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IN THE HEADLINES

With both Clintons dominating the convention's next 2 days, Hillary faces new GOP attacks ... Republicans debate platform shaped by conservative base as well as by McCain ... Biden stops by Delaware breakfast, offers mea culpa for past mistakes ... Caroline Kennedy says her uncle went through a lot to get to Democratic convention

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Clinton faces new GOP attacks ahead of her speech

DENVER (AP) -- Republicans on Tuesday invoked Hillary Rodham Clinton's past criticism that Barack Obama wasn't ready to lead as Democrats faced two days at their national convention to be dominated by the old Clinton regime.

Clinton, Obama's former rival for the nomination, was expected to urge her disappointed supporters to line up in unity behind Obama in a prime-time speech to the Democratic National Convention. Her husband, former President Clinton, speaks to the convention on Wednesday night.

Some Democratic activists, meanwhile, voiced concern that the convention, which began on Monday, had yet to produce a sustained or effective attack against Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

In particular, they cited comments by former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, who also was to address the convention Tuesday night, suggesting that his speech would not be a red-meat attack on McCain but an appeal for bipartisanship.

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GOP base exerts influence on platform

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Republicans on Tuesday debated election principles influenced by their conservative base as well as by presidential candidate John McCain.

They were taking ats to rally behind Barack Obama's quest for the White House.

The senator, 76, has been battling brain cancer, but his niece said he was "doing unbelievably."

"What it took for him to get here was something I never thought I'd see in my life," Caroline Kennedy said in an interview aired Tuesday morning on CBS' "The Early Show."

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama meets with voters in Kansas City, Mo.

Joe Biden attends events at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain addresses the American Legion National Convention in Phoenix.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"I've never been a team. I should've been a one-man band." -- Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, noting how he's not used to playing a supporting role.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

The Pepsi Center seats 20,000 in its enclosed arena.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)  APTV 08-26-08 1150CDT

"Are you strong enough to be my man, or my president?" Crow sang to her party's nominee and his newly announced running mate.

But don't expect any quick solutions from the two-day special session.

Governor Rod Blagojevich says the budget plan lawmakers sent him spends $2 billion more than it takes in.

But the Democratic-controlled House has rejected the governor's ideas for new revenue -- like expanding legalized gambling or leasing the state Lottery to a private vendor.

Democrat Lou Lang of Skokie predicts that reluctance will continue.

House Speaker Michael Madigan has planned hearings before the full chamber tomorrow on Blagojevich's ideas.

Blagojevich has threatened $1 billion or more in cuts if lawmakers don't authorize new revenue.

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have been taking their competing economic plans to Hispanic voters meeting in Washington.

In a speech to the League of United Latin American Citizens, McCain said he favors lower taxes because he feels that "jobs are the most important thing our economy creates." He adds that his plan to "get America moving again" is aimed at small businesses.

Obama, in his prepared remarks to the same group, says he favors a tax cut for workers and small businesses while "ending tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas."

The Democratic candidate also says McCain's plan "will make you pay taxes on your health care for the first time ever."

A recent AP-Yahoo News poll has found that Obama leads McCain among Hispanics, 47 percent to 22 percent with 26 percent undecided.

The governor was surrounded by more than a dozen preschool aged children when he signed the measure Monday.

He says he was moved when he attended his own child's preschool graduation and wants other children to have a similar opportunity to begin early learning.

The law includes $380 million in funding for the next fiscal year.

Blagojevich says attending preschool helps children narrow the achievement gaps, promotes learning in later school years and helps prevent anti-social behavior.

The chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education says he hopes the funding will help the state remain a national leader in preschool education.

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Do/did your children attend preschool?  Did you attend preschool?

Should we extend public education to include younger children?

The new state budget is to take effect Tuesday. It includes spending increases for public schools, college scholarships and medical providers who treat low-income patients.

In fact, the budget increases state spending at a greater rate than its expected revenue growth. The state is able to do that by tapping into money left over from previous years.

Read the whole article HERE

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Will you be directly affected by any budget changes this year?

CHICAGO (AP) -- Federal investigators looking into allegations of "pay-to-play" politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration interviewed the governor on "multiple occasions," according to newly unsealed documents.

In the interviews Blagojevich told authorities he did not make incriminating remarks to two government witnesses who testified at the trial of political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, Rezko's attorneys said in the documents.

The documents were unsealed Thursday by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. Rezko, a prominent fundraiser for Blagojevich and Sen. Barack Obama, was convicted earlier this month of squeezing companies wanting to do business with the state for bribes and kickbacks.

The governor met two times with federal agents, most recently "nearly two years ago," said Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero.

Blagojevich has not been charged with any wrongdoing and has repeatedly denied trading state contracts and jobs for campaign contributions.

CHICAGO (AP) -- As news spread of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday to strike down Washington D.C.'s handgun ban, one thing was clear in Chicago: The city's own ban now faces a challenge as serious as any in its 26-year history.

From a visibly angry Mayor Richard Daley to a federal lawsuit filed within hours that challenges the Chicago's ban as unconstitutional, there was no mistaking that the high court's 64-page opinion puts the city's law squarely in the middle of a long legal battle.

While swift, the lawsuit certainly wasn't a surprise given that Justice Stephen Breyer, in his dissenting opinion, noted "Chicago has a law very similar to the District's."

"In the sense the Supreme Court has found this is an individual right to bear arms, we recognize (the ruling) is a significant threat," said Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city's law department. "It gives people an opening to challenge the ordinance in a way it hasn't been challenged in many years."

Hoyle said the high court's decision does not invalidate Chicago's law and attorneys are confident they can successfully fight off any legal challenge to the 1982 ordinance that makes it illegal to possess or sell handguns in the city.

"We have very strong legal arguments to make at every level of the courts," pointing out, for example, that the gun law constitutes a reasonable restriction for a densely populated urban area.

But Hoyle fully expected legal challenges.

The 2003 e-mail obtained by The (Springfield) State Journal-Register calls for dismissing a Republican Sangamon County Board member from the Illinois Department of Transportation because of his party affiliation.

The administration of Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich says it just shows that if someone is hired because of politics, he can be fired for politics.

William Moss Senior was fired four months after the December 2003 e-mail.

Seventeen former IDOT workers say in a lawsuit they were fired illegally for political reasons. IDOT says they were not needed after a department reorganization.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

As soon as it failed yesterday in the state Senate, Republican leaders began attacking Democrats.

For instance, House Republican leader Tom Cross accused Democrats of arranging to let key legislators vote while still protecting Governor Rod Blagojevich from any possibility of being recalled.

And the Republican Party accused congressional candidate Debbie Halvorson of failing a leadership test on the issue -- even though she voted for the amendment.

GOP chairman Andy McKenna says all Democrats share responsibility for problems in Springfield. He expects Republican candidates to argue that Democrats are now linked to the governor because they denied voters a chance to recall him.

But the election is still six months away, and the recall amendment might be a distant memory by then.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

But they did so only after turning down several efforts to expand the budget.

They defeated an effort to set aside $120 million for potential tax credits to bring a Canadian airplane maker to Kansas City. They also defeated an attempt to add more than $4 million in back pay for probation and parole workers in compliance with a court ruling.

Also defeated was an attempt to pay for dental and vision benefits for adult Medicaid recipients.

The Senate version differs from the House version of the budget in numerous spending amounts. That will give negotiators leeway to craft a final budget during the next few weeks.

The House voted 75-33 Tuesday for a proposed constitutional amendment that would let voters approve or shoot down the recall option in November's election.

Lawmakers say it's in response to unhappiness with Governor Rod Blagojevich's leadership and fighting with legislators over the last year.

They say voters should decide whether constitutional officers and lawmakers are so inept in office they should be removed.

But critics say it's an overreaction to a political dispute. They fear the recall option could be abused to increase political influence at the Capitol.

The measure now heads to the Senate.

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The bill is HJRCA28.

Illinois Legislature: www.ilga.gov

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- Two lawmakers are seeking to ban mixed martial arts competitions for children, after The Associated Press reported last month that Missouri appears to be the only state where youth matches are legal.

The sport, also known as cage fighting, is a blend of martial arts styles made popular by cable television's Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Republican state Reps. Bryan Stevenson, of Webb City, and Steve Hunter, of Joplin, are sponsoring the measure.

"I think it borders on child abuse. I just don't think it's appropriate behavior at all," Stevenson said.

He said that while he has never attended a youth fight, he has seen video clips.

Read entire article HERE.

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Have you attended a "cage fight" or know someone who participates?

Should there be an age cutoff?  What would it be?

What kind of regulation should there be for this sport?

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A proposed constitutional amendment barring state judges from ordering tax increases passed the House on Thursday, but just barely.

The measure would specifically prohibit Missouri courts from directing the Legislature or other governmental entities to raise taxes or spend money, except as approved by legislation or a vote of the people.

The Republican-led House voted 82-68 to send the measure to the Senate. Eighty-two votes is the minimum number needed for passage.