In a fit of "March madness" NCAA basketball can't touch, health-care reform approaches its denouement in Congress. House Democrats struggle to assemble a majority by wooing a relative handful of congressmen either averse to specific parts of the huge package or spooked at the prospect of risking their political careers on a bill unpopular with their constituents.
The collapse of Lehman Brothers was a pivotal event in the financial meltdown of 2008. Its bankruptcy, the largest in U.S. history, spooked markets and, amid fears of a cascade of bank failures, prompted the Bush administration to fashion a rescue of the nation's financial system.
Facing a $4 billion budget gap, the General Assembly went about its distasteful task expeditiously, adopting a $70 billion-plus, two-year spending plan Sunday, only a day late.
The settlement of a lawsuit between the city of Winchester and the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging is a welcome development for both parties and senior citizens throughout the Northern Shenandoah Valley. The statements from both sides are hopeful signs that they can move beyond this breach with better communication and work together for the people who depend on the nonprofit's services.
The lack of bipartisanship in Washington has been widely noted and decried, but it has made a quick reappearance, thanks to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of all people.
While the results in Iraq's parliamentary elections aren't in yet, the turnout of 62 percent constituted a fresh endorsement of democracy in a nation with a long tradition of dictatorship and sectarian tensions.
Despite unanimous approval in the state Senate, redistricting reform died a quiet death in the House of Delegates early Tuesday morning. A subcommittee did the honors (four Republicans voted to table the idea, two Democrats were opposed) -- just like last year.
Rep. Charles Rangel reluctantly relinquished his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday after being admonished for violating House ethics rules by accepting trips paid for by corporations.
Before he entered politics, Jim Bunning was a fiercely competitive Major League pitcher -- he even threw a perfect game as a Philadelphia Phillie in 1964. Now he is gaining notoriety as the stubborn, irascible senator who is playing games with, among others, jobless Americans.
The earthquake that struck Chile over the weekend was 500 times as powerful as the one that devastated Haiti nearly six weeks ago. Yet the death toll in Chile so far is less than 1,000, compared with an estimated 200,000 in Haiti.
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