Beyond the Hedges

1/27/11 6:00pm

National

Obama gives second State of UnionPresident Barack Obama called for the nation to work together in the name of progress on Tuesday night. Ten key proposals in his speech included the suggestion of a five-year freeze on domestic spending, a pledge to veto earmarked bills that support congressional pet projects and the expansion of high-speed wireless connectivity to 98 percent of the population over the next five years.

Obama also discussed reforming the tax-code to close loopholes, increasing clean energy standards and updating to the 2001 No Child Left Behind law. He asked that Congress address the issue of illegal immigration by passing a comprehensive reform bill and spoke about setting limits on medical malpractice case awards. He urged the repeal of the 1099 rule, a health law that requires small businesses, starting in 2012, to file 1099 forms every time they pay $600 or more for goods and services. Calling the cost of Medicare and Medicaid "the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit," Obama proposed cuts to the two respective healthcare programs.

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Source: Politico

Emanuel awaits Supreme Court decision

The Illinois Supreme court will decide whether or not Rahm Emanuel, former White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama, will appear on the ballot for the upcoming Chicago mayoral election.

Despite Emanuel's lead in the polls and fundraising, the addition of his name to the ballot has been questioned since he does not meet the requirement that candidates live in Chicago for the year before an election. Emanuel previously received support from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and a county judge but was shot down on Monday by an appellate court. He would be running against a former U.S. senator and a city clerk to replace the retiring Richard Daley, who has won Chicago's mayoral elections by significant margins for the last 20 years.

Source: Chicago Tribune

International

Moscow airport bombed

At least 35 people were killed and 180 injured in a suicide bombing in the international arrivals terminal of Domodedovo Airport on Monday around 4:30 p.m. President Dmitry Medvedev has confirmed the attack to be the work of terrorists, although no group has stepped forward to claim responsibility. In the past, Islamic militants in the southern Russian region of Chechnya have been blamed for attacks, including a double suicide bombing in Moscow's subway system in March 2010 that resulted in the death of 40. Medvedev has subsequently tightened security in Moscow and fired a regional police chief. The last time Domodedovo was involved in a terrorist attack was in 2004, when two suicide bombers managed to board planes and kill 90 people. Domodedovo is one of the three largest airports located in Russia's capital.

Source: Associated Press

Protesters rally in Yemen, Egypt

Yemenis and Egyptians alike rallied in the streets this week in protest of their respective presidents. Thousands of people protested in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and reform. Saleh, who has been president for more than 30 years, has been criticized for the country's economic strife and political corruption. Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East with 40 percent of Yemenis living on less than $2 a day. With two-thirds of its population under the age of 24, the nation also suffers from a 50 percent illiteracy rate, 35 percent unemployment rate, falling oil reserves and a severe water shortage.

Meanwhile, an estimated 700 protesters have been arrested in Cairo and Suez. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has been president since 1981, has declared the protests to be illegal. Egyptian protesters, who have criticized the administration for its failure to address corruption, poverty and unemployment, include Nobel Prize winner and UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei.

Source: BBC News

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