Final Farewell for Slain Officer Patrick McDonald

Final Farewell for Slain Officer Patrick McDonald

Cardinal Justin Rigali led solemn funeral services on Tuesday for slain Philadelphia police officer Patrick McDonald, who was shot and killed last week in the line of duty.

Early Tuesday morning a horse-drawn caisson carrying the body of the slain officer was escorted from police headquarters at 7th and Race Streets to the cathedral.

The solemn procession was led by police cars, lights flashing. A motorcycle bearing the officer’s name preceded the caisson, and a riderless horse -- boots backward in the stirrups -- followed behind.

On foot were police commissioner Charles Ramsey and mayor Michael Nutter, who talked about community support:

For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/

Voting for president begins in pivotal Ohio

Voting for president begins in pivotal Ohio

Poll worker Tony Dedeschi helps voter Richard Adams with his absentee ballot at the Franklin County Veterans Memorial polling place in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. Voters in this crucial swing state began casting absentee ballots Tuesday, a day after the Ohio Supreme Court and two separate federal judges cleared the way for a disputed early voting law.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- In the state that may again determine the presidency, voters started casting ballots Tuesday as Barack Obama struggles to thwart a John McCain victory in Ohio four years after it tipped the election to President Bush.

Both candidates visit often while spending millions of dollars flooding TV and radio with advertisements, mailboxes with literature and even voicemail with automated phone calls to get supporters to the polls, particularly during the one-week window in which people can register and vote in one swoop.

Early participation appeared light; officials in the state's largest counties that are home to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Dayton each reported several hundred ballots cast by afternoon. Many of those who voted cited convenience.

"I wanted to avoid the traffic and the people," said Charlene Glass, 49, of Cleveland Heights. A first-time voter, she backed Obama and expressed her enthusiasm for a black candidate. In Dayton, Terri Bell, 49, chose McCain because of his experience and his military service. "I have a lot on my plate. I wanted to do this early," she said.

At stake: 20 electoral votes - perhaps, the presidency itself.

Most recent state polls show a dead heat; others give McCain an edge. National surveys show Obama slightly ahead if not more. The disparity underscores the difficulty Obama is having in closing the deal in this pivotal state. He's a first-term senator from Chicago with a liberal voting record and would be the country's first black president.

In all, 270 electoral votes are needed for victory.

Ohio is crucial to McCain's electoral strategy. Bush narrowly won the state, and a loss for McCain here would be very difficult to make up with victories elsewhere given that the political landscape favors Democrats and several other key states are tilting toward Obama.

Obama, however, now leads McCain in enough other states Bush won in 2004 that he could lose Ohio and still reach the 18 electoral votes he would need if he carries all the states Democrat John Kerry did in 2004. Still, winning Ohio itself could do the trick.

Every factor is at play in Ohio. Thus, every question will be tested.

Among them: Can Republican McCain overcome his links to the deeply unpopular Bush and a weakened state party and prevail in a state that suffered large losses of manufacturing jobs and large numbers of Iraq war deaths? Can Democrat Obama overcome voter concerns about his voting record and race among the many blue-collar workers in this culturally conservative, deeply divided state?

Obama got shellacked here by Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primary: She carried 83 of 88 counties as white, working-class voters flocked to her economic populist message. Therefore, Obama is copying Gov. Ted Strickland and Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrats who went into Republican areas and boosted turnout to narrow GOP margins.

"Democrats too often have forgotten about places like this," said former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, an Obama supporter who recently met with some two dozen rural voters in London in western Ohio. "They have forgotten about small-town America, rural America, agricultural America and taken it for granted that we're going to vote the other way."

Linda Ward, a nurse from western Ohio, has tried to persuade others to take a critical look at McCain but hasn't had much luck. "Not my neighbors, not my friends. This area is a very conservative one," she said.

Voters like Diane Ferguson, a nursing home director in southeast Ohio, typify Obama's troubles. She says she likes Obama but isn't sure she can vote for him. She's troubled by his early resistance to wearing a flag pin, his race and a resume that looks thin to her.

"It's a hard decision," she said. "I don't know if we're ready for that one."

Aware of such skepticism, Obama's campaign is using its financial and organizational muscle to boost turnout among his core supporters - blacks and the youth. His campaign long planned for this early voting period and organized car pools from college campuses to early voting sites across the state.

Independent groups seeking to increase poor and minority participation also transported voters from places like homeless shelters, halfway houses and soup kitchens.

"We've had mediocre response," Matt Stone, an organizer of the group Vote from Home, said. "We hope the effort will snowball over seven days as people talk about it."

Outside the Franklin County Veterans Memorial in Columbus, Republican lawyers apparently concerned about voter fraud snapped photographs of vehicle license plates.

On Monday, the state Supreme Court and two federal judges upheld the ruling by Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner that allows new voters to register and cast an absentee ballot on the same day from Tuesday through Oct. 6. Republicans argued that Ohio law requires voters to be registered for 30 days before they cast an absentee ballot.

The Ohio GOP asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Tuesday either to stop same-day voting or require elections official to separate those ballots so the registrations can be verified. But Brunner already has instructed election officials to segregate those ballots and verify the registrations before counting them. A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court denied the request later in the day.

Obama, McCain seek political gain in credit crisis

Obama, McCain seek political gain in credit crisis

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks at a rally in front of Morrill Hall at the University of Nevada at Reno, Nev., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. Obama called for Americans to support the rescue plan for the financial sector and told them that if Wall Street fails, ordinary people will be hurt, too.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- White House rivals John McCain and Barack Obama combined televised attack ads with statesmanlike appeals for bipartisanship on Tuesday as they vied for political gain in the shadow of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Both men spoke privately with President Bush about the collapse of the financial industry, then publicly made clear their differences with him, McCain more gently than his Democratic rival.

The Republican, campaigning in Iowa, pointedly told reporters there were steps the administration could still take "with the stroke of the pen to help alleviate the crisis gripping our economy. I urge them to do so."

McCain mentioned using a federal stabilization fund to back uninsured money market accounts. The Treasury Department is already using the fund to guarantee money market mutual funds, which were the only uninsured money market accounts. Treasury announced that program Sept. 19 after the failure of Lehman Bros. produced a surge of withdrawals from such funds.

The GOP candidate also suggested wielding authority to purchase $1 trillion in mortgages. A housing bill Bush signed July 30 included $300 billion in new loan authority for the government to back cheaper mortgages for troubled homeowners. The failed bailout bill would have added another $700 billion in authority to deal with troubled housing investments.

In addition, first Obama and then McCain said Congress should lift the current federal deposit insurance limit of $100,000 to $250,000.

Obama's campaign released a new commercial critical of the administration and his campaign rival at the same time. "The old trickle-down theory has failed us," the Illinois senator said in the ad. "We can't afford four more years like the last eight."

At day's end, both men, as well as Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, made plans to return to Washington to vote in the Senate on a resurrected bailout bill.

The intense maneuvering came one day after the House defeated a bipartisan bailout bill and the stock market responded with its largest one-day drop in history.

Those events, after 10 days of political and market uncertainty, underscored the importance of the economic debacle in a campaign with five weeks to run. Without a solution, the issue has the potential to become even more combustible in the next several days when millions of retirees and workers receive quarterly statements showing sharp drops in their personal investment accounts.

