United Nations is predicting that opium production in Afghanistan will fall slightly this year, after recent years of double-digit growth.
The two-volume report contains more than 1,100 pages with details of drug sales and production.
Twenty nations, including some major U.S. allies, were designated as major drug-producing or drug-transit countries. Burma (also known as Myanmar) and Venezuela were singled out as having "failed demonstrably" to live up to their obligations under anti-drug agreements.
Also on the list are Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.
Canada was criticized in the report for an increasingly sophisticated marijuana industry. "We remain concerned that the production of high-potency indoor grown marijuana for export to the United States continues to thrive in Canada in part because growers do not consistently face strict legal punishment," the report said.
Journalists were briefed on the report by Johnson, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs. E-mail to a friend | [
"About what Canada criticized?",
"Burma and Venezuela have not lived up to what agreements?",
"What country was criticized for not cracking down on indoor marijuana production?",
"What percentage of the Afghan economy is allegedly opium-based?",
"How many countries are branded as drug-transit nations?",
"What number of countries did the U.S brand as drug producing?",
"Burma and which other country have not lived up to anti-drug agreements?",
"Which country have not lived up to anti-drug agreements?"
] | [
[
"increasingly sophisticated marijuana industry."
],
[
"their obligations under anti-drug"
],
[
"Canada"
],
[
"one-third"
],
[
"Twenty"
],
[
"Twenty nations,"
],
[
"Venezuela"
],
[
"Venezuela"
]
] | U.S. brands 20 countries, including allies, as drug-producing or drug-transit nations .
Canada criticized for not cracking down on indoor marijuana production .
State Department report says one third of Afghan economy is opium-based .
Burma and Venezuela have not lived up to anti-drug agreements, report says . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Power-driven wheelchairs are costing Medicare and its beneficiaries nearly four times what suppliers pay for them, and competitive bidding could have reduced those costs, according to an inspector general's report released Wednesday.
Competitive bidding would have cut costs on a standard power wheelchair by nearly $1,000, the report says.
A standard power wheelchair costs the federal health insurance program for seniors an average of $4,018 to lease, compared with $1,048 for suppliers to buy, the Department of Health and Human Services' internal watchdog reported.
"Medicare and its beneficiaries paid suppliers an average of $2,970 beyond the supplier's acquisition cost to perform an average of five services and cover general business costs," the report found.
The difference was not as dramatic for more advanced wheelchairs used for physical rehabilitation patients, but at an average lease of $11,507, those chairs still cost Medicare about twice as much as the $5,880 paid by suppliers, the report found.
More than 173,000 Medicare beneficiaries received power wheelchairs in the first half of 2007, at a cost of about $686 million, the report said. The cost could have been reduced considerably had Congress not delayed a planned system of competitive bidding for what Medicare classifies as "durable medical equipment," such as wheelchairs and oxygen tanks, the report said.
Competitive bidding would have cut Medicare's average cost of a standard power wheelchair by nearly $1,000, the inspector general found.
"Medicare and beneficiary payments under the Competitive Bidding Acquisition Program would have decreased by an average of 26 percent across all included categories of [durable medical equipment], saving up to an estimated $1 billion annually," the report found. "However, Congress delayed the program and exempted complex rehabilitation power wheelchairs from future competitive bidding."
Medicare's annual budget for 2008 was $444 billion. In January, it cut its payments to suppliers by 9.5 percent to make up for what it thought competitive bidding would have saved taxpayers, according to the report.
In July, a CNN investigation found that a patient and taxpayers were billed about $1,200 over four years for a nonmotorized chair, while a nearly identical chair could be bought from the same supplier for $349.
The issue has become controversial as the Obama administration tries to overhaul the U.S. health care system and rein in the cost of Medicare.
Administration officials want to require competitive bids for items such as wheelchairs. But the American Association for Homecare, which represents many in the durable equipment industry, said the bidding program would reduce patient choice, limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays. | [
"what will be the cost",
"What does the industry say about patient choice?",
"How much does a power wheelchair cost?",
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"Can competitive bidding reduce costs?"
] | [
[
"average of $4,018 to lease,"
],
[
"limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays."
],
[
"$4,018"
],
[
"the bidding program would reduce patient choice, limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays."
],
[
"would have cut"
]
] | Watchdog report says competitive bidding could have reduced costs .
Standard power wheelchair costs Medicare $4,018 to lease .
Same wheelchair costs $1,048 for suppliers to buy, report says .
Industry says competitive bidding would reduce patient choice, increase costs . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama addressed Congress shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, but a casual viewer might have believed it was actually morning in America.
President Obama takes a page from Ronald Reagan's playbook in his speech to Congress.
"Morning in America" was the theme of Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign, and it was front and center in Obama's most critical event since Inauguration Day.
The president who has pledged to reverse much of Reagan's economic revolution took a page from the 40th president's playbook in his 52-minute speech, striking a defiantly optimistic tone that belied the nation's sour mood and rebutted critics who have accused him of intentionally talking down the economy for short-term political gain.
"Though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," Obama declared to a thunderous round of applause from a packed House chamber. See video highlights of the speech, issue by issue »
Delivered against a backdrop of dismal economic news and with polls showing overwhelming majorities of Americans believing the country is on the wrong track, Obama's first speech to Congress amounted to a political tour de force. He proposed what many claim is a complete overhaul of the country's economic foundation while ripping his conservative predecessors for transferring "wealth to the wealthy" and gutting regulations "for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market."
And he did it while employing some of Reagan's favorite rhetorical tools. Obama stuck to a fairly short list of priorities while invoking traditional American values of responsibility, hard work and thrift to pound home a back-to-basics message. iReport.com: 'Obama just replaced Reagan'
"A generosity, a resilience, a decency and a determination that perseveres; a willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity ... Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure," he said.
It is time, he declared, to "summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit."
Ideological differences aside, the nation's 44th president has made no secret of his admiration for his Republican predecessor.
"Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and a way that Bill Clinton did not," Obama argued at the start of last year's Democratic primaries.
Reagan, Obama said, knew that Americans "want clarity. We want optimism. We want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that [has] been missing."
Tuesday night's speech featured all of those elements.
"The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist ... in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth," Obama said. What did you think of the speech? Rate it through our CNN report card »
The president's agenda as defined in his address to Congress may have been the most ambitious in a generation or even two, but it was also easily boiled down to a few bullet points: restore financial stability, strengthen education and promote energy independence and health care reform.
It was, in many ways, the mirror image of 1981, when a newly inaugurated Reagan used the combination of stagnating economic growth and skyrocketing inflation to promote an equally ambitious, simple agenda: cut taxes, shrink government and build up the defense budget.
"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste," White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said shortly after the election in November.
In fact, Obama's team believes that their boss has already trumped both the Great Communicator and Obama's immediate Democratic predecessor.
Reagan didn't get his economic agenda passed until summer 1981, a senior White House official noted before the speech Tuesday.
And when then-President Bill Clinton delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress in 1993, he had | [
"What tones do Reagen and Obama take?",
"What did Obama employ?",
"What did Obama say?",
"Like who did Obama take an optimistic tone?",
"What tools did he employ?"
] | [
[
"optimistic"
],
[
"complete overhaul of the country's economic foundation"
],
[
"said, knew that Americans \"want clarity."
],
[
"Ronald Reagan's"
],
[
"some of Reagan's favorite rhetorical"
]
] | Like Reagan, Obama takes a defiantly optimistic tone in speech to Congress .
Obama employs some of Reagan's favorite rhetorical tools .
But Obama rejects Reagan view that government has no role in prosperity . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama claimed the second major legislative victory of his young administration Wednesday, signing a bill to provide federally funded health care to an estimated 4 million children. President Obama says the SCHIP bill is a downpayment on his "commitment to cover every single American." The final version of the new law, which expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by roughly $35 billion over the next five years, passed a sharply polarized House of Representatives earlier in the day, with almost every Democrat voting in favor of the expansion and most Republicans opposing it. With the bill, Obama said at a White House ceremony, "We fulfill one of the highest responsibilities that we have -- to ensure the health and well-being of our nation's children." The president said the bill was a downpayment on his "commitment to cover every single American." The SCHIP expansion is Obama's second major legislative win in less than a week. The first was Thursday's approval of the Lilly Ledbetter Pay Equity Act, which makes it easier to sue employers for wage-based discrimination. Learn more about the SCHIP program » The expansion is also a sign of the strength of Washington's new Democratic majority. Former President George W. Bush vetoed two similar health care bills in 2007, arguing that the legislation would encourage families to leave the private insurance market for the federally funded, state-run program. Before the bill's passage, SCHIP covered almost 7 million children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid -- the federal health insurance program for the poor -- but who can't afford private insurance. The new law boosts total SCHIP funding to approximately $60 billion. The expanded program will be financed with a 62-cent-per-pack increase in the federal tax on cigarettes. "This is a day worthy of celebration. There can be no greater cause ... than protecting the well-being of our nation's children," New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, the legislation's primary House author, said shortly before the bill's final passage on a 290-135 vote. Passing the health program's expansion is "morally the right thing to do by our children," said freshman Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Virginia. "At a time when the cost of health care is crushing America's families ... this is an important lifeline." Opponents of the legislation argued that, among other things, it will allow undocumented immigrants to illegally access taxpayer-financed health care, and is insufficiently funded. "This will go out of control just like all the other [entitlement] programs have, and our children will pay," Rep. Jack Linder, R-Georgia, warned during the House debate Wednesday. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, ripped the bill as a "foundation stone for socialized medicine in the United States," arguing that raising the income limit for SCHIP eligibility will serve as the basis for a massive expansion of government-run health care. The Senate passed the expansion Friday in a 66-32 vote. All those voting against the bill were Republicans, though nine Republicans voted in favor of the measure. | [
"What individual signed SCHIP into law?",
"When did Obama sign the law?",
"What did SCHIP make millions of children eligible for?",
"What does SCHIP stand for?",
"What did Obama sign into law?",
"How much does SCHIP cost?"
] | [
[
"President Barack Obama"
],
[
"Wednesday,"
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[
"federally funded health care"
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[
"State Children's Health Insurance Program"
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[
"bill to provide federally funded health care to an estimated 4 million children."
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[
"$35 billion"
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] | NEW: President Obama signs State Children's Health Insurance Program into law .
House approves the bill in vote that falls largely along party lines .
SCHIP passed the Senate last week .
SCHIP makes additional 4 million kids eligible for federally funded health insurance . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama is planning to issue three executive orders Thursday, including one demanding the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed within a year, according to a senior administration official and a congressional aide.
A guard keeps watch from a tower at the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
A second executive order will formally ban torture by requiring the Army field manual be used as the guide for terror interrogations, essentially ending the Bush administration's CIA program of enhanced interrogation methods.
A third executive order, according to the officials, will order a systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases.
The officials said new White House Counsel Greg Craig was briefing congressional Republicans Wednesday afternoon about the three executive orders.
"We've always said the process would include consultation," the senior administration official said of the closed-door meeting informing Republicans of the moves.
The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay became a lightning rod for critics who charged that the Bush administration had used torture on terror detainees. President George W. Bush and other senior officials repeatedly denied that the U.S. government had used torture to extract intelligence from terror suspects.
Obama's move will set off a fierce legal struggle over where the prison's detainees will go next. Watch experts debate the Gitmo dilemma »
"The key question is where do you put these terrorists," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield?"
The meeting with Craig did not address how the administration plans to handle Guantanamo detainees, said Rep. Bill Young of Florida, the top Republican on the Defense Appropriations Committee. The executive orders "will leave some wiggle room for the administration," he said.
Young said he has "quite a bit of anxiety" about transferring detainees to United States facilities.
"Number one, they're dangerous," he said. "Secondly, once they become present in the United States, what is their legal status? What is their constitutional status? I worry about that, because I don't want them to have the same constitutional rights that you and I have. They're our enemy." Watch what may happen to Gitmo's inmates »
He said he asked Craig what the government plans to do with two recently built facilities at Guantanamo, which he said cost $500 million. He said Craig had no answer, but pledged to discuss the issue further.
Young said he suggested reopening Alcatraz, the closed federal prison on an island outside San Francisco, California -- in Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district.
"Put them in Alcatraz, where supposedly they can't escape from," Young said, but added the suggestion "didn't go over well."
The revelation coincided with a judge's decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Laurie Ure contributed to this report. | [
"how many orders give OBama?",
"What will Obama issue?",
"What did the judge grant?",
"what will the bans involve"
] | [
[
"three"
],
[
"three executive orders"
],
[
"decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest"
],
[
"torture"
]
] | NEW: Obama to issue 3 orders Thursday that break from Bush administration .
NEW: Order 2 will ban torture by requiring use of Army field manual for interrogations .
NEW: 3rd order will mandate review of detention policies and procedures .
Military judge grants Obama's request to stay cases for 120 days . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama is planning to issue three executive orders Thursday, including one demanding the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed within a year, according to a senior administration official and a congressional aide. A guard keeps watch from a tower at the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A second executive order will formally ban torture by requiring the Army field manual be used as the guide for terror interrogations, essentially ending the Bush administration's CIA program of enhanced interrogation methods. A third executive order, according to the officials, will order a systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases. The officials said new White House Counsel Greg Craig was briefing congressional Republicans Wednesday afternoon about the three executive orders. "We've always said the process would include consultation," the senior administration official said of the closed-door meeting informing Republicans of the moves. The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay became a lightning rod for critics who charged that the Bush administration had used torture on terror detainees. President George W. Bush and other senior officials repeatedly denied that the U.S. government had used torture to extract intelligence from terror suspects. Obama's move will set off a fierce legal struggle over where the prison's detainees will go next. Watch experts debate the Gitmo dilemma » "The key question is where do you put these terrorists," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield?" The meeting with Craig did not address how the administration plans to handle Guantanamo detainees, said Rep. Bill Young of Florida, the top Republican on the Defense Appropriations Committee. The executive orders "will leave some wiggle room for the administration," he said. Young said he has "quite a bit of anxiety" about transferring detainees to United States facilities. "Number one, they're dangerous," he said. "Secondly, once they become present in the United States, what is their legal status? What is their constitutional status? I worry about that, because I don't want them to have the same constitutional rights that you and I have. They're our enemy." Watch what may happen to Gitmo's inmates » He said he asked Craig what the government plans to do with two recently built facilities at Guantanamo, which he said cost $500 million. He said Craig had no answer, but pledged to discuss the issue further. Young said he suggested reopening Alcatraz, the closed federal prison on an island outside San Francisco, California -- in Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district. "Put them in Alcatraz, where supposedly they can't escape from," Young said, but added the suggestion "didn't go over well." The revelation coincided with a judge's decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings. CNN's Susan Candiotti and Laurie Ure contributed to this report. | [
"What will be issued?",
"What will Obama issue on Thursday?"
] | [
[
"three executive orders"
],
[
"three executive orders"
]
] | NEW: Obama to issue 3 orders Thursday that break from Bush administration .
NEW: Order 2 will ban torture by requiring use of Army field manual for interrogations .
NEW: 3rd order will mandate review of detention policies and procedures .
Military judge grants Obama's request to stay cases for 120 days . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama reached out to Iran on Friday -- the start of the Iranian New Year -- in a video message offering "the promise of a new beginning" that is "grounded in mutual respect." Obama's message to Iran echoes his inaugural speech, where he said "we seek a new way forward." The message is a dramatic shift in tone from that of the Bush administration, which included Iran, along with North Korea and Iraq, in an "axis of evil." It also echoes Obama's inaugural speech, in which he said to the Muslim world, "we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." In Friday's video, Obama said: "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right, but it comes with real responsibilities. And that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization." There was no immediate response from Tehran to Obama's message, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that his country would welcome talks with the United States "in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect." The United States, several European nations and Israel suspect that Tehran has been trying to acquire the capacity to build nuclear weapons, but Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes. Last month, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security released a report saying that Iran has reached "nuclear weapons breakout capability" -- it has enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb. The report was based on an analysis of data from the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, an IAEA official who asked not to be named cautioned against drawing such dramatic conclusions from the data, saying Iran's stock of low-enriched uranium would have to be turned into highly enriched uranium to be weapons-grade material. That hasn't been done, the official said. The United States has had tortuous relations with Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979, but the Obama message speaks of "new beginnings" with the promise of a new year. "We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community," the president said. "This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek, instead, engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect." | [
"Who has tortuous relations?",
"Since what year has the US had bad relations with Tehran?",
"Did Tehran give an immediate response?",
"What Iranian holiday coincides with the timing of the video message?",
"Who did not respond immediately?",
"What city had no immediate message for the US?",
"When did the tortuous relations start?"
] | [
[
"United States"
],
[
"1979,"
],
[
"no"
],
[
"New Year"
],
[
"Tehran"
],
[
"Tehran"
],
[
"1979,"
]
] | Video message coincides with the start of the Iranian New Year .
The U.S. has had tortuous relations with Tehran since 1979 .
There was no immediate response from Tehran . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama weighed in Thursday on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, urging Israel to open Gaza border crossings and telling the Islamic fundamentalist organization to stop rocket fire into the Jewish state.
President Obama called on both Israel and Hamas to make changes toward Mideast peace.
He urged Israel to allow the flow of aid and commerce into the Palestinian territory.
"Our hearts go out to Palestinian civilians who are in need of immediate food, clean water and basic medical care," he said.
The crossings should be opened with an "appropriate monitoring," he added.
Obama said Hamas leaders, for their part, must put an end to rocket attacks.
He said he will send former Sen. George Mitchell, who was appointed Thursday as special envoy for Middle East peace, to the region as soon as possible.
Earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived at her new office in the State Department, promising a renewed emphasis on candor and "robust diplomacy" as the primary means for advancing American interests around the world.
America's new chief diplomat walked through the front doors of the State Department lobby shortly after 9 a.m. ET to thunderous applause from an overflow crowd of about 1,000 career diplomats and other department employees.
"I believe with all of my heart that this is a new era for America," Clinton told her colleagues. "President Obama set the tone with his inaugural address. ... Robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America's future." Watch Clinton greet her new employees »
In remarks that could be interpreted as a rebuke of the departed Bush administration, Clinton also said that the Obama administration would not "tolerate the divisiveness and paralysis that has undermined our ability to get things done for America."
Clinton also called for a new sense of candor and free exchange of ideas. She urged the country's diplomatic corps to think "outside the proverbial box."
"There's nothing I welcome more than a good debate and the kind of dialogue that will make us better," she said.
Clinton later attended an intelligence briefing and a meeting with members of the Diplomatic Security Service. She also walked through various State Department offices, including the operations center.
Clinton also phoned international leaders, according to acting State Department spokesman Robert Wood. She is expected to call Asian leaders later Thursday.
Clinton will also visit the U.S. Agency for International Development, which she praised "for the work they've done on behalf of development through some very difficult years."
During her confirmation hearing, Clinton pledged to secure more resources for the State Department and USAID, which has seen a lot of its development work fall to the Pentagon during the Bush administration.
Clinton is the 67th U.S. secretary of state.
CNN's Elise Labott contributed to this report. | [
"Where are the border crossings?",
"What does Obama want Israel to do?",
"what is hillary clinton's profession?",
"When was Clinton confirmed as secretary of state?",
"Which country did President Obama urge to open Gaza border crossings?"
] | [
[
"Gaza"
],
[
"open Gaza border crossings"
],
[
"Secretary of State"
],
[
"shortly after 9 a.m. ET"
],
[
"Israel"
]
] | NEW: President Obama urges Israel to open Gaza border crossings .
Hillary Clinton receives intelligence briefing on first day at State .
Clinton greets employees at the State Department .
Clinton was confirmed as secretary of state Wednesday . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush condemned the escalated violence between Russia and U.S.-backed Georgia on Sunday, while Vice President Dick Cheney said aggression against Georgia "must not go unanswered." President Bush chats with Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin at the start of the Olympic opening ceremonies. "My administration has been engaged with both sides of this trying to get a ceasefire," Bush told NBC's Bob Costas in an interview in Beijing, China, where the president has attended Olympic events. Bush was filmed speaking to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during Friday's opening ceremonies and said Sunday that he "was firm with Vladimir Putin" and that "this violence is unacceptable." Violence has continued to rage between Russia and the western ally since Thursday, when Georgia launched an operation to crack down on separatists in South Ossetia territory. Russia said it wanted to protect its peacekeepers already in South Ossetia following ceasefires in years past. But Georgia called it a full-on invasion. And while Russia has accused Georgia of a genocidal plot to cleanse the region of ethnic Ossetians loyal to Russia, Georgia accuses Russia of executing a long-planned war with the aim of taking control of the region -- including a key pipeline that carries Asian oil to Black Sea ports. "I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia," Bush said of his talk with Putin. "We strongly condemn bombing outside of South Ossetia." Putin says he's concerned about the flood of refugees arriving in Russia from South Ossetia. Russian officials said more than 30,000 refugees have left South Ossetia and crossed into Russia over the past two days, Interfax reported. "The actions of the Georgian authorities in South Ossetia are a crime, of course, primarily a crime against their own people," Putin said, according to Russian news agency Interfax. Meanwhile, Cheney talked to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Sunday, telling him that Russia's aggression against Georgia "must not go unanswered." Cheney's spokeswoman Lea Ann McBride said the vice president spoke to Saakashvili to express "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." Georgia withdrew its forces Sunday and offered a ceasefire, which Russia refused. "The vice president told President Saakashvili that 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. Saakashvili has called on the United States and the world community to stop the "intervention and invasion of my sovereign country." "I think the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world," he told CNN. "I think the U.S. has lots of leverage. And I think there are lots of diplomatic means that it could be done through." Two senior officials have told CNN the United States sent envoy Matt Bryza to the region to help with mediation. | [
"What is causing the violence?",
"What answer does Cheney recommend?",
"What has continued between Russia and Georgia?",
"What did Dick Cheney say?",
"In what way was Bush firm?"
] | [
[
"has continued to rage between Russia and the western ally since Thursday, when Georgia launched an operation to crack down on separatists in South Ossetia territory."
],
[
"aggression against Georgia \"must not go unanswered.\""
],
[
"escalated violence"
],
[
"aggression against Georgia \"must not go unanswered.\""
],
[
"with Vladimir Putin\""
]
] | NEW: Bush says he was "firm" with Putin and that the "violence is unacceptable"
Vice President Dick Cheney said Russian aggression "must not go unanswered"
Violence has continued to rage between Russia and western ally Georgia . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Friday proposed a temporary, broad-based tax relief package aimed at spurring the nation's slowing economy. "We can provide a shot in the arm" to the economy, President Bush said Friday at the White House. During remarks at the White House, Bush, flanked by economic advisers, said the nation's economy is at risk for a downturn and Congress must act to head off trouble. "This growth package must be big enough to make a difference in an economy as large and dynamic as ours," Bush said. "By passing a growth package quickly, we can provide a shot in the arm to keep a fundamentally strong economy healthy, and it will help keep economic sectors that are going through adjustments, such as the housing market, from adversely affecting other parts of our economy." Watch more of Bush's tax outline » It should equal about 1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, or roughly $140 billion, he added. Bush said the economy will continue to grow but at a slower rate. The president offered no specific details of the proposed package, but he did insist that it include tax incentives for business, "including small businesses, to make major investments in their enterprises this year." Bush also said the economic package must include "rapid income tax relief" for consumers to "lift our economy at a time when people otherwise might spend less." Although Democratic leaders in Congress expressed general support for Bush's remarks, other Democrats on Capitol Hill met the president's proposal with suspicion. Two Democratic leadership aides made it clear Friday that the growth package would not win support from Democratic leaders unless it includes relief for low and middle income earners. "We want to include people who pay taxes, not necessarily income taxes -- a lot of lower income people pay payroll taxes," said one aide. Another source stated flatly, "We're not going to pass a bill in the House that doesn't include low-income people." Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said he was disappointed that Bush did not include stimulus-spending measures aimed at helping the disadvantaged such as extending unemployment benefits. Schumer said such spending initiatives would jump-start the economy faster than tax cuts alone. "I think if we avoid any of the ideological fights, we could actually pass something so that it would take effect on March 1," Schumer said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, expressed agreement with Bush on "the need to provide assistance immediately," saying in a statement that "we must invest our resources in such a way that injects confidence and consumer demand, promotes economic growth and creates jobs." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said, "I also agree that our focus must be on finding temporary measures that will do the job effectively." Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, agreed that "we must act swiftly to boost the economy" but stressed the need to help families who "are struggling every day to pay their bills, heat their homes and pay their mortgages." Bush's remarks came a day after talks on the subject with Democratic and Republican lawmakers, and following Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's call for a fiscal stimulus package to help an economy beset by plummeting stock prices and a credit and mortgage crunch. Bush said Friday he was encouraged by his discussions with lawmakers. "I believe there is enough broad consensus that we can come up with a package that can be approved with bipartisan support." Existing income tax cuts supported by the Bush administration are due to expire in 2010, and the president called on Congress to make them permanent. "Unless Congress acts, the American people will face massive tax increases in less than three years," Bush said. "This tax increase would put jobs and economic growth at risk." Watch experts explain how to goose the economy » The proposed stimulus package comes as a leading gauge of future economic activity was released | [
"what did bush said about his taxes?",
"Which president called for tax relief?",
"When do the tax cuts expire?",
"who alls for broad-based tax relief for consumers, businesses?",
"Who is George Bush?",
"What income level does the bill help?",
"Who has Bush been talking to about the bill?",
"who says he's encouraged by talks with Congress, hopeful of agreement?"
] | [
[
"\"We can provide a shot in the arm\" to the economy,"
],
[
"Bush"
],
[
"2010,"
],
[
"President Bush"
],
[
"President"
],
[
"low and middle"
],
[
"Democratic and Republican lawmakers,"
],
[
"Bush"
]
] | NEW: Democratic leadership aides say bill must help low-, middle-income earners .
President calls for broad-based tax relief for consumers, businesses .
Bush says he's encouraged by talks with Congress, hopeful of agreement .
