Senator of Maine Olympia J. Snowe Republican, made her decision on Tuesday to vote towards the health care plan “when history calls, history calls” she said. At the white house, Obama called the event “a critical milestone” toward the remaking the nation’s health care system, According to yahoo.com. “Snowe's vote, therefore, does not guarantee anything, but it keeps the hope of bipartisanship alive and more significantly it gives Senator Snowe a fair amount of leverage over what the final bill will be” according to the Huffington Post.

Snowe, who was born in Maine 62 years ago and grew up in the state, has been working away in various political capacities for about 36 years. According to (theglobeandmail.com.)

To view a video of Senator Snowe on the “Today Show” click here. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33306039#33306039

By: Andrew Reed & Melissa Kinder

The NY Times will cut 100 jobs, roughly 8 percent, from it's newsroom staff by the end of the year through voluntary buyouts and layoffs if needed. The announcement came in a memo from editor Bill Keller Monday.

This layoff comes as part of a string of reductions for the paper due to the recession. Last year about 100 positions were cut as well as the staff taking a 5 percent pay cut this year. The drop in advertising which the paper depends on for revenue is indicative of the hard times all Americans are feeling.

This means that the biggest newspaper in the country will be reducing it's services yet again. It is unfortunate that during a time in such dire need of in-depth watchdog journalism papers are getting cut instead of expanding.

Though the departments and sections most affected by this reduction have not been identified yet, they will surely be devastated. When there are less reporters there is less coverage. Less coverage means many stories will go overlooked and uncovered due to lack of resources.

Political scandals and discrepancies will go unchecked if there are not vigilant reporters checking facts and keeping politicians honest. Organizations putting on helpful local events will go overlooked because there are not enough local reporters to cover them. Cuts just result in less information distributed to the public during a time where community matters more than ever.

Full Article

Congress Still Can't Agree on Healthcare Bill

On October 19, an TV ad was released which focuses in favor of the “Public Option”. In the commercial, the ad is directed towards Senator Harry Reid to push for a public option for Nevada residents.

According to the ad, Nevadans are in favor of the public option by 52 percent to 40 percent against. According to a report published by The Huffington Post, “there have been indications that he's prepared to abandon the government-run plan.”

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/harry-reids-toughness-que_n_325349.html

It has been over a month since President Obama proposed the Health care bill initiative in his State of Address speech and Congress is still in debate about which legislation to pass.
According to a CBS/New York Times Poll, 47 percent of American’s approve how Obama is handling the healthcare reform, and 42 percent do not approve.

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