Obama has been gaining in numerous national and swing-state polls in recent days, while McCain has appeared to struggle since he announced a brief suspension in his campaign appearances to help solve the crisis.

He announced the pause a week ago, saying he would fly to Washington and stay there until a solution was found. Three days later, he reversed course and flew to Mississippi for a last Friday's long-scheduled campaign debate.

He sidestepped one interviewer during the day who asked whether he would suspend his campaign once again. "I'll do whatever is necessary and whatever my Republican colleagues and the administration and others ask me to do," McCain replied.

Aides said a return to Washington was likely in the next day or two, and McCain's travel plans were being made less than a day in advance as he awaited developments in the Capitol.

Obama campaigned in Nevada.

The day began with both presidential rivals emphasizing the need for bipartisanship and offering suggestions for easing the crisis.

"At this moment, when the jobs, retirement savings, and economic security of all Americans hang in the balance, it is imperative that all of us - Democrats and Republicans alike - come together to meet this crisis," Obama said in a written statement issued more than an hour before Bush appeared on television to urge lawmakers to work together.

He said Congress should raise the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limit to $250,000 as part of the economic rescue package to "boost small businesses, make our banking system more secure, and help restore public confidence in our financial system."

He said he would contact leaders of Congress "to offer this idea and urge them to act without delay to pass a rescue plan."

McCain spoke at a campaign round-table a few hours later.

"I call on everyone in Washington to come together in a bipartisan way to address this crisis. I know that many of the solutions to this problem may be unpopular, but the dire consequences of inaction will be far more damaging to the economic security of American families and the fault will be all ours," he said.

At the same time, a less high-minded skirmish broke out.

McCain's commercial quoted the Washington Post as saying he had "pushed for stronger regulation" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two disgraced institutions that dominate the devastated mortgage industry, "while Mr. Obama was notably silent."

The commercial continues: "But, Democrats blocked the reforms. Loans soared. Then, the bubble burst. And, taxpayers are on the hook for billions."

The Republican National Committee unveiled an even tougher commercial that it said would air in the battleground states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

"Wall Street squanders our money and Washington is forced to bail them out with - you guessed it - our money.

"Can it get any worse? Under Barack Obama's plan, the government would spend a trillion dollars more, even after the bailout. A trillion dollars. Who pays? You do."

Debate offers Palin, Biden high risks, big rewards

Debate offers Palin, Biden high risks, big rewards

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, participate in a rally in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008.

NEW YORK (AP) -- For an audition to be second fiddle, Thursday's debate between often ill-informed newcomer Sarah Palin and often gaffe-prone veteran Joe Biden offers unusually large pitfalls - and promise.

For once, the whole world may be watching. Already, 3,100 media credentials have been issued, the most the Commission on Presidential Debates ever needed in seven vice presidential debates it's hosted.

The attention is driven by the public's fascination with Palin, the first-term Alaska governor that Republican presidential candidate John McCain plucked from relative political obscurity to be his running mate.

Initially, Palin was praised as a superb political communicator for the delivery of her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention four weeks ago. She energized the party's conservative base, which had reservations about McCain, and quickly showed she could outdraw McCain on the stump - a likely factor in their decision to appear together more often than running mates usually do.

But a series of shaky Palin television interviews have left even some conservatives questioning whether she is ready to be vice president. She couldn't describe the Bush doctrine in foreign affairs, seemed to have little grasp of the proposed financial industry bailout and even appeared to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's position on chasing al-Qaida terrorists in Pakistan.

Palin's performance against Biden, the Delaware Democrat with 35 years in the Senate, could restore her initial luster or seriously weaken the GOP ticket.

Last week's Obama-McCain debate appeared to give the Illinois Democrat a small boost in the polls but produced no knock-out blows. So the vice-presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis could be a pivotal moment in a race already filled with surprising twists.

Palin herself outlined the contest in an interview broadcast Tuesday night on the "CBS Evening News."

"He's got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he's got the experience based on many many years in the Senate and voters are gonna have a choice there of what it is that they want in these next four years," Palin said.

Palin left the campaign trail Monday to prepare at McCain's ranch in Sedona, Ariz. She is being coached by McCain's top campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt, as well as advisers Tucker Eskew, Nicolle Wallace and Mark Wallace, all veterans of President Bush's political operation.

McCain strategists are well aware Palin's glowing image has been badly bruised since the convention.

She's been kept from nearly all contact with reporters except for a handful of high-profile TV interviews that revealed her relatively thin grasp of foreign policy and domestic issues. Palin's answers have become punch lines for comedians, and a mocking Palin impersonation by Tina Fey on "Saturday Night Live" has become a television and YouTube sensation.

So Palin is under heavy pressure to show a passing command of issues facing the next president.

"I don't think she can get away with comments on foreign policy like she knows about Russia because it's near Alaska." Minnesota-based Republican strategist Tom Homer said. Palin needs to "show ability to think on her feet and to engage with someone on the level of Sen. Biden without a TelePrompTer in front of her," Homer added.

In the CBS interview, Palin said she:

-Wouldn't "solely blame all of man's activities" for climate change, noting that world weather patterns are cyclical and have changed over time. "But it kind of doesn't matter at this point, as we debate what caused it," she said. "The point is: It's real. We need to do something about it."

-Supports safe and legal contraception, except the morning-after pill because of her belief that life begins at conception. "I am all for contraception. And I am all for preventative measures that are legal and safe, and should be taken but ..., again, I am one to believe that life starts at the moment of conception." Pressed on the point, Palin said: "Personally, I would not choose to participate in that kind of contraception."

Biden, for his part, was prepping at home in Wilmington, Del. On hand to help were top Obama campaign strategists David Axelrod, Anita Dunn and Ron Klain, who helped coach Vice President Al Gore in 2000.

A veteran debater after his Senate experience and his own two short-lived presidential campaigns, Biden has his own set of challenges.

His first presidential bid in 1987 ended after he appropriated the life story of British politician Neil Kinnock during a Democratic primary debate in Iowa. Even now, his off-the-cuff speaking style still produces verbal blunders, like when he mused aloud recently that Hillary Rodham Clinton might have made a better running mate for Obama.

And his reputation as a windy orator will be tested by the tight debate format, which allows 90-second answers and two-minute follow-ups.

In addition, Biden will be debating a female candidate who has excited many women and elicited sympathy for some attacks perceived as sexist. If Biden comes on too strong or is condescending, he could be viewed as bullying or disrespectful.

Biden spokesman David Wade expressed confidence.

"Joe Biden debated Sen. Clinton 12 times in the presidential race and those debates were substantive and hard hitting, and he debates strong women in the United States Senate," Wade said.

Biden has spoken to Clinton and California Sen. Barbara Boxer for advice on how best to debate a woman. And Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm was portraying Palin in his practice debates.

"Biden's advisers have to keep beating into his head that his normal style ... can be offensive," GOP strategist Ed Rollins said. "He has a tendency, like a lot of senators, to talk down to people. And that's a danger for him because there are an awful lot of women out there who relate to Palin."

And he might consider the example of Rick Lazio, Clinton's Republican opponent in the 2000 New York Senate contest.