Bush says his tax cuts due to expire in 2010 should be made permanent . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Monday signed a bill that will pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the remainder of his presidency and into spring 2009. President Bush on Monday said the men and women of the armed forces deserve "our unflinching support." The supplemental spending bill provides nearly $162 billion in war funding without the restrictions congressional Democrats vowed to put into place since they took control of Congress nearly two years ago. After signing the bill, Bush said the men and woman of the armed services are owed "our unflinching support, and the best way to demonstrate that support is to give them the resources they need to do their jobs and to prevail." Bush also said he appreciated that "Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed to provide these vital funds without tying the hands of our commanders and without an artificial timetable of withdrawal from Iraq." Watch as Bush thanks Congress » "This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops and their families," Bush said. He also touted the success of the "surge" strategy he implemented last year. "Our troops have driven the terrorists and extremists from many strongholds in Iraq. Today, violence is at the lowest level since March of 2004," he said. "As a result of this progress, some of our troops are coming home, as a result of our policy called 'Return on Success.' We welcome them home." White Houses spokeswoman Dana Perino called the bill a victory for the president. "Because we have seen success in the surge, perhaps Congress decided that it was OK to allow the commander in chief to be able to move forward as he saw fit," said Perino, noting the $162 billion was the same amount that the president had requested. The supplemental spending bill also contains a new GI Bill that expands education benefits for veterans who have served since the 9/11 attacks, provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits and more than $2 billion in disaster assistance for parts of the Midwest that have been hit by record floods. The signing comes two weeks before the deadline that Defense Secretary Robert Gates had established for the funds. Gates said he would consider laying off Defense Department employees to balance the Pentagon's books if legislation was not signed by July 15. Watch a progress report from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq » House Democrats had tried to include restrictions on war funding when they drafted the bill, but they were unable to overcome procedural hurdles that Republicans put up. A compromise version of the supplemental bill was later negotiated between Democratic and Republican leaders that included the war funding along with the GI Bill, unemployment benefits and disaster relief -- three top legislative priorities for the Democrats that Bush and congressional Republicans originally resisted. "At a time when 2 million men and women have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and when our troops have had to endure multiple deployments, stop-loss policies, insufficient equipment and an unclear strategy, giving them the opportunity to fuel our future economy is the least we can do," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said of the GI Bill after the Senate sent it to the president's desk Thursday night. Congressional Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives and Senate after the 2006 midterm elections in large part to due to displeasure over the Iraq war. But Democrats -- lacking the 60 votes to overcome GOP filibusters in the Senate, let alone the two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate to override a presidential veto -- have been unable to pass significant restrictions on war funding because Republicans, for the most part, have stuck with Bush on the war. | [
"Who is the president?",
"Will there be any restrictions on funding the wars",
"What victory did bush get",
"What is the benefit for veterans?",
"What else does the bill contain?",
"What causes a victory for President Bush?",
"what does legislation fund",
"what does bill contains",
"what did bush do",
"What is the budget for the spending bill?",
"What did he sign?"
] | [
[
"Bush"
],
[
"without the"
],
[
"the bill"
],
[
"education"
],
[
"that expands education benefits for veterans who have served since the 9/11 attacks, provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits and more than $2 billion in disaster assistance for parts of the Midwest that have been hit by record floods."
],
[
"the bill"
],
[
"wars in Iraq and Afghanistan"
],
[
"nearly $162 billion in war funding"
],
[
"signed a bill that will pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan"
],
[
"$162 billion"
],
[
"a bill that will pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan"
]
] | NEW: White House spokeswoman calls bill a victory for President Bush .
Bush signs supplemental spending bill with $162 billion for wars .
Legislation funds Iraq and Afghanistan wars through spring 2009 without restrictions .
Bill also contains veteran education and unemployment benefits and disaster relief . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah "knows our position loud and clear" on the punishment of the victim of a gang rape.
President Bush said he would be angry with a state that did not support a rape victim.
However, Bush said he did not recall having raised the issue during a recent telephone conversation with the king.
The woman was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison for violating the kingdom's strict Islamic law by being alone with an unrelated man before the rape.
The president said during a White House news conference that upon learning of the case, "My first thoughts were these: What happens if this happened to my daughter? How would I react? And I would have been ... I would have been very emotional, of course.
"I'd have been angry at those who committed the crime. And I would be angry at a state that didn't support the victim.
"And our opinions were expressed by [White House press secretary] Dana Perino from the podium."
Asked whether he personally had pressed King Abdullah about the matter, Bush responded, "I talked to King Abdullah about the Middle Eastern peace. I don't remember if that subject came up. ... He knows our position loud and clear."
Last month, the Saudi Ministry of Justice said the woman had had an "illegitimate relationship" with a man who was not her husband, and that she was raped by seven men after she and the man she was with were discovered in a "compromising situation, her clothes on the ground."
The woman, now 19, was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for meeting with the man -- described by the woman's attorney as a former friend from whom she was simply retrieving a photograph.
When she appealed her sentence, a Saudi court more than doubled it. The rapists initially received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in prison.
After the woman's appeal, the Qatif General Court also increased the sentence for the rapists, to two to nine years in prison.
The Justice Ministry had previously said the woman's sentence was increased after evidence came to light against her when she appealed her original sentence.
The attacks took place in the eastern city of Qatif in March 2006, when the woman was 18 and engaged to be married.
Her husband has told CNN that "from the onset, my wife was dealt with as a guilty person who committed a crime. She was not given any chance to prove her innocence or describe how she was a victim of multiple brutal rapes."
Under Saudi Arabia's Islamic law, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or undergo surgery.
The rape victim's husband, who has not been identified publicly in order to protect the identity of his wife, said he considered his wife's decision to meet with the man "a bad choice on her part," but denied that she had admitted meeting with the man illicitly. E-mail to a friend | [
"Who is king abullah",
"who sentenced the victim"
] | [
[
"Saudi Arabia's"
],
[
"Saudi Ministry of Justice"
]
] | President says King Abdullah "knows our position loud and clear"
Subject didn't come up in recent phone conversation, he says .
Saudi court sentenced victim of gang rape to 200 lashes, jail time .
Court says sentence related to meeting with a man, not rape . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush vetoed an expansion of the federally funded, state-run health insurance program for poor children for a second time Wednesday, telling Congress the bill "moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction." In his veto message, President Bush calls on Congress to extend funding for the current program. In his veto message, Bush said the bill is almost a duplicate of the proposal he spiked in October. "Because the Congress has chosen to send me an essentially identical bill that has the same problems as the flawed bill I previously vetoed, I must veto this legislation, too," he said in a statement released by the White House. The bill would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program by nearly $35 billion over five years, the same as the measure Bush vetoed October 3. Track recent and historical presidential vetoes » The president had proposed adding $5 billion to the program and said the version he vetoed would have encouraged families to leave the private insurance market for the federally funded, state-run program. Democratic leaders said the new version addressed Republican objections by tightening restrictions on illegal immigrants receiving SCHIP benefits, capping the income levels of families that qualify for the program and preventing adults from receiving benefits. Though the measure had strong bipartisan support, it fell short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override a presidential veto in the House and Senate. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Democrats were more interested in scoring political points with the veto than in reaching a compromise with Republicans. "We could have resolved the differences in his program in 10 minutes, if the majority had wanted to resolve the differences," Boehner said. "This has become a partisan political game." The program currently covers about 6 million children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid -- the federal health insurance program for the poor -- but who can't afford private insurance. Democrats wanted to extend the program to another 4 million, paying for it with a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal tax on cigarettes. "What a sad day that the president would say that rather than insuring [millions of] children, 'I don't want to raise the cigarette tax,' " said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She called for a January 23 vote on whether to override the veto. Meanwhile, Bush called on Congress to extend funding for the current program to keep the 6 million now covered on the rolls. E-mail to a friend | [
"Who vetoed the proposal before?",
"President Bush: Measure is \"essentially identical\" to the proposal he vetoed before",
"What did bush mention about measure?",
"What number of children are covered by the program?",
"What program covers 6 million children?",
"What was \"essentially identical\"?",
"What did President Bush say about the measure?",
"What did Bush say the proposal was to a proposal he vetoed before?"
] | [
[
"President Bush"
],
[
"federally funded, state-run health insurance"
],
[
"the bill \"moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction.\""
],
[
"about 6 million"
],
[
"State"
],
[
"bill"
],
[
"the bill \"moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction.\""
],
[
"said the bill is almost a duplicate of the"
]
] | President Bush: Measure is "essentially identical" to the proposal he vetoed before .
Bill would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program .
Bush: Measure "moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction"
Program covers 6 million children whose parents don't qualify for Medicaid . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's top adviser on homeland security is stepping down after 4½ years on the job, the White House said Monday. Fran Townsend served more than four years as homeland security adviser. Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend turned in her letter of resignation to President Bush on November 6 and will be looking for new opportunities outside government. "I'm going to just take another job doing 20-hour days, but this time in the private sector," said Townsend, who has spent 25 years working in law enforcement and government. Bush praised Townsend's work Monday. "Fran has always provided wise counsel on how to best protect the American people from the threat of terrorism," Bush said in a statement. "We are safer today because of her leadership." Townsend's job, as the president's top adviser on fighting terrorism, involved identifying terrorist groups around the globe and assessing their threat, and finding ways to track and cut off their funding. She said that experience should will be useful in the private sector as well. Townsend -- the mother of two, ages 6 and 12 -- said she first will look into public speaking, writing and board work before pursuing opportunities in global risk management for a large multinational corporation or financial institution. Watch how Townsend is planning to use her skills » She said she's been talking with the president about her planned departure for eight months. Townsend's name had come up during the president's recent search for a new attorney general, but she was not considered. She said not getting the job "had absolutely nothing to do with her decision to leave." She said Bush had wanted her to stay on in his administration. "It was a hard decision as I have loved and will cherish my every minute of service," she said in an e-mail. "My family actually advocated that I remain and has always been supportive of my service so this was entirely my decision." Townsend is part of the search committee to find a replacement by the beginning of next year. The president appoints the senior staff position, and it needs no Senate confirmation. E-mail to a friend CNN's Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report. | [
"Who has worked for 25 years?",
"What is Townsend's first name?",
"What is Townsend looking for in the private sector?",
"What number of years has Townsend been working?",
"What did Fran Townsend say?",
"What is Townsend going to look for?"
] | [
[
"Fran Townsend"
],
[
"Fran"
],
[
"another job"
],
[
"25"
],
[
"\"I'm going to just take another job doing 20-hour days, but this time in the private sector,\""
],
[
"new opportunities outside government."
]
] | Fran Townsend says she'll look for opportunities in the private sector .
Townsend has worked in government and law enforcement for 25 years .
Townsend will be on a panel searching for a replacement . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki voiced cautious optimism regarding the situation in Iraq Wednesday, noting greater stability and decreased violence as U.S. troops continue to cede control to their Iraqi counterparts. President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki talk Wednesday at the White House. "I have no doubt that there will be some tough days ahead," Obama said during a joint appearance of the leaders at the White House. "There are still those who want to foment sectarian conflict. ... But make no mistake, those efforts will fail," he added. The president said he is committed to moving forward with a pledge to remove all American combat brigades from Iraq by the end of August 2010, as well as all U.S. troops by the end of 2011. Al-Maliki promised the Iraqi government would step up its efforts to prevent a return of widespread sectarian violence. "Those who thought that the Iraqi forces [would] be incapable of imposing peace and security [have been] proved to be wrong," he said. Watch al-Maliki speak about "strategic friendship" with U.S. » In addition to meeting with Obama, al-Maliki is scheduled to sit down with Vice President Joe Biden. He will also meet with the secretaries of State, Defense and Treasury, and with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some foreign policy experts have expressed concern that as the United States pivots from Iraq to Afghanistan, Iraq and its problems will be ignored. Responding to that criticism, one senior administration official said this week, "Our goal is, in fact as we formalize the relationship, to concentrate on other areas," but he suggested that Iraq would remain a U.S. priority. Hours before the two leaders met, at least five Iranian pilgrims were killed and dozens more wounded earlier Wednesday in an attack northeast of Baghdad. The violence came a day after a spate of bombings left at least 22 Iraqis dead and about 150 wounded. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Dan Lothian contributed to this report. | [
"What goal has President Obama restated for 2011?",
"Who said that Iraqi forces have proven naysayers wrong?",
"How many Iranian pilgrims died in the Baghdad attack?",
"When does Obama want to remove all U.S. forces from Iraq?",
"How many Iranian Pilgrims died in an attack, northeast of Baghdad?",
"how many Iranian pilgrims died?",
"Who is the Iraqi Prime Minister?"
] | [
[
"he is committed to moving forward with a pledge to remove all American combat brigades from Iraq by the end of August 2010, as well as all U.S. troops by the end of"
],
[
"al-Maliki"
],
[
"at least five"
],
[
"by the end of 2011."
],
[
"at least five"
],
[
"at least five"
],
[
"Nuri al-Maliki"
]
] | President Obama restates goal of removing all U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011 .
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki: Capable Iraqi forces have proven naysayers wrong .
At least five Iranian pilgrims die in attack northeast of Baghdad . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. Sen. Olympia Snowe is part of the bipartisan so-called "Gang of Six" negotiating on health care. The compromise plan would lack a government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama, but would leave the door open to adding that provision down the road under an idea proposed by Snowe, the sources said. One of the sources said White House officials are "deep in conversations" with Snowe on a much smaller health care bill than Obama originally envisioned. The modified proposal would include insurance reforms, such as preventing insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, according to the source. The potential deal would give insurance companies a defined period to make such changes in order to help cover more people and drive down long-term costs. But if those changes failed to occur within the defined period, a so-called "trigger" would provide for creating a public option to force change on the insurance companies, the source said. Snowe is pivotal to the debate because she may be Obama's last possibility for getting a Republican senator to support his push for a health care overhaul. She is one of the so-called "Gang of Six" members of the Senate Finance Committee, three Democrats and three Republicans, involved in separate negotiations on the only bipartisan health care proposal in Congress so far. However, the slow pace of those talks and recent partisan attacks by the other two Republicans in the negotiations have dimmed hopes for a breakthrough, leaving Snowe as the only Republican senator that White House aides believe they can work with on the issue. Snowe first proposed the so-called "trigger" idea for a public option months ago, and has talked to Obama about it on several occasions, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The source told CNN that the White House staffers increased their phone calls to Snowe aides and their interest in her trigger idea this week. Obama and Democratic leaders seek a solution that could win support from a Republican or two, and more importantly, help bridge a divide among Democrats on the public option issue. Allies of the president hope that if Snowe accepts a health care agreement, she might also bring along her Republican colleague from Maine, moderate Sen. Susan Collins. Getting some Republicans to sign onto a proposal would improve Obama's chances of gaining the support of key moderate Democratic senators such as Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. All three are skeptical of a government-run public option supported by their more liberal fellow Democrats. Despite the flurry of direct talks this week between Snowe and White House staff, Snowe aides insist she remains engaged in the "Gang of Six" bipartisan talks that have been going on for months. Those talks have focused on creating nonprofit health insurance cooperatives instead of a public option to force competition and lower medical rates. The source familiar with Snowe's discussions with the White House said Snowe's trigger idea isn't being considered in the bipartisan negotiations because of early resistance from fellow Republican negotiators, especially Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming. Enzi and the other Republican negotiator, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, insist they are still committed to the bipartisan negotiations. However, their recent sharp criticism of Democratic health care proposals favored by Obama has caused tense relations with the White House. | [
"What is the last possibility?",
"who is considered last possibility for democrats?",
"Who is considered last possibility?",
"What will trigger the public option?",
"What does Snowe's plan not include?"
] | [
[
"for getting a Republican senator to support his push for a health care overhaul."
],
[
"Snowe"
],
[
"Snowe"
],
[
"But if those changes failed to occur within the defined period,"
],
[
"government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama,"
]
] | Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe's plan doesn't include public care option .
But public option is triggered if private companies don't offer reforms .
Snowe is considered last possibility for Democrats to get some GOP backing . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama is expected to announce Friday the creation of the position of cyber czar, a person who will coordinate the nation's efforts to protect government and private computer systems from hackers, criminal gangs, terrorists and spies, people familiar with the plan said Thursday. President Obama is expected to announce Friday the creation of the position of "cyber czar." The czar will report to both the national security adviser and the head of the National Economic Council, the sources said. Obama will not name anyone Friday to the post because the selection process is ongoing, they said. In addition, the White House will release a 40-page report that sets broad goals for combating cyber intrusions, but does not spell out in detail how to do so, said the sources, who would not agree to be identified because the report has not been released. Shortly after taking office, Obama ordered a 60-day review intended to ensure the federal government's cyber initiatives were "appropriately integrated, resourced and coordinated with Congress and the private sector." Melissa Hathaway, a senior member of the National Security Council who led the review process, told a security conference late last year that a public-private partnership and international alliances would be key to solving cyber security problems. Another senior official said any solution would be a "team sport" requiring a "holistic, comprehensive" approach. Administration officials said that representatives of the private sector, government departments and agencies, academics, state and local officials and civil liberties and privacy experts were among those consulted during the review. The Department of Homeland Security reports the number of cyber attacks on government and private networks increased from 4,095 in 2005 to 72,065 in 2008. This month, a Transportation Department audit -- carried out after hackers got into a support system containing personnel records -- indicated the nation's air-traffic control system could be at risk. Hathaway expressed concern that critical infrastructures such as the nation's power grid and financial networks could be vulnerable. "God forbid if somebody were to take down and or manipulate our financial system, and what would we do, and would it make the current financial crisis look like a walk in the park?" she asked. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair recently told reporters the biggest cyber threat facing the United States is from nation states, particularly Russia and China. "I think China is winning the sweepstakes for the origin of most attacks on U.S. persons and organizations," he said. The Bush administration's own review of the matter culminated in the mostly classified National Cybersecurity Initiative, which was enacted in January 2008. National Security Agency executive Sandra Stenar-Johnson said that plan consisted of 12 initiatives with three goals: reduce the current vulnerabilities in the system, defend against the full spectrum of threats, and develop next-generation technologies to maintain an edge over adversaries. The Bush initiative tapped the Department of Homeland Security as the lead agency in the cyber battle. Senior officials in the Obama administration say the White House will anchor the latest effort, providing guidance and direction to ensure all agencies and departments are working well together. | [
"What day will Obama announce the post?",
"who is the cyber czar",
"What will Cyber Czar lead?",
"Who will release report with goals for combating cyber intrusions?",
"What will the goals combat?",
"what is the announcement",
"What will the cyber czar try to protect?",
"When will Obama announce?"
] | [
[
"Friday"
],
[
"will coordinate the nation's efforts to protect government and private computer systems from hackers, criminal gangs, terrorists and spies,"
],
[
"coordinate the nation's efforts to protect government and private computer systems from hackers, criminal gangs, terrorists and spies,"
],
[
"the White House"
],
[
"cyber intrusions,"
],
[
"creation of the position of \"cyber czar.\""
],
[
"government and private computer systems"
],
[
"Friday"
]
] | Obama will announce post Friday, sources say .
Cyber czar to lead effort to protect government and private computer systems .
White House will also release report with goals for combating cyber intrusions . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama is expected to approve a proposal to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq within 19 months, Pentagon officials told CNN Wednesday. U.S. soldiers stand guard outside a mosque during a prisoner release Sunday in Baghdad, Iraq. The decision will be announced at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Friday, according to one senior administration official. Although the White House has made no announcement yet, "That's the way the wind is blowing," a Pentagon official said. A White House spokesman said the president has made no final decisions about Iraq policy. Obama's campaign pledge was to withdraw combat troops within 16 months. But shortly after taking office, he asked Pentagon and military commanders for an analysis of other time frames. The Pentagon sent Obama options for withdrawals at 16, 19, and 23 months. It is expected that the final plan will call for the majority of combat forces to be withdrawn, and keep as many as 50,000 in Iraq to serve mainly as military trainers or advisers. U.S. military officials said even those residual forces could find themselves in combat. For the last two months, the U.S. Central Command has been assessing how equipment and personnel will be withdrawn from Iraq, according to a U.S. military official. Watch what Obama said Tuesday night about Iraq » The official did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of discussing withdrawal details before the president's announcement. However, he said the U.S. military is looking at exit routes through Jordan and Kuwait. The military is trying to determine what equipment might be returned to the United States; transferred to the Iraqi or Jordanian government; sent to Afghanistan; or simply discarded. | [
"What did Obama pledge during the campaign?",
"When will the decision be announced?",
"When is the decision to be announced?",
"where are the exit routes",
"when is the decision announced?",
"What did Obama pledge?",
"What is the time frame expected to be?",
"Which exit routes is the pentagon looking at?"
] | [
[
"withdraw combat troops within 16 months."
],
[
"Friday,"
],
[
"on Friday,"
],
[
"through Jordan and Kuwait."
],
[
"Friday,"
],
[
"to withdraw combat troops within 16 months."
],
[
"within 19 months,"
],
[
"through Jordan and Kuwait."
]
] | NEW: Decision to be announced Friday at Camp Lejeune, official says .
Obama to approve 19-month time frame, military sources say .
During campaign, Obama pledged to get troops out within 16 months .
Pentagon said to be looking at exit routes through Jordan, Kuwait . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama is planning to sign an executive order Monday to overturn Bush-era policy that limited federal tax dollars for embryonic stem cell research, according to administration officials familiar with the deliberations. President Obama will overturn Bush policy on embryonic stem cell research, administration officials say. Obama's move will be hailed by advocates for those suffering from a host of afflictions, ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease, who believe that an expansion of stem-cell research could boost medical progress toward eradicating the debilitating diseases. But many conservatives object to the destruction of human embryos because they contend that it ends a human life. The officials said the administration is planning a Monday event at the White House at which Obama will overturn the executive order signed by President George W. Bush in August 2001. It barred the National Institutes of Health from funding research on embryonic stem cells beyond using 60 cell lines that existed at that time. Interactive: Unlocking the promise of stem cells » Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council accused the White House of leaking the details Friday night so that the move gets little attention, declaring that it is "a slap in the face to Americans who believe in the dignity of all human life." House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said, "Advancements in science and research have moved faster than the debates among politicians in Washington, D.C., and breakthroughs announced in recent years confirm the full potential of stem cell research can be realized without the destruction of living human embryos." In addition to signing the executive order, Bush twice vetoed legislation -- in July 2006 and June 2007 -- that would have expanded federally funded embryonic stem cell research. At the time, Bush also argued that scientific advances allowed researchers to conduct groundbreaking research without destroying human embryos. Bush's moves led to Democratic charges that he had put politics over science. | [
"Who says the move is a slap in the face?",
"Which Bush-era policy will be reversed according to an official?",
"What happened to the Bush-era policy on stem cell research ?",
"Where will a Monday event take place?",
"Who said the administration is planning a Monday event at the White House ?",
"When will the event take place?",
"Who says move is \"a slap in the face\" to many Americans ?",
"What did a critic say the move is to many Americans?"
] | [
[
"Tony Perkins"
],
[
"that limited federal tax dollars for embryonic stem cell research,"
],
[
"overturn"
],
[
"White House"
],
[
"officials"
],
[
"Monday"
],
[
"Tony Perkins"
],
[
"\"a slap in the face"
]
] | NEW: Critic says move is "a slap in the face" to many Americans .
Bush-era policy on stem cell research to be reversed, officials say .
Officials say the administration is planning a Monday event at the White House . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama often talks about all of the forces lining up against his health care plan. But there's one critic who has remained relatively mum in the debate. Dr. David Scheiner was President Obama's personal physician for 22 years. David Scheiner, a Chicago, Illinois-based doctor, has taken a hard look at the president's prescription for health care reform and sees bad medicine. "This isn't that kind of health care program that I think is going to work," he said. So what makes Scheiner so special? He was Obama's personal physician for 22 years, and voted for the former Illinois senator in the 2008 presidential election. Scheiner thinks the president's plan doesn't go far enough. In his mind, the worst part of the proposal is that "private insurers continue to be a part of the health scheme." Watch Scheiner talk about his objections » "Everybody keeps saying we don't want the government involved in health care," Scheiner said in an interview. "But the government is involved in Medicare, and it works." Scheiner would rather see the nation adopt a single-payer system like the ones in Canada and Europe. The financing system relies on one "payer" -- which could be a government-run agency -- to fund all health care costs billed by doctors, hospitals and other health professionals. The benefits, advocates say, is that pricey administrative costs are cut, resulting in large savings to patients. It's something that an up-and-coming coming state Sen. Obama talked about six years ago. "I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan. ... But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately, because first we've got to take back the White House, and we've got take back the Senate, and we've got to take back the House," Obama said in 2003. But that position evolved during the campaign. "If I were designing a system from scratch, then I'd probably set up a single-payer system. But the problem is we're not starting from scratch," Obama said in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in August 2008. Now, the president favors giving Americans the option of joining a government-run plan that would compete with private insurers. Watch more on the health care debate » "Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care. I'm tired of hearing that," Obama said in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday. But Scheiner says that nobody has seen the details of that option, making it a hard sell for the president. "We don't even fully know what the public option is going to be. If the public option is too good, patients who are sick will flock to it, and I'm not sure it will be able to support itself." Scheiner almost had a chance to confront the president with his concerns. He was invited to a recent televised town hall meeting with Obama, but he says he was dropped from the program. "I just hope that the Congress, the American public and the president will hear some of my words," he said. "We've got to do something better." Scheiner finally had a chance to have his say Thursday. He and other doctors who support a single-payer system gathered in Washington to meet with lawmakers and rally supporters. He may not be the president's doctor anymore, but Scheiner says he's trying to save the patient before it's too late. CNN's Ed Hornick and Brittany Cummings contributed to this report. | [
"What is Dr Scheiner worried about?",
"what doesn't go far enough",
"What did Dr Scheiner say about the health care plan?",
"who was supposed to speak",
"what does Scheiner worry about",
"What would Scheiner rather see?"
] | [
[
"thinks the president's plan doesn't go far enough. In his mind, the worst part of the proposal is that \"private insurers continue to be a part of the health scheme.\""
],
[
"the president's plan"
],
[
"program that I think is going to work,\""
],
[
"Dr. David Scheiner"
],
[
"\"This isn't that kind of health care program that I think is going to work,\" he said."
],
[
"the nation adopt a single-payer system like the ones in Canada and Europe."
]
] | Dr. David Scheiner says president's health care plan doesn't go far enough .
He's worried that "private insurers continue to be a part of the health scheme"
He'd rather see the U.S. have a single-payer system like those in Canada, Europe .
