Radio America Online News Bureau

On Tuesday, tax troubles scuttled the nomination of Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Daschle.  Did Daschle bow out on his own or was he pushed by a White House reeling from cabinet selection controversies?  Why did Obama select Republican New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg to be Secretary of Commerce?  Will Gregg have a major seat at the table or be a faint voice in the background?  And who is Nancy Killefer – the other Obama nominee to bow out on Tuesday?  We ask Christina Bellantoni, White House Correspondent for The Washington Times.

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How much would the current economic stimulus plan actually stimulate the economy? What seems to be the philosophy behind the Democratic version of this plan? How real is the threat of major inflation if this plan is approved? Are Republicans smart to focus on fixing the housing crisis or does their ‘solution’ just repeat the original problem? What steps would stimulate the economy? Which tax cuts would do the most good? And should we pass a bill ASAP or would waiting a little while be a good idea? We ask Scott Hodge, president of The Tax Foundation.

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Open Doors USA has released its annual World Watch List – the ranking of the world’s worst persecutors of Christians.  Which countries are at the top?  Is persecution on the rise or on the decline overall?  Which democracy is becoming far worse for Christians?  And which communist nation is improving?  We ask Jerry Dykstra, media relations director at Open Doors USA, an organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted Christian church.

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This week, the nation’s capital will host a major auto show.  For the nation’s struggling automakers, this is a major opportunity to demonstrate viability and new products that will appeal to consumers and lead the way forward for the industry in the 21st century.  So what new vehicles show the industry is getting the message and changing in the right way?  Will it need more taxpayer help to stay alive?  Will the possibility of new emissions standards in some states crank up production costs to a dangerous level?  And what is the financial story for Chevrolet – one of key components of General Motors?  We ask Ed Peper, vice president of Chevrolet.

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We have Monday’s top news…Which Republican has President Obama won over on the stimulus debate?  What changes do Senate Republicans want before even considering support for the stimulus?  What is the White House saying about a second cabinet nominee with major tax problems?  Has Israel found a way to connect Gaza and the West Bank as part of a two-state solution?  Why does a British official call you irresponsible if you have more than two children?  And what happened on Wall Street Monday?  We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Monday, February 2, 2009.

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President Obama says he wants to end the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and have gays openly serving in the U.S. military.  But what does the current law really say?  Despite the advancing of the gay agenda, why is the current policy the most beneficial for our national security?  How would life change for service members if the policy changes?  And what are active duty soldiers saying about how they would respond if they were forced to share close quarters with openly gay colleagues?  We ask Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness.

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President Obama is inheriting a host of challenges in the Middle East, from the Israel-Palestinian standoff to the nuclear threat in Iran to the global war on radical Islam.  Why might Obama be very smart not to take the advice or follow the example of Jimmy Carter?  How did Carter trigger the Islamic revolution that continues to this day?  Why does he not feel responsible for the rise of radicals in Iran?  Why is Carter’s memory of the Camp David Accords increasingly flawed?  Why does he believe Israel is the stumbling black to Middle East peace?  And what advice SHOULD Obama follow in charting his Middle East policy?  We ask Dr. Mike Evans, a confidant to many Middle Eastern leaders over the years.  He is most recently the author of “Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left and World Chaos: A Carter/Obama Plan That Will Not Work”.

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Over the weekend, provincial elections in Iraq reportedly took place with few complications.  What does it say about the progress in Iraq that such a major event hardly received notice back here in the U.S.?  How well is Iraq prepared for U.S. troops to pull back from the cities this coming summer?  What has to take place for Iraq to be fully prepared?  And how long will the U.S. wait to assess the performance of Iraqi security forces before sending many of forces home?  We ask retired U.S. Army General Paul Vallely.

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Why is the Obama economic stimulus plan reminiscent of FDR’s New Deal?  Why is it actually a bigger federal grab than the New Deal?  What will be the resulting debt?  And why will inflation be a huge threat as our debts mount?  We ask Olivier Garret, CEO of Casey Research, which has carefully studied the stimulus plan currently being debate in Congress.

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We have Friday’s top news… How much did our economy shrink in the last quarter of 2008?  How are Senate Republicans approaching the stimulus debate?  What do financial analysts think of the stimulus plan?  What are President Obama’s newest economic initiatives?  Who is the new chairman of the Republican party?  How did a CIA official caught spying for Russia get busted again – from his own prison cell?  And how did the Dow react to the latest economic numbers?  We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Friday, January 30, 2009.

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