Radio America Online News Bureau

Congress is working to pass so-called ‘Cap and Trade’ legislation in the coming weeks.  Supporters say it’s badly needed energy reform and a movement away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, but opponents say it’s a huge energy tax on the American people that won’t do much of anything to improve the economy or the environment.  Jim Manzi of the Manhattan Institute has run the numbers.  What will be the economic impact on the world and the U.S. if this plan gets enacted?  Will the benefits outweigh the costs or will it be very much the opposite?  Manzi offers his analysis to those and other ‘Cap and Trade’ related questions.

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We have Wednesday’s top news… What happened on the first day of President Obama’s visit to the Middle East?  What message did Osama bin Laden have waiting for him?  What is Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke saying about America’s exploding deficits?  Why are GM and Chrysler making members of Congress mad now?  What state is the sixth to legalize gay marriage?  And what do Americans think about the decision Sonia Sotomayor made in a race-based case now before the U.S. Supreme Court?  We have the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Wednesday, June 3, 2009.

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So what should President Obama say in his address to the Islamic world on Thursday?  How specific should he get on his prescription for Israeli-Palestinian peace?  What should he say about the Iranian nuclear ambitions?  What shouldn’t he say?  What could give a shot in the arm to Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists?  And what should Obama mention about the commitment, sacrifice, money and blood of the U.S. for Muslims all over the world?  We ask Dr. Walid Phares, senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

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President Obama is now in the Middle East for his much-awaited message to the Muslim world.  What should he say?  And just as importantly…what shouldn’t he say?  How should he address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?  How about Iranian nukes?  And what should he say about the American presence in Iraq and Afghanistan?  We ask Larry Haas, former communications director to then-vice president Al Gore and a former spokesman for the Clinton White House Budget Office.

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President Obama’s education secretary has recently appointed a radical homosexual activist to a position designed to foster safe schools.  So why should traditional parents be concerned?  What is track record of Kevin Jennings?  What sort of pro-homosexual programs could he be bringing to a school near you?  And what kind of backlash could be awaiting parents who oppose his message of affirming the gay lifestyle to young kids?  We ask Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council.

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On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that thr economy is likely bottoming out, but Washington must get its fiscal house in order very soon to avoid long term calamity.  So what should lawmakers and the president be doing to improve fiscal discipline?  What should you be doing?  How are we already seeing disturbing economic trends because of our huge deficits?  We ask Dr. Martin Weiss, author of “The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide”.

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We have Tuesday’s top news… Where will President Obama be heading on his much anticipated Middle East trip?  What message does Al Qaeda have waiting for him?  What does a new Gallup poll show about American attitudes toward the Guantanamo detention facility?  What Republican is President Obama now tapping to join his administration?  What are Obama and Congressional Republicans saying about the push towards major health care reform?  And what happened on Wall Street Tuesday?  We have the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Tuesday, June 2, 2009.

Last week, President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Several days of intense media coverage quickly followed.  How objective is the media coverage for Sotomayor?  How does it compare to how the media reported the nominations of John Roberts and Sam Alito?  How are the networks handling the racial and activist concerns surrounding Sotomayor?  We ask Rich Noyes, director of research at the Media Research Center.

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How significant is the apparent naming of a successor to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il? What can we expect from President Obama on his Middle East visit? Is Obama showing his bipartisan outreach by nominating a GOP congressman to be Secretary of the Army, or is this a plan to get Democrats another House seat? How surprisining is Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s decision not to seek a third term? And what political fate awaits Illinois Sen. Roland Burris? We ask John Gizzi, political editor at Human Events.

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Just a couple of weeks ago, President Obama reiterated his intent to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January of 2010.  But a new Gallup survey shows Americans opposed to that plan by a 2-1 margin.  They oppose bringing the terrorist detainees to a prison near them by a 3-1 margin.  So why can’t Obama seal the deal with the public on this issue?  Why are Americans siding with the Bush administration on this?  And how much will these poll numbers entrench Congressional opposition to the Obama plan?  We ask Susan Page of USA TODAY, who reported the poll results in Tuesday’s paper.

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