ELECTIONS

NY Senate challenger getting boost from Clinton

By Harry Hamburg (AP)

In a slap at President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton will headline a fundraiser for a New York congresswoman challenging White House-backed Sen. Kristen Gillibrand in the state's Democratic primary.

Clinton has not endorsed in the race, but his efforts to help Rep. Carolyn Maloney could be seen as a snub to Gillibrand and the Obama White House. Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Clinton, said he will be attending a July 20 fundraiser in New York.

The White House has played an active role in clearing the field for Gillibrand, who was appointed earlier this year to...

By Harry Hamburg (AP)

In a slap at President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton will headline a fundraiser for a New York congresswoman challenging White House-backed Sen. Kristen Gillibrand in the state's Democratic primary.

Clinton has not endorsed in the race, but his efforts to help Rep. Carolyn Maloney could be seen as a snub to Gillibrand and the Obama White House. Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Clinton, said he will be attending a July 20 fundraiser in New York.

The White House has played an active role in clearing the field for Gillibrand, who was appointed earlier this year to...

By Harry Hamburg (AP)

Former President Bill Clinton will headline a fundraiser for New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who is challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in New York's Democratic primary.

A spokesman for Clinton, Matt McKenna, says Clinton's attending a July 20 fundraiser.

Clinton has not endorsed in the race, but his attendance could be seen as a snub to White House-backed Gillibrand. Clinton also did a fundraising event for Gillibrand after she was appointed to the Senate seat to fill the vacancy left when Clinton's wife was named secretary of state.

Both candidates supported Hillary Ro...

By Jim Mone (AP)

The man who lost the 1998 Minnesota governor's race to pro wrestler Jesse Ventura now holds the distinction of losing his U.S. Senate seat to former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken.

But it's a testament to Norm Coleman's political durability that just a day after he conceded the contest and gave Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority, many GOP insiders consider him an automatic front-runner if he enters the 2010 race to replace Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

"He'd be the 800-pound gorilla in the Republican field, no doubt about it," said Annette ...

By Donna McWilliam (AP)

Gov. Rick Perry is ready to raise campaign cash, while Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison may finally be ready to raise a ruckus as the Republican heavyweights begin combat for the governor's office next year.

The race is projected to cost tens of millions of dollars. The winner of the GOP primary in March will be favored in the November general election.

"I'm raising funds again for my campaign ... first time since December," Perry wrote Monday on Twitter. He couldn't collect contributions during the legislative session that ran from mid-January until June 1.

Money-raisers fo...

By Brian Peterson (AP)

Al Franken refused his rival's calls for an election night concession last November, choosing instead to begin vote counting and courtroom haggling that stretched almost eight months and ultimately landed him a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Franken's victory over Republican Norm Coleman gives Democrats 60 Senate seats, the critical number needed to overcome Republican filibusters. When Franken is seated, which could come as early as next week, his party will have a majority not reached on either side of the aisle in some three decades.

Coleman conceded the election hours after a...

By Andy King (AP)

Al Franken ascended Tuesday from the hallowed ranks of former "Saturday Night Live" comedians to an even more exclusive club, outlasting Republican Norm Coleman in an eight-month recount and courtroom saga to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Franken's victory gives Democrats control of 60 seats in the Senate _ the critical number needed to overcome Republican filibusters. When Franken is seated, which could come as early as next week, his party will have a majority not reached on either side of the aisle in some three decades.

"When you win an election this close, you know not...

By Jim Mone (AP)

Republican Norm Coleman has conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota's contested Senate race, ending a nearly eight-month recount and court fight.

Coleman conceded at a news conference in St. Paul, a few hours after a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Tuesday the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian and liberal commentator should be certified the winner.

Franken's presence in the Senate would give the Democrats control of 60 seats, enough to overcome any Republican filibuster if they stay united.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the ear...

By Craig Lassig (AP)

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters.

Coleman hasn't ruled out seeking federal court intervention.

Jim Manley, a...

By (AP)

Sorry, Kobe.

President Barack Obama was asked straight out on Thursday: Kobe or Michael?

As in, who's the best? Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, a four-time NBA champion? Or the basketball legend to whom he is most often compared, Michael Jordan, who retired as a six-time champ with the Chicago Bulls and is widely regarded as the best player of all time?

Obama told The Associated Press that Bryant is terrific, but he hasn't seen anyone as good as Jordan.

Obama, a basketball fan who hails from Chicago, is certainly no Lakers hater. He picked Bryant's team to de...

By (AP)

State Attorney General Jerry Brown and former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman have raised the most campaign money this year for the 2010 California governor's race.

Brown said he collected $7.3 million through Tuesday, the end of the reporting period for the first half of the year. The Democrat has not formally announced he is running for the office he held from 1975 to 1983.

Whitman, a Republican, said her campaign brought in $6.5 million on top of her own $4 million contribution. San Francisco's Democratic Mayor Gavin Newsom raised $1.6 million.

Insurance...

By (AP)

NAME _ Al Franken

AGE-BIRTHDATE _ 58; May 21, 1951.

HOMETOWN _ Born in New York City; Raised in St. Louis Park, Minn.

EDUCATION _ Bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University.

EXPERIENCE _ Writer and performer on "Saturday Night Live," 1975-1980 and 1985-1995. Author of several books, including "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations" (1996) and "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" (2003). Host of "The Al Franken Show" on Air America Radio, 2004-2007.

FAMILY _ Wife Franni. Two adult...

By (AP)

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibuster.

Coleman hasn't ruled out seeking federal court intervention.

...

By (AP)

A potential White House contender in 2012 staked a claim Sunday to rehabilitating the Republican Party in the wake of extramarital affairs by two leading Republicans that have damaged the GOP's family-values image.

"Any time you have leading figures who are engaged in behavior that is sad and troubling and hypocritical, other people are going to look at that and say, 'Hmm, they don't walk the walk.' And so the words and the actions don't ring true," said Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Gov. "It certainly hurts the brand."

Pawlenty added: "I think I can make a contribution, in a p...

By (AP)

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he would be "very surprised" if he ended up running for president.

For that matter, the Republican Barbour says his wife would be even more surprised if he were to make a White House bid in 2012.

A former national chairman of the Republican Party, Barbour has been mentioned as a potential GOP candidate for president.

He is in his second term as governor and became the head of the Republican Governors Association after South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford stepped down following his admission of an extramarital affair.

Barbour says...

By (AP)

The Federal Election Commission has ruled that former Sen. Norm Coleman can use campaign money to pay for legal bills to address allegations involving a donor.

The agency's ruling Thursday said the Minnesota Republican can use the money for legal bills linked to two lawsuits. They allege that a former Coleman donor funneled at least $75,000 to an insurance company that employed Coleman's wife.

Coleman was not named in the suits and has denied wrongdoing.

Coleman and Democrat Al Franken are fighting in Minnesota's highest court over who won last November's election.

...

AP News

 

French investigators release report on Flight 447     By Otavio de Souza (AP)

French investigators on Thursday will present their initial findings into what caused Air France Flight 447 to drop out of the sky in the middle of the Atlantic a month ago, prompting one of history's most challenging plane crash investigations.

The Airbus A330-200 plane flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris went down with 228 people on board in a remote area of the Atlantic, 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) off Brazil's mainland and far from radar coverage.

A burst of automated messages emitted by the plane before it fell gave rescuers only a vague location to begin their search, which has failed to locate the plane's black boxes. The chances of finding the flight recorders are falling as the signals they emit fade. Without them, the full causes of the tragic accident may never be known.

The French air accident investigation agency, the BEA, will present its preliminary report to journalists at its headquarters in Le Bourget, outside Paris.   Read More...



 

 

 

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