Wash Post Nation

The $700 billion man

Laura Blumenfeld — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST

NEVADA COUNTY, CALIF. -- He wears no coat though it's freezing, shines no light though it's near midnight, carries no shotgun though he's tramping on the pine-needled tracks of black bears.

Fish kill called necessary to save the Great Lakes

Kari Lydersen and Peter Slevin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

LOCKPORT, ILL. -- The poisoned fish began floating to the surface in the cold Illinois dawn, but as scientists and ecologists began hauling their lifeless catch to shore, they found only one carcass of the predator they targeted -- the ravenous Asian carp.

Deals cut with health groups may be at peril

Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Heading into a make-or-break week, Senate Democratic leaders are struggling to preserve the fragile support of interest groups for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system, even as lawmakers seek to change the carefully crafted provisions that brought the groups on board.

Sen. Baucus says he was involved romantically with his nominee for Mont. post

Dan Eggen — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, acknowledged Saturday that he was involved in a romantic relationship with a senior staff member at the same time he recommended her to be U.S. attorney for Montana.

Obama administration says Guantanamo detainees will likely go to Illinois prison

Peter Slevin and Peter Finn — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

CHICAGO -- Despite opposition from congressional Republicans, the Obama administration is signaling that a state prison in rural Thomson, Ill., will probably become the new home for scores of terrorism suspects now housed at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

John ÂJunior' Gotti's fourth trial ends with another hung jury

Associated Press — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

NEW YORK -- A new judge, new charges, new star witness and a new jury added up to a familiar result last week -- a mistrial for John "Junior" Gotti on racketeering charges. This one, though, might be his last.

L.A. diocese elects 2nd openly gay Episcopal bishop

Christopher Weber and Rachel Zoll — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

LOS ANGELES -- The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on Saturday elected a lesbian as assistant bishop, the second openly gay bishop in the global Anglican fellowship, which is already deeply fractured over the first.

How to develop Afghan leaders?

On Leadership — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Michael Maccoby is an anthropologist and psychoanalyst globally recognized as an expert on leadership. He is the author of "The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow."

Know your options when selling gold jewelry

Eileen Ambrose — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

TIMONIUM, MD. -- Thomas Streett patiently waited in a cubicle at Smyth Jewelers in Timonium on a recent Saturday as a sales associate examined two gold rings and a gold pocket watch that Streett had brought in for sale.

Pimco CommodityRealReturn Strategy is a hot mutual fund

Andrew Tanzer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Commodities have been strong this year, but not as strong as the return suggested by Pimco CommodityRealReturn Strategy (symbol PCRDX). Through Nov. 30, the fund, a member of the Kiplinger 25, gained 38.3 percent, a stunning 22 percentage points more than the benchmark it purports to follow, the Dow...

Tips on controlling your holiday spending

Candice Lee Jones — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

It's wonderful to be in the spirit of giving, of course, but think it through before you go gift-wild at the mall. Buying even modest presents for a long list of friends and relatives will add up fast. According to the National Retail Federation, holiday shoppers spent an average of more than $900...

Early data on holiday shopping are confusing and contradictory

Daniel Gross — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Consumer spending is 70 percent of American economic activity, and the holiday shopping season always offers crucial information about the national mood. If we won't spend to buy plastic junk made in China this month, will we muster the courage to buy the stuff that matters in the coming months, ...

West Point cadets left with 'a real clarity about our mission' in Afghanistan

Eli Saslow — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- All 3,000 cadets remained standing in the auditorium, shoulders straight, chins high, hands clasped behind their backs. They had just listened to President Obama declare his plans for the Afghanistan war, an announcement that affected nobody more than them, and yet their bodies...

Obama to attend Sunday caucus meeting

Shailagh Murray — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:19:00 EST

President Obama will rally Senate Democrats to overcome their differences to support an $848 billion health care bill, during a rare Sunday afternoon caucus meeting.

In e-mails, science of warming is hot debate

David A. Fahrenthold and Juliet Eilperin — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

It began with an anonymous Internet posting, and a link to a wonky set of e-mails and files. Stolen, apparently, from a research center in Britain, the files showed the leaders of climate-change science discussing flaws in their own data, and seemingly scheming to muzzle their critics.

The only doctor in town

Philip Rucker — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

POST, TEX. -- Another morning at the clinic. Far away in Washington, the debate over health-care reform drags on, while here in barren West Texas, Ben Edwards is moving fast. He grabs the chart for his next patient, his ninth of the day, and enters Exam Room 5, where Alma Lopez, 51, waits to see ...

Healers head to war, bearing their own wounds

Ann Gerhart — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

They are the combat medics of the mind, who joined the Army Reserve not to fight but to heal those who fight and sustain the incapacitating, invisible wounds of war.

American college student Amanda Knox found guilty of murder in Italy

Alessandra Rizzo and Marta Falconi — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

PERUGIA, ITALY -- American college student Amanda Knox was found guilty Friday of murdering her British roommate and sentenced to 26 years in prison, ending a year-long trial that gripped Italy and drew intense media attention.

Corrections

Post — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

-- A Dec. 4 Weekend article about songwriter C.A. Suleiman included an incorrect song title. The title is "Thread," not "Maybe One More."

Congressional Research Service fires former military prosecutor over writings

Peter Finn — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay has been dismissed from his current position as an assistant director at the Congressional Research Service for penning an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal and a letter to The Washington Post that offered strong opinions on the prosecution of...

At least 40 killed in Pakistan attack

Pamela Constable and Shaiq Hussain — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- At least 40 people were killed and scores were injured Friday when a pair of suicide bombers stormed a crowded mosque in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, joined by assailants who hurled grenades and sprayed gunfire among the worshipers.

Hopes for climate deal get a boost

Juliet Eilperin — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

President Obama will attend the high-level portion of international climate talks in Copenhagen on Dec. 18, the White House announced Friday, ratcheting up expectations that the United Nations-sponsored negotiations could produce a significant deal on global warming.

Taking his jobs message on the road

Michael A. Fletcher — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

SCHNECKSVILLE, PA. -- With his popularity slowly eroding as the nation's unemployment rate has risen, President Obama spent Friday reassuring people in Pennsylvania's struggling Lehigh Valley that his administration is focused on stemming the nation's jobs crisis.

Nursing own wounds, mental-health specialists head to Afghanistan

Ann Gerhart — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:51:00 EST

They are the combat medics of the mind, who joined the Army Reserves not to fight but to heal those who fight and sustain the incapacitating, invisible wounds of war.

In Va. court, Salahis agree to settle debt with expensive watch

James Hohmann — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the alleged White House gate-crashers, brought the media circus to Front Royal, Va., on Friday morning.

Corrections

Post — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

-- A Dec. 3 Page One article on testimony about the war in Afghanistan misstated the timing of two committee hearings. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on...

Md. plans expanded oyster sanctuary

David A. Fahrenthold and John Wagner — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Maryland plans to dramatically increase the area of the Chesapeake Bay that is closed to oyster harvests, Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday, offering an expanded foothold to an iconic species that has dropped to 1 percent of its peak population.

Pelosi rejects plan to impose 'war tax' for troop increase

Post — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday scuttled a proposal to create a "war tax" to finance the increased troop deployment to Afghanistan, an idea that had come from her closest allies in the Capitol.

Deputy Attorney General David Ogden to leave Justice Department

Carrie Johnson — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The Justice Department's second in command announced Thursday that he will step down from one of the most critical law enforcement posts in the nation after less than a year of service, bringing to the surface tensions that have long simmered over management of the vast department.

Resumed Guantanamo Bay military panels face new challenges

Peter Finn — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA -- Military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, which President Obama suspended amid much fanfare immediately after taking office, quietly resumed this week with new signs of the legal complexities of the cases and the challenges for prosecutors.

OMB official questions pollution proposal

Juliet Eilperin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An economist at the Office of Management and Budget who has battled environmentalists for years on issues such as climate change and smog has raised questions about the economic impact of a proposed new rule on air pollution, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

U.S. lagging in sending anti-drug aid to Mexico, GAO says

William Booth — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

MEXICO CITY -- The United States has spent a fraction of the money pledged -- just $24 million of $1.3 billion appropriated -- to help Mexico in its bloody three-year-old battle against the drug cartels that have turned parts of country into a war zone and left 15,000 dead, according to a U.S. go...

Delivered assistance

Post — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The Government Accountability Office says the United States has delivered

U.S., Cuba migration talks delayed until February

Post — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Long-planned talks on Cuban migration to the United States have been delayed until February, a State Department official said Thursday, offering no explanation for the postponement.

Former U.N. investigator accuses U.S. of failing to enforce Darfur arms embargo

Colum Lynch — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

A former top U.N. investigator on Thursday accused the Obama administration of failing to enforce a five-year-old arms embargo in Darfur, Sudan, and said weapons continue to flow into the region.

India offers plan to slow pace of carbon emissions by 2020

Rama Lakshmi — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

NEW DELHI -- India on Thursday offered a plan to unilaterally slow the pace of its carbon emissions by 2020 and assured lawmakers that the offer does not amount to a sellout of national interests.

Local Business Digest: Ciena shares dip after courts clear Nortel deal

Post — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Ciena shares dipped Thursday as the company came a step closer to completing a $530 million acquisition of Nortel Networks assets.

Prosecutors in Stevens case face questioning

Carrie Johnson — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The special prosecutor investigating whether criminal contempt statutes were violated in the government's botched case against Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has scheduled interviews with the six Justice Department lawyers at the center of the episode, according to three sources familiar with the ef...

Virginia begins inquiry into Salahis' America's Polo Cup

Neely Tucker — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Thursday began a formal investigation into the America's Polo Cup, the business entity run by Michaele and Tareq Salahi that the couple says raises funds for their charitable organization, as a host of other problems became apparent for...

Secret Service director questioned about Salahis

Jason Horowitz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Bennie Thompson got the memo. In a high-profile House hearing on Thursday, Rep. Thompson (D-Miss.), the Homeland Security Committee chairman, squashed Republican efforts to subpoena White House social secretary Desirée Rogers and put the blame for Tareq and Michaele Salahi's uninvited entry into the...

Group pushes for predictability in the long run, tax incentives in short term

Michael D. Shear — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:50:59 EST

Labor leaders, academics and executives of private companies said the government needs to provide predictability in the long run and more tax incentives in the short run if it wants to create jobs.

Clinton seeks support over U.S. plan in Afghanistan

Mary Beth Sheridan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:28:00 EST

BRUSSELS -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Brussels early Friday ahead of meetings with NATO ministers where she will seek to persuade European allies to pledge troops to strengthen the U.S. military escalation in Afghanistan.

Troop withdrawal in Afghanistan could take 2-3 years, Gates says

Karen DeYoung — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, scheduled to begin in July 2011, will "probably" take two or three years, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday, although he added that "there are no deadlines in terms of when our troops will all be out."

In Iraq, din of war gives way to mundanities of withdrawal

Anthony Shadid — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

SUWAYRAH, IRAQ -- The U.S. military called it shock and awe, and it began on March 21, 2003 -- 8:09 p.m., to be exact. It concluded here with a sigh. No one quite remembers when the Americans withdrew from Forward Operating Base Summers.

November sales disappoint retailers

Ylan Q. Mui — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The hordes of Black Friday shoppers weren't enough to save retailers from dispiriting November sales, according to company data released Thursday.

Small businesses make appeal to Geithner at jobs summit

V. Dion Haynes — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:40:00 EST

More than a dozen small-business owners offered anecdotes Thursday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills about their struggles trying to stay afloat amid the worst economic downturn in generations. Seated around a rectangular table on the fifth...

Solis: Focus on preparedness for high-skill jobs

Philip Rucker — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:17:00 EST

As the Obama administration tries to create jobs amid the recession, some two dozen industry leaders, local elected officials and union representatives advocated Thursday for improved workforce training as the key to economic prosperity.

A green revolution would offer twofold benefits, Obama says

Mike Musgrove — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:15:59 EST

President Obama on Thursday highlighted renewable energy and green technology as the nation's "best candidate" for moving away from employment bubbles like the ones that have caused so much havoc on the nation's economy.

Obama skeptical about 'shovel-ready' projects' long-term impact

Alec MacGillis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:04:58 EST

A roomful of local and state government officials, transportation industry executives and union officials was holding forth Thursday about how more infrastructure spending would solve the jobs problem, when President Obama strode into the room -- and promptly told the assembled guests that he tho...

Obama tells business leaders they are key to job growth

Michael A. Fletcher — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:04:59 EST

President Obama kicked off a much-anticipated jobs summit Thursday, telling 130 business leaders and others summoned to the White House for the afternoon-long session that private business, not government, holds the key to future job growth.

Napolitano says recent arrests represent a terror warning

Spencer S. Hsu — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:18:02 EST

Al-Qaeda followers are inside the United States and would like to attack targets here and in other countries, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday night.

Salahis, Desiree Rogers won't testify at White House security hearing

Wil Haygood, Jason Horowitz and Michael D. Shear — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:35:56 EST

The White House tried to put the whole Salahi incident to rest Wednesday night.

Wash Post Nation

The $700 billion man

Fish kill called necessary to save the Great Lakes

Deals cut with health groups may be at peril

Sen. Baucus says he was involved romantically with his nominee for Mont. post

Obama administration says Guantanamo detainees will likely go to Illinois prison

John ÂJunior' Gotti's fourth trial ends with another hung jury

L.A. diocese elects 2nd openly gay Episcopal bishop

How to develop Afghan leaders?

Know your options when selling gold jewelry

Pimco CommodityRealReturn Strategy is a hot mutual fund

Tips on controlling your holiday spending

Early data on holiday shopping are confusing and contradictory

West Point cadets left with 'a real clarity about our mission' in Afghanistan

Obama to attend Sunday caucus meeting

In e-mails, science of warming is hot debate

The only doctor in town

Healers head to war, bearing their own wounds

American college student Amanda Knox found guilty of murder in Italy

Corrections

Congressional Research Service fires former military prosecutor over writings

At least 40 killed in Pakistan attack

Hopes for climate deal get a boost

Taking his jobs message on the road

Nursing own wounds, mental-health specialists head to Afghanistan

In Va. court, Salahis agree to settle debt with expensive watch

Corrections

Md. plans expanded oyster sanctuary

Pelosi rejects plan to impose 'war tax' for troop increase

Deputy Attorney General David Ogden to leave Justice Department

Resumed Guantanamo Bay military panels face new challenges

OMB official questions pollution proposal

U.S. lagging in sending anti-drug aid to Mexico, GAO says

Delivered assistance

U.S., Cuba migration talks delayed until February

Former U.N. investigator accuses U.S. of failing to enforce Darfur arms embargo

India offers plan to slow pace of carbon emissions by 2020

Local Business Digest: Ciena shares dip after courts clear Nortel deal

Prosecutors in Stevens case face questioning

Virginia begins inquiry into Salahis' America's Polo Cup

Secret Service director questioned about Salahis

Group pushes for predictability in the long run, tax incentives in short term

Clinton seeks support over U.S. plan in Afghanistan

Troop withdrawal in Afghanistan could take 2-3 years, Gates says

In Iraq, din of war gives way to mundanities of withdrawal

November sales disappoint retailers

Small businesses make appeal to Geithner at jobs summit

Solis: Focus on preparedness for high-skill jobs

A green revolution would offer twofold benefits, Obama says

Obama skeptical about 'shovel-ready' projects' long-term impact

Obama tells business leaders they are key to job growth

Napolitano says recent arrests represent a terror warning

Salahis, Desiree Rogers won't testify at White House security hearing

John ÂJunior' Gotti's fourth trial ends with another hung jury