The race was tight until the first televised debate, during which Lazio strode over to the former first lady insisting she sign a vow to eliminate large, unregulated contributions from the race. The gesture made Lazio seem menacing and generated sympathy for Clinton, particularly among women. She defeated Lazio by 10 points.

Senate to vote on rescue plan with added tax cut

Senate to vote on rescue plan with added tax cut

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, left, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008, to discuss a financial bailout plan. From left are, Kaptur, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, hidden in green, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a surprise move to resurrect President Bush's $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan, Senate leaders slated a vote on the measure for Wednesday - but added a tax cut plan already rejected by the House. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky unveiled the plan Tuesday.

The Senate plan would also raise federal deposit insurance limits to $250,000 from $100,000, as called for by the two presidential nominees only hours earlier.

The move to add a tax legislation - including a set of popular business tax breaks - risked a backlash from House Democrats insisting they be paid for with tax increases elsewhere.

But by also adding legislation to prevent more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers from feeling the bite of the alternative minimum tax, the step could build momentum for the Wall Street bailout from House Republicans. The presidential candidates Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., intend to fly to Washington for the votes, as does Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the Democratic vice presidential candidate.

The surprise move capped a day in which supporters of the imperiled multibillion-dollar economic rescue fought to bring it back to life, courting reluctant lawmakers with a variety of other sweeteners including the plan to reassure Americans their bank deposits are safe.

Wall Street, at least, regained hope. The Dow Jones industrials rose 485 points, one day after a record 778-point plunge following rejection in the U.S. House of the plan worked out by congressional leaders and the Bush administration.

Before Reid and McConnell's move, lawmakers, President Bush and the two rivals to succeed him all rummaged through ideas new and old, desperately seeking to change a dozen House members' votes and pass the $700 billion plan.

The tax plan passed the Senate last week, on a 93-2 vote. It included AMT relief, $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana, and some $78 billion in renewable energy incentives and extensions of expiring tax breaks. In a compromise worked out with Republicans, the bill does not pay for the AMT and disaster provisions but does have revenue offsets for part of the energy and extension measures.

That wasn't enough for the House, which insisted that there be complete offsets for the energy and extension part of the package.

The Senate move seems aimed at jamming the House into accepting the deficit-financed tax cuts. Conservative Democrats won't like the idea, but some Congress-watchers suspect most Democrats might be willing to go along.

Still, the House is where the problems are, and leaders there were scrounging for ideas that might appeal to a few of the 133 Republicans and 95 Democrats who rejected the proposal on Monday.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., told reporters, "I'm told a number of people who voted 'no' yesterday are having serious second thoughts about it." He added, however, "There's no game plan that's been decided."

The idea drawing the biggest support was to raise the federal deposit insurance limit, now $100,000 per account, to $250,000. Several officials, along with both presidential nominees, endorsed the change.

So did the agency that runs the program.

Within hours of the candidates' separate statements, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman Sheila Bair asked Congress for temporary authority to raise the limit by an unspecified amount. That could help ease a crisis of confidence in the banking system, Bair said.

She said the overwhelming majority of banks remain sound but an increase in the cap would help ease a crisis of confidence in the banking system as well as encourage banks to begin more lending.

Other ideas include extending unemployment insurance benefits, typically a Democratic goal, but one that appeals to some Rust Belt Republicans. Another Democratic-backed idea would double the property tax deduction taken by people who do not itemize their taxes. And another calls for more spending on transportation infrastructure projects, which would create more jobs. Budget hawks in both parties might object, however.

Monday's House vote was a stinging setback to leaders of both parties and to Bush. The administration's proposal, still the heart of the legislation under consideration, would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other deficient assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates of the plan believe, that would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy.

But the proposal ignited furious responses from thousands of Americans, who flooded congressional telephones. The House voted 228-205 against the plan. Some lawmakers reported a shift in constituent calls pouring into their offices Tuesday after the record stock market decline. Many callers, they said, want Congress to do something without "bailing out Wall Street."

Bush renewed his efforts, speaking with McCain and Obama and making another statement from the White House. "Congress must act," he declared.

Though stock prices rose, more attention was on credit markets. A key rate that banks charge each other shot higher, further evidence of a tightening of credit availability.

Bush was talking about everyday Americans on Tuesday, not banks or other financial institutions. And no supporters were using the word "bailout."

The president noted that the maximum $700 billion in the proposed bill was dwarfed by the $1 trillion in lost wealth that resulted from Monday's stock market decline.

"The dramatic drop in the stock market that we saw yesterday will have a direct impact on retirement accounts, pension funds and personal savings of millions of our citizens," Bush said. "And if our nation continues on this course, the economic damage will be painful and lasting."

Republicans said the FDIC proposal might attract lawmakers on the left and right who want to help small business owners and avert runs on banks by customers fearful of losing their savings.

Another possible change to the bill would call on regulators to modify "mark to market" accounting rules. Such rules require banks and other financial institutions to adjust the value of their assets to reflect current market prices, even if they plan to hold the assets for years.

Some House Republicans say current rules forced banks to report huge paper losses on mortgage-backed securities, which might have been avoided.

There was a note of irony in that proposal. One Republican familiar with the discussions conceded it amounted to step toward deregulation at a time when Obama, McCain and House members in both parties are clamoring for greater controls on the financial industry.

The rescue package was Topic A on the presidential campaign trail.

"The first thing I would do is say, 'Let's not call it a bailout. Let's call it a rescue,'" McCain told CNN. He said, "Americans are frightened right now" and political leaders must give them an immediate solution and a longer-term approach to the problem.

Obama issued a statement saying that significantly increasing federal deposit insurance would help small businesses and make the U.S. banking system more secure as well as restore public confidence.

The bill's defeat in the House came despite furious personal lobbying by Bush and support from House leaders of both parties. But ideological groups on the left and the right organized against it. Even pressure in favor of the bill from some of the biggest special interests in Washington, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Realtors, could not sway enough votes.

Live audio and video streaming -- Ralph Nader for President in 2008

Live audio and video streaming -- Ralph Nader for President in 2008

Posted using ShareThis

Prosecution rests robbery case against OJ Simpson

Prosecution rests robbery case against OJ Simpson

O.J. Simpson, left, and his attorney Yale Galanter appear during Simpson's trial at the Clark County Regional Justice Center Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nev. Simpson is charged with a total of 12 counts including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon stemming from an alleged incident involving the theft of his sports memorabilia

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Prosecutors have rested their case against O.J. Simpson and a co-defendant after the last witness admitted his testimony in court differed from what he told police about the hotel room confrontation last year.

Michael McClinton earlier told the jury Simpson asked him to bring guns and "look menacing" when they met with two sports memorabilia dealers last October. He acknowledged under cross-examination Monday that he didn't tell police that.

Simpson defense lawyer Gabriel Grasso asked McClinton: "You have a whole conversation with police and you never say 'O.J. said to bring guns?'"

The witness responded: "It may have slipped my mind."

After McClinton finished two days of testimony, prosecutors rested their case.