He says he was supposed to speak at Obama town hall but was dropped from it . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Friday resumed -- with expanded legal protections -- the Bush administration's controversial system of military trials for some Guantanamo Bay detainees. President Obama says the commissions are OK, "provided that they are properly structured and administered." On the heels of Obama's shift this week to block the release of photos showing prisoners allegedly being abused by U.S. personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military commissions announcement further infuriated the president's most ardent supporters while winning cautionary praise from some of his political foes. Obama said he supports the idea of the military commissions but opposes the version of the law that had been governing such trials in recent years: the Military Commissions Act put in place under the Bush administration in 2006, but subsequently struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The president said military commissions "are appropriate for trying enemies who violate the laws of war, provided that they are properly structured and administered." But, he said, the 2006 act "failed to establish a legitimate legal framework and undermined our capability to ensure swift and certain justice against those detainees." He said he plans to enhance due process rights for detainees held at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in order to improve the widely criticized approach created by his predecessor. Statements that have been obtained from detainees through interrogation and cruel treatment, such as waterboarding, will no longer be admitted as evidence before the commissions, Obama said, and hearsay evidence will be limited. The revised system also will give detainees greater latitude in selecting legal representation and afford basic protections to those who refuse to testify. Military commission judges also will be able to establish the jurisdiction of their own courts. "These reforms will begin to restore the commissions as a legitimate forum for prosecution, while bringing them in line with the rule of law," Obama said. He said he plans to ask Congress to enact other reforms to the 2006 law. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, applauded his former opponent. "Today's announcement is a step -- but only a step -- toward a comprehensive detainee policy that will deal with the detainees held at Guantanamo and elsewhere in a fashion that both accords with our values and protects our national security," McCain said in a written statement. But Obama's announcement infuriated some of his core supporters -- with the revisions hardly calming the concerns of groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU chided the military commission decision as "a striking blow to due process and the rule of law." "These military commissions are inherently illegitimate, unconstitutional and incapable of delivering outcomes we can trust," said Anthony D. Romero, the group's executive director. "Tweaking the rules of these failed tribunals so that they provide 'more due process' is absurd; there is no such thing as 'due process light.' " he said. "If the administration's proposed rules really bring these proceedings in line with constitutional requirements, there is no reason not to use our tried and true justice system. If they don't, these tribunals have no place in our democracy." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs countered that military commissions have a long history in the United States. "First and foremost, the president of the United States is going to do what he believes is in the best security interest of the people of the United States," Gibbs told reporters. Obama suspended the military commissions by signing an executive order on his third day in office, the same day he signed an order to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo within a year and announced a 120-day review of the whole process. The review deadline is next week. Gibbs said he does not know where and how trials for alleged terrorists will unfold on American soil. Nor did he disclose how many suspects would face legal proceedings under the revised commissions. Three Guantanamo detainees' cases have gone through the commission so far. The Bush administration established the military trial system after the U.S. military began capturing detainees in Afghanistan in late 2001. The next year, it | [
"What was Obama revived?",
"Who called the move \"a striking blow to due process and the rule of law\"?",
"What did Obama revive?",
"What will the new system include?",
"who received Bush system",
"what did Obama say",
"What does Obama revive?",
"What did the ACLU call the move?",
"What is the new system to include?",
"Who calls the move \"a striking blow to due process and the rule of law\"?",
"What does ACLU call the move?",
"What did Obama revive of Bush's?",
"What will the new system include?"
] | [
[
"administration's controversial system of military trials for some Guantanamo Bay detainees."
],
[
"The ACLU"
],
[
"administration's controversial system of military trials for some Guantanamo Bay detainees."
],
[
"greater latitude in selecting"
],
[
"Guantanamo Bay detainees."
],
[
"said he supports the idea of the military commissions but opposes the version of the law that had been governing such trials in recent years: the Military Commissions Act put in place under the Bush administration in 2006, but subsequently struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court."
],
[
"system of military trials"
],
[
"\"a striking blow to due process and the rule of law.\""
],
[
"give detainees greater latitude in selecting legal representation and afford basic protections to those who refuse to testify. Military commission judges also will be able to establish the jurisdiction of their own courts."
],
[
"The ACLU"
],
[
"\"a striking blow to due process and the rule of law.\""
],
[
"administration's controversial system of military trials for some Guantanamo Bay detainees."
],
[
"give detainees greater latitude in selecting legal representation"
]
] | Obama revives Bush system that was suspended in January .
New system to include expanded due-process rights for the suspects, Obama says .
ACLU calls move "a striking blow to due process and the rule of law" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Thursday sent a civil nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates to the Senate for ratification, but its passage remains uncertain, thanks to a recently disclosed video. Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan allegedly tortured a business associate on videotape. Senior U.S. officials said lawmakers critical of the deal could use the video, which shows a member of the UAE government's royal family torturing a man, to argue the United States should not have such nuclear cooperation with a country where the rule of law is not respected and human rights violations are tolerated. The senior officials said the Obama administration deliberately held off sending the deal to Congress for ratification because of fears some lawmakers would try to use the video to undermine the agreement. But the administration felt comfortable sending the agreement to Congress at this time, officials said, given that there has been little reaction to the release of the video except for a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month from U.S. Rep. James McGovern -- the Massachusetts Democrat who co-chairs the congressional Human Rights Commission. Watch how the video came to light » McGovern expressed "outrage and concern" and asked Clinton to "place a temporary hold on further U.S. expenditures of funds, training, sales or transfers of equipment or technology, including nuclear, until a full review of this matter and its policy implications can be completed." He issued a statement Wednesday after Obama signed the agreement, saying he would not support the deal until the UAE addresses his "very grave concerns" about its human rights record. In the video, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates, whose leaders also run the federal government. The government has since arrested the sheikh, pending a full investigation. The video emerged in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas, by Bassam Nabulsi, a U.S. citizen, against the sheikh. The men, former business partners, had a falling out, in part over the video. In a statement to CNN, the sheikh's U.S. attorney said Nabulsi is using the videotape to influence the court over a business dispute. The U.S.-UAE pact is similar to one the United States signed last year with India. Under it, Washington would share nuclear technology, expertise and fuel. In exchange, the UAE would commit to abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency inspection safeguards. The small oil-rich Gulf nation promises not to enrich uranium or to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear bombs. A statement issued Thursday by the State Department said the deal will "serve as a model for responsible nuclear energy development" in the Middle East. "The UAE agreement contains the strongest nonproliferation conditions of any negotiated by the United States," the statement said. Of special note, it said, is the UAE's commitment to obtain nuclear fuel from reliable and responsible suppliers rather than pursue indigenous uranium enrichment and reprocessing, fuel cycle activities that pose the most serious proliferation risks. This commitment "is reflected within the agreement as a legally binding obligation on the part of the UAE," the State Department said. The civil nuclear agreement was signed in January by the Bush administration, but had to be recertified because it was not approved before Obama took office. The deal is part of a major UAE investment in nuclear energy, and the government has already signed deals to build several nuclear power plants. UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said his country will "seriously consider" U.S. companies to implement the program. The United States already has similar nuclear cooperation agreements with Egypt and Morocco, and U.S. officials said Washington is working on similar pacts with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan. The United States has praised the UAE's development of nuclear energy, a stark contrast to criticism of Iran, which is suspected of attempting to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb. But UAE's ties to Iran have caused concern. Iran is | [
"What did the video show a member of UAE royal family doing?",
"Who was torturing a man?",
"Who opposes the nuclear agreement?",
"Who agreed with the UAE?",
"The agreement is with which country?",
"Where did Obama send the nuclear agreement?",
"Who opposes deal?"
] | [
[
"torturing a man,"
],
[
"Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan"
],
[
"U.S. Rep. James McGovern"
],
[
"President Obama"
],
[
"United Arab"
],
[
"the Senate"
],
[
"McGovern"
]
] | Obama sends nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates to the Senate .
Recently released video shows member of UAE royal family torturing a man .
Co-chair of congressional Human Rights Commission opposes deal . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Tuesday proposed making "pay-as-you-go" rules for federal spending into law. President Obama proposed Tuesday that the government adopt "pay-as-you-go" rules for federal spending. The so-called PAYGO proposal requires Congress to balance any increased spending by equal savings elsewhere, Obama said in announcing the measure that now goes to Congress. A previous PAYGO mandate helped erase federal budget deficits in the 1990s, and subsequent ineffective rules contributed to the current budget deficits, Obama said. Now the PAYGO rules should be the law, he said. "Paying for what you spend is basic common sense," Obama said. "Perhaps that's why, here in Washington, it's been so elusive." Republican leaders said the proposal comes after record spending initiatives by the Obama administration, such as the $787 billion economic stimulus program. "It seems a tad disingenuous for the president and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi to talk about PAYGO rules after ramming trillions in spending through Congress proposing policies that create more debt in the first six months of this year than in the previous 220 years combined," said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Minority Whip. However, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic representatives known as the Blue Dogs called Obama's proposal responsible and necessary. "President Obama inherited an economy in free-fall and a $10.6 trillion national debt," said Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, vice-chairman of the Blue Dog Budget and Financial Services Task Force. "While short-term spending was necessary to get the economy moving again, our long-term fiscal problems became that much more urgent." A White House statement said Obama's proposal calls for the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a ledger of the average 10-year budgetary effects of all legislation affecting mandatory spending or baseline tax levels. Any extra cost that lacks payment authorized by Congress would require the president to find money within the budget to pay it, while any tax cut would require a corresponding increase in tax revenue. Some costs would be exempt, including Medicare payments to doctors, the estate and gift tax, and tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2002, the White House statement said. | [
"What does Rep. Cantor say?",
"What kinds of costs would be exempt?",
"What is the PAYGO proposal?",
"What does Obama say?",
"What calls for balancing increased spending with equal savings?",
"What did Obama say about paying for what you spend?"
] | [
[
"\"It seems a tad disingenuous for the president and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi to talk about PAYGO"
],
[
"Medicare payments to doctors, the estate and gift tax, and tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2002,"
],
[
"requires Congress to balance any increased spending by equal savings elsewhere,"
],
[
"\"Perhaps that's why, here in Washington, it's been so elusive.\""
],
[
"elsewhere,"
],
[
"is basic common sense,\""
]
] | PAYGO proposal calls for balancing increased spending with equal savings .
"Paying for what you spend is basic common sense," Obama says .
Rep. Cantor says remarks seem "a tad disingenuous," given recent spending .
Some costs would be exempt, including Medicare payments to doctors . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Wednesday signed a measure awarding the 300 surviving Women Airforce Service Pilots from World War II the Congressional Gold Medal. Jane Tedeschi when she was in the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. The WASPs were formed in 1942. The bill passed by both chambers of Congress bestows one of the nation's highest civilian honors on the group known as WASPs more than 60 years after they were the first women to fly U.S. military aircraft. "The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since," Obama said in a statement. "Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve." The Women Airforce Service Pilots was formed in 1942 to create a corps of female pilots able to fill all types of flying jobs at home, freeing male military pilots to travel to the war front. The 1,100 members had to pay their own way to Texas for months of rigorous training. Once assigned to military bases, they did everything from participating in ground-to-air anti-aircraft practice; to towing targets for air-to-air gunnery practice with live ammunition; to flying drones; to conducting night exercises; to testing repaired aircraft before they were used in cadet training; to serving as instructors and transporting cargo and male pilots to embarkation points. Overall, they flew more than 60 million miles in every type of aircraft -- from the PT-17 and AT-6 trainers, to fast attack planes like the A-24 and A-25 and heavy bombers such as B-17 and B-29s. Paid $250 a month, the women were not officially part of the military -- receiving no benefits, no honors. Jane Tedeschi, who graduated in May 1944, was sent to a Selma, Alabama, base that did engineering work. "We did whatever they asked us," she recalled in a CNN interview. "You knew enough about flying you could adapt. ... Sometimes it was a little tougher." While the work was technically noncombat, it could be dangerous. Thirty-eight of the women pilots were killed. As the war was winding down in December 1944, the program was closed with no recognition from the government and not much help for the women who served. They went off to restart their prewar lives, but without getting any of the help received by male veterans. Several of the women, however, have said they were not bitter since the only reason they had signed up was to do their part for the country. They noted they were just like the thousands of other women who also learned new skills and went to work in the factories to replace male workers sent off to war. "We were proud of what we did, and the war was over. It was time to get on," Tedeschi said. Watch Tedeschi recall WWII » But many Americans were not aware of their efforts. The WASP records were sealed for more than 30 years. In 1977, Congress voted to make the WASPs eligible for veterans benefits. | [
"What did Obama say?",
"How long ago did women start flying military aircraft?",
"When did Congress vote to make WASPs eligible for benefits?",
"Who were the first woman to fly US aircrafts?",
"When did the WASPs become eligible for benefits?",
"What did Obama say about the WASPs?",
"What group was made of the first women to fly US military aircraft?",
"What does WASP stand for?"
] | [
[
"\"The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since,\""
],
[
"1942."
],
[
"1977,"
],
[
"Women Airforce Service Pilots"
],
[
"1977,"
],
[
"\"The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since,\""
],
[
"WASPs"
],
[
"Service Pilots"
]
] | "Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered country's call," Obama said .
Honor comes 60 years after WASPs were first women to fly U.S. military aircraft .
In 1977, Congress voted to make the WASPs eligible for veterans benefits . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama pledged Monday to make good on his promise to transform the Department of Veterans Affairs and said he would "dramatically improve" mental health aid.
President Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, seen here last month, vow to increase aid.
Flanked by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the president said his budget calls for a $25 billion increase in funding for the VA over the next five years -- a commitment that will be tested by the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"With this budget, we don't just fully fund our Veterans Affairs health care program, we expand it to serve an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013," he said.
He promised that the VA would "dramatically improve services" related to mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and he said homeless veterans would be targeted for support.
"Those heroes have a home," Obama said. "It's the country they served, the United States of America, and until we reach a day when not a single veteran sleeps on our nation's streets, our work remains unfinished." | [
"Who will be targeted for support?",
"will Homeless veterans will be targeted for support?",
"what are planned for mental health, PTSD, brain injury?",
"How much will the VA funding increase?",
"What services are being improved?",
"How much of an increase for VA funding?",
"Who is being targeted for support?",
"What services will be improved?"
] | [
[
"homeless veterans"
],
[
"would"
],
[
"a $25 billion increase in funding"
],
[
"$25 billion"
],
[
"mental health aid."
],
[
"$25 billion"
],
[
"homeless veterans"
],
[
"mental health aid."
]
] | Obama says budget calls for $25 billion increase in VA funding over next five years .
Homeless veterans will be targeted for support, Obama says .
Dramatically improved services planned for mental health, PTSD, brain injury . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama should reach out to Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi as tensions in Iran over the disputed presidential elections continue to heighten, a former Bush administration official told CNN Sunday. Paul Wolfowitz was the deputy defense secretary in the Bush administration. "I would certainly find out if he (Moussavi) wants a conversation," former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "If he doesn't, I certainly wouldn't push it. But I would make it clear that the phone is an open line." Obama on Saturday issued a written statement on the bloodshed across the streets of Tehran as demonstrators protest the election outcome, saying, "The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. "We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights." However, Obama has been criticized by some lawmakers and analysts who say he should vocalize a stronger stance on the clashes. Watch the latest videos being leaked out of Iran » "I understand the concern about meddling in a way that seems to label the opposition as American tools, but the opposition made it very clear they want support from the world," said Wolfowitz, a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led war in Iraq and a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen added that, "It would be useful for the president to show more forceful leadership internationally on this issue." He noted the graphic images emerging from Iran, including the fatal shooting of a young female protester identified as Neda, saying the violence calls for "some kind of humanity from the West." Gergen and Wolfowitz said the United States should rally with other Western nations and even countries in the region -- including Afghanistan and Turkey, which have recognized incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the June 12 election -- to support the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad's victory was declared by Iran's election authority, the Guardian Council, spurring massive protests last week, with many demonstrators proclaiming their support for Moussavi. Moussavi and candidate Mehdi Karrubi have rejected the election as fraudulent and demanded a new one. Wolfowitz called Moussavi a "very brave man," saying, "He is resisting. He is putting his life at risk." | [
"Who says Obama should show a more forceful relationship?",
"Who wouldn't push unwanted relationship?",
"What does Paul Wolfowitz call Mir Hossein Moussavi?",
"Who made it clear they want support?",
"What does Wolfowitz calls opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi?",
"What does Paul Wolfowitz tell CNN?",
"Who doesn't want to push unwanted relationship?"
] | [
[
"CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen"
],
[
"Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz"
],
[
"\"very brave man,\""
],
[
"the opposition"
],
[
"\"very brave man,\""
],
[
"\"I would certainly find out if he (Moussavi) wants a conversation,\""
],
[
"former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz"
]
] | "Opposition made it very clear they want support," Paul Wolfowitz tells CNN .
Former deputy defense secretary also says he wouldn't push unwanted relationship .
CNN analyst David Gergen says Obama should show more forceful leadership .
Wolfowitz calls opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi "a very brave man" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama signed an executive order granting some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees Wednesday, calling it "a historic step" but promising more action to come. President Obama has been criticized by gay rights activists for not doing more since taking office. "We've got more work to do to ensure that government treats all its citizens equally, to fight injustice and intolerance in all its forms and to bring about that more perfect union," Obama said. The signing followed sharp criticism of the president over a Justice Department motion filed last week in support of the Defense of Marriage Act -- which effectively bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions. Obama said he still wants to repeal the act. "I believe it's discriminatory. I think it interferes with state's rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it," he said. The memorandum he signed Wednesday means same-sex partners of civil service employees can be added to the long-term care program, employees can use their sick leave to take care of domestic partners and children and same-sex partners of Foreign Service employees will be included in medical evacuations and housing allocations, according to the White House. But it does not grant full health-care coverage, which would require an act of Congress, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. As details of the impending memorandum began to filter out Wednesday, the reaction of some gay rights activists was not enthusiastic. "I have to say, as a federal employee, I'm really disappointed," Lisa Polyak, 48, of Baltimore, Maryland, said of Obama's expected memorandum. Polyak, who has worked for the federal government for more than two decades, is with the Army Medical Department. She was among the two dozen authors of the Dallas Principles, a set of eight statements that seek to guide the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community toward "full civil equality," according to the document's preamble. Watch CNN's Paul Steinhauser discuss Obama's intent on benefits to same-sex partners » "The benefits that the president might be announcing are already available," said Polyak, who has a partner and two children. "This isn't new. This isn't different." She said federal employees are able to take sick leave for "anyone that was the close approximation of family" and said the long-term-care option has been available for people under the same category. Polyak said not having health insurance from the federal government for her partner of 27 years costs her family $4,000 to $5,000 a year, not including co-pays or deductibles. Asked in a conference call with reporters whether these benefits were already available to same-sex partners of federal employees, Berry said such benefits are "subject to the whim of a supervisor." "If you have an enlightened supervisor, yes, that is a possibility (that they have been available)," he said. "What the president is doing today is making this no longer optional. He is making it mandatory. And he's making it clear that this is now the policy of the federal government." Polyak disagreed, saying, "The idea that this was a fly-by-night [is] ... not true. I used it routinely." She added, "It was guidance that everyone took advantage of and continues to take advantage at this moment." Gay and lesbian advocates have also faulted the Obama administration for not moving to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that bars officials from asking about a service member's sexual orientation but also bars the service member from revealing it, and allows the dismissal of a service member if a same-sax orientation is discovered. "There's so little we can say until we know what it is," said Carisa Cunningham, a spokeswoman for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, a legal advocacy group that is challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in | [
"The criticism over what act caused the move?",
"what is the criticism?",
"Who spoke in favor of gay and lesbian rights?",
"what does the coverage have to do with gay marriage?",
"Does executive order grant full health coverage?"
] | [
[
"Defense of Marriage"
],
[
"over a Justice Department motion filed last week in support of the Defense of Marriage Act"
],
[
"Carisa Cunningham,"
],
[
"granting some benefits"
],
[
"health-care"
]
] | NEW: Executive order doesn't grant full health coverage, White House says .
Move comes after criticism over Defense of Marriage Act .
Obama frequently spoke in favor of gay and lesbian rights during campaign . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama urged Congress to adopt a "pay-as-you-go" approach to federal spending in order to restore fiscal discipline, but critics say the president's call lacks credibility. Preisdent Obama says PAYGO is common sense. Faced with a record $1.8 trillion deficit, Obama on Tuesday pushed Congress to take up the spending rules, known as PAYGO. The approach would require lawmakers to pay for new programs, dollar-for-dollar, with budget cuts elsewhere. "The 'pay as you go' rule is very simple. Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere," Obama said, as he announced that he was submitting to Congress a proposal to make PAYGO law. Obama repeated his vow to halve the deficit by the end of his first term, and he said PAYGO is an important step toward making that happen. A previous PAYGO mandate helped erase federal budget deficits in the 1990s, and subsequent ineffective rules contributed to the current budget deficits, Obama said. "Paying for what you spend is basic common sense. Perhaps that's why, here in Washington, it has been so elusive," the president said Tuesday. Watch more on Obama's 'pay-as-you-go' plan » But Republicans were quick to question the administration's sincerity. Republican Whip Eric Cantor charged that the administration's focus on PAYGO "seems more driven by polling and PR strategy than a serious commitment to fiscal discipline." "It seems a tad disingenuous for the President and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi to talk about PAYGO rules after ramming trillions in spending through Congress proposing policies that create more debt in the first six months of this year than in the previous 220 years combined," Cantor, R-Virginia, said in a statement Tuesday. Republicans point to the $787 billion stimulus package as evidence that Obama is not following his own advice. Cantor's statement included a "fiscal timeline" highlighting government spending initiatives this year. The timeline entry for June 8 points to polls showing dissatisfaction with the administration on spending and the deficit. The entry for June 9 shows the president holding a PAYGO summit. However, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic representatives known as the Blue Dogs say Obama's proposal is responsible and necessary. "President Obama inherited an economy in free fall and a $10.6 trillion national debt," said Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, vice chairman of the Blue Dog Budget and Financial Services Task Force. "While short-term spending was necessary to get the economy moving again, our long-term fiscal problems became that much more urgent." But when it comes to reducing the deficit, even the Senate Budget Committee's Democratic chairman doubts the president can deliver on his promise. Asked if Obama could halve the deficit -- given the recent government spending --- Sen. Kent Conrad said, "I don't believe so. I don't believe anybody could." Administration officials still defend piling the stimulus spending on top of the deficit, arguing that it was the best approach to get the country out of the recession. "Pay-as-you-go embodies a common sense principle that you shouldn't dig a hole deeper," said Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget. CNN's Kristi Keck and Tom Cohen contributed to this report. | [
"Do Democrats feel \"pay-as-you-go\" is responsible?",
"what does the approach require?",
"what does a key democrat say?",
"what do blue dog democrats applaud?"
] | [
[
"and necessary."
],
[
"lawmakers to pay for new programs, dollar-for-dollar, with budget cuts elsewhere."
],
[
"Obama's proposal is responsible and necessary."
],
[
"Obama's proposal"
]
] | Approach requires Congress to balance spending increases with equal savings .
Republicans question timing of announcement -- after months of spending .
A key Democrat says Obama could have tough time keeping promise to halve deficit .
Blue Dog Democrats applaud "pay-as-you-go" as responsible and necessary . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama will address the future of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Thursday morning in a speech at the National Archives. The Guantanamo facility houses terror suspects, and lawmakers don't want them in the U.S. In a speech that is being billed as a major address, Obama is also slated to discuss issues of state secrets, transparency and protecting national security, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the most outspoken critics of Obama's policies, is scheduled to give an opposing argument Thursday morning. Cheney has charged that Obama's national security decisions have left the United States more vulnerable to attack. Obama's address is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET at the National Archives. Cheney will speak before the conservative American Enterprise Institute at 10:45 a.m. Obama is hoping to rally support behind his national security measures after angering some with his decision to resume the Bush administration practice of military tribunals and by reversing course on his decision to release photos of alleged inmate abuse at Guantanamo. On Wednesday, Obama was dealt another blow when the U.S. Senate passed a measure that would prevent detainees at Guantanamo Bay from being transferred to the United States for now. The measure passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 90-6 vote. A similar amendment has already passed the House. It was attached to a supplemental war funding bill. Following in the steps of House Democrats, Senate Democrats rejected on Tuesday the administration's request for $80 million to close the Guantanamo facility. They instead asked that President Obama first submit a plan spelling out what the administration will do with the prisoners when it closes the prison. Obama, in one of his first official duties as president, announced that he would close the prison by January 22, 2010. Congressional Democrats, however, are now attempting to avoid an onslaught of criticism from Republicans, who argue it would be reckless to shutter the prison before deciding where to transfer the detainees. FBI Director Robert Mueller told members of Congress earlier Wednesday that he is concerned about the potential dangers that may result from the release of detainees in the United States. In response to a question from Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, Mueller said he is concerned about the potential for fundraising to support terrorist groups and the radicalization of others, as well as the potential for attacks within the country. Mueller also said that while he is not concerned about dangerous terrorists escaping from maximum security federal prisons, he is concerned about the potential of activities being directed from within prison walls, and he cited such actions by dangerous gang members. Attorney General Eric Holder, the president's point man overseeing the Guantanamo plan, sought to downplay the FBI director's concerns and the Senate vote to bar funds. "The concerns that have been expressed by the director and concerns expressed by other people will all be taken into account in formulating the plan that we will ultimately use," Holder told reporters late Wednesday. "We're not going to do anything that's going to put the American people at risk," he said. The attorney general continued to express confidence that the Guantanamo Bay prison camp will be permanently closed by Obama's deadline. iReport.com: Sound off on Obama, Cheney speeches "We will have conversations with Congress, and I'm confident that as a result of those conversations, the necessary funds will come our way," Holder said. At the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs echoed Holder's promise. "The president understands that his most important job is to keep the American people safe and that he is not going to make any decision or any judgment that imperils the safety of the American people." CNN's Terry Frieden and Kristi Keck contributed to this report. | [
"What will the measure prevent?",
"What date did Obama say the prison would be closed by?",
"What is the amendment?",
"When did Obama say he would close the prison by?",
"Who voted on the measure?",
"What was the senate vote to prevent Gitmo detainees from going to the U.S?",
"What did Obama say?",
"What did Obama announced?"
] | [
[
"detainees at Guantanamo Bay from being transferred to the United States for now."
],
[
"January 22, 2010."
],
[
"a measure that would prevent detainees at Guantanamo Bay from being transferred to the United States for now."
],
[
"January 22, 2010."
],
[
"U.S. Senate"
],
[
"90-6"
],
[
"announced that he would close the prison by January 22, 2010."
],
[
"he would close the prison by January 22, 2010."
]
] | White House says Obama is not going to make any decision that imperils safety .
Senate votes 90-6 on a measure to prevent Gitmo detainees from going to the U.S.
A similar amendment has already passed the House .
Obama announced that he would close the prison by January 22, 2010 . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama will deliver a speech June 4 in Egypt on America's relationship with the Muslim world, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced Friday. President Obama will travel to Egypt next month to address U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Egypt is "a country that in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world," Gibbs said. He deflected several questions at his daily briefing about whether Egypt is a wise choice, given President Hosni Mubarak's resistance to making his government more democratic. Obama originally promised to deliver the speech during his first 100 days, but senior administration officials say the date slipped in part because of security and logistical issues. The officials stressed, however, that the Secret Service still has deep security concerns, given the continued tumult in the Mideast. Obama chose Turkey, a more secular state, as the site of his first presidential speech to a Muslim majority nation, on April 6. He told the Turkish legislature in Ankara that the "United States is not and will never be at war with Islam." Obama will follow his visit to Egypt with a trip to the remains of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany on June 5. He is then scheduled to take part in ceremonies commemorating the 65th anniversary of the World War II Allied landings in Normandy, France. CNN Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry contributed to this report. | [
"When did he give the historic speech to the Turkish parliament?",
"What country represents the heart of the Arab world?",
"Where did he give a historic speech in April?",
"When did he give his historic speech to Turkish parliament?",
"Where will Obama travel in June?",
"Who gave a historic speech to Turkish Parliament?",
"What did a spokesman say about Egypt?",
"Who travels to Egypt, Germany, France in June?",
"Who went to Egypt, Germany and France?"
] | [
[
"April 6."
],
[
"Egypt"
],
[
"Turkey,"
],
[
"April 6."
