Barbara Bush expected to make good recovery, surgeon says

The surgeon who performed heart surgery Wednesday on former first lady Barbara Bush said Thursday that she is recovering well from the 2 1/2-hour surgery in which her aortic valve was replaced with a pig valve. “From our perspective, this was a very routine procedure, and we expect her to make an excellent recovery,” Dr

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Zimbabwe court allows appeal on opposition official’s bail

A Zimbabwe Supreme Court judge ruled Thursday that the state can further appeal a decision that would release a top opposition politician on bail. Judge Paddington Garwe said the state can appeal a high court decision to grant $2,000 bail to Roy Bennett, the opposition’s choice to be deputy agriculture minister in the new power-sharing government

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Critics question Obama’s pledge to end ‘pork’

As a spending bill loaded with pork makes its way through Congress, President Obama is getting pushback from members of his own party who are questioning his vow to end wasteful spending. The president on Wednesday pledged turn tide on an “era of fiscal irresponsibility,” reiterating his campaign promise that the days of “pork … as a strategy” are over

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Computerizing Health Records: Will It Really Cut Medical Costs?

If the cheerleaders — including the one in the Oval Office — are right, computerized medical records will save us all: save jobs, save money, reduce errors, and transform health care as we know it. In a January speech, President Obama evoked the promise of new technology: This will cut waste, eliminate red tape and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests,” he said, and he has proposed investing $50 billion over the next five years to help make it happen.

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The Afghanistan Problem: Can Obama Avoid a Quagmire?

On the Friday after he was inaugurated, Barack Obama held a full-scale National Security Council meeting about the most serious foreign policy crisis he is facing — the deteriorating war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “It was a pretty alarming meeting,” said one senior Administration official.

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Indian-American hotelier plans Gandhi bid

Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal said Wednesday he plans to bid on several belongings of Mahatma Gandhi scheduled for auction in New York Thursday, with the goal of returning them to India. “The idea is to get them back as a community and donate [them] to India,” Chatwal told CNN, adding that he would welcome other members of the Indian community in the United States to join him in his auction effort. Chatwal said if he obtains the items, he plans to give them to the museum where some of Gandhi’s items are kept

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Obama’s Middle-Class Task Force Has No Middle Class

Last Friday, Vice President Joe Biden and seven White House officials traveled to Philadelphia to kick off the inaugural gathering of President Obama’s Middle Class Task Force. The task force will convene monthly in cities across the country to confront the problems faced by average Americans. It’s an admirable goal; with rising costs, stagnant wages and job cuts, a Pew Research study found that 78% of self-described middle class Americans have trouble maintaining their current standard of living

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Democrats’ ‘apology’ Web site mocks Limbaugh

Democrats plan to launch a Web site Wednesday that mocks GOP leaders for apologizing to radio host Rush Limbaugh for criticizing or publicly disagreeing with him. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hosting the Web site, which allows visitors to create an apology to Limbaugh on behalf of Rep

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