Radio America Online News Bureau

We have Friday’s top news…What is President Obama saying about the negotiations for an economic stimulus?  Is this the main effort to jump-start the economy or is there a lot more spending to come?  What are Republican and Democratic congressional leaders saying about the stimulus plan?  What abortion policy of the Bush administration did Obama reverse on Friday?  How are Republicans reacting to that?  Who is the new U.S. Senator from New York?  And what is the latest line of defense from scandal-swamped Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich?  We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Friday, January 23, 2009.

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As we previewed on Tuesday, President Obama made good on his promise to reverse Bush policy and allow tax dollars to fund the performing and advocating of overseas abortions?  How significant is this policy reversal?  Why might the 30-year ban on taxpayer-funded abortions soon be in jeopardy?  And what other plans does Obama have on the abortion front?  We ask Douglas Johnson, legislative director at the National Right to Life Committee.

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What should we want in the economic stimulus package being debated in Congress?  What should all Americans prepare for as the recession continues?  Where should the rest of the Wall Street bailout money go?  Is the next $350 billion really necessary?  And what should we glean from the latest episode of gross corporate malfeasance perpetrated by the head of Merrill Lynch?  We ask all these questions to Forbes Senior Editor Matthew Miller.

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After a political soap opera lasting some two months, New York Gov. David Paterson is naming Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand as the replacement for Hillary Clinton, who is now Secretary of State.  So why did Gillibrand get the job?  What do we know about her?  Why did the Caroline Kennedy campaign sputter to a halt?  And which party will win the House seat being vacated by Gillibrand?  We ask David Drucker of Roll Call.

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We saw plenty of change in Washington this week as Barack Obama and Joe Biden replaced George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as president and vice-president respectively. Less notived, however, was the departure of America’s favorite screaming politician as Howard Dean stepped down as head of the Democratic National Committee. So the Capitol Steps look back at Dean’s political legacy in this week’s visit.

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We have Thursday’s top news…What decision is President Obama making on Guantanamo Bay?  What is the reaction from the Pentagon and Capitol Hill?  What is the Obama plan for the Middle East and Afghanistan?  What was the committee vote for Treasury nominee Tim Geithner?  And what happened on Wall Street today?  We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Thursday, January 22, 2009.

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On Thursday, President Obama announced the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would be shut down within a year. Is this a good policy given the controversy over possible torture at Guantanamo? Or is it a needless complication that brings greater security risks to the mainland? And how valuable has the intelligence gathered at Guantanamo been in keeping this country safe? We ask former Indiana Rep. John Hostettler.

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Thursday marks 36 years since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion.  Politics and the issue of abortion often collide and that’s especially true for Oklahoma Rep. Mary Fallin.  How did a pregnancy complicate her career two decades ago?  What decision did she make?  Why did she make it?  What is the result of that decision today?  And what is her view on the upcoming Democratic attempt to roill back every abortion restriction in every state?  Listen in here to our conversation with Oklahoma Rep. Mary Fallin.

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In 2008, Preesident Bush lifted an executive moratorium on offshore energy exploration along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. And Congress allowed the legislative moratorium to expire. But as a move to explore for oil and natural gas moves forward, President Obama is apparently planning to reverse that policy. Why? What exactly is permissible right now? How much of an impact would offshore exploration have on energy supply and pricing? And what would be the enviornmental impact if this exploration were allowed to proceed? We ask Dan Kish, senior vice president of policy at the Institute for Energy Research.

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What is the most important thing to take away from the Obama inauguration this week? What kind of contrast was seen in the inauguration of the new Republican governor of Arizona? Why did Caroline Kennedy really drop out of the New York Senate sweepstakes at the last moment? And what should we make of Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo Bay? We ask John Gizzi, political editor at Human Events.

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