TMCnet News
AP Top News at 10:00 p.m. EST(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Obama seeks $634B over 10 years for health careWASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama is asking Congress to raise taxes on the wealthy and cut Medicare costs to provide health care for the uninsured while making the just-enacted $400 tax cut for most workers permanent. In his first budget blueprint, Obama proposes setting aside $634 billion over the next decade to expand government subsidized health coverage _ a little more than half the money needed to ensure that every American gets medical care. Obama is also expected to ask Congress for an additional $75 billion to cover the costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September. House OKs $410B bill to boost domestic programsWASHINGTON (AP) _ The Democratic-controlled House pushed through a $410 billion measure Wednesday that boosted domestic programs, bristled with earmarks and chipped away at policies left behind by the Bush administration. The vote was 245-178, largely along party lines. Republicans assailed the measure as too costly _ particularly on the heels of a $787 billion stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed last week. But Democrats jabbed back. Obama: Financial sector needs stronger regulationsWASHINGTON (AP) _ After devoting money and time in search of a rescue for the ailing banking sector, President Barack Obama on Wednesday demanded tough new regulations to keep financial institutions in check and avoid future Wall Street meltdowns. Obama pressed key lawmakers to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory scheme to restore "accountability, transparency and trust in our financial markets." He specifically called for a system that would monitor the risks that institutions can take. Some US forces will face combat after Iraq pulloutWASHINGTON (AP) _ Some of the U.S. forces likely to remain in Iraq after President Barack Obama fulfills his pledge to withdraw combat troops would still have a combat role fighting suspected terrorists, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Obama plans to announce his withdrawal strategy as early as Friday. He will travel that day to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the White House announced Wednesday. While there, Obama is expected to outline a compromise withdrawal plan that leaves behind as many as 50,000 troops for cleanup and protection operations. Scores survive Turkish airliner crash in AmsterdamHAARLEMMERLIEDE, Netherlands (AP) _ A Turkish Airlines jetliner plummeted out of the mist and plowed into a muddy field Wednesday near Amsterdam's main airport, but nearly everyone on board _ 125 people _ survived. The nine dead included both pilots. The Boeing 737-800 was en route from Istanbul to Amsterdam carrying 134 people when it suddenly lost speed and fell out of the sky about two miles short of the runway at Schiphol Airport, investigators said. Body rots in hearse, Ala. funeral director chargedBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) _ A funeral director accused of leaving a woman's body to decay in a parked hearse after her relatives failed to pay the bill was arrested on a felony charge of abusing a corpse, police said Wednesday. Watson and Sons Funeral Home embalmed the remains of Edna Kathleen Woods, 52, after she died of natural causes in November 2007, said Gadsden police Sgt. Jeff Wright. Relatives wanted the body cremated but failed to sign the necessary paperwork or pay owner Harold Watson Sr., he said. After storing the corpse at his funeral home for more than a year, Wright said, the 76-year-old Watson decided to move it because he couldn't reach the woman's family. Republicans, Democrats criticize Jindal's speechNEW YORK (AP) _ Insane. Childish. Disaster. And those were some of the kinder comments from political pundits about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and his response to President Barack Obama's speech to Congress on Tuesday night. Jindal, 37, a Rhodes scholar and son of Indian immigrants, is considered a rising star in Republican ranks and a likely 2012 presidential candidate. GOP leaders, looking for a fresh face for the party's image, tapped Jindal earlier this month for the high-profile task of rebutting Obama's first address to a joint session of Congress. Nick Mitchell has 'American Idol' judges laughingNEW YORK (AP) _ "American Idol" hopeful Nick Mitchell isn't winning over the judges with his singing, but his over-the-top style clearly qualifies as comedy. Mitchell left the judges laughing and nearly speechless Wednesday after he wailed a show-stopper from the musical "Dreamgirls." He came on as the flamboyant alter ego he has christened Norman Gentle. Simon Cowell called the performance "atrocious" and "horrific," and his three fellow judges weren't arguing. Store to balsamic vinegar thief: 'We will get you'BEND, Ore. (AP) _ A sign hangs amid the bottles of vinegar at Newport Avenue Market. It's simple, to the point: "Thanks to the Balsamic Vinegar Thief this area is now under surveillance. We will get you." The last sentence, it should be noted, is underlined. For about a year, a thief pinched bottle after bottle of balsamic vinegar from the store _ and not the low-end stuff. No, this thief was after bottles that go for $30 or $40 a pop. "Thieves with good taste." That's how owner Rudy Dory explains them. Tiger Woods impressive in return at Match PlayMARANA, Ariz. (AP) _ Eight months later, Tiger Woods looked as though he had never been away. Woods made a triumphant return to golf Wednesday in the Accenture Match Play Championship with a start that showed golf what it had been missing in the 253 days since he limped his way to an epic U.S. Open title. Just past high noon in the desert, Woods fired an 8-iron into 5 feet for birdie. Then came a gentle fist pump when his 3-iron from 237 yards on the par-5 second settled 4 feet from the cup for eagle. Copyright ? 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |