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FAIRFAX, Virginia -- President-elect Barack Obama warned of dire and lasting consequences if Congress doesn't pump unprecedented dollars into the national economy, making an urgent pitch Thursday for his mammoth spending proposal in his first speech since his election.

"In short, a bad situation could become dramatically worse" if Washington doesn't go far enough to address the spreading crisis, Obama said as fresh economic reports showed an outlook growing increasingly grim.

Since his November election, he has deferred to President George W. Bush on foreign policy matters such as the Middle East. But, with the urgency of the economic crisis, Obama has waded deeply into domestic issues as he works to generate support for his plan to create jobs, jolt the economy and make long-term investments in other areas.

In the speech at George Mason University outside of Washington, Obama cast blame on "an era of profound irresponsibility that stretched from corporate boardrooms to the halls of power in Washington."

But he added, "The very fact that this crisis is largely of our own making means that it is not beyond our ability to solve. Our problems are rooted in past mistakes, not our capacity for future greatness."

Continue reading "Obama economic speech warns of worse problems if Congress doesn't approve spending plan" »

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DENVER -- Sharecropper's grandson Terrance Carroll was chosen Wednesday as speaker of Colorado's House of Representatives, making the state the first in the nation where blacks lead both chambers of its Legislature.

The milestone is most remarkable in a state where blacks are just 4 percent of the population -- and where decades ago the Ku Klux Klan held sway over the Capitol.

Carroll and Senate President Peter Groff, elected to his leadership position a year ago, also are the only blacks among Colorado's 100 legislators.

"This really does speak volumes about how far this country has moved and how this can really be a place of opportunity," Carroll said before Wednesday's official vote on the 2009 General Assembly's opening day.

Continue reading "Colorado has two black legislative leaders" »

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- One of Gov. Bill Richardson's close friends and advisers worked as a consultant for the California firm at the center of a federal pay-to-play probe that derailed the governor's appointment as commerce secretary.

Mike Stratton's consulting firm worked for CDR Financial Products to advise on business in New Mexico at the time the company was hired to work on bond deals with the New Mexico Finance Authority.

Federal investigators are now scrutinizing whether CDR's work, for which it earned nearly $1.5 million in fees, was influenced by political contributions that CDR and its chief executive David Rubin made to Richardson's political committees.

Stratton, a longtime Democratic political consultant, has been friends with Richardson for more than 25 years. He advised Richardson -- and raised money for him -- during the governor's failed bid for the 2008 presidential nomination.

Continue reading "Richardson adviser worked for firm being probed" »

SAN ANTONIO -- Texas authorities are seeking permanent custody of a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly married to jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, a step toward severing her parents' rights altogether.

The girl had been placed temporarily in foster care in August after her mother refused in court to guarantee her safety. She is the only one of 439 children taken from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado to return to foster care.

Documents and photos seized from the ranch showed that Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, married the girl when she was 12.

Her father, Fredrick "Merril" Jessop, is charged with illegally marrying the pair on July 27, 2006. He has not entered a plea.

Continue reading "Texas seeks state custody of alleged child bride of jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs" »

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Two top leaders of a polygamous community in western Canada have been arrested and charged with practicing polygamy, British Columbia's attorney general said Wednesday.

Attorney General Wally Oppal said Winston Blackmore is charged with marrying 20 women, while James Oler is accused of marrying two women. Oppal, who said the charges carry a maximum penalty of five yeras in prison, said the case will be the first test of Canada's polygamy laws.

"This has been a very complex issue," he said. "It's been with us for well over 20 years. The problem has always been the defense of religion has always been raised."

Blackmore, long known as "the Bishop of Bountiful," runs an independent sect of about 400 members in the town of Bountiful. He once ran the Canadian arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but was ejected in 2003 by that group's leader, Warren Jeffs. The church is based in towns on the Utah-Arizona border.

Continue reading "2 leaders of polygamist group arrested in Canada" »

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Wounded troops are still waiting to file new appeals of disability ratings that determine what kind of medical care and benefits they get after federal officials missed their goal for beginning the process.

The Department of Defense was already months behind on starting the work of a three-member board that will hear the appeals. The December 2007 act of Congress that created the board mandated it start hearing appeals within 90 days. Though defense officials missed that deadline, they said they planned to start by the end of 2008. That didn't happen either.

