Lessons Obama learned from stimulus deal

President Obama will pitch his plans this week for dealing with record home foreclosures and trying to thaw frozen credit markets — and taking some key lessons learned into consideration. Aides said the White House has learned several lessons from the fight over the economic stimulus plan, including that the president is better at selling his ideas when he gets out of Washington.

Share

California’s Big Race to Succeed Schwarzenegger

Ever since gold miners first scraped their fortunes out of the hills of northern California, America’s most populous state has been a land of titanic dreams. These days, though, it’s a place with even bigger problems. Its $42 billion budget deficit would make an out-of-control Hollywood director blush — and bankrupt a small nation

Share

GOP Governors: Split over Obama’s Stimulus Plan

When President Barack Obama took his stimulus road show into Florida on Tuesday, Governor Charlie Crist was waiting, tapping his foot. Crist, a Republican, is actually six months ahead of Washington in the stimulus game: in August, in response to his state’s economic implosion, he launched Accelerate Florida, which is pouring out more than $28 billion in stored-up state funds for the kind of infrastructure and school-construction projects that are still being debated inside the Beltway. At the time Crist announced Accelerate Florida, few if any fellow Republicans seemed to condemn the idea.

Share

Schwarzenegger says state worker layoffs looming

Faced with a projected $42 billion deficit, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned Tuesday that 20,000 state workers will lose their jobs if a budget deal isn’t reached by the end of the week. The governor and the legislature are “making progress” in talks, said Schwarzenegger’s press secretary, Aaron McLear.

Share

Chris Brown case going to the DA

The chief investigator in the domestic violence case against singer Chris Brown will deliver his findings to the Los Angeles district attorney Tuesday afternoon for consideration of further charges, the investigator told CNN. Los Angeles Police Detective Deshon Andrews said he has kept the case file closely guarded and no copies have been made of the original photos and documents in order to keep them from leaking to the media. Police have refused media requests to hear the 911 call that led to their investigation early Sunday, but Andrews said it mostly recorded the sound of “a screaming woman.” Brown, 19, turned himself in Sunday night after police said they were looking for him.

Share