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March 10, 2010

Santorum fights back in Iowa

Filed under: 2012, CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser, CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby, Iowa, Rick Santorum — cnnjs @ 2:01 pm

Rick Santorum defended his record as a pro-life politician Tuesday night.

(CNN) - Rick Santorum is fighting back against charges that he's a "pro-life fraud."

The former senator from Pennsylvania, and possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate, appeared before an influential Christian group in Iowa on Tuesday night and spent much of his speech defending his record of opposition to abortion rights.

"There are a lot of people who vote pro-life. There are very few people who stand up and fight pro-life. There is a reason for that. You pay a price if you stand up in the foxhole and fight for pro-life instead of just voting for pro-life," Santorum told the Iowa Christian Alliance, according to Iowa news reports and confirmed by a Santorum spokeswoman.

The abortion issue came about after an anonymous recorded telephone message began hitting some Iowa households Monday afternoon attacking Santorum ahead of his Des Moines appearance. In the 40-second call, an unidentified female voice blasted Santorum as "a pro-life fraud" because of his past support for former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and Republican-turned Democratic Pennsylvania Arlen Specter, both of whom support abortion rights.

Santorum, an ardent opponent of abortion rights, campaigned for both lawmakers during his two terms in the Senate. He has said publicly that he regrets backing then Republican Specter, who switched to the Democratic Party last year.

"I was wrong in retrospect," Santorum said Tuesday night regarding his support for Specter's 2004 re-election effort.

The recorded telephone message urged voters to contact Santorum at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, where he is a senior fellow, "and ask him to apologize for his longtime support of radical pro-abortion politicians."

It is unclear how many people have received the message, a recording of which was provided to CNN Tuesday by an Iowa Republican.

The Republican said that even though he had a "perfect pro-life voting record" in the Senate, "the comment about being a pro-life fraud could have applied to me, as it does, unfortunately, to many pro-life legislators."

Santorum, who lost his 2006 re-election bid, is slated to make more high profile appearances in the coming months. He's scheduled to speak at next month's Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, joining other possible 2012 GOP White House hopefuls. He'll also make his first visit this cycle to New Hampshire, another crucial early primary state, when he keynotes the Cheshire County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner on April 30.

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Santorum fights back in Iowa

Filed under: 2012, CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser, CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby, Iowa, Rick Santorum — cnnjs @ 2:01 pm

Rick Santorum defended his record as a pro-life politician Tuesday night.

(CNN) - Rick Santorum is fighting back against charges that he's a "pro-life fraud."

"I was wrong in retrospect," Santorum said Tuesday night regarding his support for Specter's 2004 re-election effort.

It is unclear how many people have received the message, a recording of which was provided to CNN Tuesday by an Iowa Republican.

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Scott Brown finalizes book deal

Filed under: CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby, Scott Brown — cnnjs @ 1:37 pm

Sen. Scott Brown has finalized a book deal with HarperCollins.

(CNN) – Sen. Scott Brown will reflect on "his family background, his early career and his ascent to the office of Massachusetts senator" in a new memoir, the publisher HarperCollins announced Wednesday.

Brown's office said last month that the Republican star was in the process of landing a book deal and had hired Washington attorney Bob Barnett to help navigate the process.

HarperCollins, which also published former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's best-selling memoir "Going Rogue," acquired the rights to the Brown book and will publish it in early 2011. The publisher called Brown's win in January's Massachusetts special Senate election "one of the biggest political coups of the decade."

"I am humbled to have the opportunity to share my personal story in hopes to inform, encourage and inspire others," Brown said in a statement.

The publisher said Brown will submit his deal to the Senate Ethics Committee for approval.

"Scott Brown's remarkable rise to the US Senate is merely one part of a life spent fighting for the values he believes in," said HarperCollins Senior Vice President Jonathan Burnham. "His own story is one of extraordinary courage, persistence, and hope - it is full of surprises and will make for a vitally important book that will inspire others to follow Senator Brown's footsteps."

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Obama to meet with Haitian president on relief, recovery efforts

Filed under: Haiti, President Obama — cnnjs @ 1:32 pm

President Obama will meet Wednesday with Haitian President Rene Preval.

