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McCain's Louisiana trip postponed by Dolly
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Hurricane Dolly forced Republican John McCain to postpone a trip to Louisiana and planned meeting with Governor Bobby Jindal. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was scheduled to meet with Jindal in New Orleans late Wednesday and then tour an oil rig platform on Thursday. Melissa Sellers, Jindal's press secretary, confirmed the cancellations but directed further questions to McCain's campaign. Tom Kise, a spokesman for the senator's campaign, said bad weather associated with the storm forced the postponement. Kise said a re- scheduled date has not been chosen. There's been continuted speculation involving Jindal as a potential McCain running mate. But he told Fox News earlier Wednesday that he'd be "surprised" if McCain announced a vice presidential running mate this week. He also reiterated that the candidate won't be him. Jindal, on the show "Fox and Friends," says he's got the job he wants. . ... more » |
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Flight with 7 congressmen makes emergency landing
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A Continental Airlines flight carrying former presidential candidate Ron Paul and six other members of Congress to Washington, D. C. , made an emergency landing in New Orleans on Tuesday after a loss in cabin pressure. A spokesman for one of the congressmen, all from Texas, were trying to get back in time for a Tuesday night vote on an aviation safety bill when the flight landed without incident. No injuries were reported among the 128 crew and passengers. FAA spokeswoman Lynn Tierney says Flight 458 from Houston initiated a rapid descent to bring the plane to an altitude below where adding oxygen was necessary and was given priority to land at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Trevor Kincaid, a spokesman for passenger and Representative Nick Lampson, said his boss told him "there was absolutely no panic on the plane. " Lampson told Kincaid the plane's oxygen masks dropped down. Later, Lampson said in a statement that he was impressed by the way the airline's personnel handled the matter. He says they executed a textbook performance in emergency procedure. Kincaid says also on the flight were Representative Paul, Ted Poe, John Carter, Solomon P. Ortiz, ... more » |
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Ark. House plans to vote on rule blocking lawmaker
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Arkansas House members will meet August Fifth to consider a new rule aimed at blocking a former lawmaker's return to the seat he resigned three years ago to settle a felony sexual assault. House Speaker Benny Petrus says the House will convene and vote on a rule banning anyone who has resigned from public office as part of a plea bargain to avoid felony prosecution from being seated as a member. The proposed rule was filed with the House Wednesday. The proposal is aimed at barring former Representative Dwayne Dobbins' return to the state House. The state Democratic Party on Saturday refused to certify Dobbins' name as a party nominee after its state committee passed a similar rule that prohibits the ballot certification of anyone who vacated a legislative position as part of a felony plea agreement. In 2005, Dobbins resigned from his legislative seat and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment in a plea bargain reached after he was arrested on a felony sexual assault charge. Prosecutors accused Dobbins of fondling a 17-year-old girl at his home.
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Andrade to be Texas secretary of state
AUSTIN (AP) -- Gov. Rick Perry is naming former transportation commissioner Esperanza "Hope" Andrade as Texas' new secretary of state. Andrade will serve as the state's chief elections officer and as the governor's liaison on border and Mexican affairs. The secretary of state also oversees official and business records. Perry made the announcement Wednesday. He says the appointment is effective immediately. Andrade, an entrepreneur from San Antonio, was appointed to the Texas Transportation Commission and served on that panel until earlier this year. . ... more » |
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Flags flown at half-staff at La. Capitol
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Flags are being flown at half-staff at the state Capitol to honor the crew of a crashed B-52 bomber from Louisiana's Barksdale Air Force Base. Governor Bobby Jindal also ordered flags flown at half-staff at all public buildings within 10-miles of the military base in northwest Louisiana. The executive order was made Tuesday and remains in effect until sunset on August 11. The bomber crashed Monday off the coast of Guam with all six members of the crew. Two bodies have been found. . ... more » |
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Obama campaign: McCain flubs on Iraq timeline
WASHINGTON (AP) -- John McCain says Democrat Barack Obama is wrong about the Iraq war. But Obama's campaign says McCain was wrong about the war's timeline during a nationally televised interview Tuesday. McCain told the "CBS Evening News" that the U. S. -backed revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Anbar was brought about by the American troop surge. But as Obama's campaign quickly noted, the Sunni "awakening" -- as the turn away from al-Qaida was called -- got under way before President Bush announced his decision to flood Iraq with tens of thousands of additional U. S. troops. In March 2007, before the additional troops began arriving, an American commander in Anbar said the newly friendly sheiks had helped cut attacks in the city by half. A spokesman for McCain did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. . ... more » |
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Ark. gov. names Janet Huckabee to veterans panel
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Former first lady Janet Huckabee has been appointed by Governor Beebe to serve on a panel studying ways to help troops adjust to life at home when they return to the state. Beebe, a Democrat, announced today that the wife of his Republican predecessor, former Governor Mike Huckabee, will serve on the Arkansas Yellow Ribbon Task Force. Beebe's office said the task force will first meet at the state Capitol on July 29th. The appointment of Janet Huckabee to the panel comes after officials with the Governor's Mansion said they removed her name from an entrance to a banquet hall at the mansion. Commission officials said the plastic lettering was removed for "aesthetic reasons. " A plaque outside the building still refers to the hall as "Janet M. Huckabee Hall," which it was named two years ago. The commission overseeing the mansion also voted to no longer name rooms after people at the mansion. Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said her appointment to the panel had nothing to do with the flap over the removal of her name from the mansion. The former first lady works as the American Red Cross Arkansas program manager for services to ... more » |
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McCain denies he misstated timing of Iraq surge
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) -- Republican John McCain is pushing back against Democratic criticism that he misstated the timing of the buildup of troops ordered by President Bush in early 2007. He says parts of the new strategy began months earlier. The Arizona senator has told reporters during a stop at a super market in Bethlehem, Pa. , that what the Bush administration calls "the surge" was actually "made up of a number of components. "
McCain says some components of the surge began before Bush ordered more U. S. troops into Iraq. McCain says U. S. Col. Sean MacFarland started carrying out elements of a new counterinsurgency strategy as early as December 2006. . ... more » |
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Paul backers land big venue for counter-convention
ST. PAUL (AP) -- Ron Paul's followers are trading venues for a Minnesota rally planned during the Republican National Convention, giving them room for thousands more spectators. The unflinching Texas conservative and former Republican presidential candidate is the headliner for the Rally for the Republic. It will take place at Target Center, home of basketball's Minnesota Timberwolves. Organizers expect as many as 15,000 people to attend. The Republican National Convention is set for September 1-4 at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center and will culminate with John McCain's nomination. The Paul event planners had originally scoped out a college basketball arena that seats about 11,000 people. Local coordinator Marianne Stebbins says Paul will speak the evening of September 2. Tickets go on sale this Friday. . ... more » |
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Beebe asks for look at 7 percent state budget cuts
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Gov. Mike Beebe has asked all state agencies to prepare budgets for the next two-year cycle that cut their spending by 7 percent. It's a move officials say could buffer against a sagging economy or provide money to further cut Arkansas' grocery tax. Beebe's request also asked agencies funded by the state's general revenues to prepare a budget that assumed no new money would be available, and another one planning for moderate increases. The excess money may also give Beebe ammunition if he pushes for another cut in the state's sales tax on groceries, which was cut in half by the Legislature last year. Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Beebe, says economic worries spurred the tougher look at budgeting for the next two years, not a plan to cut taxes. . ... more » |
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