McCain says Obama policies will deepen recession

McCain says Obama policies will deepen recession

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., makes a statement in West Des Moines, Iowa on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 on the failure of the financial emergency bill to pass the U.S. House.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Lagging in the polls, Republican presidential candidate John McCain unleashed a blistering attack Monday on his Democratic rival, saying the race comes down to a simple question: "Country first or Obama first?"

In his first public appearance since Friday night's debate, McCain said Democrat Barack Obama advocates tax-and-spend policies that "will deepen our recession," and voted against funding for equipment needed by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"That is not putting the men and women of our military first," he said.

McCain stressed his own record of opposing Republicans on key issues, and said, "When it comes time to reach across the aisle and work with members of both parties to get things done for the American people - my opponent can't name a single occasion in which he fought against his party's leadership to get something done for the country. That is not putting the interests of the country first."

Obama's campaign issued a swift rebuttal that accused McCain of an "angry diatribe" that it said "won't make up for his erratic response to the greatest financial crisis of our time."

The Arizona senator spoke at a joint rally with running mate Sarah Palin, who said she is looking forward to this Thursday's debate with Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

"I've been hearing his speeches since I was in the second grade," the 44-year-old Alaska governor said of her counterpart, who is 65 and a veteran of more than 35 years in the Senate.

The speech was McCain's first outside Washington since he announced abruptly last week he was suspending his campaign to concentrate on helping Congress agree on a bailout for the troubled financial industry. He drew heated criticism from Democrats who accused him of nearly derailing negotiations that were headed for success, and even some Republicans conceded privately he appeared impetuous and had not helped his own cause.

Recent polls also suggest Obama has regained a lead he held in the race before the Republican National Convention, where McCain's choice of Palin energized conservatives and led to a short-term surge in his poll ratings.

In a statement, the Obama campaign said McCain was untruthful in describing Obama's record on taxes, "and the lie he told the American people today is all the more outrageous a day after he admitted that his health care plan will increase taxes on some families."

The votes in question occurred on a Democratic budget outline that set tax and spending outlines for the future, but did not actually raise taxes.

Obama has said he voted against one war funding measure only because it contained no timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and compared that to McCain's vote against a war funding measure that did contain a timetable for withdrawal.

In a speech of less than 30 minutes, McCain challenged Obama's truthfulness and his support for the armed forces as well.

"Two times, on March 14, 2008 and June 4, 2008, in the Democratic budget resolution, he voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000 per year. He even said at the time that this vote for higher taxes on the middle class was 'getting our nation's priorities back on track,'" the Republican said.

"Then something amazing happened: on Friday night, he looked the American people in the eye and said it never happened. My friends, we need a president who will always tell the American people the truth."

McCain sought to turn the tables on his rival. "Senator Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first he didn't want to get involved. Then he was "monitoring the situation." That's not leadership, that's watching from the sidelines," he said.

In the early days of the economic crisis, McCain seemed uncertain how to react. His first response was to say the fundamentals of the economy were strong. Then he backtracked, saying the workers form the foundation of the economy and they are strong. Then he called for a blue-ribbon commission to study the root causes of the debacle on Wall Street. Then he called for the ouster of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, with each shift drawing ridicule from Obama.

Like Obama, McCain has not yet announced how he intends to vote on the measure.

But aides said he intends to return to the Senate for the roll call later in the week, and he signaled on Sunday he would likely vote in favor of the measure, which gives the Treasury authority to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets on the books of financial institutions.

Several Republicans said House GOP leaders had asked McCain to make phone calls to wavering rank-and-file lawmakers to try and persuade them to support the bill. Campaign aides did not immediately say whether any of the calls had been made. The fate of the package remained in doubt Monday as the House rejected the bill with more than two-thirds of Republicans voting against it.

McCain broadened his attack on Obama to include spending.

The Democrat "has proposed more than $860 billion in new spending," McCain said. "He was asked in our debate Friday to name a single program he would consider cutting to help our country through this crisis, and he struggled to name a single program!"

In the debate, McCain suggested a partial freeze on government spending, excluding defense, veterans and other programs he did not identify. In reply, Obama said the problem with a freeze is that it short-changes programs which deserve an increase. He mentioned early childhood education as an example.

House nixes $700B bailout bill in stunning defeat

House nixes $700B bailout bill in stunning defeat

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., left, and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., right, hold a news conference on the failed vote in the House of Representatives on the financial bailout package on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a vote that shook the government, Wall Street and markets around the world, the House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system, leaving both parties and the Bush administration struggling to pick up the pieces. The Dow Jones industrials plunged nearly 800 points, the most ever for a single day.

"We need to put something back together that works," a grim-faced Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said after he and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke joined in an emergency strategy session at the White House. On Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders said the House would reconvene Thursday in hopes of a quick vote on a reworked version.

All sides agreed the bill could not be abandoned.

On Monday, not enough lawmakers were willing to take the political risk - just five weeks before the elections - of backing a deeply unpopular measure that many voters see as an undeserved bailout for Wall Street.

The bill went down, 228-205, even though Paulson and congressional leaders proclaimed a day earlier that they had worked out an acceptable compromise in marathon weekend talks.

Lawmakers were caught in the middle. On one side were the dire predictions from Bush, his economic team, and their own party leaders of an all-out financial meltdown if they failed to approve the rescue. On the other side: a flood of protest calls and e-mails from voters threatening to punish them at the ballot box.

The House Web site was overwhelmed as millions of people sought information about the measure.

The legislation the administration promoted would have allowed the government to buy bad mortgages and other sour assets held by troubled banks and other financial institutions. Getting those debts off their books should bolster those companies' balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend and easing one of the biggest choke points in a national credit crisis. If the plan worked, the thinking went, it would help lift a major weight off the national economy, which is already sputtering.

Stocks started plummeting on Wall Street even before Monday's vote was over, as traders watched the rescue measure going down on television. Meanwhile, lawmakers were watching them back.

As a digital screen in the House chamber recorded a cascade of "no" votes against the bailout, Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley of New York shouted news of the falling Dow Jones industrials. "Six hundred points!" he yelled, jabbing his thumb downward.

The final stock carnage was 777 points, far surpassing the 684-point drop on the first trading day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

In the House, "no" votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle. More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill. Several Democrats in close election fights waited until the last moment, then went against the bill as it became clear the vast majority of Republicans were opposing it. Most vulnerable Republicans refused to back the bill.

In all, 65 Republicans joined 140 Democrats in voting "yes," while 133 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted "no."

The overriding question was what to do next.

"The legislation may have failed; the crisis is still with us," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a news conference after the defeat. "What happened today cannot stand."

Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he and other Republicans were pained to vote for such measure, but he agreed that in light of the potential consequences for the economy and all Americans, "I think that we need to renew our efforts to find a solution that Congress can support."

Those positive comments aside, a brutal round of partisan finger-pointing followed the vote.

Republicans blamed Pelosi's scathing speech near the close of the debate - which assailed Bush's economic policies and a "right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation" of financial markets - for the defeat.

"We could have gotten there today had it not been for the partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House," Boehner said.

Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the whip, estimated that Pelosi's speech changed the minds of a dozen Republicans who might otherwise have supported the plan.

That amounted to an appalling accusation by Republicans against Republicans, said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the Financial Services Committee: "Because somebody hurt their feelings, they decide to punish the country."

