First Read

The Week Ahead: Obama's big trip

2009-07-02T22:03:00Z

THE WEEK AHEAD: Obama's fourth major international trip takes him from Russia to Italy to Ghana, Congress is back, Al Franken gets seated and George W. Bush and Nancy Reagan birthdays. For our mailbox, submit your questions for next week in the comments section below. We might pick yours. By the way, this is an early Week Ahead, because we, at First Read, are taking tomorrow off. Happy Fourth of July! See you Monday....(read more)

Budget woes in the states

2009-07-02T21:57:00Z

From NBC's Alex Beinstein, James Rankin, and Katelin Schartz
The economic recession has not hurt individual Americans across the country; it has also negatively affected state governments, which must balance their budgets.

June 30 was the end of the fiscal year for most states, and here's a round up of headlines -- in the last couple of days -- that shed light on the challenges they're facing:

Alabama
“Recession Delays Alabama Tax Refunds”
120,000 Alabama taxpayers will have to wait for their refunds due to declining revenue.

Arizona
“Brewer Rips Budget, Calls Special Session”
Arizona lawmakers pulled an all-nighter to avoid a government shutdown.

California
“California Ready to Issue IOUs”
California’s epic budget meltdown is grabbing national headlines and forcing the state to print IOUs to residents waiting on income-tax refunds

Colorado
“Colorado Crisis Worst Since Depression”
Colorado is accustomed to boom-and-bust economics, but analysts say this budget crisis is the worst the state has seen in a long time.

Connecticut
Gov. Rell Vetoes Democrats' Budget Proposal

Delaware
“House OKs a Dozen New Tax Initiatives”
Reluctant lawmakers passed a slew of new taxes in order to make up for the states deficit.

Florida
“Florida Drivers, Brace for Impact on Your Wallets”
Florida is trying to close budget deficits by increasing registration and licensing fees for automobiles.

...(read more)

Kennedy committee releases health plan

2009-07-02T19:16:00Z

From NBC's Ken Strickland
Details on some of the most contentious elements of health-care reform were released today by one of Senate committees drafting the bill.

The Senate Health Committee unveiled its plan for a public/government insurance program to compete with private insurers. And it also detailed the "play or pay" provision that would require companies to provide insurance coverage to their employees or pay fees to the government.

Today's announcement, while significant, provides only a few new pieces in what has become a giant health-care reform puzzle. Several outstanding issues remain -- chief among them total cost of reform and how you pay for that cost. Votes are at least weeks away, and bipartisanship on major elements remain elusive.

Here are the outlines of what the committee released today. (This is the committee chaired by Ted Kennedy, but temporarily run by Chris Dodd.)

...(read more)

Obama on Michael Jackson's death

2009-07-02T17:48:00Z

From NBC's Scott FosterIn an on-camera interview today with the AP, President Obama was asked for his reaction to the apparent perception in the black community that he wasn't "respectful enough" to the death of Michael Jackson. The president responded that he knows "a lot of people in the black community, and I haven't heard that." (To recap: Obama's spokesman spoke on the president's behalf during a White House briefing last week, and the White House issued a written statement over the...(read more)

Biden makes surprise visit to Iraq

2009-07-02T17:31:00Z

From NBC's Mark MurrayThe vice president's office just announced that Joe Biden has arrived in Iraq. The visit comes just days after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country's largest cities. Here's the release: Vice President Biden has arrived in Iraq to visit U.S. troops and to meet with Iraqi leaders, including President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Speaker of the Council of Representatives Ayad al-Samarrai. The Vice President will reiterate the United States’ commitment...(read more)

Bill Clinton to raise money for Maloney

2009-07-02T17:18:00Z

From NBC's Mark MurrayFirst Read has confirmed that former President Bill Clinton will host a fundraiser for New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney -- which is certainly interesting given that Maloney is challenging incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. A Clinton source insists that this doesn't mean he's endorsing Maloney, and says the former president is raising money for her "as a way of saying thanks for Maloney's help" during Hillary's failed 2008 presidential bid. Bill Clinton, in fact, helped raise...(read more)

GOP hammers Obama on job losses

2009-07-02T15:24:00Z

From NBC's Mark MurrayAs expected, Republicans have seized on today's job-loss news, blasting out statements that criticize President Obama's handling of the economy (even though, as we pointed out this morning, that the huge job losses began back in 2008). RNC Chairman Michael Steele: “June’s unemployment report shows a job loss of 467,000 and proves that the stimulus package is not a ‘Recovery Act.’ Today President Obama will hold another White House PR event with presidential spin instead of...(read more)

First thoughts: Unemployment at 9.5%

2009-07-02T13:21:00Z

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg*** Unemployment at 9.5%: Right before the long July 4th weekend, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that the U.S. economy lost 467,000 jobs in June, and that the unemployment rate is now 9.5%, a 26-year high. Expect Republicans -- once again -- to pounce on these numbers and question the stimulus (but they’re also forgetting that the economy lost 3.1 million jobs in Bush’s last year in office; in Obama’s first five...(read more)

Obama agenda: Jobs, Russia, health

2009-07-02T13:17:00Z

Obama meets with business leaders at the White House privately to discuss how "they've been able to create jobs despite the economic doldrums," the AP says. Obama will speak from the Rose Garden afterward. Also, the president will sit down with the AP in advance of his trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana next week. Obama heads to Camp David at the end of his day.

Ahead of the first leg of his trip to Russia, Russia's President Dmitri Medvedev urged Obama to put aside their differences. "The new U.S. administration headed by President Obama is now demonstrating readiness to change the situation, and build more effective ... relations," Medvedev said in a video on the Kremlin Web site, per Reuters. "We are ready for this. ... "Now is not the time to discover who is in a more difficult position or who is tougher. It is time to join efforts. We must improve our relations to solve multiple global problems through joint efforts."

The New York Times: "President Obama returned to the familiar trappings of a political campaign on Wednesday, holding a town-hall-style meeting where he sought to heighten the urgency surrounding the health care debate and dismissed critics who say the issue is too complex to tackle during his first year in office... With members of Congress away for the week, the president had the stage to himself as he promoted his plan to lower the cost of health care and make coverage more accessible. He cast his proposal as a cost-saver, rather than a giant expenditure, saying the economy was not likely to rally without reversing 'the crushing cost of health care.'"

...(read more)

Congress: Cheaper by the dozen?

2009-07-02T13:12:00Z

"Determined to advance President Barack Obama's health care agenda, key Senate Democrats are calling for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans, as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees," AP's Espo reports. "In a letter outlining the details, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the...(read more)