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama will meet Wednesday with Haitian President Rene Preval to discuss relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts in Haiti, the White House said in a statement.

"The president will speak with President Preval about how the international community can best support the government of Haiti and the Haitian people as they rebuild and create a foundation for a brighter future," the statement said.

Haiti is struggling to recover from a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck January 12. Much of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, was destroyed, and more than 217,000 people were killed, according to the latest figures from international relief organizations.

Washington has already provided $700 million in aid to Haiti. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday a donors' conference is planned in New York for the end of March. More than half of all United States households have made private contributions to Haitian relief, Clinton said.

Discussions between Obama and Preval are expected to include Washington's aid contributions, the White House said. "A long and enduring relationship binds the United States and Haiti. Haitians are neighbors in the Americas, and Haitian-Americans have made extraordinary contributions to our country."

Preval said Tuesday his country is working to get its election timetable rescheduled, telling reporters after meeting with Clinton that political stability is "fundamental" for the development of a country. "I think that is what constitutes a guarantee for investors, for the population, that there's some guarantees, that there's some security about their future," he said.

Parliamentary elections set for February were postponed, and it is unclear whether a presidential election scheduled for the fall can proceed.

Clinton said she assured Preval "that the United States would work with the international community to hold elections as soon as appropriate."

–CNN's Charley Keyes contributed to this report.

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Obama to meet with Haitian president on relief, recovery efforts

Filed under: Haiti, President Obama — cnnjs @ 1:32 pm

President Obama will meet Wednesday with Haitian President Rene Preval.

Parliamentary elections set for February were postponed, and it is unclear whether a presidential election scheduled for the fall can proceed.

Clinton said she assured Preval "that the United States would work with the international community to hold elections as soon as appropriate."

–CNN's Charley Keyes contributed to this report.

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Massa seeks to divert attention from harassment allegations

Filed under: Eric Massa, New York — cnnjs @ 12:51 pm

New York (CNN) - Embattled former Rep. Eric Massa sought Tuesday to turn attention away from sexual harassment allegations swirling around him in the wake of his resignation.

"I am leaving (the House of Representatives) because I have to fight simultaneously a potential reoccurrence of cancer, the Democratic leadership, and a health care bill that's going to destroy this country ... and a belief that my party has become what it campaigned against," he told CNN's "Larry King Live."

Massa, a New York Democrat, announced last Wednesday he would not seek re-election because of health concerns, and he denied reports that he had harassed one of his Capitol Hill staff members. Two days later, he said he would resign effective Monday.

The first-term congressman has said he learned of a House ethics investigation into his conduct after deciding to retire.

During a rambling interview Tuesday night, Massa called allegations that he groped a male staffer "not true," despite admitting just hours before in another interview to tickling a male employee.

"When you grab someone and you're wrestling, I don't know how to describe that word," he told King on Tuesday. "If that's the word [groping] you want to have an entire debate about, then I can't stop you."

He said the incident "wasn't sexual" in nature.

Massa is married, and he and his wife, Beverly, have two children.

The tickling episode is one of three stories Massa has told in recent days, since harassment allegations surfaced amid reports of the ethics committee investigation against him.

He first said the investigation was due to his use of "salty language" around the office.

He then said the probe was related to a sexually laced conversation he had with a male staffer during a New Year's Eve wedding for another staffer.

In an interview with Fox News' Glenn Beck earlier Tuesday, Massa recounted an incident at his 50th birthday party.

"Now they're saying I groped a male staffer. Yeah, I did. Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe and then four guys jumped on top of me," he told Beck. "It's my 50th birthday, it was 'Kill the old guy.'"

When Beck asked whether there was "another shoe that is going to drop" - whether there were phone calls or text messages that were likely to come out, Massa said he is "sure there are text messages because we bantered back and forth all the time."

He did not elaborate. The New York Daily News said it asked Massa about the text messages and the former congressman said they were "inappropriate."

Massa also told Beck that he decided on his own to resign.

"I wasn't forced out. I forced myself out," he said, according to a transcript. "I failed. I didn't live up to my own codes. I own this."

When asked if he is gay, Massa told CNN's King he wouldn't answer the question because "it insults every gay American."

