15SU N DAY, NOV E M BER 1, 2009T H E E X A M I N ER
INTELLIGENCE
By Darlene Superville
The Associated Press
President Barack Obama said
Saturday that reports the economy
is growing again and that more than
1 million jobs were saved or created
by his stimulus plan show "we are
moving in the right direction."
But he tempered his upbeat mes-
sage with a cautious word about
further job losses and progress yet
to be made.
Unemployment hit a 26-year high
of 9.8 percent in September, and
the October report due next week
could show it topping 10 percent.
The government reported this
week that the economy grew 3.5
percent from July through Sep-
tember, the first signs of growth
in a year and unofficial confirma-
tion that the economic slide that
began in December 2007 is over.
Separately, the White House said
Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan
-- a mix of spending and tax cuts
-- had saved or created more than
1 million jobs.
That news, "while not cause for
celebration, is certainly reason
to believe that we are moving in
the right direction," Obama said
in his weekly radio and Internet
address.
"It is easy to forget that it was
only several months ago that the
economy was shrinking rapidly and
many economists feared another
Great Depression," the president
said.
Obama's assessment came a
day after an independent federal
board reported that nearly 650,000
direct jobs have been saved or cre-
ated because of stimulus program
money provided to businesses,
contractors, state and local gov-
ernments, nonprofit groups and
universities.
The new data released late
Friday represents 156,614 federal
contracts, grants and loans worth
a total of $215 billion that went
to more than 62,000 recipients.
The largest number of jobs were
created or saved by state govern-
ments. About half of the reported
jobs were among teachers and
other education employees. With
state budgets in crisis, federal aid
helped governors avoid major cuts
in education, which officials said
spared many teachers and school
workers from the unemployment
line.
Signs of economic
growth highlighted
NO TRICK
POLITICS White House
By Devlin Barrett
The Associated Press
Attorney General Eric Holder
says a lawsuit in San Francisco over
warrantless wiretapping threatens
to expose ongoing intelligence work
and must be thrown out.
In making the argument, the
Obama administration agreed with
the Bush administration's position
on the case but insists it came to
the decision differently. A civil lib-
erties group criticized the move
Friday as a retreat from promises
President Barack Obama made as
a candidate.
Holder's effort to stop the
lawsuit marks the first time the
administration has tried to invoke
the state secrets privilege under a
new policy it launched last month
designed to make such a legal argu-
ment more difficult.
Under the state secrets privilege,
the government can have a lawsuit
dismissed if hearing the case would
jeopardize national security.
The Bush administration invoked
the privilege numerous times in
lawsuits over various post-9/11
programs, but the Obama admin-
istration recently announced that
only a limited number of senior
Justice Department officials would
be able to make such decisions. It
also agreed to provide confidential
information to the courts in such
cases.
Under the new approach, an
agency trying to keep such informa-
tion secret would have to convince
the attorney general and a panel
of Justice Department lawyers
that its release would compromise
national security.
Holder said that in the current
case, that review process convinced
him "there is no way for this case to
move forward without jeopardizing
ongoing intelligence activities that
we rely upon to protect the safety
of the American people."
The lawsuit was filed by a group
of individuals who claimed the gov-
ernment illegally monitored their
communications. To proceed with
the case, Holder said, would expose
intelligence sources and methods.
Holder said U.S. District Judge
Vaughn Walker, who is handling
the case, was given a classified
description of why the case must
be dismissed so that the court
can "conduct its own independent
assessment of our claim."
The attorney general said the
judge would decide whether the
administration had made a valid
claim and "we will respect the out-
come of that process."
That is a departure from the
Bush administration, which
resisted providing specifics to
judges handling such cases about
what the national security con-
cerns were.
Kevin Bankston, a lawyer for
the Electronic Frontier Founda-
tion, a civil liberties group in San
Francisco that is pursuing a simi-
lar lawsuit against the government,
called Holder's decision "incredibly
disappointing."
"The Obama administration
has essentially adopted the posi-
tion of the Bush administration in
these cases, even though candidate
Obama was incredibly critical of
both the warrantless wiretapping
program and the Bush adminis-
tration's abuse of the state secrets
privilege," said Bankston.
Obama administration: Toss wiretap lawsuit
By Ben Feller
The Associated Press
It's the ultimate trick-or-treat-
ing treasure, that one house on the
block that offers the coolest candy
and surprises galore.
This year it's the big gated place
on Pennsylvania Avenue, No. 1600.
There's no mailbox out front, but
every little kid knows who lives
there.
Welcome to the White House,
boys and girls.
President Barack Obama and
first lady Michelle Obama awaited
more than 2,000 children Saturday
night from the District of Colum-
bia, Maryland and Virginia. The
kids were to get to do their trick-or-
treating on the most famous front
porch in America, the North Por-
tico, with the Obamas planning to
spend time handing out goodies.
The word is that the president
and the first lady didn't plan to
dress up in costumes. But don't
rule out the chance that some
youngsters might dress up as the
Obamas.
The early evening extravaganza
was to include outdoor entertain-
ment and activities for the children
and their families, so all the young-
sters won't be lining up at once for
candy.
Later, in the East Room, the first
couple were to be joined by Vice
President Joe Biden and his wife,
Jill, at a Halloween reception for
military families and for the moms
and dads who work at the White
House, along with their kids.
It's the first White House Hal-
loween for the Obamas' daughters,
8-year-old Sasha and 11-year-old
Malia.
Halloween brings
2,000 children to
the White House
AP PHOTO/ED ANDRIESKI
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says a lawsuit in San Francisco over warrantless
wiretapping threatens to expose ongoing intelligence work and must be thrown out.
AP PHOTO/MICHAEL CONROY, FILE
The government reported this week
that the economy grew 3.5 percent
from July through September.
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