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AP Top News at 8:30 p.m. EST(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Key panel recommends impeaching Ill. governorSPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded. The governor's office issued a statement calling the panel's proceedings flawed and biased. Cheney: CIA did nothing illegal in interrogationsWASHINGTON (AP) _ Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Cheney also said that Bush has no need to apologize for not foreseeing the economic crisis. Democrats criticize Obama's proposed tax cutsWASHINGTON (AP) _ President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan. They were especially critical of a proposed $3,000 tax credit for companies that hire or retrain workers. Obama: Congress must act boldly and now on economyWASHINGTON (AP) _ President-elect Barack Obama implored Congress on Thursday to "act boldly and act now" to fix an economy growing perilously weaker. Leading lawmakers set an informal goal of mid-February for enacting tax cuts and government spending that could cost as much as $1 trillion. Democrats complained openly about the incoming administration's proposed tax cuts and Republicans warned against excessive new spending, both parties letting Obama know they intend to place their own stamp on the economic recovery effort. Madoff 'victims' do math, realize they profitedNEW YORK (AP) _ The many Bernard Madoff investors who withdrew money from their accounts over the years are now wrestling with an ethical and legal quandary. What they thought were profits was likely money stolen from other clients in what prosecutors are calling the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Now, they are confronting the possibility they may have to pay some of it back. Fatal police shooting sparks violent protestsOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) _ In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back _ then looks up. The New Year's Day death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant has led to angry street protests amid allegations from the family's attorney that some of the officers used racial slurs. Court papers: Gotti neighbor was dissolved in acidNEW YORK (AP) _ It is perhaps the most intriguing unsolved mystery from the gaudy gangland career of John Gotti: Whatever happened to the neighbor who accidentally ran over and killed the mobster's 12-year-old son _ and then vanished? According to papers filed this week in Brooklyn federal court, John Favara was shot to death on orders of the outraged Gambino crime family chief and his body was dissolved in a barrel of acid. Authorities said a cooperating witness identified Charles Carneglia, a 62-year-old former mobster, as the perpetrator in the 1980 incident. Man allegedly caused flats with nails in drivewaysSTONY POINT, N.Y. (AP) _ Police in upstate New York say a man has been sprinkling roofing nails on the driveways of people he didn't like to cause flat tires for two years. Stony Point police Lt. Peter Quinn said Michael Delisio was arrested Tuesday after an officer staking out one victim's home saw nails being thrown from Delisio's car. Quinn says the 60-year-old man from West Haverstraw has been charged with harassment, criminal tampering and mischief. Florida, Oklahoma play for college football crownFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) _ The Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators meet tonight for the BCS championship. It's a matchup that includes a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, an SEC vs. Big 12 debate and more than its share of trash talk. Southern California, Utah and Texas were vocal in the past week, hoping their bowl wins impressed enough voters in The Associated Press poll, which will be released in the wee hours Friday. Copyright ? 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |