Obama administration

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Madoff Scandal Turns Up Heat on Financial Advisers

Loophole lets Madoff types profit from bad advice, they say

(Newser) - Wall Street advisers and brokers are tussling over the details of a looming regulatory overhaul as Washington takes steps to prevent another Bernard Madoff scandal, Bloomberg reports. Advisers want brokers who counsel clients to be subject to the same oversight they’re under; currently, their brokerage counterparts can profit by...

GOP Questions Put Brakes on Holder Vote

Committee will wait week on AG nominee, infuriating chair Leahy

(Newser) - The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed today’s scheduled vote on Eric Holder’s confirmation by another week, CNN reports. Republican members engineered the move, saying they have questions about the attorney-general nominee’s stance on interrogation techniques. Chairman Patrick Leahy, who said he was “extremely disappointed,” banged down...

Geithner Confirmation Expected
 Geithner Confirmation Expected 
UPDATED
Jan 21, 2009 2:14 PM CST

Geithner Confirmation Expected

Committee grills Treasury nominee on taxes, but session lasts just four hours

(Newser) - Members of the Senate Finance Committee reprimanded Timothy Geithner today for not paying $40,000 in taxes, but appeared ready to recommend the full Senate confirm him as Treasury Secretary despite his financial infractions, Roll Call reports. “I apologize for putting you in the position where you had to...

Obama Vows Transparency, Freezes Top Salaries

(Newser) - President Obama announced today that he was freezing the salaries of top White House staff who take in more than $100,000 a year, the AP reports. “Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington,” he said. Obama is also requiring federal agencies to respond more actively...

Geithner Sorry, Blames TurboTax
 Geithner 
 Sorry, 
 Blames 
 TurboTax 

UPDATED
Jan 21, 2009 10:50 AM CST

Geithner Sorry, Blames TurboTax

Treasury nominee, at confirmation hearings, apologizes for tax missteps

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner apologized for failing to pay $34,000 in taxes today in his Senate confirmation hearing. “I should have been more careful,” the would-be Treasury secretary said, calling them careless, avoidable mistakes. When asked how he prepared the taxes he replied, “I will answer that, but...

Obama Attends Nat'l Prayer Service

(Newser) - Barack and Michelle Obama attended the traditional prayer service at the National Cathedral this morning, the AP reports, a custom dating back to the nation's first president. The newly-minted president sat in the front pew along with Joe and Jill Biden and Bill and Hillary Clinton for a rousing service,...

It's Straight to Work for No. 44
 It's Straight to Work for No. 44 
Jan 21, 2009 10:31 AM CST

It's Straight to Work for No. 44

8:35 start later than Bush's usual kickoff, but Obama was out kinda late

(Newser) - Barack Obama kicked off day one as president by entering the Oval Office at 8:35am, later, notes the Christian Science Monitor, than his predecessor typically did—though perhaps not that late considering his night of parties stretched until 1am. Obama spent 10 minutes alone, reading a note in an...

Calm Down! 7 Reasons to Be Skeptical

 Calm Down! 
 7 Reasons to 
 Be Skeptical 
OPINION
Jan 21, 2009 10:21 AM CST

Calm Down! 7 Reasons to Be Skeptical

Yep; here are some reasons for concern and skepticism about Obama

(Newser) - Yesterday’s inauguration was such a feel-good fest, and our problems are so dire, that everybody is on board with President Obama. Leave it to Politico’s Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris, then, to give us some reasons for skepticism:
  • The genius fallacy: The best and brightest screw up,
...

Geithner's Nomination Is Unlikely to Fail
Geithner's Nomination Is Unlikely to Fail
ANALYSIS
Jan 21, 2009 8:44 AM CST

Geithner's Nomination Is Unlikely to Fail

Taxes, schmaxes: Senate wants to know if he can fix economy

(Newser) - The herculean task awaiting Timothy Geithner is so critical to the nation that a niggling detail like unpaid taxes is unlikely to derail his bid to head up the Treasury Department, writes Deborah Solomon in the Wall Street Journal. While senators will likely press Geithner about his missteps during his...

