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AP Top News at 9:10 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A referendum on Obama? GOP celebrates its NY winWASHINGTON (AP) _ Savoring the unlikeliest of victories, Republicans called their triumph in a New York City congressional race a repudiation of President Barack Obama's policies on the economy and Israel on Wednesday as public and private polls showed his approval ratings plummeting in a district he carried handily in 2008. "We're not going to sugarcoat it, it was a tough loss," conceded the House Democratic Campaign Committee. Yet party officials and the White House insisted the race was not a referendum on the president as he seeks re-election with the economy stagnant and unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent. House probing $528M loan to failed solar companyWASHINGTON (AP) _ House Republicans questioned Wednesday whether the White House rushed approval of a half-billion-dollar loan guarantee for a now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer once cited as the kind of renewable energy company worthy of federal stimulus money. Solyndra Inc. was a major presence in Washington and spent millions of dollars on lobbying there, particularly about the Energy Department's loan guarantee program. And its executives raised thousands of dollars for Obama and Democrats in Congress. AP Exclusive: Long-term care plan alarms ignoredWASHINGTON (AP) _ Even as leading Democrats offered assurances to the contrary, government experts repeatedly warned that a new long-term care insurance plan could go belly up, saddling taxpayers with another underfunded benefit program, according to emails disclosed by congressional investigators. Part of President Barack Obama's health care law, the program is in limbo as a congressional debt panel searches for budget savings and behind the scenes, administration officials scramble to find a viable financing formula. Obama touts jobs bill benefits for small businessRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ President Barack Obama urged enthusiastic college students Wednesday to join him in his fight to get Congress to act on his new jobs bill. "Every single one of you can help make this bill a reality," the president called out at a hot and noisy rally at North Carolina State University. Someone in the crowd yelled out, "I love you!" US: Embassy attack a propaganda win for militantsKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ American officials Wednesday blamed the bold attack on the U.S. Embassy on a Pakistan-based group allied with the Taliban, acknowledging that the assault brought a propaganda victory for the insurgents even as they played down its military significance. The attack underscored holes in Afghan security: Six fighters with heavy weapons took over an unfinished high-rise that authorities knew was a perfect roost for an attack on the embassy and NATO headquarters about 300 meters (yards) away. They then held out against a 20-hour barrage by hundreds of Afghan and foreign forces. Bachmann courts AZ's tough anti-immigrant sheriffPHOENIX (AP) _ If you're running for president, how do you convince supporters you are tough enough on immigration? Get the endorsement of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America whose uncompromising stand on illegal immigration is a point of pride. On Wednesday Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was the latest Republican presidential candidate hoping for Arpaio's backing. She met in Phoenix with the Republican sheriff, whose endorsement is frequently sought by candidates in all types of races across the country. Pat Robertson says Alzheimer's makes divorce OKReligious broadcaster Pat Robertson told his "700 Club" viewers that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer's is justifiable because the disease is "a kind of death." During the portion of the show where the one-time Republican presidential candidate takes questions from viewers, Robertson was asked what advice a man should give to a friend who began seeing another woman after his wife started suffering from the incurable neurological disorder. Calif. border crossing shut after scaffold fallsSAN DIEGO (AP) _ Scaffolding collapsed on more than a dozen cars at the nation's busiest border crossing Wednesday, injuring at least 11 people and halting all traffic trying to enter from Mexico, authorities said. A construction worker at the San Ysidro crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, was in serious condition, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. The others were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, he said. Decision to remove woman from airplane disputedDETROIT (AP) _ An airline that reported suspicious behavior by two men aboard a flight from Denver on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks said authorities in Detroit removed them _ and a female passenger who is half Middle Eastern and claims she was later strip-searched _ without consulting the pilots or crew. However, airport police and the Transportation Safety Administration said authorities responded after getting an in-flight alert from Frontier that three passengers were engaged in suspicious activity. Colo. cat, missing 5 years, is found on NYC streetNEW YORK (AP) _ A calico cat named Willow, who disappeared from a home near the Rocky Mountains five years ago, was found Wednesday on a Manhattan street and will soon be returned to a family in which two of the three kids and one of the two dogs may remember her. How she got to New York, more than 1,600 miles away, and the kind of life she lived in the city are mysteries. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |