Pat Dollard

Heng Song says he wasn’t about to let an SUV that crashed into his Alaska barber shop get in the way of a good haircut. He was momentarily stunned, but with no one hurt, and a customer notifying police, the owner went back to finishing the cut. (Dec. 2)

New York Times: The White House and congressional Republicans have begun working behind the scenes toward a broad deal that would prevent taxes from going up for virtually every U.S. family and authorize billions of dollars in fresh spending to bolster the economy. But it is unclear how much leverage the White House has in [...]

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama firmly defended his signature health care bill to a roomful of newly elected governors Thursday, many of them Republicans elected by railing against him and the expanding reach of the federal government. “I’m president, and I’ve got another two years to go,” Obama told the group when challenged on [...]

WASHINGTON (AP) – More children would eat lunches and dinners at school under legislation passed Thursday by the House and sent to the president, part of first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood hunger and fight childhood obesity. The $4.5 billion bill approved by the House 264-157 would also try to cut down on [...]

The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to schedule two votes on Saturday on Democratic plans to end Bush-era tax breaks for the nation’s highest income earners. One plan sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) would extend current tax rates only for families that earn less than $250,000. The second [...]

Christopher Bizilj and Chief Edward Fleury, accused of manslaughter at a gun fair after horrific accident with Uzi submachine gun. BOSTON (AP) — As a former Massachusetts police chief heads to trial on manslaughter charges in the accidental shooting death of an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair, prosecutors and defense attorneys are wrangling over [...]

Business Insider: Bank of America has set up a swat team to combat Wikileaks in case it is, as suspected, the target of the next leak, says Charlie Gasparino. The FOXBusiness news reporter just tweeted: Bank of America sets up Legal Swat team to combat Wikileaks in case it is the target. If the rumors [...]

The Lookout: In Senate hearings Thursday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen shot back at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for implying that Mullen is not in charge of troops and is thus not qualified to say that the military should end its ban on openly gay service. McCain has repeatedly criticized the military’s [...]

Fox News: A group advocating for tighter immigration laws estimates that a hotly debated bill that would give tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military a path to legal status would cost taxpayers $6.2 billion a year and “crowd out” U.S. students in the classroom. A new report from [...]

Fox News: The congressional approval of a whopping $4.6 billion settlement for black and Native American farmers who claimed they were discriminated against has cleared the way for a similar pair of costly lawsuits — drawing complaints that the government may be buckling to pressure and rewarding dubious claims. The so-called “Pigford” case involving black [...]

WASHINGTON (AP) – A doubting John McCain led Republican opposition Thursday to letting gays serve openly in the military, sternly clashing with the Pentagon’s top leaders and warning that troops would quit in droves if Congress repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law. In tense exchanges with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, [...]

U.S. News And World Report: Failure by Congress to extend the Bush tax cuts, especially locking in the 15 percent capital gains tax rate, will spark a stock market sell off starting December 15 as investors move to lock in gains at a lower rate than the 20 percent it would jump to next year, [...]

Politico: Vice President Joe Biden declined a request by Senate Democratic leaders to brief their caucus Thursday on the administration’s strategy on tax cuts, the START treaty and unemployment insurance, according to senior Senate Democratic aides. Senate leaders put out the request Wednesday night hoping that an appearance from Biden might ease mounting concerns that [...]