L.A. Times - Politics

Unemployment rate rises above 10% ; Obama signs jobless benefit extension

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:34:00 -0800

The jobless rate rose to 10.2% in October from 9.8% in September -- first time in the double digits since 1983. Employers cut 190,000 jobs last month, although the pace of job losses continues to slow

As the nation's unemployment rate surged to 10.2% in October, reaching double digits for the first time in 26 years, President Obama signed a measure today providing additional aid for the jobless as well as expanding and extending a home buyer tax credit to help spur economic growth.

Democrats secure abortion funding deal on eve of expected health vote

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Pelosi and others work into the night to try to clear roadblocks on the healthcare overhaul bill.

With a historic floor vote looming on their healthcare bill, House Democratic leaders secured an 11th-hour compromise late Friday night to settle a long-simmering debate over how to restrict federal funding for abortion.

CalPERS to consider requiring placement agents to register as lobbyists

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Advocates see the plan as a way to limit political pressure on the pension fund, which some believe may have occurred in dealings with agent Alfred Villalobos. Opponents say it's counterproductive.

Highly paid financial intermediaries at the center of a growing uproar over the way California's huge public pension plan invests its money may soon be required to register as government lobbyists and regularly report their fees and clients.

Schwarzenegger signs part of water package

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

One of the bills establishes a statewide program to measure groundwater elevations. The other adds 25 state enforcement officers to track down illegal water diversions.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went to a scruffy field in the San Fernando Valley on Friday to sign two pieces of water legislation passed earlier this week.

Seniors and doctors give key boost to healthcare bill

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The din loudens from the left and right as a House vote nears on healthcare overhaul legislation.

With a historic House vote on a $1-trillion healthcare bill barely 48 hours away, battle lines are hardening as lobbying groups for seniors and doctors endorse the legislation, while thousands of protesters swarmed Capitol Hill to oppose it.

New York's Bloomberg spent big, for small return

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The mayor, who spent $100 million of his own money to eke out a slim victory, isn't the first free-spending candidate to feel the sting of the electorate.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg may have narrowly won a third term this week but he also earned -- or, rather, very handsomely paid for -- a less-welcome distinction: becoming the latest in a long line of politicians to prove that money can't buy everything.

Senate panel OKs sweeping climate bill

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Democrats bypass a Republican boycott and approve a plan to limit greenhouse gases. The GOP wanted more cost analysis. Backers say the move gives the U.S. credibility ahead of talks in Copenhagen.

In a move that stoked optimism for global climate negotiations but raised tempers on Capitol Hill, Democrats on a key Senate committee swept aside a Republican boycott Thursday to pass a far-reaching plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Carly Fiorina's Senate campaign an uninspiring product launch

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The most cherished American credo is that anyone can grow up and run for high office.

Election results rattle some Democrats

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

With independent voters favoring GOP candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, many in Congress wonder whether they'll lose electoral support themselves if they stick with Obama on controversial issues.

Even before voters went to the polls this week, moderate congressional Democrats were anxious. Would the swing voters who coalesced around Barack Obama almost exactly one year ago stay with the Democrats or defect to the Republicans?

House Republicans offer alternative healthcare proposal

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Their modest, incremental approach focuses on controlling costs through market-oriented measures. But its larger purpose is to show that they're not just the 'party of no.'

After months of criticizing Democratic healthcare proposals from the sidelines, House Republicans this week stepped up efforts to promote their own plan and challenge critics' efforts to portray the GOP as the "party of no."