Pelosi Offers Grim Assessment Of Healthcare Bill

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News

The Senate’s version of the health care reform bill will not likely pass in the House unless some changes are made, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her weekly news conference on Thursday.

“I don’t see the votes for it at this time,” Pelosi said. “There isn’t a market right now for proceeding with the full bill unless something changes in the Senate bill.”

When asked if the bill, in its current state, will be passed in time for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address next week, Pelosi said that there are fundamentals included in the Senate’s version that make it problematic for some House members.

“There are certain things that members just cannot support,” she said.

Issues regarding education and economic policy are being pushed aside, but there are a growing number of constituents who believe that a decision regarding health care reform must come sooner rather than later, according to the Speaker.

“We have to get a bill passed, we know that,” she said. “That’s a predicate that we’ve all subscribed to.”

Wednesday Sports Roundup

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Thanks to a great supporting cast, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals rallied back from a 2-1 deficit late in the third period of last night's contest against the Detroit Red Wings to win their third straight game by a score of 3-2.

The Caps were out-shot by the Red Wings 46-23, but still managed to leave Verizon Center with a 'W'. Forward Nicklas Backstrom scored late in the game, evening the score at two a piece. Seconds later, Center David Steckel followed with a score of his own that gave the Caps their first lead of the night. Detroit pulled its netminder with just over a minute to play, but could not capitalize with the extra skater.

The Caps (31-12-6) travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday night to face superstar Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (31-19-1). The game marks a rematch of last year's highly entertaining Eastern Conference divisional playoff series, won by the Penguins in seven games.

Intelligence Community Undergoing Overhaul Following Flight 253, Says FBI Director

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News

Steps are being taken to improve inter-agency communication and the effectiveness of anti-terrorism tools, U.S. intelligence officials said Wednesday during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Together, with our intelligence community and our law enforcement partners, we will learn from and improve our intelligence systems in response to the Christmas-day attack,” said Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert Mueller.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded Northwest's 253 flight partly due to a significant failure of the intelligence community, said Under Secretary of Management for the U.S. Department of State, Patrick Kennedy.

“Information about previous visas issued to him and the fact that he currently held a valid U.S. visa was not included” in a Visa Viper report, Kennedy said. As a result, Abdulmutallab was not red-flagged as a person who should be on the 'no fly' terrorist watchlist. “We slipped up,” he said.

According to Mueller, President Barack Obama directed the FBI to review the visa statuses of suspected terrorists on databases at the Terrorist Screening Center. The FBI will also make recommendations towards improving protocols for creating terrorist watchlists.

“As directed by the President,” Mueller said, “the FBI has joined our partners in the intelligence and law enforcement communities to review our information sharing practices and procedures to make sure that such an event never happens again.”

72 Survivors Found In Haiti, More Relief On The Way

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

72 is the new official number of victims that have been rescued from the rubble in Haiti, U.S. officials told reporters Tuesday. Of these, 40 were rescued by American search and rescue teams.

43 international urban search and rescue teams are still searching Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas for survivors that are trapped in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake.

Major General Dan Allyn, Deputy Joint Task Force Commander, said that nearly 2,000 more American soldiers are on their way to assist in areas west of Port-au-Prince, which have seen limited amounts of help since last week's earthquake. Allyn also said that 4,000 pounds of food and water are on their way, along with the USNS Comfort, a naval ship with full medical capabilities.

“We will continue to do that to expand our reach and reduce the suffering for the people of Haiti,” Allyn said.

Tim Callaghan, a leader for the Disaster Assistance Response Team, stressed that “non-food items” are continuing to make their way to Haiti via military aircraft. Some of the “non-food” items specified include: water containers, plastic tarps for makeshift shelters, mobile water treatment facilities and World Health Organization medical kits.

Callaghan said that the Haitian government is prioritizing the distribution of these relief items to areas they believe are in most need.

Tuesday Sports Roundup

By Benny Martinez-University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Thanks to the New York Jets, Cinderella is still alive in the National Football League (NFL) playoffs. The Jets, led by a strong running game and an equally impressive defensive performance, shocked the home-team San Diego Chargers yesterday 17-14. New York will visit the No. 1 seed Indianapolis Colts in the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game on Sunday. The game is a rematch of a Week 16 regular season contest in which the Jets handed the previously unbeaten Colts their first loss of the season...

In two lopsided National Football Conference (NFC) playoff games over the weekend, the Minnesota Vikings blasted the Dallas Cowboys 34-3, while the New Orleans Saints walked all over the visiting Arizona Cardinals 45-14. In what figures to be a high-scoring battle, the Vikings will visit New Orleans in the NFC Championship game on Sunday. The winners of both conference championships will square off in Super Bowl XLIV on February 7...

The No.1 Texas Longhorns were stunned yesterday by the No. 10 Kansas State Wildcats in one of the biggest upsets of the year in men's college basketball. The Wildcats recently broke into the top-ten in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll. The 71-62 upset marks Texas’ first loss of the season...

In boxing, Welterweight titleholder Andre Berto has pulled out of his January 30 unification fight against “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Berto, a Haitian-American, lost eight family members as a result of the earthquake that devastated Haiti one week ago. “As a result of this disaster, I am mentally and physically exhausted and, therefore, I have no choice but to withdraw,” Berto said. Withdrawing from the fight opens the door for a possible title bout between Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr., which could happen as early as this spring sources say...