],
[
"Egypt"
],
[
"Obama"
],
[
"\"a country that in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world,\""
],
[
"President Obama"
],
[
"President Obama"
]
] | President Obama travels to Egypt, Germany, France in June .
He gave historic speech to Turkish parliament in April .
Spokesman: Egypt "in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama will place tariffs on imports of some Chinese tires for three years in an effort to curb a surge in exports that has rocked the U.S. tire industry. The White House announced plans to impose tariffs on some tires entering the United States from China. The new tariffs will be on passenger car and light truck tires, the White House said in a statement Friday night. "The president decided to remedy the clear disruption to the U.S. tire industry based on the facts and the law in this case," the statement said. The tariffs will start at 35 percent in the first year, then would decline to 30 percent in the second year and 25 percent in the third. Chinese leaders have in the past expressed displeasure about a possible tire tariff. "We hope the U.S. government will refrain from taking action, for the long-term healthy and stable development of U.S.-Chinese relations," Fu Ziying, China's vice commerce minister, told local media in August. "The case is neither supported by facts nor does it have valid legal grounds," he added. | [
"What has hurt U.S. tire industry?",
"what is U.S. to impose tariffs on?",
"what has hurt the U.S. tire industry?",
"U.S. to impost tariffs on what?",
"Who have strongly opposed possible tire tariffs?"
] | [
[
"surge in exports"
],
[
"imports of some Chinese tires"
],
[
"surge in exports"
],
[
"some Chinese tires"
],
[
"Chinese leaders"
]
] | U.S. to impose tariffs on some passenger car and light truck tires from China .
Surge in exports has hurt the U.S. tire industry .
Chinese leaders have strongly opposed possible tire tariffs . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama called his former Republican presidential rival, Sen. John McCain, a hero at a bipartisan dinner Monday night and encouraged politicians to reach across the aisle.
President-elect Barack Obama greets Sen. John McCain on stage after praising him at a bipartisan dinner.
"I could stand here and recite the long list of John's bipartisan accomplishments ..." Obama said.
"Campaign finance reform. Immigration. The Patients' Bill of Rights. All those times he has crossed the aisle and risked the ire of his party for the good of his country. And yet, what makes John such a rare and courageous public servant is not the accomplishments themselves, but the true motivation behind them."
McCain returned the gracious feelings at the dinner.
"I am very grateful to the president-elect and to all of you for this very considerate gesture, and for allowing me to play a small role in the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, even if it isn't the one I had in mind a few months ago," McCain said.
"Tomorrow, the President-elect will accept the burdensome privilege of leading America to its next accomplishments and its future greatness," McCain went on to say. "He has my sincere best wishes for his success, and my promise of assistance. For his success will be our success."
After praising McCain, Obama urged everyone to take the bipartisan dinner past "just an inaugural tradition" and turn it into a "new way of doing the people's business in this city."
"We will not always agree on everything in the months to come, and we will have our share of arguments and debates," Obama said. "But let us strive always to find that common ground, and to defend together those common ideals, for it is the only way we can meet the very big and very serious challenges that we face right now."
On the eve of his inauguration, the president-elect even made time for a joke.
"I'm here tonight to say a few words about an American hero I have come to know very well and admire very much -- Sen. John McCain," Obama said as he opened his speech. "And then, according to the rules agreed to by both parties, John will have approximately 30 seconds to make a rebuttal."
Obama's speech at the bipartisan dinner capped a day filled by appearances, including visiting wounded soldiers and exhorting Americans to spend more time in the service of others.
In Washington people took in the sights of pre-inauguration activities and concerts.
"The energy on the streets is something I've never seen before," said Nancy Wigal, who lives in Vernon Square. "People are walking lighter, standing taller and are reaching out to one another. It feels like hope. It feels like shared happiness."
Wigal said Obama's inauguration has given residents hope that change actually will happen.
"It's all because of Obama -- we dare to feel positive that we may have actually elected a leader, not just a politician," she said. "There are impromptu progressive dinner parties, cookouts and house parties. We finally feel like a real change has come to town."
Obama began his day with a surprise visit to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He met with 14 patients injured in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Obama visited a National Day of Service project, stopping by the Sasha Bruce House, an emergency shelter for homeless teenagers in the Washington area. Watch Obama speak about service on the eve of his inauguration »
The shelter provides a variety of services, including counseling, job training, and substance abuse prevention assistance, for up to 15 teenagers at a time.
Roughly 30 teenagers are spending the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday volunteering at the shelter by helping to renovate a dorm room.
Obama rolled up his sleeves and pitched in during the visit, using a roller to help paint a couple of walls and a piece | [
"Who did McCain wish success?",
"who praises Sen. John McCain's leadership?",
"Who is the president-elect?",
"who says has my sincere best wishes for his success?",
"who urges students to join him and take responsibility?",
"Who did Obama praise?"
] | [
[
"Barack Obama"
],
[
"Barack Obama"
],
[
"Barack Obama"
],
[
"McCain"
],
[
"Obama"
],
[
"John McCain,"
]
] | NEW: John McCain: President-elect "has my sincere best wishes for his success"
Barack Obama praises Sen. John McCain's leadership at bipartisan dinner .
"The energy on the streets is something I've never seen before," D.C. resident says .
Obama urges students to join him and take responsibility . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be secretary of commerce, a Democratic source told CNN on Tuesday.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination this year.
The former Democratic presidential candidate's name has been bandied about as the next head of Commerce.
Obama spoke with Richardson about the position November 14, a senior Democratic source said. The source said Richardson has always been on Obama's list of possibilities for the key Cabinet position.
Richardson, 61, also traveled to Chicago, Illinois, in November to meet with Obama, according to a source.
"He brings to this plate, in particular in an era where the economy is the focus of attention, a lot of skills that could be put to use -- perhaps opening up marketplaces for U.S. products abroad," CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley said.
"In New Mexico, he sought to bring in new businesses and to create jobs ... so the Obama team considers this part of the economic team."
One of the most prominent Hispanic politicians in the nation, Richardson withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination January 10 and later endorsed Obama.
He has served as a U.N. ambassador and as energy secretary in the Clinton administration.
If Richardson steps down as chief executive of New Mexico, Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish takes over. She was Richardson's running mate in the 2002 and 2006 gubernatorial elections.
It's a very different situation in neighboring Arizona, where another Democratic governor, Janet Napolitano, is also stepping down to join the Cabinet. Arizona doesn't have a lieutenant governor. Under state law, Secretary of State Jan Brewer -- a Republican -- takes over.
Richardson sought the Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out of the race after a poor showing in the January 8 New Hampshire primary.
Declaring that Obama is an "extraordinary American," Richardson endorsed Obama to be the Democratic nominee for president March 21.
"Barack Obama will make a great and historic president," Richardson said at a rally in Portland, Oregon, with Obama at his side. "[It] is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our nation, and you are a once-in-a-lifetime leader."
Obama said, "I am extraordinarily grateful to have the support of one of the great public servants of these United States."
"He's done the kind of work that you want from your public servants, somebody who's driven not just by raw ambition, not just by an interest in personal aggrandizement," Obama added. "He's been somebody who's been motivated by the desire to make the lives of his constituents and working people a little bit better."
Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton both lobbied Richardson for his endorsement.
Richardson said that his "affection for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver" but that "it is now time for a new generation of leadership."
Obama "can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad," he said.
Hillary Clinton was named this week as Obama's pick for another Cabinet post: secretary of state.
Richardson caused controversy in Democratic circles with his endorsement of Obama this year.
In April, Richardson said he was "very close to endorsing" Clinton but decided not to after the campaign became negative.
His endorsement was viewed as an act of betrayal by some longtime Clinton supporters.
CNN political analyst James Carville, who has close ties to both Clintons, likened Richardson's endorsement to Judas' betrayal of Christ.
Richardson responded to Carville's criticisms by saying that Carville and other Clinton supporters believe they are a "dynasty" and that they were "clinging to the throne."
CNN's Candy Crowley, Ed Hornick and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. | [
"Name of the former NM governor and UN ambassador?",
"Who will be announced as commerce secretary?",
"What other famous politician is mentioned?",
"What party is Bill Richardson associated with?",
"How was a rival of Barack Obama's during the primaries?",
"Who is New Mexico's former U.N ambassador?",
"What will Richardson be announced as?",
"What position did Richardson get nominated for?"
] | [
[
"Bill Richardson"
],
[
"Bill Richardson"
],
[
"President Bill Clinton"
],
[
"Democratic"
],
[
"New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson"
],
[
"Bill Richardson"
],
[
"secretary of commerce,"
],
[
"secretary of commerce,"
]
] | Bill Richardson is New Mexico's governor, former U.N. ambassador .
Richardson to be announced as commerce secretary nominee Wednesday .
He was a rival of Barack Obama's during the Democratic primaries . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama will invoke God when he takes the oath of office January 20, despite a lawsuit filed by atheist and non-religious groups, according to an attorney for Chief Justice John Roberts, who will administer the oath. President-elect Barack Obama has asked to invoke the phrase "so help me God" at the end of his oath. The groups have sued in federal court to block any mention of God during the inaugural ceremonies. Roberts was among those named in the suit. However, Obama wishes to conclude the oath with the phrase "so help me God," Jeffrey Minear, an attorney and administrative assistant for Roberts, told a federal court in documents Friday. The Constitution mandates the exact language to be used in the 35-word oath of office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Some chief executives have embellished the oath with "so help me God." It is not constitutionally required, unlike in other federal oaths. Historians have been at odds over whether George Washington established precedent by invoking the phrase on his own at the first inaugural in 1789. The Library of Congress Web site says he did. Most presidents have used the phrase. iReport.com: Your photos from the inauguration Inaugural officials and presidents or presidents-elect usually coordinate behind the scenes on whether the judge or government official administering the phrase will invoke it. Michael Newdow, supported by several groups including the American Humanist Association, claims in his lawsuit that "so help me God" violates the constitutional ban on government "endorsement" of religion. He asked a federal judge to intervene and block references of God or religion in the formal ceremonies. The lawsuit also opposes the traditional invocation and benediction to be delivered by pastors invited by Obama. "There can be no purpose for placing 'so help me God' in an oath or sponsoring prayers to God, other than promoting the particular point of view that God exists," according to the lawsuit. The federal government revealed in its response that Obama wants to use the phrase. The declaration was apparently aimed at blunting Newdow's concession that Obama could add the phrase on his own but that Roberts or any government official should not force or prompt him to say it. Among those named in the lawsuit besides the 53-year-old chief justice are the Presidential Inauguration Committee; the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies and its chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California); and the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee and its commander, Maj. Gen. Richard Rowe Jr. Newdow said December 31 that he did not name Obama in his suit because in addition to participating as a government official in the ceremony, Obama possesses rights as an individual that allow him to express religious beliefs. "If he chooses to ask for God's help, I'm not going to challenge him," Newdow said. "I think it's unwise." A decision from the federal judge is expected in the next few days. The high court ruled against Newdow in 2004 after he tried to block the Pledge of Allegiance from being recited at his daughter's Sacramento, California-area public school because it contains the phrase "under God." He argued the case himself before the justices, making an impassioned plea that the teacher-led pledge forces religion on impressionable youngsters and carries the stamp of government approval. | [
"Who did Obama ask to invoke?",
"What was mentioned during the inaugural ceremonies?",
"What phrase do presidents add at end of oath?",
"What are groups suing to block mention of?",
"What are groups suing for?",
"Who added the phrase \"so help me God\"?",
"What phrase have many presidents added?"
] | [
[
"the phrase \"so help me God\""
],
[
"God"
],
[
"\"so help me God\""
],
[
"God"
],
[
"to block any mention of God during the inaugural ceremonies."
],
[
"President-elect Barack Obama"
],
[
"\"so help me God\""
]
] | Court documents say President-elect Barack Obama asked to invoke God .
Groups are suing to block any mention of God during the inaugural ceremonies .
Many presidents have added the phrase "so help me God" at end of oath . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Promising "a new era of openness in our country," President Obama signed executive orders Wednesday relating to ethics guidelines for staff members of his administration.
Members of the National Economic Council brief President Obama on the economy Wednesday.
"Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency," Obama said.
In his first full day in office, Obama touched upon many of the major issues facing his administration, and even carved out time to retake the oath of office.
The move was aimed at dispelling any confusion that might arise from Tuesday's oath, which Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed by mixing up the order of the words.
The do-over was also intended to erase any questions regarding the legitimacy of Obama's presidency, although per the Constitution, Obama became president at noon Tuesday without taking the oath.
Earlier in the day, Obama said he would issue a pay freeze for his senior staff members.
The new president has also promised swift action on the beleaguered economy. House Democrats, at Obama's urging, have signed an $825 billion economic recovery package that the president says will save or create up to 4 million jobs and invest in health care, energy and education. Watch Obama address his staff »
House Republican leaders, however, asked to meet with Obama on Thursday to offer major changes to the recovery proposal.
"The challenge as we see it is to create a plan that helps middle-class taxpayers and small businesses without wasting money or exploding our national deficit," the leaders wrote in a letter to the new president.
Rep. Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the House Budget committee, argued that the main tax provision in the Democrats' plan -- cutting payroll taxes -- was not an effective way to jump-start the economy.
House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence declined to say whether the Democrats' package would get any Republican support if it didn't change significantly.
Obama also moved fast to address a campaign promise to close the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
The administration is drafting executive orders calling for the closure of the detention facility, according to two administration officials.
Obama began the day with a moment of solitude in the Oval Office. When he arrived, he spent 10 minutes alone there, reading a note left for him on a desk by outgoing President George W. Bush.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel met with the president 10 minutes later to discuss the daily schedule, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Obama called Middle East leaders, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Gibbs said.
On Sunday, Israel and Palestinian militants declared a cease-fire after 22 days of fighting in Gaza.
First lady Michelle Obama joined her husband in the Oval Office at 9:10 a.m., shortly before the first couple departed for the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral.
Later in the day, Obama and the first lady greeted those who came to the White House for a formal open house. Obama joked, "Don't break anything."
Obama also met with his economic team and top brass from the Pentagon. iReport.com: What do you think Obama should do first?
Later in the afternoon, he met with the Ambassador to Iraq, the commander in Iraq, and the "theater commander" in the region for an update on the situation in Iraq.
"The meeting was productive and I very much appreciated receiving assessments from these experienced and dedicated individuals. During the discussion, I asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq," he said in a statement.
"In the coming days and weeks, I will also visit the Department of Defense to consult with the Joint Chiefs on these issues, and we will undertake a full review of the situation in Afghanistan in order to develop a comprehensive policy for the entire region," he said.
He plans to tell the top U.S. officers that he wants them | [
"Who retakes oath of office?",
"What closure is called for?",
"What do the orders call for?",
"Who will the President freeze pay for?",
"What did Obama retake?",
"Who will Obama meet with?",
"What happens on Wednesday night?"
] | [
[
"Obama"
],
[
"the detention facility,"
],
[
"the closure of the detention facility,"
],
[
"his senior staff members."
],
[
"the oath of office."
],
[
"House Republican leaders,"
],
[
"Members of the National Economic Council brief President Obama"
]
] | NEW: Obama retakes oath of office Wednesday night .
NEW: Obama meets with military advisers to assess situations in Iraq, Afghanistan .
Administration drafting executive orders calling for Guantanamo Bay's closure .
President to freeze pay for senior staff, signs ethics guidelines . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Questions surrounding Judge Sonia Sotomayor's past speeches generated more controversy in the final day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings Thursday, as Democrats again called her a mainstream jurist and Republicans portrayed her as a liberal activist likely to legislate from the bench. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor greets Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, Thursday. One GOP senator said Sotomayor's most controversial speeches "bug the hell out of me," an expression of frustration as Republicans tried -- with little success -- to get Sotomayor to reveal more about her personal views in her fourth and final day of questioning. GOP critics also summoned New Haven, Connecticut, firefighter Frank Ricci, who was the lead plaintiff in perhaps the most controversial case in Sotomayor's appellate career. Ricci testified that her 2008 rejection of his reverse discrimination claim had undermined the concept of a merit-based civil service system. In a potential sign of Sotomayor's strong political momentum, however, Senate Republicans indicated they do not intend to filibuster her nomination on the Senate floor. They also indicated their belief that the full Senate would vote on her nomination before breaking for its August recess. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, said he plans to put a confirmation vote for Sotomayor on the committee's calendar for next Tuesday. The committee's questions once again touched on a range of hot-button issues, including gun control, abortion, same-sex marriage, the death penalty, and the role of international law in American jurisprudence. "I think you're a walking, talking example of the best part of the United States of America," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, told Sotomayor. "It is my belief that you are going to be a great Supreme Court justice." South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham was less complimentary, telling Sotomayor that she has "said some things that have bugged the hell out of me," but he quickly conceded that her judicial record has "been generally in the mainstream." "Your speeches are disturbing, particularly to conservatives," Graham said. "Those speeches to me suggested gender and racial affiliations in a way that a lot of us wonder, will you take that line of thinking to the Supreme Court in these cases of first precedent." But, Graham conceded, "to be honest with you, your record as a judge has not been radical by any means. ... You have, I think, consistently, as an advocate, took a point of view that was left of center." Graham defended the importance of probing Sotomayor's political beliefs by highlighting the high court's 1955 landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which mandated the desegregation of schools. The ruling was "instructive in the sense that the court pushed the country to do something politicians were not brave enough to do," he said. Watch Graham talk about Sotomayor's record » The personal views of Supreme Court justices matter, he argued, because "you're not going to find a law book that tells you" how to rule on contentious social issues such as same-sex marriage or whether there is a "fundamental" right to bear arms. Sotomayor later fired back at the Republican line of questioning, asking Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, if he wanted a judge who pre-decided cases before hearing the evidence and facts. Watch Sotomayor's record on discrimination » "Would you want a judge or nominee who came in here and said, 'I agree with you, this is unconstitutional,' before I had a case before me?" Sotomayor said, adding: "I don't think that's a justice I can be." She noted that the Supreme Court spends considerable time on cases, including Second Amendment cases involving gun control -- an issue Republicans have repeatedly emphasized during her confirmation hearings. The National Rifle Association, unswayed by Sotomayor's assertion earlier in the week that she recognizes an individual right to bear arms, announced Thursday that it is opposed to her nomination. "We believe any | [
"What is the name of the GOP Sen. ?",
"who's confirmation hearing did senate wrap up?",
"What is Sotomayor's first name?"
] | [
[
"Lindsey Graham,"
],
[
"Judge Sonia Sotomayor's"
],
[
"Sonia"
]
] | NEW: Senate wraps up Sotomayor's confirmation hearings .
Chief plaintiff in Ricci case testifies during final day of confirmation hearings .
Republicans fail to get nominee to reveal more about her personal views .
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham says Sonia Sotomayor's judicial record "mainstream" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Race and politics are a combustible combo that explodes into headlines when an ex-president lights the fuse, as Jimmy Carter did recently. President Obama during the 2008 campaign faced questions over race and politics. "When a radical fringe element of demonstrators and others begin to attack the president of the United States as an animal or as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler or when they wave signs in the air that said we should have buried Obama with Kennedy, those kinds of things are beyond the bounds," the Democrat told students at Emory University on Wednesday. "I think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African-American," he added. The controversy erupted this week when Carter first raised the race issue to NBC. "An overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man," he said. Bill Cosby, a black comedian and actor, said Wednesday in a written statement that he agrees with Carter. "During President Obama's speech on the status of health care reform, some members of Congress engaged in a public display of disrespect," he said. CNN contributor David Gergen said that some of the allegations of race-baiting might have some weight among Democratic voters. "Jimmy Carter, I'm afraid, is not alone in his views," he said. But Gergen warns that the racists tend to be on the fringes of the right and do not reflect on the greater field of opponents to Obama's ideology. "But I think it's wrongheaded, and I think it's unfair, and I think it's indeed a libel upon many of the opponents, most of the opponents of health care reform, to say that they're racist," he said. "Seven previous presidents have tried to bring health care reforms of this kind. All seven have failed. And, as I recall, all seven were white." Carter's comments, though, are the kind that raise people's defenses. In particular, they turn off independents, who by nature tend to hate the hard edges of politics. The White House, for its part, wants no part of the Carter controversy. "The president does not believe that that criticism comes based on the color of his skin," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. As a candidate, Obama understood the political danger in letting his race become a major topic. He largely avoided it when he could, but race was always a subtext, as it is now in his presidency. "But I can also say, frankly, that this White House and even his campaign were very afraid to even go down this road dealing with anything with race," said CNN contributor Roland Martin. Carter also told NBC that there is an "inherent feeling among many people in this country that an African-American ought not to be president and ought not to be given the same respect as if he were white." Framing criticism as racism cropped up several times during the campaign. When Geraldine Ferraro, a Clinton supporter, said during the 2008 Democratic primaries that Obama would never have gotten as far as he had if he had not been black, candidate Obama pointedly left race out of it. "I think that her comments were ridiculous," Obama said at the time. But Ferraro blamed Obama supporters for her hate mail, saying "I have been called all kinds of names. And the attacks are ageist. They're sexist. They're racist." iReport.com: Freedom from speech? And the topic of race even came to haunt Bill Clinton, the so-called first black president. Before the New Hampshire primary in January 2008, Clinton told an audience that "there's no difference in [Obama's] voting record and Hillary's ever since. Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy | [
"What does't Obama believe?",
"What is the controversy about?",
"Which former president spoke about Obama?",
"What doesn't Obama believe?"
] | [
[
"that that criticism comes based on the color of his skin,\""
],
[
"a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African-American,\""
],
[
"Jimmy Carter"
],
[
"that criticism comes based on the color of his skin,\""
]
] | Former President Carter says criticism of Obama is largely based on race .
Obama doesn't believe criticism is based on color of his skin, spokesman says .
CNN contributor: Carter shouldn't paint such broad strokes on racism .
GOP strategist says all the racism controversy is "absurd" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ready for your Super Bowl party? Sure, you have drinks, hot wings, maybe even a favorite jersey. But do you have an M-16, a Kevlar helmet and body armor? Pittsburgh Steelers fan Sheresa Coleman will watch the Super Bowl from the USS Mahan in the Gulf of Aden. Not everybody is watching the game from the comfort of the family den. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops will be deployed in remote war zones, on lonely oceans and at overseas bases -- all far away from an NBC affiliate. So the military is going out of its way to make sure that many soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors can watch Super Bowl XLIII live. "Super Bowl day has really become a holiday, military-wise, over the last couple years," said Petty Officer 1st Class Grant Shannon. Shannon is from a town about an hour north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but is on board the USS Mahan, a destroyer deployed to stop pirates working off the coast of Somalia. When they finish their duties, sailors like Shannon can head to the ship's mess to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Arizona Cardinals. The same is true for soldiers, Marines and airmen in combat zones. "We can broadcast to every forward operating base in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Andreas Friedrich, the deputy director of Armed Forces Radio and Television Services, which has been sending the Super Bowl to troops overseas since the first Super Bowl, broadcasting it live since 1981. Watch how troops will be able to watch big game » All told, about 1 million American military personnel and civilians overseas will be able to watch the big game. Some of those watching will be benefiting from the same technology that makes Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle missions possible. A global broadcast system will beam the game to ships and submarines far out in the Pacific Ocean. GBS is how pilots in the United States can watch and fly an unmanned vehicle over a battlefield halfway around the world, and then feed what they see to the battlefield commanders on the ground below. Raytheon, the company that runs the system, will use one of its video channels to feed the game to several U.S. Navy submarines and ships in the Pacific. Tens of thousands of sailors will be able to see the game via GBS, which first broadcast a Super Bowl in 2003, according to Guy DuBois of Raytheon. "It's a pretty amazing feeling, when you get to do that, to watch it on the ship and knowing that everybody else is back home having a good time, just like we will be," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Wright, a Cardinals fan from Arizona. Wright is on board the USS San Antonio, an amphibious transport dock that is part of the anti-piracy task force. A Steelers fan on board the USS Mahan agrees. "It would be nice to be home and watch the game in my hometown," said Seaman Sheresa Coleman of Pittsburgh. "But it's a great honor to support and defend the Constitution of the United States." One thing Wright and the other overseas Super Bowl viewers will miss is the legendary Super Bowl commercials. Friedrich said the Armed Forces Radio and Television Services would have had to pay high fees for the rights to broadcast the Super Bowl commercials to an international audience. Instead, the multimillion-dollar ads that some people consider the best part of the game will be pre-empted in favor of Department of Defense-produced ads and public service messages. Still, even without seeing football-playing Clydesdales or movie-shilling monsters, those in uniform appreciate being part of America's unofficial midwinter holiday. "We have lots of sailors and Marines on board who have followed the season," said Cmdr. Eric Cash, the commander of the USS San Antonio. "Any time we can enjoy some traditional American sports like the Super Bowl, it's always a great time for us, a good mental break and also a good time for people to get together and socialize." Just | [
"Who said that watching a game was a good mental break?",
"What kinds of ads do the troops see during the games?",
"What will beam the game to ships?",
"What is a \"mental break\" for the troops?",
"How many American military personnel, civilians overseas could catch game?",
"What will beam the game to ships and submarines?",
"Troops get ads for what instead of Super Bowl commercials?",
"How many overseas personnel and civilians could catch the game?",
"What do troops get during the game instead of Super Bowl commercials?"
] | [
[
"Eric Cash,"
],
[
"public service messages."
],
[
"global broadcast system"
],
[
"traditional American sports"
],
[
"about 1 million"
],
[
"A global broadcast system"
],
[
"and public service messages."
],
[
"about 1 million"
],
[
"Department of Defense-produced ads and public service messages."
]
] | About 1 million American military personnel, civilians overseas could catch game .
Troops get Department of Defense ads instead of Super Bowl commercials .
Global broadcast system will beam game to ships, submarines in the Pacific Ocean .
"It's always a great time for us, a good mental break," commander says of game . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Records from a cell phone used by President-elect Obama were improperly breached, apparently by employees of the cell phone company, Verizon Wireless said Thursday. An Obama spokesman said the transition team was told Verizon Wireless workers looked through billing records. "This week we learned that a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed President-Elect Barack Obama's personal cell phone account," Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and CEO, said in a statement. "All employees who have accessed the account -- whether authorized or not --- have been put on immediate leave, with pay." The Obama transition team was notified Wednesday by Verizon of the breach, said team spokesman Robert Gibbs. He said the president-elect no longer uses the phone. McAdam said the device on the account was a simple voice flip-phone, not a BlackBerry or other smartphone designed for e-mail or other data services, so none of Obama's e-mail could have been accessed. Verizon Wireless, meanwhile, has launched an internal probe to determine whether Obama's information was simply shared among employees or whether "the information of our customer had in any way been compromised outside our company, and this investigation continues," McAdam said in an internal company e-mail obtained by CNN. "Employees with legitimate business needs for access will be returned to their positions, while employees who have accessed the account improperly and without legitimate business justification will face appropriate disciplinary action," McAdam said, "up to and including termination." The company has alerted "the appropriate federal law enforcement authorities," McAdam said. Gibbs said that while the Secret Service has been notified, he is not aware of any criminal investigation. He said he believes it was billing records that were accessed. Gibbs said that anyone viewing the records likely would have been able to see phone numbers and the frequency of calls Obama made, but that "nobody was monitoring voicemail or anything like that." CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry contributed to this report. | [
"what says Internal Verizon?",
"who monitored calls?",
"Was there any indication any calls were monitored or voicemails improperly accessed?",
"What did the Obama spokesman say?",
"Who says Verizon Wireless employee accessed billing records?",
"Which employee accessed billing records?",
"Spokesman says the phone is what?"