"In year 2010, ask my wife, ask my friends," he said.

When he originally announced he would not seek re-election, Massa said it was due to health concerns following a bout with cancer.

"In December, I was told I was facing a reoccurrence of that cancer and we're still waiting confirmation of that," he said. "My wife, my family, my parents, my inner circle said, 'For the love of God, don't kill yourself, Eric. Don't run again."

He later indicated he was forced out of Congress because of his opposition to the health care legislation, an allegation House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer dismissed Tuesday as "absolutely untrue."

Also Tuesday night, Massa addressed comments he made on his weekly radio show regarding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel approaching him about a key political vote while they were showering in the House gym.

"I'm sitting there showering, naked as a jaybird and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me because I wasn't going to vote for the president's budget," he said on his radio show. "Do you know how awkward it is to have a political argument with a naked man?"

Two White House officials Tuesday told CNN that the incident as described by Massa didn't occur.

"It never happened," said one of the officials, who said White House aides are at a loss to understand why the former congressman would make such an allegation. The officials asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the delicate situation.

–CNN's Ed Henry contributed to this report.

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A Tea Party Fake?

Filed under: CNN National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin, Tea Party movement — cnnjs @ 11:55 am

Is it possible to be a fake Tea Partier?

Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) - It's a grassroots protest movement composed of the newly politicized and people distrustful of hierarchy. So how is it possible to be an illegitimate Tea Party member?

Ask Republicans in Nevada. Some are accusing Jon Scott Ashjian, a new Tea Party candidate running for U.S. Senate, of being a fake. The allegation? He was put in the race by agents of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to siphon votes from the GOP.

"No doubt about it", says Danny Tarkanian, one of the many Republican senate candidates hoping to challenge Reid in November. "Nobody in the Tea Party knows who he is. He didn't know any of the principles of the Tea Party," Tarkanian tells CNN. He even accuses "Harry Reid's staff, campaign, whatever" of picking Ashjian because he's Armenian, as is Tarkanian. He explains, "They know the Armenians are very close they'll vote for each other."

Sue Lowden, the Republican front-runner in the Senate primary according to recent polls, is the former Nevada Republican Party chair and seems to be the Republicans' best hope of unseating Harry Reid in November. Or at least she did, until Ashjian got into the race. Lowden says she's been very active with Tea Party groups in Nevada. "I am a Tea Party voter, absolutely." Which is why she tells us she finds it "a little strange" that Ashjian is emerging now. "I don't know who this person is. He's never been involved with anything that I'm aware of in this state." She doesn't know if he's a spoiler. "We'll find out for sure," she promises, adding "I've never seen him at one of our tea parties, by the way."

Its clear why Lowden and Tarkanian would be concerned. A recent poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal indicates Lowden and Tarkanian each beating Reid in one-on-one hypothetical general election matchups. But add a Tea Party candidate on the ballot and that siphons off enough conservative votes to give Reid a narrow victory. According to the survey Reid would grab 36 percent of the vote, the Republican candidate 32 percent and the Tea Party candidate 18 percent in a possible three way showdown.

So the conspiracy theories abound from Tea Party activists and worried Republicans: Ashjian's never attended Tea Party rallies; he hasn't coordinated with local organizers; the secretary of his Tea Party of Nevada, Barry Levinson, is a registered Democrat. Levinson, tells CNN "I vote the person not the party" and calls the accusations "political garbage."

But to critics it's all proof Ashjian is, in the words of a Nevada tea party activist and blogger Ned Barrett running a "false flag operation."

Jon Scott Ashjian seems to find the fuss amusing. New to the political scene, he personally gave CNN directions to his house for an interview which his wife, daughter and bulldog attended. He told us it was the first time he'd spoken with the national media. Ashjian, who helped form the Tea Party of Nevada just to run for this seat, laughs that he'd never take marching orders from the Democrats or Harry Reid.

"I have never met Harry Reid, do not agree at all with any of his political values," says Ashjian, adding that he's not the kind of guy "who would follow or be told what to do." He says he's fielded endless calls from Republicans trying to strong arm him to leave the race and resents it: "I don't think Republicans own the Tea Party," Ashjian tells CNN. "In fact I know they don't in Nevada, because I do. That's what's really got them in an uproar." He says he's been informed he's not welcome on the bus when the Tea Party rolls into Nevada.

