David R. Sands

House GOP leader slams aid for Detroit

The House's top Republican Thursday attacked plans by leading congressional Democrats to double a $25 billion assistance package for the country's ailing automakers, saying there were no assurances the extra money would be well spent.

November 13, 2008

Emerging countries set summit strategy

The world's up-and-coming economic powers will have a seat at this weekend's emergency global financial summit hosted by President Bush. Whether they will have a voice is another question.

November 13, 2008

Pelosi seeks bill to rescue automakers

Speaker Nancy Pelosi edged closer Tuesday to re-calling the House of Representatives for a lame-duck session, ordering Democratic lawmakers to start drafting a bill to aid struggling U.S. automakers.

November 12, 2008

Georgia runoff called 2010 preview

It's being billed as the "first race of the 2010 election cycle," and the national Democratic and Republican parties are furiously pouring money and manpower into the rematch.

November 11, 2008

Obama term expected to be post-racial

Five days after the election of the country's first black president, the issue of race and its prominence in the agenda of the incoming Obama administration remain major question marks.

November 9, 2008

Geithner touted for top post at Treasury

On an Obama economic brain trust studded with high-profile heavyweights, Timothy F. Geithner, the low-key president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has emerged as a top candidate to head the Treasury Department or another top policy post in the new administration.

November 7, 2008

Obama’s plate already full

With the U.S. economy reeling and the world's credit and stock markets under severe strain, President-elect Barack Obama does not have the luxury of waiting until he is President Obama to act.

November 6, 2008

Obama breaks barriers for black Americans

Four years after he burst onto the national scene, Barack Obama's improbable story has another precedent-shattering chapter, as the 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois adds president-elect to an already remarkable resume.

November 5, 2008

House may tilt right with Democratic wins

Big Democratic gains in Tuesday's congressional races could produce a new House of Representatives in which both the Republican and Democratic caucuses are more conservative than in the current Congress.

November 4, 2008

Candidates sprint to the finish line

UPDATE: With the hours draining away, rivals Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Sen. John McCain of Arizona were taking the long way home in a final lap of frenzied campaigning of a nearly two-year presidential quest.

November 3, 2008

A blue tide may produce redder House

Big Democratic gains in tomorrow's congressional races could produce a new House of Representatives in which both the Republican and Democratic caucuses are more conservative than in the current Congress.

November 3, 2008

Bailout takes fire from all sides

The troubled rollout of the Treasury Department's $700 billion Wall Street rescue package has exposed some contradictions at the heart of the program designed to encourage the country's shell-shocked banks to lend again.

November 2, 2008

Incumbents paying for backing bailout

The $700 billion Wall Street rescue package isn't playing favorites on the campaign trail: Both Republican and Democratic incumbents are under fire for backing the bailout.

November 1, 2008

Election polls keep coming, wide variety

If pollsters misdiagnose the condition of the American body politic, it won't be because of a shortage of thermometers.

October 31, 2008

Indian takes world chess crown

Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand became the undisputed world chess champion Tuesday, defeating titleholder Vladimir Kramnik by a score of 6 ½-4 1½ in their scheduled 12-game match in Bonn -- a result many saw as confirming a shift in the game's balance of power.

October 30, 2008

Lieberman may still hold key to chamber

Through a quirk in the rules, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman may once again emerge as the Senate Democrats' indispensable man, despite his support of the Iraq war, his full-throated endorsement of Republican Sen. John McCain for president and his prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in September.

October 30, 2008

Indian chess master retains crown in world title match

Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand became the undisputed world chess champion Tuesday, defeating former titleholder Vladimir Kramnik by a score of 6 1/2 - 4 1/2 in their scheduled 12-game match in Bonn, Germany -- a result many saw as confirming a shift in the game's balance of power.

October 29, 2008

Critics see bailout free-for-all

A growing number of lawmakers and economists are criticizing the Bush administration for extending the massive Wall Street rescue plan far beyond what they had thought were its original limits.

October 29, 2008

Dow up nearly 900 points

UPDATE: At the closing bell, U.S. stock markets gained positive territory Tuesday with The Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 900 points despite a gloomy consumer confidence level and U.S. housing prices.

October 28, 2008

McCain calls for Stevens to step down

UPDATED -- Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain Tuesday called for Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens to resign his seat a day after the seven-term GOP lawmaker was convicted by a federal jury.

October 28, 2008