More than a repudiation of Democrats, Frank said, Republicans' refusal to vote for the bailout was a rejection of their own president.

The two men campaigning to replace Bush watched the situation closely - from afar - and demanded action.

In Iowa, Republican John McCain declared, "Now is not the time to fix the blame; it's time to fix the problem."

In Colorado, Democrat Barack Obama said, "Democrats, Republicans, step up to the plate, get it done."

"We're all worried about losing our jobs," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote. "Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it - not me.' "

With their dire warnings of impending economic doom and their sweeping request for unprecedented sums of money and authority to bail out cash-starved financial firms, Bush and his economic chiefs had focused the attention of world markets on Congress, Ryan added.

"We're in this moment, and if we fail to do the right thing, Heaven help us," he said.

NL East champion Phillies end season with win

NL East champion Phillies end season with win

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Lou Marson and Matt Stairs hit back-to-back homers for Philadelphia and the NL East champion Phillies rested their regulars in an 8-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

So Taguchi drove in three runs for the Phillies, who kept all their starters out of the lineup a day after they clinched their second consecutive NL East title. Major league home run champion Ryan Howard had a pinch-hit single and scored on Taguchi's triple.

The Phillies already tacked a "2008 National League East Division Champions" sign over the 2007 version on the wall into the clubhouse. Championship T-shirts and hats hung in the lockers, and some players stashed away bottles of champagne with a "Phillies" label.

"We got hot at the right time," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

The Nationals (59-102) finished with the worst record in the majors and said they will not bring back five coaches next year.

Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and the rest of the Philadelphia starters sat once this game became meaningless. Cole Hamels was scheduled to pitch, but took the day off to rest for his Game 1 start in the division series on Wednesday.

Manuel said he was undecided about his Game 2 starter and might wait until Monday to announce one. Brett Myers is a strong candidate, and Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton could start in Game 3 and Game 4.

With Hamels out, the Phillies turned to 11-game winner Kyle Kendrick for the start. Kendrick's awful second half of the season (11.35 ERA in his last six starts) got him bumped off the NLDS roster. He'll pitch in the Florida instructional league and stay fresh in case the Phillies need another arm if they advance in the playoffs.

Kendrick didn't look much better against the Nationals. Luke Montz hit his first career homer off Kendrick in the third inning and the right hander allowed three runs and four hits in four innings.

Les Walrond (1-1) earned his first major league victory, striking out four in two shutout innings.

Taguchi and Eric Bruntlett drove in runs for the Phillies in the fourth to put them up 4-3. Odalis Perez (7-12) gave up eight hits and four runs in 3 2-3 innings, leaving with nausea and some lightheadedness.

Marson and Stairs connected in the eighth inning.

Utley, Rollins and closer Brad Lidge - who saved Saturday's clincher - made their only appearance in a brief pregame speech where they thanked the fans and showed off their championship banner.

"We accomplished Step 1 and you guys were there to see that," said Rollins, the 2007 NL MVP. "Now, you have to be here to see us accomplish the next two steps. Everybody come on down and have some fun."

A sellout crowd of 44,945 packed Citizens Bank Park, a day after the Phillies earned consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 1980-81. That brought their final attendance totals to 50 sellouts and a record 3,455,583 fans.

"You guys have been unbelievable," Utley said.

Howard received a standing ovation and heard chants of "MVP! MVP!" when he pinch-hit in the sixth. He poked a single to left and became the only Phillie to play in all 162 games this season. Howard scored on Taguchi's triple to right for a 5-3 lead - the slugging first baseman wisely deciding not slide on a close play at the plate.

Howard earned some rest on Sunday as the Phillies - for a game, at least - boasted the most dangerous bench in baseball. The Phillies are off Monday then return to Citizens Bank on Tuesday for a workout.

They can only hope this year's postseason run fares better than last year's dismal outing.

Philadelphia was swept out of the first round by Colorado last season after a remarkable finish just to get in.

The Phillies were 3 1/2 games behind New York after losing to Florida on Sept. 10. But they swept a four-game series against Milwaukee and won 10 of 11.

Notes:@ Manuel said CF Shane Victorino should be OK and ready to go for the NLDS. Victorino was hurt in a collision with Rollins on Saturday night. ... Manuel said the playoff roster should be completed over the next two days.

Boondocks at Phila. Front Page News

Boondocks at Phila. Front Page News

AP Investigation: Palin got zoning aid, gifts

AP Investigation: Palin got zoning aid, gifts

The former home of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Wasilla Lake in Wasilla, Alaska, is seen Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. Two months before Palin's tenure as mayor ended in 2002, she asked city planning officials to forgive zoning violations so she could sell the house.

WASILLA, Alaska (AP) -- Though Sarah Palin depicts herself as a pit bull fighting good-old-boy politics, in her years as mayor she and her friends received special benefits more typical of small-town politics as usual, an Associated Press investigation shows.

When Palin needed to sell her house during her last year as Wasilla mayor, she got the city to sign off on a special zoning exception - and did so without keeping a promise to remove a potential fire hazard.

She gladly accepted gifts from merchants: A free "awesome facial" she raved about in a thank-you note to a spa. The "absolutely gorgeous flowers" she received from a welding supply store. Even fresh salmon to take home.

She also stepped in to help friends or neighbors with City Hall dealings. She asked the City Council to add a friend to the list of speakers at a 2002 meeting - and then the friend got up and asked them to give his radio station advertising business.

That year, records show, she tried to help a neighbor and political contributor fighting City Hall over his small lakeside development. Palin wanted the city to refund some of the man's fees, but the city attorney told the mayor she didn't have the authority.

Palin claims she has more executive experience than her opponent and the two presidential candidates, but most of those years were spent running a city with a population of less than 7,000.

Some of her first actions after being elected mayor in 1996 raised possible ethical red flags: She cast the tie-breaking vote to propose a tax exemption on aircraft when her father-in-law owned one, and backed the city's repeal of all taxes a year later on planes, snow machines and other personal property. She also asked the council to consider looser rules for snow machine races. Palin and her husband, Todd, a champion racer, co-owned a snow machine store at the time.

Palin often told the City Council of her personal involvement in such issues, but that didn't stop her from pressing them, according to minutes of council meetings.

She sometimes followed a cautious path in the face of real or potential conflicts - for example, stepping away from the table in 1997 when the council considered a grant for the Iron Dog snow machine race in which her husband competes.

But mostly, like other Wasilla elected officials at the time, she took an active role on issues that directly affected and sometimes benefited her. Her efforts to clear the way for the $327,000 sale of the Palin family home on Lake Wasilla is an example.

Two months before Palin's tenure as mayor ended in 2002, she asked city planning officials to forgive zoning violations so she could sell her house. Palin had a buyer, but he wouldn't close the deal unless she persuaded the city to waive the violations with a code variance.

The Palins, who were finishing work on a new waterfront house on Lake Lucille about two miles away, asked the city for the variance. The request was opposed by one planning official and some neighbors.

"I would ask that the Wasilla Planning Commission apply the exact same rules in this situation that it would apply to other similar requests so that our community can see that being a public figure does not give anyone special benefits," urged neighbor Clyde Boyer Jr. in a 2002 note to the city.

