March 04, 2009

The National Congress of American Indians Executive Council Winter Session focused on Indian Country's legislative goals for the 111th Congress and the Obama Administration, including addresses by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecelia Munoz. Full release.

The nation's largest foundations only gave $1 out of $3 to benefit the economically and socially disadvantaged, according to the Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact, released yesterday by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Full release.

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today asked Attorney General Eric Holder to determine whether proposed legislation in Minnesota and Oklahoma prohibiting religiously-mandated head scarves, or hijab, in driver's license photographs would violate the Constitution. Full release.

Mike Carey, president of the Ohio Coal Association (OCA) today issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama's recently released "Budget Blueprint" Full release.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) today began making two new initiatives -- Home Affordable Refinance and Home Affordable Modification -- available to its servicers and borrowers as part of the Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable program. The two initiatives are designed to significantly expand the numbers of borrowers who can refinance or modify their mortgages to a payment that is affordable now and into the future. Full release.

Broadcasters and commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage are seen as the de facto leaders of the Republican Party for a simple reason, Richard A. Viguerie said: "It's because no one else is acting like a Republican leader." Full release.

Congressional Quarterly Inc., the nation's premier provider of news, analysis and information on Congress, politics and public policy, today announced it has expanded its partnership with Taegan Goddard, creator of Political Wire. One of the nation's most influential political news sites, Political Wire will now be featured exclusively as a new section on CQ Politics at http://politicalwire.cqpolitics.com. Full release.

More than 100 Darfuri and Sudanese diaspora leaders worldwide today issued a letter of support for the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir, issued today in The Hague. Signatories commended U.N. Security Council and the International Criminal Court's support for the pursuit of justice in Darfur. Full release.

Secretary Hillary Clinton meets her Russian counterpart, FM Sergey Lavrov, in Geneva on Friday during a time of uncertainty in U.S. and Russian relations. A bipartisan group of top foreign policy and national security officials has offered a concrete list of steps the Obama Administration can take to renew cooperation between the two countries. Full release.

The financial sector invested more than $5 billion in political influence purchasing in Washington over the past decade, with as many as 3,000 lobbyists winning deregulatory decisions that led to the current financial collapse, according to a 231-page report issued today by Essential Information and the Consumer Education Foundation. Full release.

With media reports indicating that Vice President Joe Biden will use his address before the AFL-CIO's winter meeting on Thursday to outline the Obama Administration's game plan on card check, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) urged the Vice President to consider the views of the overwhelming majority of union members who are opposed to card check. Full release.

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