Almost half of US undergraduates attend a community college. As the economy stalled over the past three years, enrollment surged. Today the White House acknowledged the role of what Obama called “the unsung heroes” of higher education, hosting the first ever Community College Summit. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports.
Congress also passed a bill that gives it more oversight over the intelligence community. The legislation requires the president to brief more legislators on top-secret intelligence, and actions such as covert operations. The Senate unanimously passed the bill earlier this week, the House passed it yesterday and Obama is expected to sign it into law. But as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, some think Congress still needs more oversight.
House Republicans unveiled their legislative agenda today. They’re calling it a “Pledge to America” and it echoes Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” — released weeks before the hotly contested midterm elections in 1994. This year’s plan includes repealing Obama’s health reform, capping federal spending, and making Bush’s tax cuts permanent. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports.
The recent recession was the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and it officially ended more than one year ago. The economy began to grow again in June 2009, according to the group of leading economists who determine when recessions end. But that official pronouncement does not mean things are getting any easier for American workers. In fact, as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, the unemployment rate could continue to climb.
A record number of Americans are living in poverty. That’s according to new numbers released by the Census Bureau today for 2009, which also show the number of people who have health insurance decreased for the first time since 1987, when officials started tracking the data. But, as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, the numbers weren’t as bad as many expected.
As this election season is heating up, so are attacks on Obama’s health care reform. Today in the Senate, Republicans tried and failed to weaken the law’s funding, while in Florida a judge heard initial arguments in the second state challenge to the law. As FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, both challenges focus on the law’s effect on small businesses.
President Obama is looking for ways to boost the economy: he wants to extend some $130 billion in tax breaks to businesses, and invest billions more in roads and railways. As FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, these proposals should have bipartisan appeal, but still face a tough road ahead in Congress.
The Senate has yet to act on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy despite a push from President Obama to repeal it. Meanwhile, the military continues to dismiss “mission-critical” personnel. That’s according to new military data, which finds women are dismissed at a much higher rate than men. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports.
Virginia’s attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, has been at the center of the national health care debate for months. He filed a lawsuit to stop reform immediately after the federal legislation passed in March. Yesterday, a judge in Richmond ruled that challenge could move forward in the courts. Now Cuccinelli is stepping into the immigration debate. Yesterday he released a legal opinion saying local law enforcement can inquire about immigration status when stopping people for other offenses. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston has more.
The Obama Administration wants to make it easier for the FBI to access people’s internet activity in the course of an investigation. The proposal would allow the FBI to force telecom companies to turn over information about their customers’ Internet activity if it’s part of a terrorism investigation. And they could access the data before a judge gives approval. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports.