Obama signs historic $938 billion health overhaul

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:53:33 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) A beaming President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a historic $938 billion health care overhaul that guarantees coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans and will touch nearly every citizen's life, presiding over the biggest shift in U.S. domestic policy since the 1960s and capping a divisive, yearlong debate that could …

Debate on the future of Fannie, Freddie heats up

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:51:43 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Lawmakers are starting to wrestle with how to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants that nearly collapsed at the start of the financial meltdown.

In September 2008, the government seized control of Fannie and Freddie massive companies that purchase home loans, package them into investments and guar

13 attorneys general sue over health care overhaul

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:49:57 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – (AP) Attorneys general from 13 states sued the federal government Tuesday, claiming the landmark health care overhaul bill is unconstitutional just seven minutes after President Barack Obama signed it into law.

The lawsuit was filed in Pensacola after the Democratic president signed the

Tea partiers vow revenge over health overhaul

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:46:08 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – (AP) Tea party activists aren't just angry that Democrats passed a major health care overhaul, they are out for revenge.

They do not see passage of the landmark reforms that usher in near-universal medical coverage as the end of the debate. Tea partiers instead vow to support attorneys general who plan …

Congress clears historic health care bill

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:52:58 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Summoned to success by President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation Sunday night extending health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and cracking down on insurance company abuses, a climactic chapter in the century-long quest for near universal coverage.

Political lift of health bill uncertain

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:51:26 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The initial blush of President Barack Obama's health care triumph immediately gives way to a sober political reality he must sell the landmark legislation to an angry and unpredictable electorate, still reeling from the recession.

Voters may not buy it.

WASHINGTON – (AP) A key senator has agreed with the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to change new Senate legislation to ensure an end to the "too-big-to-fail" approach that brought the government rushing in to bail out big banks in the financial crisis.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair voiced concern Friday ...

Regulators shut 7 banks in 5 states; 37 in 2010

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:36:16 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Regulators on Friday shut down seven banks in five states, bringing to 37 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year.

The closings follow the 140 that succumbed in 2009 to mounting loan defaults and the recession.

Climate change cited as Mont. leases suspended

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:34:12 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. – (AP) A federal judge has approved a first-of-its-kind settlement requiring the government to suspend 38,000 acres of oil and gas leases in Montana so it can gauge how oil field activities contribute to climate change.

At issue are the greenhouse gases emitted by drilling machinery and industry practices such as vent

Democrats push toward Sunday vote on health care

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:22:07 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Slowly but steadily, support is building behind President Barack Obama's health care legislation in the House, the result of intense lobbying and politically targeted changes aimed at reassuring waverers and winning over critics.

Obama himself was to talk up the sweeping overhaul in a midday speech Friday in Virgini

A look at the health care overhaul bill

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:19:52 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Congressional Democrats have released a final version of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul bill in advance of a House vote planned for Sunday. Some features of the legislation, which makes changes to the bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve:

COST: $940 billion over 10 years, according to the ...

US, Russia clash over startup of Iran nuke plant

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:16:15 GMT

MOSCOW – (APINTL) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Russian counterpart have clashed openly over the planned startup this summer of Iran's first, Russian-built nuclear power plant, highlighting a split in views over how to steer Iran away from nuclear weapons.

Clinton did not criticize the long-delayed project di

Geneva atom smasher sets record for beam energy

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:14:11 GMT

GENEVA – (AP) Operators of the world's largest atom smasher on Friday ramped up their massive machine to three times the energy ever previously achieved, in the run-up to experiments probing the secrets of the universe.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, said beams of protons circulated at 3.5 trillion electron

Health care bill extends wage tax to investments

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:12:07 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) High-income families would be hit with a tax increase on wages and a new levy on investments under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul bill.

For the first time, the Medicare payroll tax would be applied to investment income, beginning in 2013. A new 3.8 percent tax would be imposed ...

Lawmakers struggle to finish health overhaul bill

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:21:56 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Pushing toward a history-making vote, Democrats struggled to eliminate lingering complications standing in the way of House action this weekend on President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul.

Their drive to change the way health care is administered and extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans t

US ambassador urges China cooperation on Iran

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:20:10 GMT

BEIJING – (AP) Beijing needs to take seriously American concerns about the value of the Chinese currency, but bilateral disputes should not impede cooperation on global issues such as climate change and Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. ambassador to Beijing said Thursday.

Washington and other trading partners are pressing China to ea

Polar bear ban defeated at UN conservation meeting

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:18:28 GMT

DOHA, Qatar – (AP) A U.S.-backed proposal to ban the international trade of polar bear skins, teeth and claws was defeated Thursday at a U.N. wildlife meeting over concerns it would hurt indigenous economies and arguments the practice didn't pose a significant threat to the animals.

The Americans argued at the 175-nation Convention o

SEC boss: Agency examining companies

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:16:14 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed Wednesday that the agency is investigating several companies' actions in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said "it would be safe to assume" that the agency is looking very closely at the conduct of a ...