] | [
[
"used by President-elect Obama were improperly breached,"
],
[
"Verizon Wireless employees"
],
[
"Records from a cell phone used by President-elect Obama were improperly breached,"
],
[
"Verizon Wireless workers looked through billing records."
],
[
"Lowell McAdam,"
],
[
"Verizon Wireless workers"
],
[
"a simple voice flip-phone,"
]
] | NEW: Internal Verizon e-mail says no e-mail accessible on phone .
Obama spokesman says Verizon Wireless employee accessed billing records .
Spokesman says the phone is old and Obama no longer uses it .
No indication any calls were monitored or voicemails improperly accessed . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Paul Gillmor of Ohio was found dead in his townhouse in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday, leadership aides for both the Republican and Democratic parties said. Rep. Paul Gillmor was first elected to Congress in 1988. Gillmor, a Republican, was 68. The leadership aides did not say how Gillmor died. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told fellow congressmen on the floor of the House that their colleague died "suddenly overnight." "He was a good friend to all of us," said a somber Boehner. "He's going to be missed by us all." A tribute to Gillmor will be held in the House later Wednesday afternoon, Boehner said. Watch Boehner tell colleagues of death » Gillmor, the deputy minority whip, was in his 10th term in the House, representing the 5th Congressional District in the northwest part of the Buckeye state. He was a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, and the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Gillmor also served on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored-Enterprises and the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. He was elected to Congress in 1988, after serving in the Ohio State Senate for 22 years, where he was elected Republican leader five times. Gillmor was born Feb. 1, 1939, in Tiffin, Ohio. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. In 2006, Roll Call -- a Capitol Hill newspaper -- listed him as the 43rd richest member of Congress, with an estimated net worth of $6.16 million. He formerly ran a financial services company. Gillmor was also a U.S. Air Force veteran -- where he attained the rank of captain -- and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1986. He served in the Vietnam War in 1965 and 1966. He was married to Karen Gillmor, vice chairman of the State Employment Relations Board in Ohio and a former state senator. Their family includes two daughters, Linda and Julie, and three sons, Paul and twins Connor and Adam. E-mail to a friend | [
"Which area did Gillmor represent?",
"What did the GOP leader say?",
"Who did he represent?",
"Who died suddenly?",
"when was he found"
] | [
[
"representing the 5th Congressional District in the northwest part of the Buckeye state."
],
[
"colleague died \"suddenly overnight.\""
],
[
"House Committee on Financial Services,"
],
[
"Rep. Paul Gillmor of Ohio"
],
[
"Wednesday,"
]
] | NEW: Rep. Paul Gillmor died suddenly during night, GOP leader says .
No word on cause of death .
Gillmor represented northwest area of Ohio . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Tom Lantos, the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, died Monday due to complications from cancer, his office said. Lantos was 80. Rep. Tom Lantos represented his Northern California district for 14 terms. He died at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, surrounded by his wife, Annette, daughters Annette and Katrina and many of his 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, according to his office. Lantos' life was "defined by courage, optimism, and unwavering dedication to his principles and to his family," said his wife, Annette, his childhood sweetheart, in a statement the House of Representatives released. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that she was "quite devastated" by the death of her "dear, dear friend." She called him "a true American hero" and "the genuine article." "He's going to be really, really missed," she said. Rice described Lantos as "the embodiment of what it meant to have one's freedom denied and then to find it and to insist that Americans stand for spreading the benefits of freedom and prosperity to others." Lantos, who was serving his 14th term in the House, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December. He announced last month that he would not seek a new term. "It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress," Lantos said in a statement at the time. "I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country." Watch Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid remember Lantos » The lawmaker is the only Holocaust survivor to have served in Congress. The Hungarian-born Lantos came to the United States in 1947 after surviving a forced-labor camp in his Nazi-allied homeland. He escaped and was sheltered in a Budapest safe house set up by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who was credited with saving tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II. He arrived in the United States after being awarded an academic scholarship to study, according to his congressional Web site. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of Washington in Seattle and later earned a doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, the site said. As a lawmaker, Lantos was an outspoken human rights advocate. He supported the 2002 congressional resolution that authorized President Bush to launch the invasion of Iraq but later became an outspoken critic of the conflict. He was the latest of more than a dozen members to announce plans to leave the House at the end of the year, most of them Republicans. His San Francisco-area district is solidly Democratic, and he won re-election with more than three-quarters of the vote in 2006. "Chairman Lantos will be remembered as a man of uncommon integrity and sincere moral conviction -- and a public servant who never wavered in his pursuit of a better, freer and more religiously tolerant world," House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri said in a statement. E-mail to a friend | [
"who disclosed last month he was suffering from cancer?",
"who was the only holocaust survivor?",
"what did california congressman disclose?",
"What was Rep. Tom Lantos called?",
"where did the congressman come from",
"according to the secretary who is a true American hero",
"Who was Lantos?",
"who calls Rep. Tom Lantos \"a true American hero?",
"What was Lantos suffering from?",
"who was only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress?",
"Lantos has served how many terms to date"
] | [
[
"Tom Lantos,"
],
[
"Rep. Tom Lantos,"
],
[
"plans to leave the House"
],
[
"\"a true American hero\" and \"the genuine article.\""
],
[
"Hungarian-born"
],
[
"Rep. Tom Lantos,"
],
[
"Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,"
],
[
"Condoleezza Rice"
],
[
"cancer,"
],
[
"Rep. Tom Lantos,"
],
[
"14"
]
] | NEW: Secretary of state calls Rep. Tom Lantos "a true American hero"
Lantos was only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress .
California congressman disclosed last month he was suffering from cancer .
Lantos had said he would not seek re-election to 15th term in House . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe has shown throughout her career that when it comes to voting, it's her principles and constituents that guide her, not her party. Sen. Olympia Snowe has received overwhelming support from her constituents in past elections. Those principles, analysts note, are guiding her to find a compromise on health care reform currently stalemated in Congress. Jennifer Duffy, who follows the Senate for the Cook Political Report, said Snowe's independent streak is "not new behavior for her." "I think they [Republicans] also realize that the only reason that the state of Maine has two Republican senators at all is the fact that they are very independent-minded and they vote their state," she said, referring to Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins. In fact, some estimates place Snowe as having voted with her party only 57 percent of the time in the current Congress. While her moderate views are at odds with GOP opposition to several of President Obama's economic plans this year, the senator's constituents seem to agree with her. In 2006, she won re-election with 74 percent of the vote, compared to her Democratic opponent's 21 percent. In 2000, Snowe received 69 percent of the vote. In an interview with National Public Radio in 2006, she said that while her views are moderate, Maine, like other New England states, has been "naturally independent" "Oftentimes, I tell my leadership, don't blame me, it's just where I grew up," she said at the time. Snowe, 59, was elected to Congress in 1978 at age 31, and served Maine's 2nd District for 16 years. She ran for Senate in 1994 and won, "becoming the first woman in American history to serve in both houses of the state legislature and both houses of Congress," her Senate Web site notes. Her political career began in 1973 after her husband, Maine Rep. Peter Snowe, was killed in a car accident and she was elected to fill his seat. After two years in the state Senate, she won the U.S. House seat held by William Cohen when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1978. Snowe was elected to the Senate with 60 percent of the vote during the Republican revolution of 1994, filling the seat of longtime Democratic Sen. George Mitchell, who retired. She married then-Maine Gov. John McKernan in 1989. In 2006, Time Magazine named her one of the top 10 U.S. senators, calling her "the caretaker." "Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington," the article read. "But while Snowe is a major player on national issues, she is also known as one of the most effective advocates for her constituents." Duffy said that if Snowe and Collins started voting with the Republican leadership all the time, "They would probably both lose re-election." Part of the so-called "Gang of Six" on the Senate Finance Committee, which includes three Democrats and three Republicans, she has been actively negotiating with the White House. The White House said that Sens. Chuck Grassley and Mike Enzi, the other two Republicans in the Gang of Six, have backed away from negotiations, although Enzi released a statement that said he is still willing to talk. Snowe said it's important to work with the other party despite criticism. "I think sometimes, yes, I'd find myself in that position, you know, with fewer and fewer ... people who are willing to reach across the political aisle and to create what I ... call the sensible center," she told NPR last week. "I mean, that's where the majority of Americans are. And I try to sort of build those ... bridges." Part of that bridge building was seen with her votes for the president's $787 billion economic stimulus package in February. For the past months, Snowe has been pushing | [
"What state is Snowe from?",
"Time magazine named her one of the top 10 U.S. senators in which year?",
"What happen to Sen. Olympia Snowe in 2006?",
"Where is Sen. Olympia Snowe from?",
"In what year was Snowe named one of the top 10 senators?",
"Sen. Olympia Snowe is one of two GOP senators from where?",
"What magazine named her one of the top 10 senators?"
] | [
[
"Maine"
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[
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[
"state of Maine"
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[
"2006,"
],
[
"Maine"
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[
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] | Sen. Olympia Snowe is one of two GOP senators from Maine .
Snowe has said she is guided by principles and constituents, not her party .
Analyst: Snowe's independent streak is "not new behavior for her"
In 2006, Time magazine named her one of the top 10 U.S. senators . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republicans reacted with surprise and recrimination Sunday to blistering criticism of the Iraq war from former coalition commander retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez.
Lawmakers lashed back at retired Gen. Ricardo Sanchez on Sunday after he criticized the war effort.
On Friday, Sanchez, who was coalition commander in 2003 and 2004, called the Iraq war "a nightmare with no end in sight." He said the Bush administration, the State Department and Congress all share blame.
Speaking with military reporters in Virginia, Sanchez also said such dereliction of duty by a military officer would mean immediate dismissal or court martial, but the politicians have not been held accountable.
"I'm astounded, really," South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on CNN's "Late Edition" with Wolf Blitzer on Sunday.
Graham, who recently returned from Baghdad, said he and GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain had visited Sanchez several times in 2003 and 2004.
"Every time we talked to Gen. Sanchez, we got pushback -- we have enough troops; Guard and reserves aren't being strained," Graham said.
He added that Sanchez's own record in Iraq is blemished: Abu Ghraib "got out of control under his watch. The war in general got out of control under his watch."
But Graham said that "finally," with the commitment of nearly 30,000 additional U.S. troops since January, "We are getting it right."
Sanchez told reporters that American political leaders have cost American lives on the battlefield with their "lust for power."
Sanchez said it had been his duty to obey orders and not object publicly while on active duty, but that he has an obligation to speak out now that he has retired.
"While the politicians espouse a rhetoric designed to preserve their reputations and their political power, our soldiers die," he said.
That brought a tart response from McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"I wish that he had given us the benefit of that knowledge at the time," McCain told CBS's "Face the Nation." He said Sanchez should have spoken out at the time -- or resigned -- but "unfortunately, that doesn't happen very often."
One of the reasons few speak out, he said, is evidenced by what happened to former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, McCain said. Shinseki was sidelined after telling Congress that hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to occupy Iraq.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, told ABC's "This Week" that Sanchez is simply wrong. "My definition of winning is a stable country and an ally in the war on terror," he said. "I think we're making significant progress toward that end."
But, he added, "I think the central government in Iraq has been an embarrassment. They've not been able to produce any of the kind of political compromises that we had hoped for."
Graham said he hopes the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will "step up to the plate and do something meaningful by the end of the year."
If that does not happen, he said, "it will be incumbent upon us, as a nation, to devise a new political strategy to find a way forward or create a stable Iraq."
That brought a blistering response from Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser under President Carter.
"What is this? This is a colony," he said. "That's the heart and essence of the difficulties we encounter."
Even those Iraqis who were happy to see Saddam Hussein toppled from power more than four years ago are not happy with the continuing U.S. presence, Brzezinski said.
Though some countries are willing to go along with the United States, "No one in the world really supports our policy in Iraq," he said.
In his Friday speech, Sanchez added that the "surge" of U.S. troops into Iraq represents "a desperate attempt by the administration that has not accepted the political and | [
"who says Sanchez is wrong",
"What did Sanchez call war?",
"who is astouned by comments?",
"What did he experience there?",
"Who is Sanchez?",
"what did Sanchez call the war",
"who said sanchez is wrong",
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"Spoken up about what?",
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"What does McCain wish?",
"Who spoke about it?",
"development where war?",
"What position did Sanchez have in the Iraq war?",
"What was Sanchez's description of war?",
"What did Sanchez comment about the Iraq war?",
"What has him surprised?"
] | [
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[
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[
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[
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[
"Gen. Ricardo Sanchez"
],
[
"Iraq"
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[
"coalition commander"
],
[
"\"a nightmare with no end in sight.\""
],
[
"\"a nightmare with no end in sight.\""
],
[
"blistering criticism"
]
] | Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham: "I am astounded" by comments .
Sanchez, a retired former coalition commander in Iraq, called war "nightmare"
Republican Sen. John McCain wishes Sanchez would have spoken up earlier .
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell said Sanchez is simply wrong . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republicans were facing pressure Tuesday to vote for a rollback of across-the-board cuts in Medicare payments to health providers after a major doctors' group said the cuts could lead to a "meltdown" of the government's health care system for the elderly.
Doctors say they would take on fewer Medicare patients if the cuts go into effect.
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, called several Republicans trying to persuade them to support a bill that would reverse a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors.
The cuts in Medicare payments -- part of a scheduled cost-saving formula -- went into effect July 1, although the Bush administration said it will hold off on processing claims until mid-July to give Congress time to reach a compromise.
The Medicare system pays for the health care of roughly 40 million elderly Americans. Rising health care costs have made Medicare a growing part of the federal budget, and the stress on the system is increasing as more baby boomers reach retirement age.
Similar cuts have been scheduled to go into effect on July 1 in previous years, but Congress always has voted to stop the cuts before they went into effect.
Gerald Harmon, a family physician who practices in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, said the cuts could lead to doctors taking fewer Medicare patients, making it difficult for the program's elderly patients to get the care they need.
"This Medicare access problem is a real issue, not just a political football," said Harmon, who said 35 percent of his patients were eligible for Medicare. "It affects your dad, when he's sick. It affects my patients in my practice. This has to be addressed."
A vote on the bill last week fell one shy of the 60 needed to clear a Republican filibuster and advance in the Senate.
Senate Republicans joined the White House in objecting to the Democratic-back bill because it paid for the increased payments to doctors by trimming government support for private insurance programs that provide coverage to Medicare patients. The private Medicare programs are a top policy initiative for Republicans.
The issue has become the subject of an intense election-year lobbying and advertising campaign aimed primarily at its GOP opponents.
The American Medical Association, a powerful doctor's group, said its members may be forced to reduce service to Medicare patients if the cuts go into effect.
According to a recent association survey, 60 percent of physicians will be forced to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can take on if the July 1 cuts go into effect.
"We stand at the brink of a Medicare meltdown. ... For doctors, this is not a partisan issue -- it's a patient access issue," AMA President Nancy Nielsen said in a statement after the Senate vote last week.
The AMA ran radio and TV ads over the July Fourth congressional recess targeting 10 Republican senators, seven of whom are up for re-election.
The AARP, the nation's largest organization of retired persons, and other groups also are weighing in against the cuts.
Reid has "no idea" if the pressure has changed any minds, but the "proof will be in the pudding" when senators vote again to break the filibuster, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for the speaker. That vote is likely to occur Wednesday.
"There is clearly a lot of pressure," Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Monday. Baucus said he has talked to several Republicans and "there are a few" who could switch their votes.
But GOP lawmakers and aides gave no indication the intense lobbying had changed any minds, and even if the bill does pass the Senate, it may still face a presidential veto.
Republicans "are holding out for a compromise that can pass and the president can sign," said a top GOP leadership aide.
At the heart of the dispute is the decision by Democratic lawmakers to pay for the "doctors' fix" by cutting funds for Medicare Advantage, a program | [
"Who caused the bill to stall in the Senate?",
"who cut paymenst",
"How much did Medicare cut payments by?"
] | [
[
"Republicans"
],
[
"Bush administration"
],
[
"10.6 percent"
]
] | Medicare cut payments by 10.6 percent to doctors on July 1 .
Bush administration delays implementing cuts until mid-July .
Cuts could lead doctors to stop taking Medicare patients, advocacy groups argue .
Bill rolling back cuts stalled in the Senate due to Republican objections . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Responding to recent accidents linked to pilot fatigue, federal safety officials hope reduce airline pilots' logging 14-hour days. The FAA currently allows pilots to log 14-hour workdays, which the NTSB says contributes to accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report out Tuesday that pilot fatigue was a probable cause in a runway landing accident during bad weather in Michigan last winter. There were no fatalities. The Federal Aviation Administration currently allows a 14-hour workday with eight hours of logged airtime. "It's a critical issue; it's an insidious issue. Many times, the pilots themselves don't even recognize that they are fatigued when they get into that cockpit," NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said. And Rosenker made the same points about air traffic controllers more than a year ago, in April 2007. In a letter to the FAA, Rosenker said that four other plane incidents "provide clear and compelling evidence" that controllers are sometimes operating while fatigued because of their work schedules and poor use of rest periods. "That fatigue has contributed to controller errors," Rosenker wrote in 2007. "Fourteen hours is still a very long day," NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said. Her conclusion is backed by 40 years of airline accident statistics compiled by the FAA and cited Tuesday at an NTSB hearing. "After a duty period of about 10 to 12 hours, the number of observed accidents increased exponentially," NTSB staff member Malcolm Brenner said. In February, the cockpit crew of a passenger plane operated by Mesa Airlines failed to answer air traffic controllers for 18 minutes, missed the flight's destination in Hawaii and continued for another 15 miles at 21,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. The investigation has shown that "both pilots unintentionally fell asleep during cruise flight," NTSB staff member Jena Price said during a presentation to the safety board. The crew of Go! Flight 1002 eventually answered concerned calls on the radio from ground controllers, turned around and safely landed. The NTSB report called for analysis of sleep quantity, sleep quality, performance, errors and incidents traced to schedules that disrupt sleep patterns, perhaps while stretching workloads to the maximum allowed. "They cannot just keep pushing pilots until they drop," said the head of the Air Line Pilots Association, Rory Kay. He said during a break in the NTSB hearing that "pilot pushing" is an issue. "We are in tough economic times, we're being asked to do more with less, and we have to support the pilot when he makes the determination that it's time to call it quits," he said. After reviewing some possible remedies against fatigue in the cockpit, board members unanimously approved the proposal to the FAA, which would be responsible for developing guidance for the airlines to carry out. The FAA plans to hold a symposium on fatigue management next week with representatives from the aviation industry. "I want the FAA to have a complete overhaul of the flight time/duty time regulations" that presently allow a 14-hour day with eight hours of flight time, Kay said. | [
"What did the pilot group president say?",
"What contributes to crashes and near-crashes?",
"What did the NTSB say?",
"What contributed to the decision?",
"What is the length of the pilots' work day?",
"What contributed to plane crashes?",
"For how long do the pilots work?",
"Who is holding the symposium?",
"What is the main subject of the FAA symposium ?"
] | [
[
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"pilot fatigue,"
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] | Federal Aviation Administration currently allows pilots to work a 14-hour day .
NTSB said pilot fatigue has contributed to plane crashes and near-crashes .
"They can't just keep pushing pilots until they drop," pilots group president said .
FAA plans to hold a symposium on fatigue management next week . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Safety advocates are fighting efforts to allow tractor-trailers to carry heavier loads on highways, saying the trucks are already too dangerous. But at least one group says adding an axle would improve safety margins so such loads can be carried. Mark and Tracy Quinichett, whose daughter was killed in a wreck, speak Monday against raising trucks' load limits. "It is a public health crisis," policy activist Joan Claybrook said Monday, announcing a petition drive to fight larger loads that could be authorized as part of a transportation bill moving through Congress. At a Monday news conference, Claybrook -- who chaired the National Highway Transportation Administration during the Carter administration -- and her Truck Safety Coalition presented several families who have lost a loved one to a highway accident involving commercial trucks. A new Web site from the coalition, StopBiggerTrucks.org, provides statistics the group believes will persuade people to pressure lawmakers to leave truck limits as they stand. But an industry group, the Coalition for Transportation Productivity, hopes lawmakers will approve a proposal to add an axle to today's big rigs -- an action it says will allow higher load limits and lead to safer roads. Adding an axle would give big rigs 22 wheels, up from the current 18. Without the change, "more trucks will have to take to the road" to handle rising cargo demand, said John Runyan, co-chairman of the truck cargo industry group. Runyan was at the back of the room during the other group's news conference, where families gave tearful accounts of losing loved ones in truck wrecks. One of those couples, Mark and Tracy Quinichett, lost their 21-year-old daughter a few months ago when a truck's wheel flew off and crashed through the windshield of her car on the Capital Beltway outside Washington. "The larger the trucks -- it's just so much more dangerous. And if they are allowed to make these trucks larger, it's going to be a real, real problem, even more than it is right now," Mark Quinichett said. Runyan told CNN that going from 18 wheels to 22 wheels would allow for the safe transportation of heavier loads because the weight would be more evenly distributed. | [
"What Joan Claybrook says?",
"Who said it id s public health crisis?",
"What did an industry group say would happen if the load limit isn't increased?",
"What did policy activist Joan Claybrook say?",
"What did the truck industry group argue that would make heavier loads safe?",
"Who said \"It is a public health crisis,\"?",
"What would happen if load limit isn't increased?"
] | [
[
"\"It is a public health crisis,\""
],
[
"Joan Claybrook"
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[
"\"more trucks will have to take to the road\""
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[
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],
[
"adding an axle"
],
[
"Joan Claybrook"
],
[
"\"more trucks will have to take to the road\" to handle rising cargo demand,"
]
] | A petition drive is fighting effort to let trucks carry larger loads .
"It is a public health crisis," policy activist Joan Claybrook says .
Truck industry group argues adding wheels would make heavier loads safe .
Industry group: If load limit isn't increased, we'll need more trucks on the road . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sailors aboard a U.S. ocean surveillance ship reacted with a mix of bemusement and profanity to what they said was harassment by Chinese ships earlier this month, according to video released Friday by the Pentagon. The Navy says this shows a trawler crew member using a hook to try to snag the Impeccable's towed acoustic array. "Chinese aggression, from aboard the USNS Impeccable," one member of the American ship's crew is heard narrating. "Details at 11." The Pentagon has raised concerns about a March 8 incident in which "increasingly aggressive" Chinese ships harassed the Impeccable, an unarmed survey ship with a mostly civilian crew. China's government accused the ship of violating Chinese and international laws during its patrols, which took place more than 100 miles off the Chinese coast. "The U.S. claims are gravely in contravention of the facts and confuse black and white and they are totally unacceptable to China," Ma Zhaoxu, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said after news of the incident emerged. Five Chinese vessels shadowed the Impeccable, with two of them closing to within 25 feet while their crews waved Chinese flags and stripped down to their underwear in a sign of disrespect. The Impeccable also turned fire hoses on one of the ships "in order to protect itself," the Pentagon said. The Pentagon said the Chinese also attempted to snag the sonar equipment that the ship was towing behind it, leaving crew members discussing possible orders to destroy the equipment at one point. "Lou and Wilson man the hoses while the Chinese irritate us to tears," the video's narrator reports. "Here he comes for another swipe at the array cable." Watch Pentagon video of Impeccable incident » The 281.5-foot Impeccable is one of six surveillance ships that perform military survey operations, according to the Navy. It is an oceanographic ship that gathers underwater acoustic data, using sonar. It has a maximum speed of 13 knots -- or about 15 mph -- but it travels 3 knots, or 3.5 mph, when towing its array of monitoring equipment. It carries a crew of 20 mariners, five technicians and as many as 20 Navy personnel. The Chinese ships involved included a navy intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries patrol vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, the statement said. | [
"Who turned fire hoses on vessel?",
"What was the Navy surveillance vessel violating?",
"On what date did the fire hose incident take place?",
"What did China say was violating Chinese and International law?",
"who has more marine power"
] | [
[
"The Impeccable"
],
[
"Chinese and international laws"
],
[
"March 8"
],
[
"the ship"
],
[
"Chinese"
]
] | Irritation shows in video taken during harassment of U.S. ship by Chinese vessels .
China says Navy surveillance vessel was violating Chinese and international law .
USS Impeccable turned fire hoses on vessel that came close in March 8 incident .
Crew discussed possibly destroying sonar equipment Impeccable was towing . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sasha and Malia Obama had front row seats for Monday night's Kids' Inaugural Concert, but jumped on stage when the Jonas Brothers invited them up. Michelle Obama and her daughters pose with actress Keke Palmer at the Kids' Inaugural. Their mother -- incoming first lady Michelle Obama -- declared the show "pretty cool." Thousands of kids -- mostly children of military families -- danced and yelled in Washington's Verizon Center as Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Bow Wow, the Jonas Brothers and others performed. "Are we fired up in here?" Michelle Obama asked as she took the stage halfway through the two-hour show. "Are we ready to go?" Obama called on the young people to play a part in their country's future now, in activities such as volunteering at shelters for the homeless, visiting elderly neighbors or writing letters of support to troops overseas. "We all have something incredible to contribute to the life of this nation," she said, adding, "And kids, this means you, too, right?" Sasha, 7, kept her camera ready, getting photos of her favorite teen stars. While the Obama daughters have met many of the stars along the campaign trail in the past year, it was their first time to meet singer-actress Keke Palmer, a presenter at the show. Palmer, 15, said Michelle Obama told her "she was really proud of me." Most of their backstage talk was about Palmer's movies and TV show, she said. Like the Obamas, Palmer is a Chicago, Illinois, native. | [
"What does Michelle Obama urge young people to do now?",
"What did Michelle Obama have to say to young people?",
"Who was featured at the concert?",
"At what upcoming events will the Jonas Brothers be performing?",
"What artists are featured at the concert?"
] | [
[
"play a part in their country's future"
],
[
"contribute"
],
[
"Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Bow Wow, the Jonas Brothers and others"
],
[
"Kids' Inaugural Concert,"
],
[
"Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Bow Wow, the Jonas Brothers and others performed."
]
] | NEW: At concert, Michelle Obama urges young people to get involved now .
Concert features the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Bow Wow and Demi Lovato .
Billy Ray Cyrus, Keke Palmer and Usher make introductions .
