WASHINGTON (AP)–Rep. Tom Lantos, who as a teenager twice escaped from a Nazi-run forced labor camp in Hungary and became the only Holocaust survivor to win a seat in the U.S. Congress, has died. He was 80.

Spokeswoman Lynne Weil said Lantos, who headed the House Foreign Affairs Committee, died early Monday, surrounded by his wife, Annette; two daughters; and many of his 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - Less than a week after sending lawmakers his fiscal 2009 budget request, U.S. President George W. Bush said he will veto spending bills he deems to be excessive. Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday appeared ready to support an Indiana law requiring valid photo identification at voting polls, but the court indicated it could order the state to alter its law so people can more easily comply.

Indiana has the strictest voter identification law in the U.S., requiring people to produce an original birth certificate to obtain an ID or personally appear before election officials at a county’s courthouse to provide affidavits proving their identity. Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON (AP) - The former DaimlerChrysler AG paid a record $30.3 million fine in 2007 for violating fuel efficiency requirements set by the federal government.

The fine was assessed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against the automaker, which was divided last year when private equity group Cerberus Capital Management LP acquired an 80% stake in Chrysler. The fine was reported by the agency in documents posted last month on its Web site. Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - U.S. President George W. Bush signed mortgage debt relief legislation into law Thursday, saying the measure will help struggling homeowners deal with “serious strains” in the housing market.

“With this bill, Congress has taken a strong step to address the turbulence in the housing market,” Bush said during a brief signing ceremony at the White House. Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON (AP)–Congressional Democrats on Thursday announced an investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s refusal to let California implement its tailpipe emissions law, the first step in what will likely be a fierce legal and political battle. Continue Reading »

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday said her plan for fiscal responsibility includes tax increases, during a debate at which the Democratic contenders kept it civil and stressed they will “ask” Americans to sacrifice to achieve their policy goals.
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The documentary an Inconvenient Truth must be shown with a series of ‘disclaimers’ due to the number of ERRORs in British schools.Mr Justice Burton said former US vice-president Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth, was ‘one-sided’ and would breach education rules unless accompanied by a warning.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP)–Pharmaceutical maker Merck & Co. will pay more than $20 million in fines for three chemical spills, one of which killed more than 1,000 fish, and forced Philadelphia to temporarily shut off drinking water intakes.

The spills violated the U.S. Clean Water Act. Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–U.S. President George W. Bush vetoed children’s health legislation Wednesday, the second time he has rejected expanding a popular state insurance program. In a letter to the House of Representatives, Bush said he is ready to work with lawmakers to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, but couldn’t sign the bill because it would boost the government’s role in health care and shift the program to cover more people in the middle class.
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