Evidence skirmish could delay end of Prop 8 trial

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:14:45 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – (AP) An attempt by civil rights groups to keep sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban from obtaining internal campaign documents could delay a verdict in the federal trial on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, lawyers on both sides said Tuesday.

Attorneys warned of the possible bottleneck during a hearing

Senate OKs jobs bill for Obama's signature

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:36:44 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Companies that hire unemployed workers will get a temporary payroll tax holiday under a bill that easily won congressional approval Wednesday in what Democrats hope is just the first of several election-year measures aimed at boosting hiring.

The 68-29 bipartisan vote in the Senate sent the legislation to the White

Idaho first to sign law against health care reform

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:35:09 GMT

BOISE, Idaho – (AP) Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care reform Wednesday when its governor became the first to sign a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government if residents are forced to buy health insurance.

Similar legislation is pending in 37 other states.<

Health bill gains ground; weekend vote likely

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:23:40 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation won precious support from a longtime liberal holdout in the House on Wednesday and from Catholic nuns representing dozens of religious orders, gaining fresh traction in the run-up to a climactic weekend vote.

"It's a good sign," said Obama, two week

Planes may fly mostly on biofuels with 10 years

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:21:54 GMT

AMSTERDAM – (AP) A conference bringing together more than 60 nations added $1 billion to the fight against deforestation and boosted the morale of those hoping to save the world's forests a key defense against global warming.

Three months after a morose ending to climate change talks in Copenhagen, the one-day ministerial meeting &he

Obama seeks to reassure seniors on health care

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:29:35 GMT

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – (AP) With a fresh sense of urgency, President Barack Obama sought to reassure seniors Monday about health care legislation approaching a final vote in Congress, pledging it would make preventive care cost-free and close a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage.

"This proposal adds almost a decade of solv

EU should step up climate cut, report says

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:27:36 GMT

BRUSSELS – (AP) European Union governments can and should step up cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions because the economic recession has already made significant reductions for them, according to research commissioned by the European Green lawmakers.

A report released Monday by environmental consultancy CE Delft says the EU could

Court says thimerosal did not cause autism

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:25:59 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The vaccine additive thimerosal is not to blame for autism, a special federal court ruled Friday in a long-running battle by parents convinced there is a connection.

While expressing sympathy for the parents involved in the emotionally charged cases, the court concluded they had failed to show a connection between t

Slowly, Americans are regaining their lost wealth

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:38:59 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth gradually.

Household net worth rose last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was slight. And it was less than in the previous two quarters.

SEC head urges Congress to act on derivatives

LexisNexis Environmental Law Center Staff — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:36:28 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The government's top securities regulator called Thursday for Congress to impose new oversight on financial derivatives, warning that allowing risky instruments like credit default swaps to continue unfettered could bring further economic damage.

The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro,

Dems look to health vote without abortion foes

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:32:14 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) House Democratic leaders Thursday abandoned a long struggle to strike a compromise on abortion in their ranks, gambling that they can secure the support for President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation with showdown votes looming as early as next week.

In doing so, they are all but counting out …

Group: polluters use offsets to avoid carbon cuts

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:30:23 GMT

BRUSSELS – (AP) Major European polluters are buying their way out of making big cuts to greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing carbon offsets that pay for environmental programs in developing nations, a nonprofit group said Friday.

To avoid the high cost of becoming greener, power companies and steel makers are using offsets to &hell

Democrats, White House close in on health bill

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:58:22 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) House Democratic leaders on Thursday worked to rally their rank-and-file members around last-minute agreements on insurance taxes and prescription drug coverage that could move President Barack Obama's overhaul of the nation's health care system a step closer to reality.

Although some issues remained unresolved incl

Sarkozy: more funds needed to fight deforestation

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:55:52 GMT

PARIS – (AP) Rich nations must contribute more to a climate change fund and help fight deforestation, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at a conference Thursday on saving the world's forests a key defense against global warming.

Ministers from some 64 nations attended the one-day Paris meeting, including Indonesia and other heavi

Obama pushes trade initiative as jobs helper

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:53:49 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) President Barack Obama sought Thursday to put some detail behind his lofty drive to double U.S. exports over the next five years, calling the effort imperative to putting people back to work. But doubts remain about how many net jobs his trade agenda will create and how he will get ...

Subscribers to MEXICO CITY – (AP) Two glowing brides in white gowns made history Thursday as they wed under Latin America's first law that explicitly approves gay marriage.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard was officiating five same-sex marriages in one day, despite harsh criticism from the Roman Catholic Church and a campaign against the measure la

Regulator faults Wall Street banks on derivatives

LexisNexis Emerging Issues Law Center Staff — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:48:33 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Wall Street banks are seeking exemptions to proposed new financial derivatives rules that could shield more than half the trades that should be subject to disclosure, a federal regulator said Thursday.

The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Gary Gensler, criticized Wall Street's stance on proposed

LexisNexis Emerging Issues: Emerging Issues