"Thousands of wounded troops have gotten inexplicably low disability ratings. An incorrect rating can cost a disabled veteran hundreds of dollars a month," said Vanessa Williamson, the policy director at New York-based Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Especially in this economy, this is an enormous burden."

A disability rating is based on the severity and long-term impact of a veteran's injury.

Continue reading "Injured veterans wait for disability appeal process" »

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- When his wife needed a kidney transplant, Dr. Richard Batista gave her one of his, attorney Dominic Barbara said.

Now that Dawnell Batista has filed for a divorce, Richard Batista wants his kidney back as part of his settlement demand. Or, Barbara said Wednesday, his client wants the value of that kidney: An estimated $1.5 million.

The case is being heard in Supreme Court in Mineola, N.Y.

Barbara said his client, a 49-year-old doctor from Ronkonkoma who graduated Cornell University Medical School in 1995, married Dawnell Batista on Aug. 31, 1990. The couple had three children, now ages 14, 11 and 8.

Continue reading "Husband wants kidney back in divorce" »

WASHINGTON -- Roland Burris said Wednesday he should be able to join the Senate "very shortly," after talking to newly supportive Democratic leaders and working on lingering legal obstacles.

Talking to reporters on the second day of a Washington power odyssey that would intimidate many, the 71-year-old Burris declared himself happy and said he was pleased with his meeting with Sens. Harry Reid and Dick Durbin.

"My whole interest in this experience is to be prepared" to lead Illinois, Burris said, "and very shortly I will have the opportunity to do that."

Burris' legal issues include a pending decision by a court in his home state on whether Secretary of State Jesse White's signature is required on his certification papers and his appearance Thursday before a committee considering the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who appointed him to take the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Continue reading "Burris expects to join Senate 'very shortly,' as Democratic leaders seem to be warming to him" »

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Heavy rain across the South on Wednesday caused flooding, school and road closures and a landslide that destroyed a home in North Carolina.

Thousands of people lost power across the Carolinas as a cold front swept the region with wind and rain, and a landslide destroyed a home in the mountains of western North Carolina.

One home in Haywood County was destroyed, but its occupants escaped with only minor injuries, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. Emergency crews evacuated eight other homes in the Maggie Valley area.

"I'm just glad no one was killed," said neighbor Carolyn Phillips.

Continue reading "Heavy rain causing flooding across South" »

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that reforming massive government entitlement programs -- such as Social Security and Medicare -- would be "a central part" of his effort to control federal spending.

Obama made the pledge but provided few details as he named Nancy Killefer as his administration's chief performance officer, creating a new White House position aimed at eliminating government waste and improving efficiency.

Noting that the Congressional Budget Office had just estimated he would inherit a $1.2 trillion federal deficit for fiscal 2009, Obama promised to cut unnecessary spending.

"We expect that discussion around entitlements will be a part, a central part of those plans," Obama said. "And I would expect that by February in line with the announcement of at least a rough budget outline we will have more to say about how we're going to approach entitlement spending."

For the first time, Obama gave a ballpark price tag for his massive economic plan aimed at generating jobs and jolting the country out of recession. Aides have said it could cost as much as $775 billion over two years. Outside economists have suggested as much as $1.2 trillion would be needed.

Continue reading "Obama names special federal-spending watchdog" »

Updated: 4:02 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant, President George W. Bush, reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."

"I just want to thank the president for hosting us," the president-elect said, flanked by former President George H.W. Bush on one side and his son on the other.

Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both smiling broadly, stood with them.

"All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office," Obama said. "For me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary."

Continue reading "Four presidents, and one president-elect, meet at White House for an 'extraordinary gathering'" »

See a slideshow of images from throughout the nation. For a selection of images from around the world go to cleveland.com/world. Click here to see an archive of Nation and World slideshows.

Slideshow created on The Plain Dealer night picture desk.

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama has approached CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, about becoming the country's next surgeon general, the cable network said Tuesday.

CNN said it has kept Gupta from reporting on health care policy and other matters involving the incoming Obama administration since learning he was under consideration for the post.

Two Democrats with knowledge of the discussions over the surgeon general spot said Gupta was under consideration but cautioned there was not yet a final decision on who would fill the post. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the matter.

Obama's transition office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Continue reading "Gupta approached about surgeon general post" »