WASHINGTON -- Vice President-elect Joe Biden said yesterday that he has chosen a close adviser of more than 25 years as his counselor and has picked two other longtime political advisers for key posts in his office.
Michael C. Donilon, who was part of Biden's debate-preparation team and served as his traveling adviser during the general-election campaign, was named counselor to the vice president. Donilon has worked as a strategist on numerous political campaigns, including Douglas Wilder's successful campaign for Virginia governor in 1989 and Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992.
Terrell P. McSweeny will serve as domestic-policy adviser to the vice president, according to a statement from Biden's office.
Evan M. Ryan will be assistant to the vice president for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison, according to the statement.
Specter expects tough fight for his Senate race in 2010
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., says he is ready for a tough re-election race in 2010, whether it is against Chris Matthews, a pundit for MSNBC, or someone else.
Specter, 78, declined to speculate on whether he would face Matthews, who was reported to have met with Pennsylvania Democratic Party leaders last week about a run. But Specter, a moderate Republican, said he expected challenges from the left and right as he pursues a sixth term.
"I never look over my shoulder, never look behind. Somebody may be gaining on me. I run with blinders. I'll be prepared, whoever my opponents are," Specter said on CNN's Late Edition.
Houston called source of drug-cartel weapons
HOUSTON -- Houston has become a firearms marketplace for Mexican drug cartels, according to federal law-enforcement officials.
Gangsters have spent millions in Texas on military-style weapons and ammunition that are being used in the cartels' clashes with Mexican police, government and residents. Houston has emerged as a buyers' haven.
"Our investigations show Houston is the top source for firearms going into Mexico, top source in the country," said J. Dewey Webb, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Houston division, in a story yesterday in the Houston Chronicle.
Sex offender at center of dispute may be freed
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A sex offender whose lenient sentence for molesting a child led to a crackdown on punishment for sexual predators in Vermont is likely to be released from prison next month, state corrections officials say.
Mark Hulett is expected to be released Jan. 2, but he will remain under the state Corrections Department's supervision for life and could return to prison if he commits another offense or violates conditions of his release.
Judge Edward Cashman was criticized by legislators and Gov. Jim Douglas when he sentenced Hulett, then 34, to 60 days for sexually assaulting the daughter of a family friend numerous times during a four-year period beginning when she was 6. Cashman, now retired, said he had wanted a short prison sentence so Hulett could get the sex-offender treatment that the Corrections Department would not provide behind bars.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement