Thursday, March 29, 2012

Today's Top Stories

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich walks the streets of Annapolis during a visit to the Maryland State House on Tuesday. The Republican presidential hopeful, who has cut his campaign staff, was in the state in advance of the April 3 presidential primary. (Associated Press)

Romney rivals seen 'tilting at windmills' in convention ploy

A sneak attack at the convention, the plan that Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are counting on to win the Republican presidential nomination, is far-fetched in the eyes of state party officials who say that Mitt Romney will be nominated even if he goes into the convention with only a plurality of delegates.

Justices skeptical of health care law's expansion of Medicaid

Wrapping up a three-day marathon of oral arguments about President Obama's health care overhaul, the Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether the rest of the law can stand on its own if the justices were to strike down the individual mandate requiring Americans to purchase insurance.

Mega Millions' $500M lottery payout has players dreaming

What would you do with $500 million? That's a question millions of people across the country are asking themselves as the clock ticks down to Friday's record-breaking Mega Millions lottery drawing.

Bernanke: Fed actions prevented a depression

For Americans who have forgotten, or who never knew, how much worse things could get - shantytowns, gnawing hunger and a desperate 1 in 4 people out of work - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is providing a reminder.

Republicans vote to subpoena oil moratorium documents

House Republicans voted Wednesday to authorize congressional subpoenas demanding the Obama administration turn over documents it has refused to turn over in two investigations, including one looking at the post-Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium.

House rejects Bowles-Simpson, Obama budgets

The Bowles-Simpson deficit-reduction plan went down to a crushing defeat in the House late Wednesday night in a vote that damages the one bipartisan proposal that just a few months ago had seemed like a possible solution to the country's debt woes.

PepsiCo denies accusations on link to aborted fetal cells

So far, researchers using aborted fetal cell lines haven't been able to cure paralysis or reverse the effects of Parkinson's disease, but they may be able to make diet sodas taste better.

Inside the Beltway: In the streets

"Don't shoot me, I'm a congresswoman" and "Don't shoot me, I'm a pastor" are among the protest mottos to be seen at high noon Thursday when reactions to the shooting of Trayvon Martin get more vigorous, and more political.

Gingrich says no deal after a secret talk with Romney

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich recently met in secret with GOP rival Mitt Romney at the former Massachusetts governor's hotel in New Orleans, according to a Gingrich admirer close to the former Georgia congressman's campaign.

Memory loss prompted Rypien to join lawsuit against NFL

Three weeks ago, Mark Rypien admitted something was wrong.

Gray touts revival of streetcars for District

D.C. officials hope a burgeoning streetcar program will revitalize parts of the city - especially east of the Anacostia River - when it begins in 2013 despite lingering concerns about its impact and ability to operate effectively.

Boehner to Obama: Clarify your hot mic comments to Medvedev

With President Obama back in the U.S. after his trip to South Korea, Speaker John Boehner sent him a letter demanding answers about comments he made to the president of Russia earlier this week,which were caught on a hot mic.

Shanahan: Redskins top offseason priority was finding franchise QB

Mike Shanahan made it his mission this winter to find the Washington Redskins a franchise quarterback. After two straight last-place finishes and way more turnovers last season than he cares to remember, it became the coach's top priority.

JetBlue pilot charged with interfering with crew

A JetBlue Airways captain who sprinted through the cabin of a Las Vegas-bound flight screaming about terrorists, Jesus and Sept. 11 was charged Wednesday with interfering with a flight crew, federal authorities said.

Senator rips misconduct in Stevens case

The Democratic chairman and the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said at hearing Wednesday that the prosecutorial misconduct uncovered by a special counsel in the Justice Department's prosecution of the late Sen. Ted Stevens, Alaska Republican, "cannot be tolerated."

Pope wrapping up Cuba visit with Mass, meeting with Fidel Castro

Pope Benedict XVI, denouncing "fanaticism" that tries to impose its truth on others, demanded greater freedom for the Catholic Church in Cuba during Mass before hundreds of thousands of people Wednesday in the shrine of the island's communist revolution.

Commentary

MILLER: The five-year budget itch

The House will vote Thursday on a spending blueprint for 2013. Members will choose from among five options this week, but only House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's plan has enough support to pass. Still, the House GOP's conservative wing wants to educate the public about fiscal responsibility by debating their second "Cut, Cap and Balance" plan.

DECKER: Obama's French auto bailout

Ronald Reagan said, "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." General Motors is learning that lesson the hard way. Now that GM is a ward of the state after being bailed out by Uncle Sam, it has to drive forward with all kinds of bad business schemes pushed by Washington bureaucrats, such as the expensive, electric Chevy Volt consumers don't want.

EDITORIAL: Justice Roberts' cellphone

If the federal government can make individuals buy health insurance, there's nothing to stop it from forcing everyone to purchase a particular cellphone. As Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. argued Tuesday, there's no difference between saying everyone must acquire health insurance to cover catastrophic medical needs and saying individuals have to carry a mobile phone with the ability to notify authorities in the event of a car crash or similar catastrophe.

TYRRELL: Paul Ryan's budget express

As America rings up another $3 tril- lion-plus budget - almost a historic peacetime 25 percent of gross national product (GDP) - and borrows another $1.3 trillion to pay for it, one should not be surprised that the usual mob of special pleaders is fuming at anyone who has the temerity to suggest a sane alternative. These are the new Democrats, and they do not mind putting us on the road to Greece.

WOLF: Obamacare's inescapable death march

The die is cast: Obamacare will not survive. This is not a prediction of how the Supreme Court will rule on President Obama's health care takeover, mind you. It's the harsh reality that if Obamacare does not die a judicial or political death - or better yet, both - it will die an economic death, and if it does, it will take America down with it.

An Ignoble Experiment

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2012/03/29