Ashjian says he got into the race because "we are patriots that want change. We're normal people that want to make a difference."

First he plans to make a campaign website.

A spokesman for Tea Party Express, a national Tea Party group that is encouraging efforts to defeat Reid at the ballot box in November, says it does not view Ashjian as a serious candidate. They say he's not speaking at either of their two rallies in Nevada on March 27, when they kick off their third Tea Party cross country caravan with events in Searchlight (Harry Reid's hometown) and Las Vegas, but they say he's welcome to attend. Tea Party Express also says they are not endorsing any candidate in the Nevada GOP senate primary.

As for Senator Reid, an aide dismisses the accusations. As does Reid who says he's never met Ashjian or "anyone in his family".

Reid tells CNN, "I think there are too many conspiratorialists in the world today. This is a free country."

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Brown confirms budget date and frames election debate

Filed under: Budget, Economy, Election 2010, Gary Gibbon on Politics, Gordon Brown — Gary Gibbon @ 9:47 am

Gordon Brown’s just told us the Budget is in 2 weeks time – Alistair Darling will later on confirm that 24th March is the date.

The Treasury had been getting a bit queasy at orders from No. 10 not to release the date earlier.

Gordon Brown wants to work every advantage from what tools of surprise he has in the run up to the election, keeping the Opposition on their toes and expending their energy unnecessarily.

But now the timetable of the election seems pretty clear.

Parliament will be dissolved on 12 April and the manifesto launches and first leaders’ debate (Thursday 15th April – ITV from Manchester) will have to be squeezed into that week.

In his speech today on the economy, Gordon Brown is rehearsing lines for those debates … emphasising the need for “strength” at times of “fragility” and many other focus group tested terms.

He just went off the released script at the end of the speech: “What you see is what you get” and “character is the courage to set out your mission and stick to it.”

He said at the end (as scripted, this bit): “I will not let you down.” No. 10’s latest innovation in its focus groups has been to talk not to waverers or undecideds but to people who have already switched to David Cameron.

In a method learnt from the US, the Labour focus groups try to discover the snapping point at which these converts might swing back or start to doubt their new choice.

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POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: March 10, 2010

Filed under: CNN's Alison Harding, Political Hot Topics — aharding @ 9:42 am

The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world.

WASHINGTON/POLITICAL
For the latest political news: www.CNNPolitics.com

CNN: House health care vote waits for CBO, Senate parliamentarian
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that before the House acts on final health care legislation, leaders are waiting for costs assessments from the Congressional Budget Office, and information from the Senate parliamentarian.

Bloomberg: Obama’s Health-Care Push Gets Challenge From Business Coalition
President Barack Obama is facing a renewed push against his health-care legislation as a coalition of business groups plans to spend as much as $1 million a day on advertisements to pressure lawmakers into voting “no.”

The Hill: Joe Biden still has one foot in the Senate; may be key to healthcare
A senator for 36 years, Biden’s relationship with his former colleagues has been key to President Barack Obama’s first 13 months in office. From the stimulus plan to the Iraq war to peace in the Middle East , Biden has been a critical go-between for an administration that has struggled to push its agenda through a Senate controlled by the same party. With Democrats poised to use reconciliation to pass healthcare reform, Biden’s deep friendships on both sides of the aisle will be put to the test. Biden, in his role as Senate president, could cast tie-breaking votes and overrule the Senate parliamentarian.

CNN: Unemployment benefit bill moves forward in Senate
A nearly $140 billion bill to extend unemployment benefits and a host of expiring tax cuts cleared a procedural hurdle Tuesday in the Senate on a vote of 66-34. Eight Republicans joined with all Democratic senators except for Ben Nelson of Nebraska on Tuesday's vote to end debate on the bill, which still must be merged with a companion bill in the House.

Bloomberg: Senate Said to Weigh $50 Billion Fund to Wind Down Failed Firms
Senate negotiators are closing in on a deal to create a $50 billion trust fund from fees on large financial firms that may include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. and be used to wind down failing institutions, said a Senate aide and two people familiar with the talks.

