TheSunNews.com: Politics - Wire

Army chief: Avoid speculation about Hasan's faith

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:07 EST

The Army chief of staff says it's important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about the Muslim faith of the alleged Fort Hood gunman.

Gen. George Casey says he's instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for that reaction to the killings at the Texas post.

He says focusing on the Islamic roots of the suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan (nih-DAHL' mah-LEEK' hah-SAHN'), could "heighten the backlash" against all Muslims in the military.

House Roll Call: Health care

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:28 EST

The 220-215 roll call Saturday by which the House passed a Democratic-written health care bill.

A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the bill.

Voting yes were 219 Democrats and 1 Republican.

Couple's book tackles evangelicals' questions on climate change

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:12 EST

As an evangelical Christian living in Texas, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe found that many conservatives had questions about climate change based on things they'd heard on talk radio.

So Hayhoe and her husband, Andrew Farley, the pastor of a nondenominational church in Lubbock, Texas, decided to answer the questions in a new book from religious publisher FaithWords, "A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-based Decisions."

"The observed increase in greenhouse gas levels, due to human production, is the only explanation we can find to account for what has happened to our world," Farley and Hayhoe wrote. "We've dusted for fingerprints. There's only one likely suspect remaining. It's us."

Casey: Shootings leading to a hard look at Army

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:02 EST

The Army's chief of staff says the Army is taking a hard look at itself to make certain that something like the Fort Hood rampage doesn't happen again.

The shootings left 13 dead and 29 wounded. The alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan (nih-DAHL' mah-LEEK' hah-SAHN'), was wounded by civilian police.

Gen. George Casey warns against reaching conclusions about motives until investigators have fully explored the attack. Early reports suggest Hasan, a Muslim, was angry about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and worried about his pending deployment to Afghanistan.

House Roll Call: How they voted on abortion issue

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:58 EST

The 240-194 roll call Saturday by which the House voted to prohibit federal funding of abortions in a Democratic-written health care bill.

A "yes" vote is a vote to prohibit federal funding of abortions.

Voting yes were 64 Democrats and 176 Republicans.

Obama's Asia tour kicks off at critical time on home front

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:12 EST

President Barack Obama will leave the country for a four-nation tour of Asia starting Wednesday despite a host of domestic concerns, including the massacre at Fort Hood, a sharply rising jobless rate, his health care legislation stalled in the Senate and his Afghanistan troop decision still pending.

He planned his Nov. 11-19 trip around the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore, but added stops in Japan, China and South Korea. The itinerary reflects the growing importance of East Asia - especially China - to everything from financing U.S. debt and powering the global economic recovery to climate change, disease control and containing nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran.

Asia's importance in global affairs rose over the past decade as U.S. foreign policy was dominated by the war on terror, and as U.S. domestic spending and borrowing from foreign countries spiraled.

Casey says war in Afghanistan needs more US troops

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:03 EST

The Army's chief of staff says he believes more troops are needed in Afghanistan. But Gen. George Casey isn't saying exactly how many more should be sent into the war.

Casey says more troops would help cut into the Taliban's successes while U.S. forces continue training Afghan security forces.

President Barack Obama is considering several options to increase the number of troops fighting in Afghanistan, including Gen. Stanley McChrystal's preference of about 40,000 additional U.S. forces next year.

As oceans fall ill, Washington bureaucrats squabble

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:12 EST

Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds, puzzling scientists. A thousand miles off California, researchers have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex roughly twice the size of Texas filled with tiny bits of plastic and other debris.

Every summer a dead zone of oxygen-depleted water the size of Massachusetts forms in the Gulf of Mexico; others have been found off Oregon and in the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Erie, and the Baltic and Black seas. Some studies indicate that North Pole seawater could turn caustic in 10 years, and that the Southern Ocean already may be saturated with carbon dioxide.

A recent bird kill off the coast of Washington state came without warning, said Jane Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "There will be more surprises than that," she said.

Senator: Senate will investigate Army shootings

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:22 EST

The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee says he plans to begin a congressional investigation of the shootings at Fort Hood.

An Army major, Nidal Malik Hasan (nih-DAHL' mah-LEEK' hah-SAHN'), is suspected of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others at the Army post in Texas.

Sen. Joe Lieberman says he wants to determine whether the shootings constitute a terrorist attack. He says he also wants to find out whether the Army missed warning signs that Hasan was becoming extreme in his Islamist views.

Obama prods House to pass health care bill

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:03 EST

President Barack Obama says now is the time for Congress to "answer the call of history" and approve legislation revamping the country's health care system.

After meeting for nearly an hour with House Democrats, Obama went to the White House Rose Garden and said opportunities like passing a major health overhaul "come around maybe once in a generation."

