Radio America Online News Bureau

We have Thursday’s top news…What is President Obama saying about the length of the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan?  What agreement did he reach with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his first foreign trip as president?  What jab did Vice President Joe Biden throw at the Bush administration today?  What is the senior senator from Illinois saying about the Roland Burris controversy?  What kind of budget agreement did California reach to fight off a $42 billion deficit?  And what happened on Wall Street today?  We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Thursday, February 19, 2009.

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On Thursday, Leon Panetta was sworn in as the new director of the CIA.  What should be his immediate priorities?  What are the biggest threats requiring the most attention?  Is the new intelligence structure a help or a hindrance in accomplishing our goals to protect this country?  What is the key to any good intelligence effort?  We ask all these questions to Herb Meyer, former special assistant to the director of the CIA.  He was also vice-chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council.

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Why are so many people in both parties demanding that Illinois Democratic Sen. Roland Burris resign?  Why has Burris changed his story so many times on how he won the senate appointment from Rod Blagojevich?  What is the U.S. Senate prepared to do about this issue?  And what does it all mean for the 2010 campaign?  We ask Susan Ferrechio, chief congressional correspondent for The Washington Examiner.

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Despite several Democratic lawmakers calling for a return of the Fairness Doctrine, which would mandate equal time for political debate on the airwaves and cripple talk radio, President Obama says he has no interest in reinstating that policy.  Is this the end of the fight?  What other tools could Congress, the FCC and Obama himself employ to accomplish the same goal?  How could Obama prove he is serious about protecting free speech on the air?  We ask Rich Noyes, director of research at the Media Research Center, a member of the newly created Free Speech Alliance.

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Is this Barack Obama’s economy now that he got his way on the stimulus debate?  Can Roy Blunt save the soon-to-be open Senate seat in Missouri?  Can Roland Burris survive the latest eruption in the Blagojevich scandal?  And what can we expect from Benjamin Netanyahu in his second stint as Israeli prime minister?  We ask John Gizzi, political editor at Human Events.

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We have Wednesday’s top news… How much is President Obama devoting to fixing the nation’s mortgage crisis?  What is his strategy?  Who will not be the beneficiaries under his plan?  How are Republicans reacting to the Obama plan?  What kind of military commitment will be required for Afghanistan according to the top U.S. general in the theater?  How much does General Motors want from the government overall in staying afloat?  What is Illinois Sen. Roland Burris saying in defense to allegations he did try to raise money for Rod Blagojevich in his effort to become senator?  And what happened on Wall Street today?  We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Wednesday, February 18, 2009.

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On Wednesday, President Obama unveiled his $75 billion plan to rescue troubled mortgages.  So how would it work?  Would it work at all?  Is the Senate Republican plan any better?  What will really solve this housing meltdown?  We ask David John, senior research fellow in domestic and economic policy at the Heritage Foundation.  We also get David’s reaction to the growing call to solve the financial crisis by nationalizing financial institutions.  What would nationalizing the banks mean?  What is Obama’s thinking on the issue?  And would the government ever get out once it gets in?

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Republicans and Democrats in Illinois are howling mad over the admission of Senator Roland Burris that he was asked to raise money for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich while trying to win the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.  So how much trouble is Burris facing?  Will he need to resign?  What process could the Senate itself begin to investigate what really happened?  And does this certainly mean the end of any hopes Burris may have to keep the seat in 2010?  We ask David Drucker of Roll Call.

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On Tuesday, General Motors and Chrysler presented their plans for viability to the Fed and the Obama administration.  Why does one industry insider believe GM is worth saving but Chrysler must be cut loose?  What suggests GM is turning the corner and can soon be solvent on its own?  What would be the impact of a Chrysler collapse?  And why should taxpayers already saddled with a Wall Street bailout, a massive stimulus plan and a huge mortgage rescue program be willing to shell out billions more for Detroit?  We ask Peter DeLorenzo, founder of autoextremist.com and author of “The United States of Toyota”.

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Most of the states are eagerly awaiting tens of billions of dollars through the recently signed economic stimulus package.  The administration has promised strict oversight for all of the money, but what should we really expect from the states?  Will the money be spent shrewdly and responsibly or will much of it go to waste and fall through the cracks?  And why exactly is California broke?  What went wrong?  And why did this happen even though Gov. Schwarzenegger promised fiscal responsibility?  We ask Michael Bowman, director of policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council.

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