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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

January 26, 2010

Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes the president to deliver information on the "State of the Union" to Congress. 
Source: U.S. Constitution

No Trial for Obama

Q: Is federal judge David O. Carter starting a trial on Jan. 26 to determine whether Obama is qualified to be president?
A: No. This is yet another bogus claim circulated by persons who cling to a belief that Obama was not born in the U.S.A. The judge threw the case out of court back in October.

January 25, 2010

On this day in 1890, reporter Nellie Bly greeted a crowd in New York 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds after setting sail east to circle the globe.

Source: Library of Congress

January 24, 2010

On this day in 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold near Coloma, California. The discovery was officially endorsed by President James Polk in December that year, launching the Gold Rush.

Source: Library of Congress

January 23, 2010

The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the collection of poll taxes in national elections, was ratified on this day in 1964.

Source: Library of Congress

Pork Radio

Former GOP presidential nominee John McCain is running attack ads again — this time against a fellow Republican who may contest his Senate seat this year.
Hotline’s Reid Wilson has the script for a new radio spot McCain is running against former congressman (and current Arizona radio personality) J.D Hayworth, who has been making moves toward a primary challenge against McCain.
The ad says that Hayworth "sounds conservative on the radio, but J.D. was one of the biggest spenders in Congress.

Enforcing the Individual Mandate

Q: How does health care legislation propose to enforce the individual mandate?
A: The Internal Revenue Service would verify whether individuals meet the requirement to have health insurance, and collect a tax if they don’t.

January 22, 2010

On this day in 1912, Key West, Florida, became linked to the Florida peninsula by the Florida East Coast Railway; the overseas railway was destroyed by a hurricane 23 years later.
Source: Library of Congress

Court’s Decision: Keep FactCheck Busy

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today that corporations can spend as freely as they like in federal elections, a decision that could bring a flood of new ads expressly favoring or opposing candidates in the congressional midterm elections this year.
The opinion in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission throws out a 63-year-old law that attempted to restrain the influence of business and labor in elections and overturns two of the Court’s own decisions.

January 21, 2010

There were between an estimated 39 million and 80 million cases of H1N1 from April through Dec. 12, 2009, and about 7,880 to 16,460 H1N1-related deaths.
Source: CDC