The president made his remarks as the House was debating a bill reshaping the nation's health care system in a vote that was expected to be close.

House kills Republican health overhaul bill

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:48 EST

The House has used a near party line vote to reject a Republican health overhaul bill.

Shortly before beginning its vote on a Democratic plan, the chamber voted 258-176 against a GOP version that would have lowered costs for people with insurance but done little or nothing to expand coverage to those without any. Rep. Timothy Johnson, R-Ill., opposed the measure and was the only lawmaker to cross party lines.

Outnumbered Republicans knew the chamber would reject their measure, but advanced it to present their vision of how the health system should be reshaped.

House opens debate on historic health bill

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:26 EST

The House has opened debate on President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul that would extend insurance to tens of millions of Americans and enact dramatic changes to the country's medical system.

In the opening moments of debate, Democrats hailed the legislation as an advance for the nation's social fabric and a moral and economic imperative.

Republicans said it would be a government takeover of the health care system that would damage the economy and erode the doctor-patient relationship.

Health bill clears first hurdle in House

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:55 EST

President Barack Obama's health care initiative has cleared its first big hurdle in the House, with lawmakers voting to advance the debate.

The House voted 242-192 in favor of a must-pass procedural measure setting the terms for the debate. All 177 Republicans, joined by Democrats, voted to block the debate.

With Obama urging them on in a rare personal visit to Capitol Hill, Democrats pushed toward a final vote late Saturday on the bill, which would reshape the U.S. health care system and extend coverage to millions of the uninsured.

10 ways the House bill would change health care

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:56 EST

If the House bill were to become law, some changes in the way health insurance would work in the United States would result. Here's a look at what the bill does:

1. Creates a government-run plan, or "public option," to offer insurance coverage. Would compete with private sector.

2. Sets up health insurance "exchanges," or marketplaces, where consumers can easily compare coverage and rates.

House poised to pass historic health-care reform bill

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:35 EST

With a personal push from President Barack Obama, the House of Representatives Saturday inched closer to passing historic health care legislation that would guarantee virtually all Americans access to care.

Earlier in the day, the House voted 242-192 to proceed with debate, a vote considered an important test of Democratic strength. Fifteen Democrats joined all 177 Republicans in voting against the debate rules.

As the debate began, Obama visited Capitol Hill to meet for half an hour with House Democrats as the all-day debate was starting Saturday morning, and compared the health care effort to Democrats' championing of Social Security and Medicare.

House passes resolution honoring Fort Hood victims

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:38 EST

The House has passed a resolution honoring the victims of the attack at Fort Hood, Texas.

House members passed the resolution 428-0 late Saturday, just minutes after passing the Democrats' health care overhaul bill.

The resolution was authored by Republican Congressman John Carter, who represents the area around Fort Hood. It expresses sorrow over the shooting spree that killed 13 people - 12 soldiers and one civilian - and wounded 29. It reads: "The American people share the pain and grief of this tragic loss."

High court to look at life in prison for juveniles

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:08 EST

Joe Sullivan was sent away for life for raping an elderly woman and judged incorrigible though he was only 13 at the time of the attack.

Terrance Graham, implicated in armed robberies when he was 16 and 17, was given a life sentence by a judge who told the teenager he threw his life away.

They didn't kill anyone, but they effectively were sentenced to die in prison.

Obama statement on health care legislation

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:25 EST

Text of President Barack Obama's remarks Saturday at the White House on health care legislation:

Good afternoon, everybody. I just want to say a few words about the landmark vote that the House of Representatives is poised to take today - a vote that can bring us one step closer to making real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.

For the better part of a year now, members of the House and the Senate have been working diligently and constructively to craft legislation that will benefit millions of American families and millions of American businesses who urgently need it. For the first time ever, they've passed bills through every single committee responsible for reform. They've brought us closer than we have ever been to passing health insurance reform on behalf of the American people.

Obama arrival in Tokyo delayed by a day

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:08 EST

President Barack Obama is attending a memorial service at Fort Hood on Tuesday and now won't get to his planned first stop in Asia next week until one day later than expected.

The president was to leave Washington on Wednesday and arrive in Tokyo on Thursday. But an official familiar with Obama's schedule says Obama now plans to get to Japan on Friday.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the White House plans to release a revised schedule in the coming days to reflect Obama's plans to travel to Fort Hood, Texas.

GOP's Graham steps out on a limb on climate change

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:13 EST

When it comes to combating global warming, Sen. Lindsey Graham is right where he loves to be - ahead of the curve, in the mix on a major issue, at the table for high-level, bipartisan talks behind closed doors.

Graham, a South Carolina Republican, is working with Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to craft a climate change bill.

They face the dual challenge of overcoming widespread GOP opposition and withstanding relentless attacks by Big Oil and allied energy interests.