Did you miss the show? It's available later on Disney.com . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Satirical TV anchorman Stephen Colbert may not have a dog in this fight, but his name alone may have helped a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix puppy beat a 6-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel. Stephen Colbert el dos rips the prize away from Mozart in the weekly competition. In the online doggie beauty pageant, the canine Steven Colbert el dos won the latest weekly semifinal, which enables him to compete for a $1 million grand prize. Colbert el dos from Georgia beat Mozart, or MoMo as he's known to his family and friends in New Orleans, Louisiana, to win cutest dog of the week. "While it certainly would have been a lot of fun for MoMo to win this past week, we're excited for Stephen Colbert el dos and his owners. What a fun and entertaining ride it's been so far." said piano teacher Cara McCool, MoMo's owner. "We're just happy for the attention this has brought to our charities as well as others supported by so many cute dogs in this competition," McCool said. Her charities included: Redeemer Presbyterian Disaster Relief, Desire Street Ministries, Louisiana Teachers Save Our Students fund, Cavalier Rescue USA, Musical Arts Society of New Orleans, the Louisiana SPCA, and Teach for America. Colbert el dos' winnings are pledged to attract a stork to his owners' house. The owners, Bryan and his wife, Allyson, are newlyweds and are hoping to use the prize money for in vitro fertilization treatments to start a family. Colbert el dos' owners asked not to have their last names published to protect their privacy. There is some controversy over the weekly contest results. When the polls closed on Saturday at midnight Pacific time, Mozart was up by 131 votes. But on Monday the competition posted a message on its blog saying Mozart's fans had cheated. "Mozart obviously worked very hard to receive over 4,500 valid votes in Week 8, but it's unfortunate that the judges had to remove 428 votes due to excessive voter accounts." The Cutest Dog Competition Web site, run by the All American Pet Brands, also said, "there is no evidence that Mozart's owner had any part in the creation of these fraudulent accounts. Colbert's votes showed no signs of cheating." More than 60,000 people have uploaded photos of their adorable dogs to the contest's Web site. Voters have to register an e-mail account with the competition. The rules state only one vote per e-mail address per day. "The fraudulent accounts, with e-mail addresses only one number apart, were all created on the same days, from the same computers, and all votes cast from these 70-plus accounts were received within one minute of each other from the same computers (which generally means the owner of these accounts simply logged off and logged back onto another account to vote again)," according to the competition Web site. Bryan said he was shocked when he found out on Monday his dog had won. "On Saturday night, I went to bed and we were down 150 votes," he said. "I know they announced the winners on the blog and I saw winner for Week 8 and I was expecting to see Mozart and I saw Stephen Colbert el dos and I just couldn't believe it." He said it was a great day for the 7-month-old puppy and his owners. Their four-legged family includes three other dogs, all rescues, but they bought Colbert el dos from Puppies Galore in Lawrenceville, Georgia. When they met him, he was 2 months old, barely weighed a pound and would not eat. The manager of the store said the puppy was regressing after he was separated from his siblings. Now Stephen Colbert el dos is eating well and, "He's as hyper as any puppy you'll see," Bryan said. Last week, they entered the competition and said they only told a few friends and family members. They posted a note on a Stephen Colbert fan site and support | [
"who beat mozart in dog beauty pageant",
"What happened to Mozart?",
"What are the voting rules?",
"What breed of dog is Mozart?",
"What is Mozarts age?",
"Who won the dog beauty pageant?",
"What does the website say?"
] | [
[
"Stephen Colbert"
],
[
"Stephen Colbert el dos rips the prize away from"
],
[
"state only one vote per e-mail address per day."
],
[
"Cavalier King Charles spaniel."
],
[
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[
"Steven Colbert el dos"
],
[
"\"Mozart obviously worked very hard to receive over 4,500 valid votes in Week 8, but it's unfortunate that the judges had to remove 428 votes due to excessive voter accounts.\""
]
] | "Stephen Colbert el dos" beats Mozart in dog beauty pageant .
Contest Web site says Mozart fans violated the voting rules .
Mozart, a 6-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, had been winning . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice invited the woman set to replace her as the nation's top diplomat, Sen. Hillary Clinton, to dinner Monday night, a State Department spokesman said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and Sen. Hillary Clinton dined together Monday night.
The dinner took place at Rice's home in the Watergate complex in downtown Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The meeting lasted for two hours, he said.
"They talked just very generally about policy -- the challenges, the opportunities -- talked a little bit about the job of secretary of state, talked about the 'building,' managing a big operation," McCormack said.
The two dined after Clinton met with members of President-elect Barack Obama's State Department transition team on Monday.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Tuesday that important information often is exchanged during such dinners between outgoing and incoming secretaries of state.
Albright, who was former President Bill Clinton's top diplomat during his second term, said she had a similar dinner with Colin Powell, President Bush's first secretary of state, in 2001. Watch Albright give her advice to Obama »
"I'm sure they had a social part of it, but Secretary Rice told her what the major challenges are, how the department works -- we call it 'the building' -- and, generally, I think they are very nice times," Albright said.
"It's just a matter of really turning over the most important job in the world on foreign policy," she added.
Albright said Clinton will have to get up to speed on a number of issues, including the status of negotiations the U.S. is engaged in, who will be part of her team and how she will work with other members of Obama's national security team.
"I know from talking to her that she has a great sense of excitement and desire to ... reintroduce America to the rest of the world," said Albright, who said she thought that Clinton would be "a very great secretary of state."
Earlier, Rice said she was looking forward to meeting her successor and said she believes Clinton will do "a great job."
"I talked with her and we're going to sit down, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've known her a long time, and she is someone that I admire," Rice told CNN on Sunday.
Despite being from different parties -- and Clinton's tough criticism of Bush's foreign policy while she was a Democratic presidential candidate -- Rice has been effusive in her praise of the former first lady.
"President-elect Obama has made his choice, and he's made a terrific choice. Hillary Clinton is somebody of intelligence, and she'll do a great job," Rice told ABC News on Sunday.
"She also has what's most important to being secretary of state, and that is that you love this country, and you represent it from a basis of faith in its values. And I know that she will do that," Rice added.
Obama's decision to tap Clinton as his top diplomat already has brought about changes. On Tuesday, former President Clinton released the corporate sponsors of a Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Hong Kong, a practice he previously has resisted.
The sponsors of last week's meeting included CLSA, Laureate, the Roberson Foundation, Citi, the Li Ka Shing Foundation, The Economist, HP, Ogilvy, Suzlon, Thomson Reuters and CNN.
The former president agreed to make it a regular practice to disclose the sponsors of his global initiative as part of a deal with the Obama transition team to allow the nomination of his wife to go forward.
He also has agreed to allow State Department officials to review his speeches and other personal activities. | [
"Where did the Dinner between the Secretary of State and Sen. Hillary Clinton take place?",
"Who was invited?",
"Who invited Hillary Clinton to dinner?",
"Who released names?",
"In what city did Bill Clinton release the names of Sponsors of Clinton Global Initiative",
"Who was invited to dinner?",
"Who did the Secretary of State invite to dinner?",
"Where is the Clinton Global Initiative?"
] | [
[
"at Rice's home in the Watergate complex in downtown Washington,"
],
[
"Sen. Hillary Clinton,"
],
[
"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice"
],
[
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],
[
"Hong Kong,"
],
[
"Sen. Hillary Clinton,"
],
[
"Hillary Clinton,"
],
[
"Hong Kong,"
]
] | Secretary of state invites Sen. Hillary Clinton to dinner at her Washington home .
Such dinners allow for exchange of important information, ex-secretary of state says .
Bill Clinton releases names of sponsors of Clinton Global Initiative in Hong Kong . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton had $6.4 million in presidential campaign debt at the end of November, according to a report filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.
Hillary Clinton says she hopes to have her campaign debt paid before her possible confirmation as secretary of state.
The amount, though still significant, represents the lowest level of debt the New York senator's failed presidential campaign has reported this year. Clinton's campaign debt reached its peak, $12 million, at the end of June and has gradually fallen since then.
Clinton said she hopes to pay off her debt before her possible confirmation as secretary of state.
Clinton has also officially forgiven the $13.2 million she personally loaned her campaign. Under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, presidential candidates who loan their campaigns money from personal funds may only be paid back if they do so by the national party convention -- in this case, the Democratic National Convention held last August in Denver.
Clinton began November with $985,000 in her campaign account and raised nearly $290,000 by the end of the month. Her campaign paid out $1.2 million, mainly to unpaid vendors, ending the month with $188,000 in the bank.
The $6.4 million in remaining debt is owed to a total of 16 creditors.
The largest unpaid amount is owed to Penn, Schoen & Berland, a political consulting and polling firm that advised Clinton during her presidential bid.
The firm's president, Mark Penn, served as chief strategist to Clinton for most of her campaign until he was forced out of his position in April after revelations that he lobbied for a U.S.-Colombia trade deal on behalf of the Colombian government despite Clinton's opposition to the measure. However, he never left the campaign entirely. | [
"what does she hope for",
"what does clinton owe",
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"what did clinton forgive",
"What does Hillary Clinton owe more than $6m for?"
] | [
[
"to have her campaign debt paid before her possible confirmation as secretary of state."
],
[
"$6.4 million in presidential campaign"
],
[
"before her possible confirmation as secretary of state."
],
[
"the $13.2 million she personally loaned her campaign."
],
[
"presidential campaign"
]
] | Hillary Clinton still owes more than $6 million in presidential campaign debt .
Clinton has officially forgiven the $13.2 million personal loan to her campaign .
She hopes to have debt paid before her possible confirmation as secretary of state . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Security contractors in Iraq use some over-the-top tactics and overreact at times, a top U.S. general in Iraq said Friday. Members of a private security company prepare the way for a U.S. convoy in Baghdad, Iraq. Many in Iraq have witnessed security contractors operating in a questionable fashion, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief of staff for the Multi-National Corps in Iraq. "I can certainly say I've seen them do some tactics that I thought were over the top. But that's something we've got to keep working out," Anderson said in a briefing to Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Iraq. His comments soon after Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he wants closer oversight of Pentagon contractors in Iraq. Gates has dispatched a team there to review accountability and oversight. Anderson did not offer specific examples of incidents he had seen. He agreed security contractors in Iraq have taken a lot of criticism, but he said they are in a tough position. "They obviously have a tough job to do in a tough environment. I don't know if they're overly aggressive. I think the question becomes what rules do they follow with respect to what the rules of engagement are," he said. The actions of private security contractors have come under scrutiny since a Baghdad shooting incident earlier this month. Iraqi authorities say Blackwater guards fired indiscriminately, killing as many as 20 civilians; Blackwater says its employees responded properly to an insurgent attack on a convoy. Under an order laid down by the U.S.-led occupation government in 2004, security contractors are not subject to Iraqi law for actions taken within their contracts, a condition that irritates Iraqi officials. About 137,000 civilians are working for the U.S. military in Iraq, Gates said Wednesday. That number includes at least 7,300 of the estimated 25,000 private security contractors working in Iraq, he said. After the Blackwater shootings, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England issued a memo to commanders in Iraq outlining their responsibility for holding contractors accountable, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. Anderson said the assessment team sent by Gates is getting a feel for how the military employs contractors, to what scale, what functions they're providing and what differentiates between Department of Defense and Department of State contractors in the security role. The State Department also is investigating the role of private security contractors. Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, a management and policy expert, will lead the effort, along with a high-level panel of outside experts, including retired Gen. George Joulwan, former commander of NATO forces in Europe; Stapleton Roy, former U.S. ambassador to China; and Eric Boswell, a former assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wants an interim report by next Friday. E-mail to a friend | [
"Which group has overreacted?",
"Who says says he's seen private security contractors overreact ?",
"Who does the defense secretary say he wants closer oversight of in Iraq?",
"Who wants closer oversight of contractors?",
"What does Blackwater say?",
"Who overreacted ?"
] | [
[
"Security contractors in Iraq"
],
[
"U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson,"
],
[
"Pentagon contractors"
],
[
"Defense Secretary Robert Gates"
],
[
"its employees responded properly to an insurgent attack on a convoy."
],
[
"Security contractors in Iraq"
]
] | U.S. general says he's seen private security contractors overreact .
Defense secretary says he wants closer oversight of Pentagon contractors in Iraq .
Iraqi officials upset after civilians killed by Blackwater USA guards .
Blackwater says its contractors were attacked . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday criticized a recent vote by Democratic presidential rival Sen. Hillary Clinton as helping to give President Bush a "blank check" to take military action against Iran.
Sen. Barack Obama says Sen. Hillary Clinton has shown "flawed" judgment.
"We know in the past that the president has used some of the flimsiest excuses to try to move his agenda regardless of what Congress says," Obama said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
Last month, Clinton voted to support a resolution declaring Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite part of the Iranian military, a foreign terrorist group. (The nonbinding amendment to the Defense Authorization Act passed by a 76-22 vote.)
Obama said he would have voted against the measure but didn't because he was campaigning in New Hampshire at the time. He said it was impossible to know when votes will be scheduled in the Senate. "This is a problem" related to running for president, he said.
Obama said Clinton also had shown "flawed" judgment during the vote to authorize the Iraq war five years ago.
"We know that there was embodied in this legislation, or this resolution sent to the Senate, language that would say our Iraqi troop structures should in part be determined by our desire to deal with Iran," Obama said. "Now if you know that in the past the president has taken a blank check and cashed it, we don't want to repeat that mistake."
Clinton on Thursday defended her vote on the resolution during an interview on New Hampshire Public Radio, saying "what I voted on was a nonbinding resolution. It's not an amendment. It's not a law."
While Clinton was campaigning Sunday in New Hampton, Iowa, an audience member at a town hall-style meeting pressed her on why she voted for the Iran measure and asked why she hadn't learned from past "mistakes." Calling "the premise of the question" wrong, the senator from New York argued the resolution calls for the terrorist label so that sanctions can be imposed.
The sanctions, Clinton said, will in turn "send a clear message to the leadership" and lead to stronger diplomatic efforts.
Earlier this month, Clinton also co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, that would prohibit military operations against Iran without congressional approval.
Obama's comments came on the fifth anniversary of the 77-23 Senate vote that authorized the president to use force against Iraq. Obama, then an Illinois state senator, spoke out against the resolution authorizing force at the time.
Clinton's 2002 vote shows a clear difference in judgment between the two of them, Obama said. Watch as Obama questions Clinton's judgment »
"I don't think it disqualified her, but I think it speaks to her judgment and it speaks to my judgment," Obama said. "It speaks to how we will make decisions going forward.
"I think her judgment was flawed on this issue."
Obama said he also will step up efforts to clarify his differences with Clinton, whom many political observers view as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
"There's no doubt we are moving into a different phase of the campaign," Obama said. "The first part of a campaign is to offer some biography and give people a sense of where I've been and what I am about.
"In this next phase, we want to make sure that voters understand that on big issues, like the decision to go into the war in Iraq, I had real differences with the other candidates, and that reflects on my judgment."
Another leading Democratic candidate, John Edwards, also voted in 2002 to authorize force in Iraq while he was then a senator from North Carolina. He later called his vote a mistake.
In a veiled swipe at Clinton, Obama also suggested he could better unite the country and offer "something new, as opposed to looking backward and simply duplicating some of the politics | [
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"Who did Obama say showed flawed judgement",
"What is Hillary Clinton defending?",
"What president was Sen. Barack Obama talking about?",
"what does obama say about clinton?",
"What did Clinton say about the vote",
"What did Clinton vote on?",
"What is the next phase of the campaign?",
"Which country was the resolution about?",
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"What did Clinton defend?",
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"who is barack obama?",
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"What is Obama's opinion?"
] | [
[
"helping to give President Bush a \"blank check\" to take military action against Iran."
],
[
"President Bush"
],
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"recent vote by Democratic presidential"
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"her vote on the resolution"
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[
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],
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],
[
"make sure that voters understand that on big issues,"
],
[
"Iran,\""
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"her vote on the resolution"
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"has shown \"flawed\" judgment."
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[
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],
[
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]
] | NEW: Sen. Hillary Clinton defends vote on resolution, saying "it's not a law"
Sen. Barack Obama: President could use Iran measure to justify military action .
Obama says Clinton's vote for resolution shows "flawed" judgment .
Differences with Clinton will be clear in "next phase" of campaign, Obama says . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that the most important thing he could achieve as president would be to deal with Iraq and the threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan while improving "our influence around the world." Sen. Barack Obama, in his first interview since the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, speaks with Wolf Blitzer. In his first interview since the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Obama said he thinks the United States' influence around the world has been diminishing. "The world wants to see the United States lead. They've been disappointed and disillusioned over the last seven, eight years," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview on "The Situation Room." "I think there is still a sense everywhere I go that if the United States regains its sense of who it is and our values and our ideals, that we will continue to set the tone for a more peaceful and prosperous world." Watch the full interview with Obama » Obama said he thinks the way the war in Iraq has been handled has kept the United States from focusing on key issues like energy policy, global warming and the economy. Americans want to succeed, he said, "but we're going to have to make some investments and ensure that the dynamism and the innovation of the American people is released." "It's very hard for us to do that when we're spending close to $200 billion a year in other countries, rebuilding those countries instead of focusing on making ourselves strong," he said. Obama downplayed headlines and stories, such as the cover of Time magazine, that have declared him the Democratic presidential nominee. "I don't want to be jinxed. We've still got some work to do," he said. Watch an analysis of some of Obama's comments » Obama predicted that he and Sen. Hillary Clinton would probably split the remaining contests and said Clinton would win the upcoming primary in West Virginia by a "big margin." Obama won North Carolina by a 14-point margin Tuesday. Clinton squeaked out a win in Indiana by 2 points. In the days after those contests, some top Democrats have called on Clinton to step aside. Obama deflected a question about a potential joint ticket with the New York senator, saying it's too early to start thinking about running mates. "Sen. Clinton has shown herself to be an extraordinary candidate. She's tireless, she's smart, she's capable, and so obviously she'd be on anybody's short list to be a potential vice presidential candidate," he said. "But it would be presumptuous of me at this point ... to somehow suggest that she should be my running mate." Watch viewer responses to question: Should Obama offer Clinton the No. 2 spot? » Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and a co-chairman of Clinton's campaign, commented Thursday on the possibility of a joint ticket. "I think what she's interested in being the nominee of the party. ... We're fighting hard for it. This woman has been working tirelessly through this campaign. ... Hillary has earned the right to do whatever she wants to do." Obama said he's ready for what would be the next phase if he becomes the nominee: a matchup against Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP candidate. Obama said he was offended when McCain said last month, "It's very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president." "I think it's disappointing because John McCain always says, 'Well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics,' and then to engage in that kind of smear I think is unfortunate, particularly since my policy on Hamas has been no different than his," Obama said. "And so for him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination." When asked to respond to McCain supporters -- such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- who | [
"What is it too early to discuss?",
"What is too early for Obama to discuss?",
"Who says US influence has been diminishing?",
"Who downplays the notion?",
"What did the Clinton camp say?"
] | [
[
"running mates."
],
[
"start thinking about running mates."
],
[
"Obama"
],
[
"Obama"
],
[
"she's interested in being the nominee of the party."
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] | Obama says he thinks U.S. influence has been diminishing .
Candidate downplays notion that he is already the Democratic nominee .
Obama says it's too early to discuss potential running mates .
Clinton camp says she's "fighting hard" to be nominee, not running mate . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama's 30-minute TV ad, which ran simultaneously on broadcast and cable networks at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, is muscle-flexing that has little precedent, a campaign advertising expert said.
Sen. Barack Obama aired a 30-minute campaign ad Wednesday night.
"It's evidence, if you needed any, that the Obama campaign has more money than there is ad time left to buy," said Evan Tracey, director of the Campaign Media Analysis Group. "This is flexing the muscles."
Tracey estimates that it will cost the campaign "in the $4 to 5 million range -- at a minimum, $3.5 million."
But, he said, spending the money is a "no-brainer" for the Democratic presidential hopeful.
"The strategic brilliance of this for Obama is that he is going to consume about 24 hours of the news cycle," Tracey said. "It boxes [John] McCain in, takes the oxygen out of the room."
In the carefully produced infomercial, Obama laid out his plans for the economy and for bringing an end to the war in Iraq.
It also featured stories of struggling families in swing states such as Ohio and Missouri and included testimonials from high-profile supporters, including Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. iReport.com: What do you want to ask Sen. Obama?
Obama's Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, was not mentioned, nor was the GOP. The spot ended with a brief, live Obama address to a rally in Florida, another hotly contested state in this year's campaign.
"I'm reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man," he said. "I will not be a perfect president.
"But I can promise you this: I will always tell you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree. And, most importantly, I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your own democracy again."
There was so much buzz surrounding the infomercial -- which was announced about two weeks ago -- that on Tuesday, Time magazine's Mark Halperin put the ad's two editors on his daily list of the "five most important people in American politics not running for president." Watch more on the Obama campaign ad buy »
Those editors, Erik Smith and Mark Putnam, were "still in an edit room" cutting the 30-minute piece Tuesday when he published the list, according to Halperin, Time's editor-at-large and senior political analyst.
The ad ran at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox, BET, TV One and Univision, the Spanish-language network, six days before Election Day.
CNN declined to run the spot, and talks between ABC and the Obama campaign fell apart.
"We were approached by the Obama campaign and declined their request," said Sal Petruzzi, senior vice president for public relations of Turner Broadcasting, CNN's parent company.
"We did not want to pre-empt our programming lineup with a 30-minute spot. We would rather use our air to continue to cover the campaign, candidates and issues like we always do, from all points of view with the best political team on television."
An ABC spokeswoman declined to comment about the network's talks with the Obama campaign.
"As a matter of policy we don't comment about clients with whom we are doing business," said Julie Hoover of ABC. The Obama campaign has bought advertising on ABC in the past, she said, "but they did not buy the half-hour."
Obama taped an interview Wednesday with ABC's Charles Gibson, which is to run Thursday, his campaign said.
A source familiar with ABC policy suggested the network had offered the Obama campaign a different time slot.
"Hypothetically, we would have offered them equivalent time," the source said. "We don't | [
"What does the new ad feature?",
"Who is in the ads?",
"what does obama discuss",
"What is featured in Obama's ad?",
"what does the new obama ad feature"
] | [
[
"stories of struggling families in swing states"
],
[
"Sen. Barack Obama's"
],
[
"an end to the war in Iraq."
],
[
"laid out his plans for the economy and for bringing"
],
[
"stories of struggling families"
]
] | NEW: Obama ad features stories of struggling families, high-profile endorsements .
NEW: Obama discusses plans for economy, bringing end to Iraq war .
NEW: On ad's timing, McCain says it used to take "act of God" to delay World Series .
McCain launched an ad attacking Obama for his 30-minute special . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton decided to join her one-time rival's team because she wanted to be part of the "greatest adventure of our century," she said Monday after President-elect Barack Obama named her as his nominee for secretary of state.
Sen. Hillary Clinton addresses the media in Chicago on Monday while President-elect Barack Obama looks on.
"President Kennedy once said that engaging the world to meet the threats we face was the greatest adventure of our century," Clinton said during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois, when Obama unveiled his national security team. "Well, Mr. President-elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century."
Clinton said she would work to restore America's position as "a force for positive change" in the world.
"America is a place founded on the idea that everyone should have the right to live up to his or her God-given potential. And it is that same ideal that must guide America's purpose in the world today," she said. Watch Clinton accept Obama's offer »
During the news conference, Obama called Clinton a woman of "extraordinary intelligence and toughness" who will "command respect in every capital."
"Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances," Obama said.
Speculation that Obama would appoint his former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination to the nation's top diplomatic post surfaced after the two meet secretly in Chicago in mid-November.
When Clinton's name was first mentioned for secretary of state, the Obama team reviewed the relationships her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had forged as part of his charitable foundation work. The Obama team was concerned that the relationships could create conflicts of interest.
To address those concerns, the former president agreed to disclose the names of the more than 200,000 donors to his presidential foundation, a move he had previously resisted, Obama aides told CNN on Sunday.
He also agreed to separate his work with the Clinton Global Initiative from his foundation work and submit the text of future speeches and other activities to State Department officials for review, the Obama aides said.
In a statement, President Clinton said he was "deeply proud" that Obama has chosen his wife to be secretary of state.
"She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America's image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities," he said.
During the presidential campaign, Obama and Clinton traded tough statements on foreign policy, but, now, Obama and Clinton will be in the same administration, albeit one led by Obama. Watch more about the other members of the security team »
In a now famous ad that showed a telephone ringing at 3 a.m., Clinton challenged Obama's readiness to handle foreign policy crises. Later, Obama questioned Clinton's argument that she had more foreign policy experience.
But during the news conference, Obama dismissed any lingering resentment between himself and Clinton as a result of the tough campaign.
Clinton and the other members of the national security team "would not have agreed to join my administration -- and I would not have asked them to be part of this administration -- unless we shared a core vision of what's needed to keep the American people safe and to assure prosperity here at home and peace abroad," he said.
Obama said there was not a "light bulb moment" when he decided to ask Clinton to be his secretary of state but would not reveal details on the talks that led up to him asking his former rival to join his team. Watch Obama praise Clinton's abilities »
"I have always admired Sen. Clinton. We have worked together extensively in the Senate," Obama said.
"After the election was over and I began to | [
"What did Obama call Clinton?",
"Who has been tapped for secretary of state?",
"Wht did Obama say national security team members share?",
"How did Obama describe Clinton?",
"What position did Hillary Clinton get?",
"Who did the president-elect tap?",
"How did Obama describe Hillary Clinton?",
"Who did Obama choose as secretary of state?"
] | [
[
"a woman of \"extraordinary intelligence and toughness\""
],
[
"Sen. Hillary Clinton"
],
[
"a core vision of what's needed to keep the American people safe and to assure prosperity here at home and peace abroad,\""
],
[
"a woman of \"extraordinary intelligence and toughness\" who will \"command respect in every capital.\""
],
[
"secretary of state."
],
[
"Sen. Hillary Clinton"
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[
"a woman of \"extraordinary intelligence and toughness\" who will \"command respect in every capital.\""
],
[
"Sen. Hillary Clinton"
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] | President-elect Obama taps Sen. Hillary Clinton to be his secretary of state .
Obama calls Clinton a woman of "extraordinary intelligence and toughness"
Former rivals engaged in tough exchanges on foreign policy during primary fight .
