Senator Sanders

Global Warming Reflecting deep partisan divisions in the Senate over the issue of global warming, Democrats on the environment committee pushed through a climate bill on Thursday without any debate or participation by Republicans.  Sen. Bernie Sanders told Vermont Public Radio that he's disappointed that all of the Republicans on the Environment Committee boycotted the vote on a bill he said will cut greenhouse gas emissions and create millions of new, good-paying jobs. LINK

Climate Change The Republican boycott "was a stark demonstration of the Republicans' failure to engage seriously with the issues of the day," the Rutland Herald editorialized. "Sen. Sanders understands the nature of the problem," the editorial added. He said, "Our challenge is to move toward energy independence and energy efficiency and sustainable energy by substantially reducing greenhouse emissions and, in the process, creating millions of good-paying jobs." LINK

Health Care While Congress won't be enacting a national Medicare-for-all system, supporters said a few glimmers of hope remain. Still alive is an amendment from Sen. Ron Wyden that allows states to ask for a waiver to create their own universal coverage plan. Single-payer advocates say it doesn't appear to give states full authority to implement such a plan, but Sen. Bernie Sander may offer an amendment giving states that authority, according to the Missoulian. LINK

Election '09 - N.Y. "If Bernie Sanders, the socialist independent from Vermont, tried running in Utah, he'd get his butt handed to him. If these wing-nuts start running around the country like this person who knocked off your candidate in upstate New York...you start getting a lot of candidates like that coming out of the woodwork, you're going to lose a lot of elections, aren't you?" Chris Matthews said on MSNBC. RNC Chairman Michael Steele replied: "Hey, Chris, what kind of hangover did you have last night, man?"

Lucky to Have Leopold "Jonathan Leopold is an extremely skilled financial manager, and Burlington has been very fortunate to have his services for 10 years in the 1980s under Mayor Bernie Sanders and for the past four years...The citizens of Burlington owe Leopold a lot of gratitude, not the finger-pointing and self-righteous scapegoating that we have seen recently," Martha Abbott wrote to The Burlington Free Press. LINK

International

Mideast Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Thursday that he would not seek re-election, the latest sign that the Obama administration's drive to broker a Middle East peace accord has fallen into disarray, The New York Times reported. LINK

Afghanistan A series of internal government reviews have presented the Obama administration with a dire portrait of Afghanistan's military and police force, bringing into serious question an ambitious goal at the heart of the evolving American war strategy - to speed up their training and send many more Afghans to the fight, according to The New York Times. LINK

World Unemployment Up Despite signs of an economic revival gathering pace around the globe, the millions of people laid off during the worst recession in 70 years are unlikely to see relief any time soon as joblessness is still climbing in many of the world's largest economies, The Associated Press reported. LINK

National

Unemployment at 10.2 % The unemployment rate to 10.2 percent in October, the highest level in more than 26 years as employers cut more jobs than forecast, a sign the labor market continues to struggle as the economy emerges from a deep recession. The Labor Department said Friday that nonfarm payrolls fell by 190,000 last month, with the largest job losses in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade.

Obama to Sign Jobless Aid President Barack Obama is set to sign a $24 billion economic stimulus bill providing tax incentives to prospective homebuyers and extending unemployment benefits to the longtime jobless who have been left behind as the economy veers toward recovery, The Associated Press reported. President Obama will meet with the House Democratic Caucus on Saturday to make a last-ditch appeal for health care reform, according to Roll Call. LINK and LINK

Health Care - House House Democrats are scrambling to secure enough support to pass President Barack Obama's historic health overhaul initiative, working to soothe last-minute concerns from rank-and-file Democrats ahead of a make-or-break vote, AP reported. LINK

Senate Defeats Guantanamo Trial Restrictions The Senate voted Thursday to defeat a measure that would have blocked five Guantanamo Bay detainees accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks from getting trials in federal courts, AP reported. LINK

Senate to Take Up Military Spending Bill, Judicial Nomination The Senate will vote Monday on a long-lingering judicial nominee and consider a spending measure funding military construction projects. The $134 billion appropriations measure, which also funds the Veterans Affairs Department, could be approved before the Senate adjourns Nov. 11 for a brief Veterans Day recess, Roll Call reported. LINK

Flu Shots for Wall Street New York City health officials scrambled to explain themselves on Thursday in the wake of media reports about bankers who got scarce H1N1 flu vaccines through their employers. Members of Congress fired off letters demanding immediate explanations and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminded state and city health officers of the need to make sure the most vulnerable people get shots first, Reuters reported. LINK

Vermont

EPA New England Chief Named The former executive director of a Rhode Island environmental group has been chosen to lead the regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.President Barack Obama selected Curt Spalding, former leader of Save the Bay, to be New England's top environmental official. Spalding will oversee federal environmental programs in the six New England states, AP reported. LINK

Stewart Ledbetter, 76 A former U.S. Senate candidate who once served as Vermont's banking and insurance commissioner has died. Stewart Ledbetter died yesterday. He was 76. Ledbetter served in the administration of Gov. Richard Snelling and won the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy in 1980. He lost in a close race, The Associated Press reported. LINK

No Moran Museum The Green Mountain Children's Museum, one of three partners with the city of Burlington in the redevelopment of the Moran power plant, said Thursday that it is pulling out of the project. Mayor Bob Kiss said the museum's decision will not derail the plan approved by voters in 2008, The Burlington Free Press reported. LINK

No Flanagan Charges State Sen. Edward Flanagan will not face criminal charges for allegedly engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct at a Burlington health club in August, a prosecutor said Thursday, according to The Burlington Free Press. LINK

Visit Vermont Sen. Leahy is playing cyber travel agent for Vermont. Leahy last month unveiled a touch screen information kiosk at his office in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. It's the same technology found at Welcome Centers in Vermont and links to the state's official tourism site, according to the Valley News. LINK

Smugglers Notch Closed Can winter be far behind? The Vermont Transportation Agency said Vermont 108 through Smugglers Notch from Stowe to Jeffersonville is closed, perhaps for the season. Officials don't know whether the road will be opened again before spring, The Associated Press reported. LINK