Texas
She lived a double life. At the border crossing in El Paso, Texas, she was Agent Garnica, a veteran law enforcement officer. In the shadows, she was "La Estrella," the star, a brassy looker who helped drug cartels make a mockery of the U.S. border. Martha Garnica devised secret codes, passed stacks of cash through car windows, and sketched out a map for smugglers to safely haul…
September 13, 2010
The Obama administration announced yesterday that it will station an unmanned aerial drone in Texas as part of its stepped-up surveillance of criminal trafficking along the Mexican border. Federal authorities also have signed an agreement to allow the local police from non border communities to temporarily "deploy" to the border region to assist with security, said Janet Napolitano,…
June 24, 2010
MExico
In the cross-border war against narco-trafficking, Mexico is sending a record number of criminal suspects to the United States for prosecution, a point of pride for President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who met in Washington this week for their first formal state visit. But the sharp rise in extraditions has not been matched by broader success in breaking the violent…
May 22, 2010
Alaska
During the 2½ years that his wife, Sarah, was governor of Alaska and then a vice presidential candidate, Todd Palin inserted himself into a host of state decisions, including judicial nominations and gas pipeline bids, according to e-mails released yesterday. Before Sarah Palin resigned her office last July, the "First Dude," as Todd Palin became known, weighed in on appointments…
February 6, 2010
President Obama traveled yesterday to Massachusetts, one of only two states to implement a universal health-care program similar to his ambitions for the entire country. But he did not use the trip to make his case for far-reaching reform; he touted clean energy and raised money for the Democratic governor. The president's critics say his reluctance to spotlight the Massachusetts…
October 24, 2009
Last week, the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 to approve its health care reform bill - the fifth legislative committee to pass reform legislation. Here's a rundown of where things stand - and what to expect in coming weeks. 1. Why was last Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee vote seen as such a big deal? The Senate Finance Committee was the graveyard of health care reform in…
October 20, 2009
President Obama sought to blanket the airwaves yesterday with an impassioned defense of his health reform effort during back-to-back broadcasts of taped interviews on five morning news programs. In interviews conducted Friday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Obama acknowledged being "humbled" by the challenge of "breaking through" in the complicated and emotional battle…
September 21, 2009
Recapturing the energy of his brightest days on the campaign trail, President Obama attempted yesterday to pull his signature health-care initiative out of the summer doldrums with a plea for help from thousands of his most dedicated supporters.
September 13, 2009
Declaring that the "time for bickering is over," President Obama sought to revive the prospects for the passage of far-reaching health care reform by seizing ownership last night of an initiative he has largely left in lawmakers' hands.
In a televised address to a joint session of Congress, Obama prodded them to quickly…
September 10, 2009
Looking to rescue his signature domestic policy initiative with a prime-time address to Congress on Wednesday, President Obama for the first time is poised to "draw some lines in the sand" over the size and shape of legislation to remake the nation's health care system, top advisers said yesterday.
September 7, 2009
Racing to regain control of the health care debate, two top administration officials signaled yesterday that the White House may be willing to jettison a controversial government-run insurance plan favored by liberals.
August 17, 2009
After years of strenuous opposition, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer, announced yesterday that it backs a controversial new requirement that businesses contribute to the cost of employee health insurance.
The retailing giant's endorsement comes as the push and pull on health reform intensifies and could have broad economic and political consequences. Many business…
July 1, 2009
President Obama and Democratic lawmakers scouring for money to reduce the cost of comprehensive health-reform legislation cheered news yesterday that drugmakers have agreed to squeeze $80 billion out of revenue over the next decade.
June 21, 2009
The White House is caught in a battle within its own party over how to finance a comprehensive overhaul of America's health care system as key Democrats advocate a tax plan that could require Obama to break his campaign pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class.
Sensitive to voter anxiety about a soaring federal deficit, Obama and congressional leaders have vowed to pay for…
June 15, 2009