Obama says national security team members share common "core vision" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton on Saturday will officially suspend her campaign for the presidency and "express her support for Senator Obama and party unity," her campaign said Wednesday. Sen. Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that she will let her supporters and party leaders decide her course. The Clinton campaign said she will make the announcement at "an event in Washington, D.C.," where she will also thank her supporters. Sen. Barack Obama and Clinton were in Washington on Wednesday to each address the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The candidates ran into each other at the AIPAC conference and had a brief chat, Obama spokeswoman Linda Douglass said. "She's an extraordinary leader of the Democratic Party and has made history alongside me over the last 16 months. I'm very proud to have competed against her," Obama told the Israel lobbying group. Obama became his party's presumptive nominee Tuesday and will be looking to unite Democrats divided by the long and contentious primary season. "I am very confident how unified the Democratic Party is going to be to win in November," he said in a Senate hallway Wednesday. iReport.com: Obama/Clinton -- dream team or nightmare? Some say that putting Clinton on the ticket might fit the bill for uniting Democrats. Clinton lavished her opponent with praise Tuesday, saying he ran an "extraordinary race" and made politics more palatable for many. Watch how the primary played out » Prominent Clinton backer Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, thinks the New York senator could have been "far more generous" during her speech Tuesday night after it was clear that Obama had clinched the Democratic nomination. Rangel, the senior member of the New York congressional delegation and an early supporter of Clinton's presidential campaign, said Wednesday that Clinton should have been more clear about what her plans are. "I would agree that after the math was in before her speech, that she could have been far more generous in terms of being more specific and saying that she wants a Democratic victory," Rangel said on MSNBC. "I don't see what they're talking about in prolonging this," Rangel added. "There's nothing to prolong if you're not going to take the fight to the convention floor. ... I don't know why she could not have been more open in terms of doing up front what she intends to do later." But with some Democrats clamoring for her to join Obama on the ticket, and with the Democratic National Convention -- and thus, the official anointment -- still more than two months out, the senator from New York gave no hint as to her plans. See VP prospects' pros, cons » She again invoked the popular vote, saying she snared "more votes than any primary candidate in history," but primaries come down to delegates, and according to CNN calculations, Obama has her beaten, 2,156 to 1,923. Even the White House seemed convinced of Obama's victory. White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday that President Bush congratulated Obama on becoming the first black nominee from a major party. She said his win shows that the United States "has come a long way." Clinton vowed to keep fighting for an end to the war in Iraq, for universal health care, for a stronger economy and better energy policy, but she didn't indicate in what capacity she would wage these battles. That, she said, would be up to her supporters and the party brass. See what lies in store this fall » The party's best interests were high on the minds of party leaders Wednesday, as Sen. Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin and DNC Chairman Howard Dean called on Democrats to focus on the general election. "To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted superdelegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week so that our party can stand united and begin our march toward reversing the eight years of failed Bush/McCain policies that have weakened our country," said a statement from the | [
"When will Clinton suspend presidential campaign?",
"Who is Obama confident he can unite?",
"Who will suspend their presidential campaign?",
"Who could have been more generous?",
"What did Obama say about uniting Democrats by November?",
"What will Clinton suspend?"
] | [
[
"Saturday"
],
[
"Democrats"
],
[
"Sen. Hillary Clinton"
],
[
"Clinton"
],
[
"\"I am very confident how unified the Democratic Party is going to be to win in November,\""
],
[
"her campaign"
]
] | NEW: Clinton will suspend presidential campaign Saturday, sources say .
Obama, Clinton spoke by phone Wednesday, but VP slot was not discussed .
Rangel says Clinton could've been "far more generous" on Tuesday night .
Obama says he's "very confident" he can unite Democrats by November . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton was in the White House on multiple occasions when her husband had sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, according to newly released documents.
The National Archives released 11,000 pages of Hillary Clinton's schedule as first lady.
The National Archives on Wednesday released more than 11,000 pages of Clinton's schedule when she was first lady.
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign pushed for the documents' release, arguing that their review is necessary to make a full evaluation of Clinton's experience as first lady.
But the documents also provide a glimpse into Clinton's life during her husband's publicized affair.
The scandal involving former president Bill Clinton and Lewinsky, first broke in the national media on January 21, 1998.
According to the documents, Hillary Clinton started that day at a private meeting in the White House.
She later made an appearance at a college in Baltimore, Maryland, and stayed there until late in the afternoon before returning to the White House for a black-tie dinner. Watch where Hillary Clinton was during the scandal »
The schedules reveal where Clinton was, but provide no indication of how she dealt with the controversy.
Carl Bernstein, who wrote a biography of Hillary Clinton, said there was much more going on behind the scenes.
"She was on the telephone with her aides, she was trying to learn more about what the press was doing, she did not want to give the impression of a firestorm that was raging outside," he said.
On the day her husband made his first public admission -- August 16, 1998 -- she was on a trip to Martha's Vineyard.
She had no public schedule for the days that followed. And on December 19, 1998 -- the day the House voted to impeach her husband -- the calendar shows a holiday party.
A dance between the president and first lady is listed as "optional."
The papers show Hillary Clinton had no public schedule on the day independent counsel Kenneth Starr was appointed to investigate Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, or on the day Bill Clinton was deposed in the case.
On the day the affair began -- November 15, 1995, according to Starr's report -- Hillary Clinton had a private meeting and a meet-and-greet with then-Vice President Al Gore and Nobel Prize winners.
Lewinsky said she and the president had an encounter in the bathroom outside the Oval Office study on January 7, 1996. This is the same day the president and his wife had a small dinner gathering at the White House, according to the documents.
The president and Lewinsky also had a sexual encounter on February 4, 1996, according to Lewinsky. On this day, the president and Hillary Clinton went to the National Governors Association annual dinner.
Hillary Clinton kept up a busy schedule as the affair spiraled into impeachment.
Thousands of pages are marked by redactions -- blacked-out information like the names of people who attended meetings.
"This is not about someone who is eager to shine a light on her full record. That's the point. And at the same time, some of this is understandable -- when you're running for office, the slightest thing can be misinterpreted," Bernstein said.
But the schedules also show her involvement in policy -- she dove into health care reform just three days after her husband's inauguration in 1993, and dozens of related events followed.
Despite her efforts, the Clinton health care reform foundered in Congress.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said the trove of documents "shows she was a co-president," revealing an "extraordinary extent of meetings for an unelected official to be meeting with cabinet officials."
The documents cover nearly 2,900 days. An additional 27 days will be posted in the near future, the archives said.
The documents are among those at the center of a legal battle between the archives and Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest group that has long urged a speedier release of files from the Clinton White House years.
In a court motion this | [
"How many days are covered by the documents?",
"what do documents shed light on",
"how many documents are there",
"What is the name of the person Clinton had an affair with?",
"What do the documents shed light on?",
"What do the documents cover?",
"What was the scandal?",
"what do the the documents shed light on"
] | [
[
"2,900"
],
[
"glimpse into Clinton's life during her husband's publicized affair."
],
[
"11,000"
],
[
"Monica Lewinsky,"
],
[
"Clinton's life during her husband's publicized affair."
],
[
"provide a glimpse into Clinton's life during her husband's publicized affair."
],
[
"involving former president Bill Clinton and Lewinsky,"
],
[
"glimpse into Clinton's life during her husband's publicized affair."
]
] | Documents shed light on Clinton's schedule during affair and resulting scandal .
Papers also document her involvement in policy, specifically health care reform .
More than 11,000 documents cover nearly 2,900 days . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton's chief presidential campaign strategist is quitting his post amid criticism of his public relations firm's contacts with the Colombian government over a pending free-trade deal, Clinton's campaign announced. Mark Penn will continue to advise Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Mark Penn and his political consulting firm will continue to advise the New York senator's Democratic presidential bid, but Penn will give up his job as chief strategist, campaign manager Maggie Williams said. "After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as chief strategist of the Clinton campaign," Williams said. Clinton did not answer reporters' questions about Penn's exit during a campaign stop in New Mexico on Sunday. Penn is CEO of public relations giant Burson-Marsteller and is president of Penn, Schoen and Berland, his political consulting firm. Friday, he acknowledged he had met with the Colombian ambassador to the United States earlier in the week in his role as Burson-Marsteller's chief to discuss the pending U.S.-Colombia trade pact, which Clinton has criticized on the campaign trail. Penn called the meeting "an error in judgment that will not be repeated," and apologized. That prompted Colombia's government to fire the company Saturday, calling the remarks "a lack of respect to Colombians." Clinton and top aides were sharply critical of rival Democrat Barack Obama in February when reports indicated that his top economic adviser had suggested to a Canadian official that Obama was not as supportive of changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement as the Illinois senator claimed to be on the campaign trail. Penn said Friday that Clinton's opposition to the U.S.-Colombia pact, which the Bush administration is trying to push through Congress, "is clear and was not discussed" during his meeting with the ambassador. And Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said Penn's meeting was "not in any way done on behalf of the campaign." But Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell -- a key Clinton backer in his state's April 22 primary -- suggested Sunday that Penn needed to go. "I think you've got to make it very clear for someone who is a consultant, who you are representing and who you are not representing, and I would hope that Mr. Penn, when he talked to the Colombians, made that clear. And it doesn't sound to me like he did, and that's something the campaign should take into question," Rendell told NBC's "Meet the Press." Sources in the Clinton campaign said that Penn realized this weekend that he needed to step aside, and that Clinton was disappointed that he had met with the Colombians. E-mail to a friend | [
"What role Penn's going to play in campaign?",
"What will Penn continue to do?",
"Who has an advisory role?",
"What company CEO is Mark Penn?",
"Who is Mark Penn?",
"Who did Penn meet with?"
] | [
[
"advise Hillary Clinton's presidential"
],
[
"advise Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign."
],
[
"Mark Penn"
],
[
"Burson-Marsteller"
],
[
"chief strategist of the Clinton campaign,\""
],
[
"Colombian ambassador"
]
] | Mark Penn is CEO of public relations giant Burson-Marsteller .
Penn met with Colombia ambassador over trade pact .
Colombia fired Penn's company on Saturday .
Penn will continue to have advisory role in campaign . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will face off for their first and only debate in the presidential race Thursday night, an event pitting a political veteran against a political newcomer.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been preparing since last week for Thursday's debate.
Both candidates have recently tried to lower expectations leading into the debate, where topics will range from domestic to foreign policy.
The debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, will start at 9 p.m. ET and be moderated by PBS's Gwen Ifill.
For Palin, the stakes are high. After skyrocketing onto the national stage and energizing the Republican faithful, the first-term Alaskan governor has struggled recently to regain her footing after several shaky network TV interviews with ABC's Charlie Gibson and CBS's Katie Couric. View memorable moments from other debates »
Palin said Tuesday that she's different.
"I think they're just not used to someone coming in from the outside saying, 'You know what? It's time that normal Joe Six-Pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency,' and I think that that's kind of taken some people off-guard," she said in a radio interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt.
Palin's interview gave the vice presidential candidate a chance to showcase elements of her life story and demonstrate some of the folksiness that's been central to her political success.
It's exactly the kind of interview that voters can expect to see from the governor in the coming weeks, according to a Palin adviser, who recognized that there is hunger in Republican circles and among the public at large to see a less-scripted, more authentic candidate.
"We're going to be continue to put her in settings where she has an opportunity to shine, to be on offense," the adviser said. "We've gotten very good feedback from the public from Hugh Hewitt interview."
The adviser suggested that the campaign's efforts at damage control after Palin's interview with Couric may have been hampered by the fact that the governor wasn't doing more friendly interviews to counter her flubs on Russia and the congressional bailout bill, which have reverberated throughout the blogosphere and even turned Palin into a punch line on "Saturday Night Live."
"We acknowledge that perhaps she should have been out there doing more," the adviser said, arguing that "it's not fair to judge her off one or two sound bites" from the network interviews.
Palin is apparently eager to take on a more outspoken role, both in interviews and in her stump speech, after Thursday's vice presidential debate in order to remind voters of what it is they like about her. iReport.com: Watch debate, then tell us who won
"She connects really well, and she's good at it, and she wants to be doing more of it, and she will do more of it," the adviser said.
For the Democrats, Biden has served in the Senate for 35 years. His biggest challenge will be to stick to the script. He's known for making off-the-cuff remarks, including some gaffes. Watch analysts weigh in on Thursday's debate »
A Biden aide said the senator is ready. He left Wednesday's debate preparation in Delaware to vote on the economic recovery bill in Congress.
"I haven't read the package yet, but my anticipation is I'm going to vote 'yes.' But I want to see. That's why I'm going home now to get briefed on the details," Biden said.
Biden campaign aides are actively playing up Palin's debating skills. His spokesman called Palin "a leviathan of forensics," a classic example of the campaign tactic of raising the expectations of their opponent and lowering their own.
"She's very skilled, and she'll be well-prepared," Barack Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, said Sunday night while flying with Biden back to Delaware to help him get ready.
"As you saw at the | [
"Who is said to be eager to prove herself?",
"What should Biden avoid?",
"Are the stakes for Palin high or low?",
"Who is facing off in their only debate on Thursday night?",
"Who is to face off on the debate?",
"Who will debate Thursday night?",
"Who faces off in the debate?"
] | [
[
"Sarah Palin"
],
[
"off-the-cuff remarks,"
],
[
"are"
],
[
"Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin"
],
[
"Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin"
],
[
"Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin"
],
[
"Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin"
]
] | Joe Biden, Sarah Palin to face off in their only debate Thursday night .
Stakes high for Palin, who is said to be eager to prove herself .
Biden is political veteran who must avoid embarrassing gaffes . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain on Thursday accused Sen. Barack Obama of breaking a promise when the Democrat decided to forgo public financing in this fall's campaign.
Sen. Barack Obama repeatedly broke campaign fundraising records during the Democratic primary season.
Obama told supporters in an e-mail message Thursday that he would not accept about $85 million in public funds when he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee.
In the e-mail, Obama said the public campaign financing system allowed "special interests [to] drown out the voices of the American people" and asked his supporters to "declare our independence from a broken system."
McCain said that Obama's move to drop out of the system "should be disturbing to all Americans" and that he may decide to opt out, too.
"Sen. Obama's reversal on public financing is one of a number of reversals ... that he has taken," McCain said while touring flood-damaged parts of Iowa.
"This election is about a lot of things, but it's also about trust. It's also about whether you can take people's word. ... He said he would stick to his agreement. He didn't." Watch McCain's attack on Obama »
He said his campaign will reconsider whether to opt out as well.
"We''l have to reevaluate in light of his decision," he said. But he said he leans toward taking public money.
But Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an Obama supporter, argued that the Democrat had "more than realized the objective of public financing" by setting up a system to accept small donations over the Internet.
"It has given the American people a voice in our political process and has forever changed politics in this country by inspiring record numbers of Americans to participate in bringing change to Washington," Emanuel said.
Despite the heated back-and-forth, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said it is unlikely the controversy will influence voters.
"I'm not sure it's a big deal for most voters. There's not a lot of support for the public financing system." Schneider said. "About a year ago, the polls asked people if they supported the idea that candidates and campaigns should be financed by taxpayer money ... and most persons said no.
"They like the idea of financing campaigns through small contributions from a lot of individual contributors, which is what Obama has done," he said.
Obama would be the first major presidential candidate to drop out of the modern campaign financing system for the general election since its creation in 1976 in the post-Watergate era.
Under this system, candidates agree to spend only the public funds and cannot raise or spend money directly obtained from individuals.
Because he has decided not participate in the system, Obama will be able to spend an unlimited amount of money during the general election.
The two camps also bickered Thursday over whether they had held negotiations on public financing before Obama's move to drop out.
Obama counsel Bob Bauer said he discussed the public funding issue for 45 minutes with Trevor Potter, his McCain counterpart, on June 6 when they met to talk about a possible town-hall appearance between the candidates.
Potter said the two "spoke in general terms about the public financing system, with Bob outlining reasons it could be considered 'broken' or irrelevant in 2008, and I explaining why Sen. McCain remained committed to it and thought it was good for the country."
Given his record-breaking ability to raise donations over the Internet, the Illinois Democrat probably will be able to raise more than and outspend the presumptive GOP nominee. Watch CNN's Candy Crowley explain the significance of Obama's decision »
Since January 2007, Obama has raised more than $272 million, including nearly $31 million in April. During that time period, McCain has raised less than half that amount, roughly $100 million. In April, the Arizona Republican brought in about $18 million.
The FEC ruled unanimously in March 2007 that presidential candidates could accept general | [
"Analysts say what?",
"What will the move allow?",
"How much money can Obama spend to campaign now?",
"McCain says what should be disturbing?",
"What did the analyst say about the voters?",
"Move will allow Obama to do what?",
"What did McCain say?",
"What did Barack Obama say?",
"What did Sen. John McCain say about the decision?",
"What did McCain call \"disturbing\"?"
] | [
[
"\"I'm not sure it's a big deal for most voters. There's not a lot of support for the public financing system.\" Schneider said. \"About a year ago, the polls asked people if they supported the idea that candidates and campaigns should be financed by taxpayer money ... and most persons said no."
],
[
"\"special interests [to] drown out the voices of the American people\""
],
[
"more than $272 million,"
],
[
"Obama's move to drop out of the system"
],
[
"it is unlikely the controversy will influence"
],
[
"spend an unlimited amount of money during the general election."
],
[
"accused Sen. Barack Obama of breaking a promise"
],
[
"Obama told supporters in an e-mail message Thursday that he would not accept about $85 million in public funds when he becomes the Democratic presidential nominee."
],
[
"\"should be disturbing to all Americans\""
],
[
"Obama's move to drop out of the system"
]
] | Sen. John McCain says decision "should be disturbing to all Americans"
Analyst says voters favor the way Obama has raised campaign cash .
Sen. Barack Obama calls public finance system "broken"
Move will allow Obama to spend unlimited amount of money . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that the crisis in Georgia should not be used to score political points, but his campaign has stepped up its attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials. Sen. John McCain says Russia's entry into the WTO should be reviewed. In response, Obama's top foreign policy aide suggested that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was willing to "shoot from the hip" and was acting irresponsibly by offering strong support for the Georgia government. On Wednesday, McCain continued his tough line against Russia, saying its potential membership in the World Trade Organization should be reviewed as a result of its actions in Georgia, as well its relationship with the G-8 nations, which represent the world's largest industrial economies. McCain also said that an international peacekeeping mission should be sent to Georgia and that NATO should re-consider adding Georgia and Ukraine, another former Soviet republic, to the alliance. Watch McCain call Georgia's position 'perilous' » "After the events of the past six days, no one should wonder why countries on Russia's periphery so ardently seek the security guarantees alliance membership represents," McCain said during a campaign stop in Birmingham, Michigan. Russia has strenuously objected to both nations joining NATO. After President Bush said Wednesday that he was ordering the U.S. military to help Georgia's citizens, Obama applauded the move. "The situation is still unstable, and Russia must back up its commitment to stop its violence and violation of Georgia's sovereignty with actions, not just words," Obama said in a statement. "The United States should now join our European partners in direct, high-level diplomacy with both Georgia and Russia to seek immediate implementation of a cease-fire, and to achieve a lasting resolution to this crisis." The crisis in Georgia started Friday, when Russia moved troops in into South Ossetia after the Georgian government moved troops into breakaway territory. South Ossetia has been largely autonomous since 1991, but separatists would like to break with Georgia and either declare independence or join North Ossetia, which is part of Russia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is heading to France and the Georgian capitol of Tbilisi, said Wednesday that she has been briefing both candidates on the conflict. Watch President Bush declare 'America's unwavering support' for Georgia » When the crisis began last week, McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was out front in condemning the Russia actions and calling for a cease-fire. "Today, we are all Georgians," McCain said Tuesday. Watch McCain declare 'we are all Georgians' » When the crisis broke out last week, the Obama camp called "for all sides to show restraint and to stop this armed conflict," echoing the statements from the White House and the European Union. As Russia planes bombed Georgian cities and Russian troops advanced into Georgia, Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, condemned Russia's actions and called for a cease-fire. Watch Obama condemn Russia's actions » McCain said Wednesday that the crisis was not the time for partisan attacks. "I know the people of Georgia have enjoyed an unprecedented period of prosperity and freedom. And I know that at this time they're suffering mightily," the Arizona Republican said. "So maybe later on in the campaign, let's have a back-and-forth about who has comments or statements. Now, let's devote all our energy to helping resolve a situation which is fraught with human tragedy." But, despite McCain comments, the crisis in Georgia has dominated the political debate between the two candidates' campaigns in recent days. On Tuesday, Randy Scheunemann, McCain's top foreign policy adviser, attacked the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's response to the situation in Georgia, saying his experience with the region amounted to a handful of paper statements. On the other hand, McCain's experience with Georgia runs deep, Scheunemann said, noting that McCain and the Georgian president were friends. "There's a depth of knowledge, a breadth of knowledge | [
"Who says mccain shoots from the hip?",
"who joined in the wto",
"who says crisis should not be used?",
"Whose participation is at risk?"
] | [
[
"Obama's top foreign policy aide"
],
[
"Russia's"
],
[
"Sen. John McCain"
],
[
"Russia's"
]
] | Russia's participation in WTO, G-8 at risk because of Georgia, McCain says .
McCain says crisis should not be used to score political points .
Obama's response to crisis reveals foreign policy inexperience, McCain aide says .
Obama's top foreign policy aides say McCain willing to "shoot from the hip" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Larry Craig filed an appeal Monday in his continued legal fight stemming from a bathroom sex sting this summer. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, initially said he would resign at the end of September but then changed his mind. The Idaho Republican wants the Minnesota Court of Appeals to overturn a judge's decision refusing to let him withdraw a guilty plea to misdemeanor charges stemming from his arrest in June. "From the outset Senator Craig has maintained that he is innocent of any illegal conduct at the Minneapolis airport," Craig's lawyer, Billy Martin, said in a written statement. "Like every other citizen, Senator Craig has the constitutional right to make every effort to clear his name." Martin called the judge's decision "a manifest injustice." In an interview Sunday with Boise, Idaho, TV station KTVB, Craig said "we don't know what the appellate court will say to me," according to the station's Web site. Watch Craig discuss his chances on the appeal » "Honestly, the appeals courts tend to defend the courts below them. It is my right to do what I'm doing. I've already provided for Idaho [the] certainty that Idaho needed, I'm not running for re-election. I'm no longer in the way. I am pursuing my constitutional rights." The appeals process could take months to complete, court spokesman Kyle Christopherson said. Craig entered a guilty plea after his arrest in a men's room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for allegedly propositioning a plainclothes police officer for sex. Craig originally said he would resign from the Senate on September 30 if he could not get the guilty plea withdrawn. He later postponed his decision until the judge ruled. After an October 4 ruling against him, Craig changed course, saying he would not resign and would continue to pursue his legal options. "I am innocent of the charges against me," he said at the time. The Idaho lawmaker's decision not to resign has created a political headache for the Senate's Republican leadership. When news of the arrest first surfaced, GOP leaders called for an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. They later applauded Craig's decision to resign. And when Craig announced that he would continue to serve in the Senate, GOP leaders did not appear pleased. "It's embarrassing for the Senate. It's embarrassing for our party," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who leads the GOP's Senate campaign committee, on the day of the judge's decision. "I think it's best for the U.S. Senate, it's best for certainly his party, that he just keeps his word." Romney accused In an interview taped Sunday with NBC's Matt Lauer, Craig complained that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney "threw me under the campaign bus" when news of his arrest came out. "He not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again," Craig told Lauer in the interview set to run Tuesday night, according to MSNBC.com. Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, called Craig's behavior "disgraceful" and urged the senator to resign when news of the arrest broke in August. Craig was Romney's Senate liaison before resigning from the campaign. Romney spokesman Kevin Madden defended the presidential candidate's response. "Gov. Romney simply believes that a public office is a public trust," Madden said. "He believes when a public official enters a guilty plea, they have broken that public trust and should step aside for the sake of their constituents." Also in the Lauer interview, Craig and his wife, Suzanne, denied that their marriage is a cover for his homosexuality, according to MSNBC.com. "People know me and know that I would never do that," said Suzanne Craig, MSNBC.com reported. "That's almost like selling your soul for something." The senator has denied he is gay. "I love this woman very, very | [
"which senator stepped down",
"what does Sen. mean?",
"What did Sen Larry Craig file?",
"Who criticized Mitt Romney?",
"What senator filed the appeal?",
"Who does Craig criticize?",
"Who stepped down from Romney campaign?",
"The Idaho Republican was GOP presidential candidate's liaison to the Senate"
] | [
[
"Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho,"
],
[
"Larry Craig,"
],
[
"an appeal"
],
[
"Craig"
],
[
"Sen. Larry Craig"
],
[
"Mitt Romney"
],
[
"Larry Craig,"
],
[
"Sen. Larry Craig,"
]
] | Sen. Larry Craig files appeal to get guilty plea in sex sting withdrawn .
Craig criticizes Mitt Romney for quickly calling for his resignation .
The Idaho Republican was GOP presidential candidate's liaison to the Senate .
Craig stepped down from Romney campaign when news of his arrest broke . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a Democratic initiative that would have taxed the windfall profits oil companies have enjoyed due to rising energy prices, with the minority leader calling the proposal a "gimmick." Record energy prices have led to record profits for oil companies. The measure failed to achieve the 60 votes required by Senate rules to proceed. The vote was 51-43. Six Republicans, including three seeking re-election in November, broke ranks to support the bill. Two Democrats -- Sen. Mary Landrieu of oil-producing state Louisiana and Majority Leader Harry Reid, who voted no to be able to bring the measure back to the floor under Senate rules -- voted against the measure. Along with placing a special tax of 25 percent on oil companies, the bill would have permitted lawsuits against the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil-producing cartel, and suspended deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Profits from renewable energy sources would be excluded from the tax. "We're not afraid, on this side, to go after Big Oil when they are not doing the right thing," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. "And we are not afraid to go after OPEC because they are a cartel that squeezes us. "We're not afraid to do some strong tough things that will -- some in the short run, some in the longer run -- that will bring down the price, the all too high price, of gasoline." Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, said the measure was needed to "wring out" speculators he blamed for driving the price of crude oil to more than $130 a barrel in recent weeks But Senate Republicans insisted the new taxes ultimately would hurt consumers and cut American oil supply, saying Democrats simply were playing election-year politics. The bill is "pure and simple a pathetic attempt to even call itself an energy plan," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "Hitting the gas companies might make for good campaign literature or evening news clips, but it won't address the problem. This bill isn't a serious response to gas prices. It is just a gimmick." The Kentucky Republican added, "They are hoping the idea of going after energy companies will create the illusion of action after a week in which they themselves fought for a bill that would make the problem worse. What a political charade." As the average cost of gas edged above $4 a gallon, high prices are definitely on the minds of voters. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday shows 40 percent of respondents are more concerned about the cost of gasoline than long lines at the pump, which occurred during the energy crisis of the 1970s. But 55 percent of those surveyed are more worried about the long lines and rationing. The poll results reflect telephone interviews with 1,035 adults on Wednesday and Thursday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. CNN's Ted Barrett, Lisa Desjardins, Matt Smith, Virginia Nicolaidis and Scott J. Anderson contributed to this report. | [
"What is the number of votes that were needed for the measure to proceed?",
"What number of votes was needed to proceed?",
"Who calls the bill \"a gimmick\" and \"political charade\"?",
"What fails to get 60 votes needed?",
"What would have added 25 percent supplemental tax on windfall profits?",
"What did the minority leader call the bill?",
"What would the bill have done?"
] | [
[
"60"
],
[
"60"
],
[
"Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell"
],
[
"The measure"
],
[
"a Democratic initiative"
],
[
"\"gimmick.\""
],
[
"permitted lawsuits against the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil-producing cartel, and suspended deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve."
]
] | Measure fails to get 60 votes needed to proceed .
Bill would have added 25 percent supplemental tax on windfall profits .