Time: Can Lindsay Graham Broker a Deal on 9/11 Trials?
President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is deep in negotiations with Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham over where and how to try confessed 9/11 ringleader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. At stake are not just civilian court trials for the man known as KSM and his co-conspirators, but also the legal fate of all terrorism suspects, the future of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and the credibility of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. But as talks continue, Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the Administration are wondering just what Graham can deliver.

ABC News: War of Words Continues Between White House, Supreme Court
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Tuesday criticized President Obama for rebuking the high court's decision striking down some campaign finance reform laws at the State of the Union in January. Speaking to law students at the University of Alabama, Roberts said he had "no problems" with criticism in general. "On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum," said the Chief Justice.

CNN: Massa seeks to divert attention from harassment allegations
Embattled former Rep. Eric Massa sought Tuesday night to turn attention away from sexual harassment allegations swirling around him in the wake of his resignation. During a rambling interview Tuesday night, Massa called allegations that he groped a male staffer "not true," despite admitting just hours before in another interview to tickling a male employee.

Politico: Republicans look at options on Eric Massa scandal
After a week of lying low and watching House Democrats struggle with the Eric Massa sex scandal and resignation, GOP leaders are now weighing their options on how best to exploit the controversy.

Albany Times-Union: Will lackluster Lazio fade away?
Republicans are having a second thought about gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio. His name is Steve Levy. Top party officials convened Tuesday morning at the Fort Orange Club to meet with Levy, the Suffolk County executive who is a Democrat. That the GOP would even consider Levy is a sign of growing frustration with Lazio, a former Long Island congressman who has secured the support of the weighted majority of Republican leaders.

Miami Herald: Rubio's money requests for Miami-Dade could be an issue
Republican U.S Senate front-runner Marco Rubio brags on his website that he didn't officially request budget pork in his last four years as a leader in the Florida House. But during Rubio's eight years in office - including the final two when he was House speaker - he unofficially helped push loads of hometown spending: $250 million, according to a Herald/Times analysis of little-known budget documents. The amount of budget money connected to Rubio attests to his skill as a lawmaker, but also contrasts with his campaign image as a tight-fisted spending hawk crusading against "earmarks" that have plagued the budget process in Washington.

Des Moines Register: In Iowa visit, Santorum defends his record against abortion
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum passionately defended his record against abortion Tuesday night amid an underground effort to discredit him. Santorum received a standing ovation after his remarks from the crowd of 400 people at the spring fundraiser of the Iowa Christian Alliance at Walnut Creek Community Church in Windsor Heights. He is among a class of lesser-known Republicans mentioned as potential presidential talent who could catch fire among Iowa’s social conservatives.

The Detroit News: Democratic activist to challenge Stupak for seat
A Democratic activist announced today she's challenging Rep. Bart Stupak out of her frustration that his hard line on abortion funding threatens to derail health care legislation pending in Congress. The primary challenge is the latest sign of how Stupak has emerged as the potential deal-breaker on health care.

NATIONAL
For the latest national news: www.CNN.com

CNN: U.S.: Pennsylvania woman tried to recruit terrorists
Pennsylvania woman has been indicted for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and kill a person in a foreign country, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Washington Post: Gay marriages expected to create wedding-related jobs in D.C.
As the first same-sex couples married in Washington on Tuesday, the city is in the national spotlight as a pioneer in the gay-rights movement. But local officials say the historic event also has more practical implications for a city grappling with 12 percent unemployment: jobs. A study by the nonprofit Williams Institute predicted that legalizing same-sex marriage will create 700 jobs and contribute $52.2 million over three years to the local economy.

INTERNATIONAL
For the latest international news: http://edition.cnn.com

CNN: U.S. condemns Israel's decision to build in disputed territory
Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the United States condemns Israel's decision to build 1,600 housing units in a Jerusalem neighborhood, calling it "a step that undermines the trust we need right now."

Los Angeles Times: U.S. changing focus of Iran policy
After keeping a careful distance for the last year, the Obama administration has concluded that the Iranian opposition movement has staying power and has embraced it as a central element in the U.S.-led campaign to pressure the country's clerical government.

