The House of Representatives today approved a bill to fund the hiring of 50,000 new police officers over the next five years that was introduced by New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner along with Bainbridge Township GOP Rep. Steve LaTourette. The bill - approved in a 342-78 vote - would [...]

Armond BudishCOLUMBUS -- House Speaker Armond Budish is floating a plan to increase a fee being charged to Ohio hospitals in the next budget with the goal of eventually guiding $200 million more in federal Medicaid dollars back in their direction.

Associated PressRep. Dennis KucinichWASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who likes to use the campaign sound bite "Buy American or Bye-Bye America," uses a Panamanian company for his congressional campaign Web hosting, his latest campaign finance report shows.
Plain Dealer FileJennifer Brunner (left) and Lee Fisher (right) have been competing for donors and fundraisers since they in the seven weeks since announcing their intentions of running for the U.S. Senate in 2010.
Marcia Fudge


Courtesy Phoenix BooksThe cover of Dennis Kucinich's autobiography "The Courage to Survive."Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the publisher of his 2007 autobiography, titled "The Courage to Survive."

Gene Blythe/Associated PressA charter bus carrying the Bluffton University baseball team rests on its side after plunging off a highway ramp two years ago in Georgia. Of the 36 people on board, seven were killed. Rules designed to improve motorcoach safety and avoid such deaths have stalled in Congress.

J. Scott Applewhite/Associated PressRep. Dennis Kucinich said he could not support President Obama's budget.WASHINGTON — Congress last night approved the budget blueprint of President Barack Obama, with a few changes, largely along party lines. But Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich was one of 20 Democrats voting with Republicans -- not'
Marvin Fong/The Plain DealerOhio Gov. Ted Strickland toured Louisa May Alcott Elementary School in Cleveland in January.

AP fileState Sen. Jon Husted
COLUMBUS — State Sen. Jon Husted says he wants the job of Ohio's top elections official so he can eliminate the need for it.


PD fileRep. Marcy Kaptur
WASHINGTON — Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur hopes to make the jump from CSPAN to the silver screen this fall in an upcoming Michael Moore documentary on the financial crisis.

Susan Walsh/Associated PressDemocratic Rep. George Miller of California, left, and Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa announce the Employee Free Choice Act this month in Washington, touting it as a way to restore American workers' rights. Opponents say the bill would do just the opposite: trample on the rights'
PD fileRyanWASHINGTON — Add this to the latest round of Ohio political rumor-mongering: a Washington Post politics blog 
PD fileBrown
PD fileSteve LaTourette
Armond BudishCOLUMBUS -- It comes around every two years, like the Olympic Games or a really good scary movie. State lawmakers are again pondering the wisdom of allowing drilling for oil and gas on state park land.
Doral Chenoweth III/Associated PressChildren in this April 9, 2008, photo play in their back yard near the coal-fired American Electric Power plant in Cheshire, Ohio. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown wants to provide incentives for manufacturers to adopt green technologies, but still opposes caps on carbon dioxide emissions, saying they
Photo courtesy of American Electric Power American Electric Power's coal-fired Muskingum River plant is located near Beverly, Ohio. Coal-fired plants account for 68 percent of AEP's generating capacity.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown has introduced a bill to provide grants and loans to manufacturers so they can adopt energy-efficient
Jack Plunkett/Associated PressU.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and musician WIllie Nelson -- shown above at a 2004 Kucinich fundraiser -- lost their challenge to a Texas loyalty oath requirement.Austin, Texas — A federal appeals court ruled today that the Texas Democratic Party has the right to impose a loyalty oath
Joshua Gunter/The Plain DealerVisitors to last year's Cleveland National Air Show participate in the Virtual Army Experience, a game that simulates a battle scene. The exhibit will not be at the air show this year.

PD fileCoughlin Politicians with an eye on higher office are energizing the debate over how the state draws legislative boundaries, long manipulated by the party that controls Columbus.
Associated PressStricter building codes are tied to nearly $100 million in stimulus money.

Shari Lewis/Columbus DispatchGov. Ted Strickland opposes the new casino proposal: "I really don't envision anything that is likely to change my mind."Columbus — Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday slammed the latest
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U.S. Rep. John Boccieri
PD fileJosh MandelThe cost of a cup of coffee is on the rise and the increase has nothing to do with Starbucks.
The 
Associated PressAIG offices in New York.

Plain Dealer File Gov. Ted Strickland wants to take a portion of the money Cleveland schools would receive from the economic stimulus plan and spread it statewide.
Lisa Hamler-Fugitt had grim numbers to match the grim look on her face Thursday in the Statehouse hallway.

Elizabeth Flores/The Star TribuneAL Franken speaks tat a rally on March 4.ST. PAUL, Minn. — Testimony in the long-running Minnesota Senate