The Palins' house was built by the original owner too close to the shoreline and too close to adjacent properties on each side, including a carport that stretched so far over it nearly connected the two houses.

The Palins didn't create the zoning problems, but they should have known about them when they bought the house, wrote Susan Lee, a code compliance officer with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, in response to the Palins' request. The borough, similar to a county government, makes recommendations to the city, which has final say.

Lee, in recommending the city reject the request, noted that the exception was needed to resolve an "inconvenience" the Palins experienced while trying to sell their house. In 1989, another borough planner told a previous owner that a variance for the carport couldn't be approved because it didn't meet required conditions and was a potential fire hazard.

But in August 2002, Wasilla Planner Tim Krug approved a "shoreline setback exception" for the Palins' house being built too closely to the water. He sent an e-mail to the mayor saying he was drafting another variance for the side of the house built too close to the property line, but that he understood from her that the other side "will be corrected and the carport will be removed."

Krug asked Palin to let him know if he was wrong in his impression that the carport would be removed.

A few minutes later, the mayor e-mailed back: "Sounds good."

On Sept. 10, 2002, the seven-member Wasilla Planning Commission unanimously approved a variance for both sides of the property, with language covering "all existing structures." Less than a week later, the Palins signed a deed to sell the house to Henry Nosek.

The carport was never removed.

Nosek said Sarah Palin didn't do anything more than any other citizen would have done.

"I sincerely don't feel that Sarah used her position as mayor at the time to get that accomplished," said Nosek, who no longer lives in the home.

James Svara, professor of public affairs at Arizona State University and author of "The Ethics Primer for Public Administrators in Government and Nonprofit Organizations," suggested such behavior is part of small-town politics.

"Small towns are first-person politics, and if people are close, it's hard to separate one's own personal interest and one's own personal property from the work of the city," Svara said. The key questions from an ethics standpoint include whether the politician makes a potential conflict of interest known and removes himself or herself from actions related to it, he added.

"I think in a small town there is a greater likelihood that people will accept that you will pay careful attention to friends and neighbors," he said, adding that there may be some local gossip about it, but not a lot of public scrutiny. "At the national level, there will be far more people watching, there will be far more pressures to come forward to try to influence the outcome."

Delicate embrace by Obama, McCain of $700B bailout

Delicate embrace by Obama, McCain of $700B bailout

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., and his wife Michelle Obama approach the podium before a rally in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain on Sunday gingerly embraced a newly negotiated congressional deal for a $700 billion bailout of the hobbled financial industry.

"This is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with. The option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option," McCain said. Obama said he was inclined to back it "because I think Main Street is now at stake."

True to form after a week of posturing, both campaigns sought to take at least partial credit for the outcome. Obama said McCain did not deserve any pats on the back.

"Here are the facts: For two weeks I was on the phone everyday with (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson and the congressional leaders making sure that the principles that have been ultimately adopted were incorporated in the bill," Obama said in an interview on "Face the Nation" on CBS.

McCain said the latest version of the plan meets his insistence of an oversight body to monitor the treasury secretary and limits the compensation of executives of financial institutions applying for loans.

"Let's get this deal done, signed by the president, and get moving, because the real effect of this is going to restore some confidence, and get some credit out there, and get the economic system moving again, which is basically in gridlock today," McCain told "This Week" on ABC.

The measure would allow the government to buy defaulted mortgages and other distressed housing-related assets, many of them held by Wall Street banks, in an effort to keep the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression from spreading throughout the entire economy.

Obama predicted quick passage of the measure, which he said contained important consumer-friendly provisions he had supported. "Today, thanks to the hard work of Democrats and Republicans, it looks like we have a rescue plan that includes these taxpayer protections," Obama said in remarks prepared for a Detroit rally. "And it looks like we will pass that plan very soon."

McCain made a show on Wednesday of "suspending" his campaign to return to Washington to help negotiate terms of a bailout agreement. He initially suggested that Friday's presidential debate be postponed if no deal was struck. But his campaign ads continued to air and McCain attended the debate even though there was no deal.

While McCain is not on a Senate committee involved with the financial crisis, he said Sunday he rushed back to Washington because he was not going to "phone in" his advice.

"I'm a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. I've got to get in the arena when America needs it," McCain said.

Republicans generally have said his participation helped prod the agreement. Democrats countered that his presence had little effect on the outcome and may have even delayed a deal.

"Whether I helped or hurt, I'll be glad to accept the judgment of history," McCain said.

McCain said he planned to return to full-time campaigning Monday.

He also said he probably would have voted for legislation to keep the government running even though it contained thousands of the type of pork barrel projects he strongly opposes.

The $634 billion measure passed the Senate on Saturday. It also includes $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans for automakers.

Like McCain, Obama spent parts of several days in Washington because of the bailout talks. But he has returned to the trail and on Sunday he and running mate Joe Biden planned to attend a rally in Detroit, the home of the nation's auto industry. Michigan is a key battleground in the November.

Obama said in his television interview that he was inclined to support the bailout because it includes increased oversight, relief for homeowners facing foreclosure and limits on executive compensation for chief executives of firms that receive government help.

"None of those were in the president's provisions. They are identical to the things I called for the day that Secretary Paulson released his package," Obama said. "That I think is an indication of the degree to which when it comes to protecting taxpayers, I was pushing very hard and involved in shaping those provisions."

The safeguards were supported by many in Congress, including Democrats and Republicans.

Congressional leaders continued to work through the weekend on the bailout package and hoped to have a vote on the measure Monday in the House, with a vote in the Senate coming later.

The Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, credited McCain with helping to ensure that the bailout plan protected taxpayers. Reporters were kept at a distance when she made a campaign stop in Philadelphia, although Palin took one question about the $700 bailout agreement.

"I'm thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal," she said. "I'm glad that John McCain's voice was heard."

$700B rescue plan finalized; House to vote Monday

$700B rescue plan finalized; House to vote Monday

A reporter holds a discussion draft of legislation intended to fix the financial crisis Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional leaders and the White House agreed Sunday to a $700 billion rescue of the ailing financial industry after lawmakers insisted on sharing spending controls with the Bush administration. The biggest U.S. bailout in history won the tentative support of both presidential candidates and goes to the House for a vote Monday.

The plan, bollixed up for days by election-year politics, would give the administration broad power to use taxpayers' money to purchase billions upon billions of home mortgage-related assets held by cash-starved financial firms.

Flexing its political muscle, Congress insisted on a stronger hand in controlling the money than the White House had wanted. Lawmakers had to navigate between angry voters with little regard for Wall Street and administration officials who warned that inaction would cause the economy to seize up and spiral into recession.

A deal in hand, Capitol Hill leaders scrambled to sell it to colleagues in both parties and acknowledged they were not certain it would pass. "Now we have to get the votes," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the majority leader.

The final legislation was released Sunday evening. House Republicans and Democrats met privately to review it and decide how they would vote. "This isn't about a bailout of Wall Street, it's a buy-in, so that we can turn our economy around," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The largest government intervention in financial markets since the Great Depression casts Washington's long shadow over Wall Street. The government would take over huge amounts of devalued assets from beleaguered financial companies in hopes of unlocking frozen credit.

