Today's Top News

Presidential Candidates' Passport Files Breached

03.21.08 -- 7:47 PM

By ANNE FLAHERTY and DESMOND BUTLER - AP

At least four State Department workers pried into the supposedly secure passport files of presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, abashed officials admitted Friday in a revelation that had Condoleezza Rice promising a full investigation and telephoning the candidates to apologize personally.

The snooping incidents raised questions as to whether there was political motivation and why two contractors involved were fired before investigators had a chance to interview them. The State Department's inspector general was probing, with the Justice Department monitoring the effort, but Obama said that was not enough. He urged congressional involvement "so it's not simply an internal matter."

The unauthorized digging into electronic government files on politicians recalled a 1992 case in which a Republican political appointee at the State Department was demoted for searching Bill Clinton's passport records when Clinton was running against President George H.W. Bush.

McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, said there should be an investigation of the new snooping as well as an apology.

For Democrats, Increased Fears of a Long Fight

03.16.08 -- 7:55 PM

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY - New York Times

Lacking a clear route to the selection of a Democratic presidential nominee, the party’s uncommitted superdelegates say they are growing increasingly concerned about the risks of a prolonged fight between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and perplexed about how to resolve the conflict.

Interviews with dozens of undecided superdelegates — the elected officials and party leaders who could hold the balance of power for the nomination — found them uncertain about who, if anyone, would step in to fill a leadership vacuum and help guide the contest to a conclusion that would not weaken the Democratic ticket in the general election.

While many superdelegates said they intended to keep their options open as the race continued to play out over the next three months, the interviews suggested that the playing field was tilting slightly toward Mr. Obama in one potentially vital respect.

Obama, Clinton Teams Trade Barbs

03.16.08 -- 7:30 PM

By Tom Raum - AP

Strategists for the campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton exchanged calculated barbs Sunday over accountability and ethics and who is engaging in personal attacks.

Obama communications director Robert Gibbs called on Clinton to release full post-White House tax returns; disclose all congressional "earmarks," or pet projects she had inserted into spending bills; and release all documents on the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Library, including a list of donors.

"What is lurking in those documents?" Gibbs asked as the two campaigns had dueling phone conference calls with reporters. "There are gaps that need to be filled," said senior Obama strategist David Axelrod.

Texas Caucus Results Due March 29

03.11.08 -- 6:36 PM

By April Castro - AP

Curious whether Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton won Texas' Democratic caucuses March 4? The official results won't be available until March 29.

Until then, the last reported results - from 41 percent of the precinct caucuses - show Obama ahead with 56 percent to Clinton's 44 percent.

Obama has won at least 31 delegates from the caucuses and Clinton has won at least 27, according to The Associated Press count. The remaining nine delegates will be awarded after the official results are announced at the end of the month.

Whites Back Clinton, Blacks Obama in Mississipi

03.11.08 -- 6:26 PM

By Alan Fram - AP

Blacks gave Barack Obama overwhelming support while whites lined up strongly behind Hillary Rodham Clinton in Mississippi's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, making it one of the most racially divided of all the party's contests this year.

Nine in 10 blacks were backing Obama while seven in 10 whites were voting for Clinton, according to interviews with voters leaving polling places. That gave Obama the edge because those voting were split about evenly between the two races.

While Obama, an Illinois senator, has typically received lopsided numbers of black votes and Clinton, a New York senator, generally has won among whites, Tuesday's racial polarization was stark.

Clinton Disagrees With Ferraro on Obama

03.11.08 -- 6:16 PM

By PETER JACKSON - AP

Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she disagrees with Geraldine Ferraro, one of her fundraisers and the 1984 Democratic vice presidential candidate, for saying that Barack Obama "would not be in this position" if he were white instead of black.

In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Clinton said she regretted Ferraro's remarks. The Obama campaign has called on the New York senator to denounce the comments and remove Ferraro from her unpaid position with the campaign.

Last week, Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif.: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

NY Gov. Spitzer linked to prostitute: report

03.10.08 -- 6:46 PM

By Daniel Trotta and Robert Campbell - Reuters

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the one-time "Sheriff" of Wall Street who campaigned on a promise to clean up state politics, was embroiled in a sex scandal on Monday that threatened to force his resignation.

A New York Times report linked him to a $1,000-an-hour prostitute, saying he was caught on a federal wiretap at least six times on February 12 and 13 arranging to meet with her at a Washington hotel last month.

The Times said he was the man described in court papers as Client 9 who patronized the Emperors Club, which federal investigators allege was a prostitution ring whose most expensive professionals charged more than $5,500 an hour.

McCain Declares Himself Cancer-Free

03.10.08 -- 5:19 PM

By Glen Johnson - AP

ohn McCain declared Monday he has been cancer-free since a bout with skin cancer 7 1/2 years ago, although the pending Republican presidential nominee underwent a full medical examination - including a cancer screening - earlier in the day.

The Arizona senator pledged to release the test results before the end of April, the same timeframe for releasing his income tax returns.

McCain cast the doctor's visit as a routine part of his medical regimen, but the 71-year-old senator has faced questions about whether he is beyond the risk of a recurrence of cancer.

Clinton Says She's Pushing Ahead

03.03.08 -- 5:39 PM

By MIKE GLOVER - AP

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested Monday she'll press on with the campaign after Tuesday's crucial primaries, arguing that momentum is on her side despite 11 straight losses to rival Sen. Barack Obama.

"I'm just getting warmed up," Clinton told reporters, looking ahead to a busy day of campaigning in Ohio and Texas where polls show a close race.

Clinton's husband, former President Clinton, has asserted that his wife must win both Texas and Ohio to keep her campaign alive. On Friday, Hillary Clinton's advisers recast the stakes, saying if Obama lost any of the four presidential primaries - Rhode Island and Vermont also vote Tuesday - it would show Democrats are having second thoughts about him.

Hillary Clinton predicted success on Tuesday and looked ahead to the next big contest - Pennsylvania on April 22.

Buffett says U.S. in recession

03.03.08 -- 7:01 AM

By Reuters

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Monday the U.S. economy is in recession and "stocks are not cheap."

Speaking on CNBC television, Buffett also said he is no longer offering to guarantee $800 billion of municipal bonds backed by MBIA Inc, Ambac Financial Group Inc and FGIC Corp, three large bond insurers.

Buffett said that "from a common-sense standpoint right now, we're in a recession," though the U.S. economy has not yet recorded two straight quarters of declining gross domestic product, a traditional indicator of recession.

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