Obama Team Warns: No Magic Wand for Banks

Geithner will testify without a plan, take time to get it right

(Newser) - While the world watched Barack Obama take the oath of office yesterday, on Wall Street shares in the big banks plummeted as much as 29% as the markets took the worst pounding in inaugural history. Yet when Tim Geithner appears before a Senate committee today, the incoming Treasury secretary will...

Prez Orders Halt to Gitmo Trials

Prosecutors seeking 120-day delay while Obama sorts things out

(Newser) - Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors to seek a 120-day halt to legal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay—due to resume today—against five accused 9/11 conspirators, and another case against a Canadian defendant. Documents already filed said the request is made "in the interest of justice and at the direction...

Obama Blocks Bush 'Midnight Orders'
Obama Blocks
Bush 'Midnight Orders'
Jan 21, 2009 2:12 AM CST

Obama Blocks Bush 'Midnight Orders'

Weapons, anti-abortion regulations halted

(Newser) - One of President Barack Obama's first acts from the Oval Office was to block the last orders of his predecessor executed in his final days of power, Reuters reports. The White House sent a memo to every federal agency yesterday putting a stop to dozens of so-called "midnight regulations"...

7 Nominees Confirmed; Clinton Vote Tomorrow

(Newser) - The Senate met after the inauguration today and promptly confirmed seven of President Obama’s nominees by unanimous vote, with the notable exception of Hillary Clinton, the Chicago Tribune reports. A vote on Clinton has been scheduled for tomorrow after Harry Reid and Sen. John Cronyn, who has concerns about...

Obama Could Be Most Powerful President Ever
Obama Could Be Most Powerful President Ever
Analysis
Jan 20, 2009 8:42 AM CST

Obama Could Be Most Powerful President Ever

44 enjoys rare mix of crisis, popularity, and an office at its peak

(Newser) - Barack Obama enters office today with a realistic shot of becoming one of the most powerful presidents in history, writes Barton Gellman in the Washington Post. Historians and officials in the outgoing and incoming administrations agree the presidency is already at or near an apex of power, and Obama’s...

Obamas Urged to Turn the White House Green

Advocates push for new first family to take up organic farming

(Newser) - Advocates for all kinds of green causes are hoping to find newly fertile ground for their ideas at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Wall Street Journal reports. Several groups are pushing for the president-elect to lead by example and plant an organic garden on the White House's ample grounds. Others urge...

Feds' Bank Aid Smacks of Nationalization
Feds' Bank
Aid Smacks of Nationalization
ANALYSIS
Jan 16, 2009 9:18 AM CST

Feds' Bank Aid Smacks of Nationalization

Washington may have no choice but to take majority stakes

(Newser) - The federal government may be forced to effectively nationalize some of America's biggest banks, a notion gaining traction as Bank of America and Citigroup teeter on the brink of insolvency. While Washington has shown extreme reluctance to take ownership stakes in corporate banks, it may now have no choice, the...

Holder: Waterboarding Is Torture

But supports FISA, Patriot Act

(Newser) - Eric Holder minced no words when asked about waterboarding in his confirmation hearing today. “Waterboarding is torture,” the AG-designate said, a declaration neither Michael Mukasey nor Alberto Gonzales was willing to make. He said that, even in emergencies, the president couldn’t override the constitution. Republicans also leapt...

Biden Plans to Shrink VP Power
 Biden Plans to Shrink VP Power 
Interview
Jan 15, 2009 10:05 AM CST

Biden Plans to Shrink VP Power

But he'll be 'the guy in the room'

(Newser) - Most vice presidents enter office wanting to grab power and make a name for themselves. Not Joe Biden. The VP-elect is determined to roll back Dick Cheney’s massive power grab, he tells the New York Times. Will that make him less effective? “The only value of power is...

Clinton Promises 'Smart Power' in Cozy Hearing

Back-patting abounds

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton promised a new “smart power” era of US foreign policy today, advocating a mix of diplomacy and defense, in a decidedly friendly confirmation hearing today, the AP reports. “America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America,...

Geithner Overhauls Bailout to Aid Homeowners, Small Biz

Obama team wants to cover homeowners, small business

(Newser) - The incoming Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, is conducting a top-to-bottom overhaul of the $700 billion financial rescue program passed by a skeptical Congress last fall. Geithner and other Obama advisers will expand the program to cover small businesses, municipalities, and even homeowners before asking Congress for the second tranche of...

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