"I don't know of anyone here who wants the center of the economic universe to be Washington," said a top negotiator, Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. But, he added, "The center of gravity is here temporarily. ... God forbid it's here any longer than it takes to get credit moving again."

The plan would let Congress block half the money and force the president to jump through some hoops before using it all. The government could get at $250 billion immediately, $100 billion more if the president certified it was necessary, and the last $350 billion with a separate certification - and subject to a congressional resolution of disapproval.

Still, the resolution could be vetoed by the president, meaning it would take extra-large congressional majorities to stop it.

Lawmakers who struck a post-midnight deal on the plan with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson predicted final congressional action might not come until Wednesday.

The proposal is designed to end a vicious downward spiral that has battered all levels of the economy. Hundreds of billions of dollars in investments based on mortgages have soured and cramped banks' willingness to lend.

"This is the bottom line: If we do not do this, the trauma, the chaos and the disruption to everyday Americans' lives will be overwhelming, and that's a price we can't afford to risk paying," Sen. Judd Gregg, the chief Senate Republican in the talks, told The Associated Press. "I do think we'll be able to pass it, and it will be a bipartisan vote."

A breakthrough came when Democrats agreed to incorporate a GOP demand - letting the government insure some bad home loans rather than buy them. That would limit the amount of federal money used in the rescue.

Another important bargain, vital to attracting support from centrist Democrats, would require that the government, after five years, submit a plan to Congress on how to recoup any losses from the companies that got help.

"This is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with," said Republican presidential nominee John McCain. "The option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option."

His Democratic rival Barack Obama sought credit for taxpayer safeguards added to the initial proposal from the Bush administration. "I was pushing very hard and involved in shaping those provisions," he said.

Later, at a rally in Detroit, Obama said, "it looks like we will pass that plan very soon."

House Republicans said they were reviewing the plan.

As late as Sunday afternoon, Republicans regarded the deal as "a proposal that is promising in principle, but that is still not final," said Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, the top House GOP negotiator.

Executives whose companies benefit from the rescue could not get "golden parachutes" and would see their pay packages limited. Firms that got the most help through the program - $300 million or more - would face steep taxes on any compensation for their top people over $500,000.

The government would receive stock warrants in return for the bailout relief, giving taxpayers a chance to share in financial companies' future profits.

To help struggling homeowners, the plan would require the government to try renegotiating the bad mortgages it acquires with the aim of lowering borrowers' monthly payments so they can keep their homes.

But Democrats surrendered other cherished goals: letting judges rewrite bankrupt homeowners' mortgages and steering any profits gained toward an affordable housing fund.

It was Obama who first signaled Democrats were willing to give up some of their favorite proposals. He told reporters Wednesday that the bankruptcy measure was a priority, but that it "probably something that we shouldn't try to do in this piece of legislation."

"It's not a bill that any one of us would have written. It's a much better bill than we got. It's not as good as it should be," said Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the House Financial Services Committee chairman. He predicted it would pass, though not by a large majority.

Frank negotiated much of the compromise in a marathon series of up-and-down meetings and phone calls with Paulson, Dodd, D-Conn., and key Republicans including Gregg and Blunt.

Pelosi shepherded the discussions at key points, and cut a central deal Saturday night - on companies paying back taxpayers for any losses - that gave momentum to the final accord.

An extraordinary week of talks unfolded after Paulson and Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, went to Congress 10 days ago with ominous warnings about a full-blown economic meltdown if lawmakers did not act quickly to infuse huge amounts of government money into a financial sector buckling under the weight of toxic debt.

The negotiations were shaped by the political pressures of an intense campaign season in which voters' economic concerns figure prominently. They brought McCain and Obama to Washington for a White House meeting that yielded more discord and behind-the-scenes theatrics than progress, but increased the pressure on both sides to strike a bargain.

Lawmakers in both parties who are facing re-election are loath to embrace a costly plan proposed by a deeply unpopular president that would benefit perhaps the most publicly detested of all: companies that got rich off bad bets that have caused economic pain for ordinary people.

But many of them say the plan is vital to ensure their constituents don't pay for Wall Street's mistakes, in the form of unaffordable credit and major hits to investments they count on, like their pensions.

Some proponents even said taxpayers could come out as financial winners.

Gregg, R-N.H., said: "I don't think we're going to lose money, myself. We may - it's possible - but I doubt it in the long run."

Palin Pays a Visit to Philadelphia

Palin Pays a Visit to Philadelphia

Prior to Friday night's presidential debate, GOP Vice Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin spent some time with supporters down at the Irish Pub.

While there were many protesters outside the Pub for Governor Palin's arrival,it was definitely a home game inside as hundreds of Republican faithful jammed to catch a glimpse of the number two on the ticket. Governor Palin shook hands, posed for pictures and thanked the crowd for coming out:

For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/

2 quick polls give Obama edge in debate

2 quick polls give Obama edge in debate

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks at a campaign event in front of the J. Douglas Galyon Depot in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A pair of one-night polls gave Barack Obama a clear edge over John McCain in their first presidential debate.

Fifty-one percent said Obama, the Democrat, did a better job in Friday night's faceoff while 38 percent preferred the Republican McCain, according to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. survey of adults.

Obama was widely considered more intelligent, likable and in touch with peoples' problems, and by modest margins was seen as the stronger leader and more sincere. Most said it was McCain who spent more time attacking his opponent.

About six in 10 said each did a better job than expected. Seven in 10 said each seemed capable of being president.

In a CBS News poll of people not committed to a candidate, 39 percent said Obama won the debate, 24 percent said McCain and 37 percent called it a tie. Twice as many said Obama understands their needs than said so about McCain.

Seventy-eight percent said McCain is prepared to be president, about the same proportion of uncommitted voters as said so before the debate. Sixty percent said Obama is ready - a lower score than McCain, but a solid 16-percentage-point improvement from before the debate.

In another Obama advantage in the CBS poll, far more said their image of him had improved as a result of the debate than said it had worsened. More also said their view of McCain had gotten better rather than worse, but by a modest margin.

The CNN poll involved telephone interviews with 524 adults who watched the debate and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. The CBS survey involved online interviews with 483 uncommitted voters who saw the debate and had an error margin of plus or minus 4 points. It was conducted by Knowledge Networks, which initially selected the respondents by telephone.

Both polls were conducted Friday night.

Polls conducted on one night can be less reliable than surveys conducted over several nights because they only include the views of people available that particular evening.

Paul Newman, actor who personified cool, dies

Paul Newman, actor who personified cool, dies

In in this 1969 file photo, actors Robert Redford, left, as the Sundance Kid and Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy appear in this scene from the film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.'' Spokeswoman for Paul Newman says, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, that the screen legend has died at age 83 after battling cancer.

WESTPORT, Conn. (AP) -- Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money" - followed by a second act as an activist, race car driver and popcorn impresario - has died. He was 83.

Newman died Friday at his farmhouse near Westport following a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.

In May, Newman dropped plans to direct a fall production of "Of Mice and Men" at Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse, citing unspecified health issues. The following month, a friend disclosed that he was being treated for cancer and Martha Stewart, also a friend, posted photos on her Web site of Newman looking gaunt at a charity luncheon.

