The House of Representatives is expected to vote today on whether Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan) should be censured for his ethics violations, prompting the 80-year-old lawmaker to reach out to his supporters. In an e-mail, he wrote, "Can you make a call for me?" asking them to call the House switchboard and "urge your member of Congress to speak against the sanction resolution and encourage them to vote against the censure on the House floor." more ›

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a bill "intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy," the NY Times reports. However, it was not an easy victory for President Obama: Forty-four Democrats voted against it, while eight Republicans voted for it, with the final vote at 219-212. In his weekly address, Obama noted that the bill will "finally create a set of incentives that will spark a clean energy transformation in our economy...spur the development of low carbon sources of energy - everything from wind, solar, and geothermal power to safer nuclear energy and cleaner coal....new energy savings. And most importantly, it will make possible the creation of millions of new jobs." However, the bill now heads to the Senate, where, the Washington Post warns, "passing climate legislation could prove more difficult." more ›