Democrats say legislation shows they are willing to take on Big Oil .
Minority leader calls the bill "a gimmick" and "political charade" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama showed Thursday night that they have more common ground than differences when it comes to making national service a priority in their presidential administrations. The presidential canidates put aside partisan politics as the nation remembers the terrorist attacks. The candidates took the stage separately in a forum sponsored by TIME at Columbia University in New York. A coin toss determined who took questions first from moderators TIME Managing Editor Rick Stengel and PBS's Judy Woodruff. Asked why it seems the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, are "fading" in the minds of many Americans, McCain said: "We needed at that time [September 11, 2001] to take advantage of the unity in the United States of America." McCain criticized the Bush administration for not taking advantage of that sense of unity and instead imploring the American public to live their lives as usual and "go shopping." "I would have called them to serve," said McCain. The GOP candidate said he suspects people feel uninspired by leaders in Washington and that Americans want "change" in federal government. "They understand the challenges that we have in this world. They see the Russian invasion of the little country called Georgia. They see the problems in Afghanistan growing larger. They see a whole lot of things happening in the world that's going to require us to serve, and that opportunity has to be provided to them." Watch McCain talk about service » McCain praised the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, saying they and similar organizations don't receive "sufficient recognition" from Washington. But McCain was careful to say government should limit its involvement. Asked about compensation for service McCain said: "I'd be glad to reward [volunteers] them as much as possible. But you want to be careful that the reason is not the reward of financial or other reasons, but the reward is the satisfaction of serving a cause greater than yourself. ... Finding new ways to serve. That's what this next few years should be all about." McCain also fielded a question about his running mate Gov. Sarah Palin's dismissive comments about Sen. Barack Obama's community service in Illinois. "Look, Gov. Palin was responding to the criticism of her inexperience and her job as a mayor in a small town. That's what she was responding to. Of course I respect community organizers. Of course I respect people who serve their community. And Sen. Obama's record there is outstanding." McCain also said that politics is "tough business," and that Obama set the tone of the whole campaign when he refused to take part in town hall meetings with McCain across America. Obama said his views don't necessarily differ from McCain's on national service. He said creating opportunities for national service would be a priority for his administration as well. "Part of what makes America work is the fact that we believe in individual responsibility and self-reliance, but we also believe in mutual responsibility, in neighborliness, in a sense that we are committed to something larger than ourselves." Obama cited a plan to provide college tuition aid in return for student community service. "One of my central platforms in this campaign is we're going to provide a $4,000 tuition credit every student, every year, but in exchange for giving something back. And so, young people of modest means, who are interested in going to college, this gives them an opportunity to serve and at the same time, pay for their college education. I think there are a lot of creative ways where we can provide opportunities than exist right now." Obama also said he wants to attract more young people into civil service careers. "The fact is that we have to have government. When a hurricane strikes, as it did with Katrina, we have to have a FEMA that works, which by the way, means that we should be encouraging young people, the best and the brightest, to get involved as civil servants, to pursue careers of | [
"Where was the candidates meeting?",
"Where did they meet on Thursday?",
"When did Sens. McCain and Obama meet at a forum?",
"Who met at a forum?",
"What was the remembrance for?",
"Two candidates are appearing together in remembrance of what?"
] | [
[
"Columbia University in New York."
],
[
"Columbia University"
],
[
"Thursday night"
],
[
"Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama"
],
[
"terrorist attacks."
],
[
"attacks of September 11, 2001,"
]
] | Sens. McCain and Obama met at a forum on national service in NYC Thursday night .
Two candidates appearing together at 9/11 remembrance in NYC .
New poll: Respondents view McCain as better in handling terrorism . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Serving a 36-year-old government-issue cake at an Army retirement ceremony sounds like a classic bureaucratic mistake, but there was no mistake about it. Retiring Army Col. Henry Moak uses a vintage P-38 to break the seal on government cake saved since 1973. Retiring Army Col. Henry Moak served it up himself -- at his own ceremony. Moak had saved the cake since 1973, when he got it while serving in Vietnam, and had long-standing plans to open it upon his retirement. Pound cake served in a can was standard fare in military C rations back then. Moak said it was his favorite, and he could not get enough of it. "I would eat it any chance I could get, but not all of the meals came with pound cake," he said before opening it. In front of friends and family who attended his retirement ceremony Friday at the Pentagon, Moak eagerly opened the can. Answering the question of whether the anticipation was the same now as back then, Moak said, "Yes, even more!" "I won't eat it if it's black and moldy," he told onlookers. "You can hear the pop of the air coming out," he said referring to the vacuum seal on the can. To most people's surprise, the opened can revealed a still-edible yellow cake. The ceremonial sword used to cut Moak's real retirement cake was also used to dig into the can and cut out the cake. Moak took a bite and put up his thumb, "It's good, it's still kind of moist," he declared. | [
"Who is retiring?",
"What did the colonel eat?",
"What did he save?",
"Who is Henry Moak?",
"What goodie was eaten alongside the main dish?",
"What did Moak say?",
"When was the pound cake made?",
"Who treats himself to pound cake?",
"What does Moak say?"
] | [
[
"Army Col. Henry Moak"
],
[
"government cake saved since 1973."
],
[
"government cake"
],
[
"Retiring Army Col."
],
[
"Pound cake served in a can"
],
[
"\"I would eat it any chance I could get, but not all of the meals came with pound cake,\""
],
[
"1973."
],
[
"Col. Henry Moak"
],
[
"\"I would eat it any chance I could get, but not all of the meals came with pound cake,\""
]
] | Retiring Army Col. Henry Moak treats himself to pound cake saved from 1973 .
Moak says he always liked the cake and "would eat it any chance I could get"
He saved the C ration goodie to have alongside traditional retirement cake . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- She stood by her husband throughout the contentious 2008 presidential campaign and during heated health care reform debates during his presidency. First lady Michelle Obama listens to remarks during a health care forum at the White House on Friday. Now, as the debate is reaching a fever pitch, first lady Michelle Obama is weighing in on the issue by focusing on how health care can affect families. "What she's doing is putting a personal and human face on the issue ... there's nothing more crucial," said Washington Post columnist Sally Quinn. "Everybody gets sick, and everybody has someone in the family that gets sick." "I think if you can humanize it and personalize it, it suddenly brings it home to people -- especially those who are screaming and yelling about the government taking over," Quinn said. On Friday, the first lady, a former hospital administrator, spoke about the issue to a crowd at the White House, highlighting her own family's experience with health care. In one touching moment, Obama recalled when daughter Sasha exhibited signs of potentially deadly meningitis when she was 4 months old. "We didn't know what, but he [the doctor] told us she could have meningitis, so we were terrified. He said get to the emergency room right away," she said. "Fortunately, things worked out." "But it is that moment in our lives that flashes through my head every time we engage in this health insurance conversation. It's that moment in my life, because I think about what on earth would we have done if we had not had insurance." Mrs. Obama not only faced the issue as a mother, but also as a daughter. "My father has multiple sclerosis. He contracted it in his 20s. ... He was able to get up and go to work every day, even though it got harder for him as he got sicker and more debilitated. And I find myself thinking what would we had done as a family on the south side of Chicago if my father hadn't had insurance." Watch more of Michelle Obama's message » Quinn says that personal story is critical in the health care debate -- something that has been lacking in the president's message so far, which has often been deemed by pundits as too policy-oriented and too surgical in nature. "What she's doing is she's humanizing the issue. And I think that has been missing in their [White House] campaign," she says. "He's been so focused on the details and the strategy and the money that the individual problems and issues have seemed to have gotten lost in the fray." Gloria Borger, a CNN senior political analyst, agreed. "I think she's always been a great asset to him," she said. "She can help in this health care debate by not getting involved in the minutiae of the bills, but essentially emphasizing the reason we need health care reform. And that's what she will stick to." Michelle Obama was a lightning rod -- both good and bad -- throughout her husband's presidential campaign. Now, in her role as first lady, she has garnered greater support among American voters from both parties. A national survey by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press in April found that the first lady's positive ratings have increased since her husband took office. The poll found that 76 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of her, which is up from 68 percent in January. "Much of the change has come among Republicans, especially Republican women," the organization noted. "About two-thirds of Republican women [67 percent] have a favorable impression of Michelle Obama, a gain of 21 points since January." But a first lady's involvement in health care reform is nothing new. In the early '90s, first lady Hillary Clinton spearheaded the Clinton administration's push for reform, holding meetings, testifying before congressional committees and, in general, taking charge of the | [
"Whose stories did Obama recall?",
"who did obama talk about?",
"Who delivered marks on health care reform?",
"what reform did michelle obama talk about?",
"What did she remember?",
"What is the first lady speaking about?",
"What will the speech be about",
"what is the issue"
] | [
[
"Sasha exhibited signs of potentially deadly meningitis"
],
[
"her own family's experience"
],
[
"Michelle Obama"
],
[
"health care"
],
[
"when daughter Sasha exhibited signs of potentially deadly meningitis"
],
[
"health care"
],
[
"health care reform"
],
[
"how health care can affect families."
]
] | First lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks on health care reform Friday .
Obama recalls personal health stories about her daughter and father .
Analysts say her personal touch on the thorny issue could help her husband . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- She's faced the glare of public life since she was a girl, but Chelsea Clinton must contend with renewed press scrutiny as she increasingly assumes a role in her mother's campaign for president. Chelsea Clinton accompanies her mother to the polls on Super Tuesday in Chappaqua, New York. The former first daughter always has been off-limits to the media, especially while she was growing up in the White House. But pressure to burst this protective bubble is likely to grow as the soon-to-be 28-year-old campaigns across the country for Sen. Hillary Clinton, even heading to Hawaii -- Sen. Barack Obama's home turf. Chelsea Clinton will spend three days there to strum up last-minute votes before the state's Tuesday caucuses, said a source from her mother's campaign. In the rough-and-tumble world of politics, her parents always have been protective of her -- including most recently after a TV correspondent's comment that the Clinton campaign found inappropriate. Watch how controversy goes with the last name » "Doesn't it seem as if Chelsea is being pimped out in some weird sort of way?" MSNBC correspondent David Shuster said this month about her reputed calls to superdelegates. Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson excoriated Shuster and called his remarks "beneath contempt" and disgusting. The senator from New York even sent a damning letter to NBC and demanded "appropriate action." "I am a mom first and a candidate second, and I found the remark incredibly offensive," she said. (Shuster was suspended indefinitely for the remark, made February 7 when he was a guest host for Tucker Carlson. MSNBC said Thursday that the suspension will end February 22.) Even a fourth-grader apparently can't get through to the press-shy Chelsea Clinton. Scholastic News "kid reporter" Sydney Rieckhoff was in pursuit of a story as she questioned presidential candidates last month on the campaign trail in Iowa, according to The Associated Press. Approaching Chelsea Clinton, she reportedly asked, "Do you think your dad would be a good 'first man' in the White House?" But Clinton wasn't talking. "I'm sorry, I don't talk to the press and that applies to you, unfortunately. Even though I think you're cute," she said, according to the AP. During a campaign stop at the Luckie Food Lounge in Atlanta, Georgia, in mid-January, one supporter asked Clinton to reveal something that nobody else knew about her. She responded she would love to -- if all the cameras weren't around. Clinton has proven to be an effective campaigner for her mother, according to a campaign source, saying there's a strong correlation between her visits and improved performance. At this point, the campaign has become a fight for delegates, and even narrowing a loss has a big impact, a source said. This election cycle, Clinton campaigned for her mother in California, the first state where the senator won the youth vote. A rural congressional district in Nebraska where she campaigned reportedly outperformed others in the state. Politicians protecting their children from the spotlight is hardly new. The Bushes complained when daughters Jenna and Barbara became fodder for late-night comics and media outlets. Vice President Dick Cheney also has been reticent when it comes to his daughter Mary, who had a child with her lesbian partner. During a debate with Cheney in 2004, Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards broached the topic, saying, "I think the vice president and his wife love their daughter. I think they love her very much. And you can't have anything but respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter." Cheney responded, "Let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much. ... That's it." But the vice president later slammed Sen. John Kerry for his remarks about Mary Cheney when asked about homosexuality during a | [
"Where will she campaign?",
"What did Chelsea Clinton do?",
"Which presidential nominee's daughter is stepping up to campaign?",
"What is her age?",
"Who shielded daughter from the spotlight?"
] | [
[
"across the country"
],
[
"accompanies her mother to the polls on Super Tuesday in Chappaqua, New York."
],
[
"Chelsea Clinton"
],
[
"28-year-old"
],
[
"her parents"
]
] | Chelsea Clinton steps up her role in her mother's campaign .
The Clintons have always shielded their daughter from the media spotlight .
Ex-first daughter, who soon turns 28, will campaign in Hawaii for Tuesday caucuses . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Shortly before his death, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI asking for the pontiff to pray for him as he struggled with an aggressive form of brain cancer, it was revealed at his graveside service Saturday evening. Members of the Kennedy family gather at the gravesite Saturday evening. Kennedy, the youngest and last-surviving brother of a heralded Kennedy generation, was laid to rest on a hillside at Arlington National Cemetery alongside his slain brothers, the late President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy -- both assassinated more than four decades ago. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick read a recent letter from Kennedy to the pope at the private burial ceremony in Arlington, Virginia. "I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines," McCarrick said, quoting from Kennedy's letter. "I was diagnosed with brain cancer more than a year ago, and although I continue treatment the disease is taking its toll on me. I am 77 years old, and preparing for the next passage of life," the cardinal read. Read excerpts from Kennedy's letter to pontiff The burial service at dusk followed a eulogy by President Barack Obama in Massachusetts, a brief prayer service outside the U.S. Capitol and a procession through the crowd-lined street of Washington's streets. Among the congressional colleagues greeting the Kennedy family at the Capitol was 91-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, who has been out of the spotlight lately because of deteriorating health. Watch an overview of the day's events » Many who had gathered at the Capitol were visibly emotional and wiping tears from their eyes. Some held framed photos of Kennedy, and many held American flags that they waved during a singing of "America the Beautiful." The Rev. Daniel Coughlin -- chaplain of the House of Representatives -- said a prayer and addressed the family. "Here we are to pray with you, offer sympathy and thank you," he said. "Thank you for sharing the senator." Coughlin also noted that Kennedy's hopes were "unquenchable, full of immortality." As Kennedy's widow, Vicki, went back into the car, she waved to the crowd and mouthed, "Thank you" as the crowd erupted into applause. The late senator's son, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, addressed those on the steps, saying how his father "knew that he was only great because he had great people supporting him." "He would be very proud to see you all out here today paying a final respect and tribute to his memory," he said. Earlier Saturday at the funeral in Boston, Massachusetts, Obama hailed Kennedy as "a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the U.S. Senate." "He was given the gift of time that his brothers were not, and he used that gift to touch as many lives and right as many wrongs as the years would allow," the president said. "We can still hear his voice bellowing through the Senate chamber, face reddened, fist pounding the podium, a veritable force of nature, in support of health care or workers' rights or civil rights," Obama said, calling Kennedy "the greatest legislator of our time." Watch President Obama's full eulogy » Kennedy's son Ted Jr. delivered a tender, personal remembrance of his larger-than-life father. He said his father "never stopped trying to right wrongs." Kennedy lived up to the ideals of three older brothers, all of whom died young -- Joseph in World War II, President John and Sen. Robert assassinated -- his son said. "He answered Uncle Joe's call to patriotism, Uncle Jack's call to public service and Bobby's determination to seek a newer world. "Unlike them, he lived to be a grandfather, and knowing what my cousins have been through, I feel grateful that I have had my father as long as I did," Ted Jr. | [
"What did Kennedy ask for?",
"Who asked the pope for prayers?",
"the letter said",
"Who did Kennedy ask for prayers?",
"Where was Kennedy buried?",
"What did President Obama call Kennedy?",
"What is the name of the person that wrote the Pope a letter?",
"Who was laid to rest at Arlington National cemetery?",
"Who asked for Prayers?",
"Where was Kennedy laid to rest?",
"What is the name of the Pope?",
"What did Obama hail?",
"who was hailed a champion for those who had none?"
] | [
[
"the pontiff to pray for him"
],
[
"Sen. Edward M. Kennedy"
],
[
"\"I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines,\""
],
[
"Pope Benedict"
],
[
"Arlington National Cemetery"
],
[
"\"a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the U.S. Senate.\""
],
[
"Sen. Edward M. Kennedy"
],
[
"Sen. Edward M. Kennedy"
],
[
"Sen. Edward M. Kennedy"
],
[
"Arlington National Cemetery"
],
[
"XVI"
],
[
"Kennedy"
],
[
"Sen. Edward M. Kennedy"
]
] | NEW: In letter to Pope Benedict XVI, Kennedy asked for prayers .
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery .
President Obama hailed Kennedy as "a champion for those who had none" |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Shouting from the audience. Holding up signs blasting the health care reform bill before Congress. Frequent hissing and booing. Many Facebook and Twitter users condemned Rep. Joe Wilson for his outburst toward President Obama. Though it sounds like behavior at one of the health care town hall meetings last month, it was how some Republicans reacted to President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night. But Norm Ornstein, a longtime observer of Congress and an expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said the tone and behavior from members of Congress are not necessarily new. "A lot of what went on [Wednesday] night has become fairly typical of what we've seen in the State of the Union messages over the last 10 or 12 years, where it's one side jumping up wildly and the other side sitting on their hands in stony silence." The most memorable moment came from Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, who shouted "You lie" after the president said that a Democratic-sponsored health care bill would not cover illegal immigrants. Ornstein said that in addition to being beyond the bounds of what is typical, Wilson's comment is "just sort of stunning in the level of disrespect for not just the president but the presidency." Watch more of Wilson's outburst » During several moments in Obama's speech, members of the GOP hissed and yelled at the president as he laid out his plan for reform. One Republican held a sign saying, "What bill?" House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, was seen several times typing on his phone during the speech. Vice President Joe Biden told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday that he was "embarrassed for the chamber and a Congress I love." Observers said the behavior is probably indicative of the vitriolic sentiments found during town hall meetings. "I think a lot of those Republican members went home to their district and were met with very angry reaction from their constituents. Congress, as you know, is pretty polarized," said Kasie Hunt, a health care reporter for National Journal's Congress Daily. "I think, in some ways, that's what you really saw last night: the degree of acceptance of that angry discord that we've really hadn't seen in a long time." Hunt said there is still a lot of misunderstanding among Republican members of Congress. John O'Connor, who covers politics for The State newspaper in South Carolina, said that a lot of Wilson's anger mirrors what many feel in his home state. "I think he feels the way a lot of people in South Carolina feel about [health care reform]. They're suspicious. They're worried. There's some fear out there about what could happen." But O'Connor points out that South Carolina tends to be more conservative than other states, and Wilson's town halls were generally civil. "Rep. Wilson, however, held a town hall meeting in Columbia where, for the most part, there was a pretty reasoned debate," he added. "There were folks on both sides raising issues, asking questions." Still, it might have been Wilson's constituents' anger and distrust that contributed to the outburst in Congress, O'Connor noted. "His takeaway from that was that people support his stance, which was to oppose any version of what he's calling Obamacare," he said. "So despite the fact that there was clearly some support in that audience for doing something about health care and health insurance, he kind of had a different impression of what the majority of the crowd thought." Could Wilson face any trouble for his comments Wednesday night? Unlikely, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi said Thursday that there is a procedure that could have been implemented to strike Wilson's "lie" comment from the record. But she said the president did the right thing in continuing on and not giving it "any more attention than it deserved." Pelosi indicated that she would not press the | [
"What was the topic that President Obama delivered?",
"What did Joe Wilson Yell out about?",
"What was the topic of the address to Congress on Wednesday?",
"Who yelled out, \"You lie\" during the speech?",
"What one observer said?"
] | [
[
"the health care reform bill"
],
[
"a Democratic-sponsored health care bill would not cover illegal immigrants."
],
[
"health care reform bill"
],
[
"Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina,"
],
[
"tone and behavior from members of Congress are not necessarily new."
]
] | President Obama delivered his health care reform plan to Congress on Wednesday .
GOP Rep. Joe Wilson yelled out "you lie" during Obama's speech .
S.C. observer says his view might be echoing sentiment from voters . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six heat-trapping gases that contribute to air pollution pose potential health hazards, the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday in a landmark announcement that could lead to regulation of the gases. "This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said. The gases -- carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride -- have been the subject of intensive analysis by scientists around the world, the EPA said. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the EPA's scientific review in 2007. "This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a release, later adding, "The science clearly shows that concentrations of these gases are at unprecedented levels as a result of human emissions, and these high levels are very likely the cause of the increase in average temperatures and other changes in our climate." The EPA's finding now goes into a public comment period. The report, titled "Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on Ground-Level Ozone," is the culmination of a study started in 2000, the EPA said. The White House moved quickly to try to squelch any concerns that the EPA would immediately issue any regulations concerning the gases. "The president has made clear his strong preference that Congress act to pass comprehensive legislation rather than address the climate challenge through administrative action," White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said. "That's why the president has repeatedly called for a bill to provide for market-based solutions to reduce carbon pollution and transition to a clean-energy economy that creates millions of green jobs." The EPA announcement comes amid efforts by Congress to enact a limit on global warming pollution. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to begin hearings next week on a comprehensive energy and climate bill, called the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman is said to want the bill out of committee by Memorial Day, which falls on May 25, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wants to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote this year. Environmentalists hailed the EPA's announcement, with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund calling it a "historic step ... [that] formally determined that global warming pollution 'endangers' the nation's human health and well-being." "The U.S. is taking its first steps as a nation to confront climate change," said Vickie Patton, deputy general counsel at the environmental advocacy group. "Global warming threatens our health, our economy, and our children's prosperity. EPA's action is a wake-up call for national policy solutions that secure our economic and environmental future." But critics say the finding will just produce a "glorious mess." "Today's action by the EPA is the beginning of a regulatory barrage that will destroy jobs, raise energy prices for consumers and undermine America's global competitiveness," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "It now appears EPA's regulatory reach will find its way into schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities and just about any activity that meets minimum thresholds in the Clean Air Act." The EPA notes in an accompanying report released Friday that global warming could make ozone pollution worse in some parts of the United States. Future ozone management decisions may have to take into account the possible effects of global warming, the report says. "Climate change, along with other aspects of global change, including changes in population, land use and the technologies employed for energy production and transportation, may alter the capacity for U.S. states to successfully attain the national air quality standards in the future," the report concludes. Ground-level ozone is formed when sunlight causes a chemical reaction in the air between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emitted by motor vehicles and industrial plants. Ozone levels are typically higher on sunny days in areas that have | [
"who is going to be affected by this act?",
"what is the act about?",
"What will House begin to discuss?",
"What will the House begin discussing?",
"What does the critic say?",
"What did environmentalists say about the announcement?"
] | [
[
"schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities"
],
[
"comprehensive energy and climate bill,"
],
[
"comprehensive energy and climate bill,"
],
[
"comprehensive energy and climate bill, called the American Clean Energy and Security Act."
],
[
"the finding will just produce a \"glorious mess.\""
],
[
"[that] formally determined that global warming pollution 'endangers' the nation's human health and well-being.\""
]
] | EPA official says "concentrations of these gases are at unprecedented levels"
Environmentalists say announcement is important step in reduction efforts .
Critic: Finding may help destroy jobs, raise energy prices, cut U.S. competitiveness .
The House is will begin discussing the American Clean Energy and Security Act . |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six hip-hop artists from five countries speaking four languages are on stage, warming up for their show at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. International hip-hop artists warm up for their show at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday. "Warming up" doesn't really capture it; the dancers explode across the stage, each one with a different hip-hop style. Michelle Salazar is chic-grungy in black jeans and white T-shirt, her long black hair swirling around her head. Hassan El Haf, from Lebanon, tall and thin, does a kind of electric hip-hop mixed with salsa. Argentines Mauricio Trech and Silvia Fernandez move in a dramatic break dance. Both hail from Argentina, home of the tango. Hien Ngoc Pham from Vietnam, with a buzz cut and dressed in white jeans and a white T-shirt, has Broadway bravado in his every move. The dancing stops and Samer Samahneh begins rapping -- in Arabic. No translation needed; it comes from his soul. Three weeks ago, the dancers had never met, but now they're a team, participating in the State Department's Cultural Visitors Program. The program consists of three weeks of meeting American hip-hop artists and dancers and visiting New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. "It's like a dream come true for me," Salazar said Tuesday, the day of the team's show, "because I only read their names in the Internet and now, like, I met Afrika Bambaataa, the founder of hip-hop. I was right next to him. It's a real immersion into the culture. I don't want to wake up!" Salazar isn't just star-struck. She's learning a lot and she plans to bring it back to her fellow dancers in the Philippines. "Dancers in the Philippines don't have much of a foundation [in hip-hop]," she says. "They don't understand why dancers do this" -- she moves her arm -- "or why they do this" -- she strikes a pose. "Because if they knew why they would feel it. I can feel it by watching these [American] hip-hop dancers." Samahneh agrees: "You've got to feel it." His rapping, he says, comes from inside-out. "Even if you don't know the language, you can get involved with what I'm saying." Samahneh says that when he raps in his hometown of Nablus in the West Bank, he is "asking God to bring peace to our land." Colombia Barrosse, the vibrant head of the State Department's Cultural Programs Division of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, says the cultural cross-fertilization is the goal of the program. "There is nothing that can substitute for being in the United States and meeting Americans in their place, to look at the richness and diversity of the United States. That's irreplaceable," she says. The Cultural Visitors Program is part of the State Department's cultural programming around the world. The $8.5 million budget is supplemented by institutions like the Kennedy Center, which is co-sponsoring this performance. Most of the visiting artists in the program found their way to professional dance through hip-hop. Pham, a member of the Vietnam Dance Association, is currently working to open a hip-hop training center in Ho Chi Minh City to reach out to young people. With a broad smile, he says, "Hip-hop is such energy. It's so young. It's also an opportunity for our countries to get closer, and I have a lot of friends all over the world." Hip-hop may have started in the United States, but it belongs to everyone. Here's how Hassan El Haf puts it: When he got to New York, he felt as if he had landed on his "real planet." "Yeah, I see them, all the | [
"How long is the State Department Cultural Visitors Program?",
"Which cities will the team visit?",
"Who visits New York City?",
"How long is the team's visit to New York?",
"What is part of State Department's Cultural Visitors Program?",
"Where will hip-hop artists from five countries visit?",
"What is the visit part of?"
] | [
[
"three weeks"
],
[
"New York City, Philadelphia"
],
[
"International hip-hop artists"
],
[
"three weeks"
],
[
"meeting American hip-hop artists and dancers"
],
[
"Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."
],
[
"the State Department's cultural programming around the world."
]
] | Hip-hop artists from five countries visit the U.S. to meet U.S. artists, perform .
Visit is part of State Department's Cultural Visitors Program .
Team visits New York City, Washington, Philadelphia over three weeks .
"It's a real immersion into the culture," Philippine performer says . |
Subsets and Splits