But true to his fiercely private nature, Newman remained cagey about his condition, reacting to reports that he had lung cancer with a statement saying only that he was "doing nicely."

As an actor, Newman got his start in theater and on television during the 1950s, and went on to become one of the world's most enduring and popular film stars, a legend held in awe by his peers. He was nominated for Academy Awards 10 times, winning one Oscar and two honorary ones, and had major roles in more than 50 motion pictures, including "Exodus," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Verdict," "The Sting" and "Absence of Malice."

Newman worked with some of the greatest directors of the past half century, from Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston to Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers. His co-stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and, most famously, Robert Redford, his sidekick in "Butch Cassidy" and "The Sting."

"There is a point where feelings go beyond words," Redford said Saturday. "I have lost a real friend. My life - and this country - is better for his being in it."

Newman sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray.

They wed in 1958, around the same time they both appeared in "The Long Hot Summer." Newman also directed her in several films, including "Rachel, Rachel" and "The Glass Menagerie."

With his strong, classically handsome face and piercing blue eyes, Newman was a heartthrob just as likely to play against his looks, becoming a favorite with critics for his convincing portrayals of rebels, tough guys and losers. New York Times critic Caryn James wrote after his turn as the town curmudgeon in 1995's "Nobody's Fool" that "you never stop to wonder how a guy as good-looking as Paul Newman ended up this way."

"Sometimes God makes perfect people," fellow "Absence of Malice" star Sally Field said, "and Paul Newman was one of them."

Newman had a soft spot for underdogs in real life, giving tens of millions to charities through his food company and setting up camps for severely ill children. Passionately opposed to the Vietnam War, and in favor of civil rights, he was so famously liberal that he ended up on President Nixon's "enemies list," one of the actor's proudest achievements, he liked to say.

A screen legend by his mid-40s, he waited a long time for his first competitive Oscar, winning in 1987 for "The Color of Money," a reprise of the role of pool shark "Fast Eddie" Felson, whom Newman portrayed in the 1961 film "The Hustler."

In the earlier film, Newman delivered a magnetic performance as the smooth-talking, whiskey-chugging pool shark who takes on Minnesota Fats - played by Jackie Gleason - and becomes entangled with a gambler played by George C. Scott. In the sequel - directed by Scorsese - "Fast Eddie" is no longer the high-stakes hustler he once was, but an aging liquor salesman who takes a young pool player (Cruise) under his wing before making a comeback.

He won an honorary Oscar in 1986 "in recognition of his many and memorable compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft." In 1994, he won a third Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, for his charitable work.

His most recent academy nod was a supporting actor nomination for the 2002 film "Road to Perdition." One of Newman's nominations was as a producer; the other nine were in acting categories. (Jack Nicholson holds the record among actors for Oscar nominations, with 12; actress Meryl Streep has had 14.)

As he passed his 80th birthday, he remained in demand, winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the 2005 HBO drama "Empire Falls" and providing the voice of a crusty 1951 car in the 2006 Disney-Pixar hit, "Cars."

But in May 2007, he told ABC's "Good Morning America" he had given up acting, though he intended to remain active in charity projects. "I'm not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to," he said. "You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me."

Newman also turned to producing and directing. In 1968, he directed "Rachel, Rachel," a film about a lonely spinster's rebirth. The movie received four Oscar nominations, including Newman, for producer of a best motion picture; and Woodward, for best actress. The film earned Newman the best director award from the New York Film Critics Circle.

In the 1970s, Newman, admittedly bored with acting, became fascinated with auto racing, a sport he studied when he starred in the 1969 film, "Winning." After turning professional in 1977, Newman and his driving team made strong showings in several major races, including fifth place in Daytona in 1977 and second place in the Le Mans in 1979.

"Racing is the best way I know to get away from all the rubbish of Hollywood," he told People magazine in 1979.

Newman later became a car owner and formed a partnership with Carl Haas, starting Newman/Haas Racing in 1983 and joining the CART series. Hiring Mario Andretti as its first driver, the team was an instant success, and throughout the last 26 years, the team - now known as Newman/Haas/Lanigan and part of the IndyCar Series - has won 107 races and eight series championships.

"Paul and I have been partners for 26 years and I have come to know his passion, humor and, above all, his generosity," Haas said. "His support of the team's drivers, crew and the racing industry is legendary. His pure joy at winning a pole position or winning a race exemplified the spirit he brought to his life and to all those that knew him."

Despite his love of race cars, Newman continued to make movies and continued to pile up Oscar nominations, his looks remarkably intact and his acting becoming more subtle - nothing like the mannered method performances of his early years, when he was sometimes dismissed as a Brando imitator.

Newman, who shunned Hollywood life, was reluctant to give interviews and usually refused to sign autographs because he found the majesty of the act offensive. He also claimed that he never read reviews of his movies.

"If they're good you get a fat head and if they're bad you're depressed for three weeks," he said.

In 1982, Newman and his Westport neighbor, writer A.E. Hotchner, started a company to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. Newman's Own, which began as a joke, grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling popcorn, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and other foods. All of the company's profits are donated to charities. By 2007, the company had donated more than $175 million, according to its Web site.

"We will miss our friend Paul Newman, but are lucky ourselves to have known such a remarkable person," Robert Forrester, vice chairman of Newman's Own Foundation, said in a statement.

In 1988, Newman founded a camp in northeastern Connecticut for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. He went on to establish similar camps in several other states and in Europe.

He and Woodward bought an 18th century farmhouse in Westport, where they raised their three daughters, Elinor "Nell," Melissa and Clea.

Newman had two daughters, Susan and Stephanie, and a son, Scott, from a previous marriage to Jacqueline Witte. Scott died in 1978 of an accidental overdose of alcohol and Valium. After his only son's death, Newman established the Scott Newman Foundation to finance the production of anti-drug films for children.

"Our father was a rare symbol of selfless humility, the last to acknowledge what he was doing was special," his daughters said in a written statement. "Intensely private, he quietly succeeded beyond measure in impacting the lives of so many with his generosity."

Newman was born in Cleveland, the second of two boys of Arthur S. Newman, a partner in a sporting goods store, and Theresa Fetzer Newman. He was raised in the affluent suburb of Shaker Heights, where he was encouraged him to pursue his interest in the arts by his mother and his uncle Joseph Newman, a well-known Ohio poet and journalist.

Following World War II service in the Navy, he enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he got a degree in English and was active in student productions.

He later studied at Yale University's School of Drama, then headed to work in theater and television in New York, where his classmates at the famed Actor's Studio included Brando, James Dean and Karl Malden.

Newman's breakthrough was enabled by tragedy: Dean, scheduled to star as the disfigured boxer in a television adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "The Battler," died in a car crash in 1955. His role was taken by Newman, then a little-known performer.

Newman started in movies the year before, in "The Silver Chalice," a costume film he so despised that he took out an ad in Variety to apologize. By 1958, he had won the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for the shiftless Ben Quick in "The Long Hot Summer."

In December 1994, about a month before his 70th birthday, he told Newsweek magazine he had changed little with age.

"I'm not mellower, I'm not less angry, I'm not less self-critical, I'm not less tenacious," he said. "Maybe the best part is that your liver can't handle those beers at noon anymore," he said.

Newman is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother Arthur.