The Guardian: Britain to Hamid Karzai: start Afghanistan peace talks now
Britain will today urge the Afghan government to put more effort into the pursuit of peace talks amid fears that the war could be prolonged – and more British lives lost – as a result of incompetence and lack of political will in Kabul. A speech to be delivered in the US by the foreign secretary, David Miliband, will reflect growing anxiety in London that President Hamid Karzai's professed desire for a political solution has not been backed up by any serious planning or concrete proposals.

Washington Post: Saddam Hussein weighed nuclear 'package' deal in 1990, documents show
As troops massed on his border near the start of the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein weighed the purchase of a $150 million nuclear "package" deal that included not only weapons designs but also production plants and foreign experts to supervise the building of a nuclear bomb, according to documents uncovered by a former U.N. weapons inspector.

New York Times: Upset by U.S. Security, Pakistanis Return as Heroes
A tour of the United States arranged by the State Department to improve ties to Pakistani legislators ended in a public relations fiasco when the members of the group refused to submit to extra airport screening in Washington, and they are now being hailed as heroes on their return home. Pakistan is one of 14 mostly Muslim countries whose citizens must go through increased checks before they fly into the United States…The inclusion of Pakistan on the list was broadly criticized as an insult to a country that the United States calls an ally.

CNN: Myanmar bars Suu Kyi's election participation
Myanmar's ruling junta has announced a new election law that disqualifies pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in upcoming national elections. The Political Parties Registration Law, announced in state-run newspapers Wednesday, excludes electoral participation by members of a political party if they have been convicted in court.

New York Times: Somalia Food Aid Bypasses Needy, U.N. Study Finds
As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local United Nations staff members, according to a new Security Council report.

Los Angeles Times: Gulf of Aden pirates are having less success
Although pirates last year made many more attempts to board ships in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, the number of successful seizures was about the same as in 2008, according to the U.S.-organized multinational maritime force here. The figures suggest that new "defensive driving" tactics adopted by many commercial shipping companies are helping ward off attackers, naval officials said.

BUSINESS
For the latest business news: www.CNNMoney.com

Wall Street Journal: Swaps Come Under Fire
International momentum is building for stricter oversight of derivatives trading, as a top U.S. regulator recommended new limits on credit-default swaps and European leaders pushed for a ban on speculative bets against government debt following recent financial turmoil in Greece.

Bloomberg: Pound Slide to Help U.K. Outpace Europe, Goldman Says
The pound’s drop last week to a 10- month low may help the U.K. economy grow faster than the region sharing the euro, which is hobbled by budget deficits and aging populations, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Wall Street Journal: Irish Take Bitter Medicine to Survive the Age of Red Ink
Late last year, Ireland looked a lot like Greece. The financial crisis coincided with a housing bust that left Ireland's banks in terrible shape, requiring a government rescue. Ireland's fiscal deficit rose to almost 12% of gross domestic product—a shade under Greece's 12.7%. But unlike Greece—where protests and strikes are expected to escalate this week after the government unveiled new spending cuts and tax increases after months of foot-dragging—Ireland took swift measures to snuff out fears of a default.

BBC News: China's exports up 46% in February
China's exports jumped by 46% in February compared with a year ago, raising hopes of a strong recovery in global trade. It is likely to increase pressure on the Chinese government to raise the value of the yuan, which the US in particular complains is undervalued.

New York Times: Bank of America to End Overdraft Fees on Debit Purchases
In a move that could bring an end to the $40 cup of coffee, Bank of America said on Tuesday that it was doing away with overdraft fees on purchases made with debit cards, a decision that could cost the bank tens of millions a year in revenue and put pressure on other banks to do the same.

CNNMoney: Cash for Clunkers: Better than we thought
The government's Cash for Clunkers program resulted in a far bigger boost to car sales than was previously estimated, even by the government, according to a new analysis by Maritz Research, an automotive market research company.

In Case You Missed It

The U.S. vice president arrives in the Middle East for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Paula Hancocks reports.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/03/09/hancocks.me.biden.talks.cnn

Former Rep. Eric Massa says he is out of office for "standing up to a horrific mistake we are about to make."
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/03/09/acosta.bpr.healthcare.protests.cnn

Subscribe to the CNN=Politics DAILY podcast at http://www.cnn.com/politicalpodcast

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