Moving Forward

Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill as Republicans Back Down

WASHINGTON — After years of fierce lobbying and debate, Congress approved a bill on Wednesday to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and others who became sick from toxic fumes, dust and smoke after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

The $4.3 billion bill cleared its biggest hurdle early in the afternoon when the Senate unexpectedly approved it just 12 days after Republican senators had blocked a more expensive House version from coming to the floor of the Senate for a vote. In recent days, Republican senators had been under fire for their opposition to the legislation.

The House quickly passed the Senate bill a few hours later, as was widely expected. The vote was 206 to 60, breaking down largely along party lines. The White House said President Obama would sign the bill into law.

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Arms treaty approval is another win for the White House

Eleven days after the bruising midterm elections, President Obama got a stark reminder of how his political shellacking at home could undermine his standing abroad. Obama was meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev at a hotel in Yokohama, Japan, after an economic summit. The improved relationship with Russia was one of Obama's main foreign policy achievements, and its centerpiece was a new nuclear-weapons agreement the two had signed in April.

Now the Russian leader wanted to know whether the treaty was in trouble in the U.S. Senate.  "President Medvedev was wondering what the election would mean, in terms of ratification. It's fair to say they were nervous," said one U.S. official who was in the meeting. "That had an impression" on Obama, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

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Economic Growth Exceeds Forecasts

The economy grew slightly faster than the government previously estimated in the third quarter, and forecasters have been raising growth projections for the fourth quarter and for 2011.  Optimism about the U.S. recovery has grown sharply in the past month, fueled by a series of economic reports showing everything from consumers spending more freely to businesses curbing layoffs.

The nation's gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced by the economy, rose 2.6% in the third quarter compared with the 2.5% growth the government previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. This followed 1.7% growth in the second quarter.

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'Don't ask, don't tell' is repealed by Senate; bill awaits Obama's signing

The U.S. military will for the first time in history allow gays to serve openly after the Senate voted Saturday to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," the policy that has required such troops to hide their sexual identity or risk being expelled from the services.

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Obama says tax deal will help middle-class

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says a tax cut package that's about to become law will give a much-needed holiday-season boost to middle class Americans and spur the ailing economy.  The president called the deal "real money that's going to make a real difference in people's lives."  Obama spoke Friday before signing the $858 billion bill that retains Bush-era tax rates for all, while extending unemployment benefits and cutting the Social Security tax.  The president negotiated the deal with Republicans, infuriating many liberals. Nonetheless the House passed it easily late Thursday, a day after the Senate did the same. A rare bipartisan assembly of lawmakers joined Obama for the signing ceremony at the White House.

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OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network STARTS 1/1/11




Oprah Winfrey has been on TV for coming up on 25 years. For an hour a day, she's been bringing "live your best life" television right into your living room. It's been great, hasn't it? Well now it's time for what's next. Not just for Oprah but what's next for you.  OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network will be a 24/7 cable network devoted to self-discovery, to connecting you to your best self and to the world. That's right. 24/7. All day and all night. Whenever you want. TV designed to bring more better into your life. 

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Make sure the channel is listed in your area:  Click here to find the channel

In addition, Oprah has launched "Your OWN channel."  This is a place were anyone can upload video and talk about the things that interest them.  Who knows, maybe your story will become an inspiring one and become a premier on her new network!  Hats off to Oprah.  To upload your video click the following link:  http://myown.oprah.com/community/channel/index.html

How to Get Financially Fit in the New Year .

It's time to think about getting in financial shape in 2011. Vague resolutions and good intentions won't do it. You have to have a plan. Stumped for ideas? Here's a 12-month agenda.  No, it's not comprehensive. But it's doable.  Each month, set one financial target and hit it. Easy, manageable -- and it means this time next year you'll be looking back on 2011 with some satisfaction.

JANUARY: Max those savings! Financial planners argue you should be saving 15% or more of your income each year. Set your 401(k) contributions to the highest level you can handle. At least contribute up to any company match, and ideally push the limits -- $16,500 if you're under 50, $22,000 if you're over. If you are self-employed, or have self-employment income, talk to a broker about special tax-savings vehicles open to you, including Solo 401(k) plans, SEP-IRAs and Keoghs

FEBRUARY: Target your cash flow. Get out all your statements and check stubs for 2010 and work out where all your money went. Chances are you spent more than you planned, or maybe realized. Restaurants, shopping, premium cable, car payments -- it all adds up. If you want to get control of it, you have to understand it. Now set a budget, and talk to your family about ways to cut back and save more.

MARCH: Live without plastic for a month. Lock up your credit and ATM/debit cards. Generations lived without the spending ease and convenience of plastic. It is no coincidence they found it much easier to live within their means. Try it. Set a weekly budget, cash a check for that amount at the bank each week, and live on it. Unless you are traveling -- where a card can be invaluable -- you may find it easier than you imagined. Once you get used to it, keep going.

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UBR Morning Post: New Inspiration From Chris Gardner

This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Contributor Renita Young speaks with brokerage firm founder and multimillionaire Chris Gardner, whose autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, was brought to life on the silver screen by Hollywood box-office star Will Smith in 2006. Gardner's journey from homeless single father to investment industry mogul is one of the most inspirational stories of our time. After a period of homelessness, Gardner started Chicago-based and NASD registered private stock brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co. LLC with just $10,000 and one piece of furniture in 1987.

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Single-Minded: Class Acts
Helena Andrews has always had a pretty good idea what class she doesn't belong to.


"Do you consider yourself low class, middle class or high class?"

In 1988 I had no clue what this question meant, and more than 20 years later I'm still confused. Back then, as far as classes went, I was in Mrs. Hall's third grade at Avalon Elementary on Catalina Island. I was the only black kid in the room, the whole school, the whole town, the whole island. The class to which I belonged was the least of my worries. But for some reason my baby sitter, Eve, wanted to know how I ranked myself.

"Low class" didn't seem right because then, as now, I had a natural affinity toward superiority. That was my mother, Frances, in me. She corrected any and all bad habits. It wasn't "I'm fin'stah ga outside"; it was "I'm about to go play." It was never "there it go" when I pointed to a lost doll in the corner of my closet. It was "there it is." Your Barbie's not "going" anywhere.

Plus, I was smart, which again, according to Frances, was a natural deterrent to anything possibly low rate or lowbrow. Being smart would get me over. "You're smart; you can figure it out," she'd say if I didn't understand something I'd read or seen or heard. Those answers frustrated me so much then. Why can't you just tell me? Why do I have to figure anything out when you're right here?

Like the whole "low class" question. No, I definitely wasn't low class.

But I knew we weren't "high class," either, because, well, that was obvious. At the time, we lived in a two-room apartment-motel with a bathroom down the hall. Across the street were the new condos where my "friend" Shonda lived. I secretly hated her because she was a shameless show-off who cheated at the games she made up. Shonda lived with her father and his girlfriend in a two-story "apartment home" with carpet and a fancy bathroom where we once found a "sponge" resting on the ledge of the tub

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