Deadly winter storm hits Northeast
A deadly winter storm brought snow and sleet to the Northeast on Thursday, while crews in the Plains and Midwest worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people left in the dark in its ice-coated wake.
Some parts of the Northeast could receive up to a foot of snow, forecasters said. Schools in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced closures, in some cases before flakes even began to fall.
Dems in debate urge taxes on wealthiest
Democratic presidential hopefuls called for higher taxes on the highest-paid Americans and on big corporations Thursday and agreed in an unusually cordial debate that any thought of balancing the federal budget would have to wait.
"We're not going to be able to dig ourselves out" of Bush-era deficits in the next year or two, said Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, one of six Democratic rivals sharing a stage for the final time before Iowa's leadoff Jan. 3 caucuses.
Clinton adviser out after Obama comment
A top campaign adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton resigned Thursday, a day after suggesting Democrats should be wary of nominating Barack Obama because his teenage drug use could make it hard for him to win the presidency. Clinton herself apologized to Obama as they waited to fly to Iowa for a debate.
Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman for Clinton and a prominent New Hampshire political figure, had raised the issue during a Wednesday interview, published on washingtonpost.com.
N.J. lawmakers vote to ban death penalty
The New Jersey Assembly approved legislation Thursday to abolish the state's death penalty, making Gov. Jon S. Corzine's signature the only step left before the state becomes the first in four decades to ban executions.
Assembly members voted 44-36 to replace the death sentence with life in prison without parole. The state Senate approved the bill Monday.
Corzine, a Democrat, has said he will sign the bill within a week.
Gay-marriage opponents turn in petition
Sponsors of a proposal to ban gay marriage in Florida said Thursday they have gathered enough signatures to put the measure before voters next year.
If the required 611,009 signatures are verified, the proposed amendment to the state constitution would go on the November 2008 ballot.
The state Division of Elections Web site showed the group was still 253 signatures short of its goal.
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A deadly winter storm brought snow and sleet to the Northeast on Thursday, while crews in the Plains and Midwest worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people left in the dark in its ice-coated wake.
Some parts of the Northeast could receive up to a foot of snow, forecasters said. Schools in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced closures, in some cases before flakes even began to fall.
Dems in debate urge taxes on wealthiest
Democratic presidential hopefuls called for higher taxes on the highest-paid Americans and on big corporations Thursday and agreed in an unusually cordial debate that any thought of balancing the federal budget would have to wait.
"We're not going to be able to dig ourselves out" of Bush-era deficits in the next year or two, said Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, one of six Democratic rivals sharing a stage for the final time before Iowa's leadoff Jan. 3 caucuses.
Clinton adviser out after Obama comment
A top campaign adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton resigned Thursday, a day after suggesting Democrats should be wary of nominating Barack Obama because his teenage drug use could make it hard for him to win the presidency. Clinton herself apologized to Obama as they waited to fly to Iowa for a debate.
Bill Shaheen, a national co-chairman for Clinton and a prominent New Hampshire political figure, had raised the issue during a Wednesday interview, published on washingtonpost.com.
N.J. lawmakers vote to ban death penalty
The New Jersey Assembly approved legislation Thursday to abolish the state's death penalty, making Gov. Jon S. Corzine's signature the only step left before the state becomes the first in four decades to ban executions.
Assembly members voted 44-36 to replace the death sentence with life in prison without parole. The state Senate approved the bill Monday.
Corzine, a Democrat, has said he will sign the bill within a week.
Gay-marriage opponents turn in petition
Sponsors of a proposal to ban gay marriage in Florida said Thursday they have gathered enough signatures to put the measure before voters next year.
If the required 611,009 signatures are verified, the proposed amendment to the state constitution would go on the November 2008 ballot.
The state Division of Elections Web site showed the group was still 253 signatures short of its goal.
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