Daily Democratic Wire 12-26-2009

George Wenschhof

The White House put out a statement saying it appears the man who attempted to detonate a device while on board a plane headed for Detroit had al Qaeda ties - the Nigerian boarded the plane in Amsterdam where the flight originated. Interestingly, the man was allegedly on "watch lists" for terrorists but managed to board without a thorough search. Reuters.com has more here.

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President Obama and his wife Michelle visit Marines on Christmas Day - while vacationing in Hawaii, they stopped by the Marine base to say hello to the troops as they were enjoying Christmas dinner. Politico.com has more here.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill also paid an unexpected visit to Walter Reed Medical Center in D.C. - while there they helped serve the traditional Christmas dinner to the troops recovering there. TheHill.com has more here.

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Reason to prevail in pregnancy orders issued by a General in Iraq - seems Major General Anthony Cucolo was concerned over losing soldiers when they became pregnant and issued a order saying they could be subject to court martial if the became pregnant along with the man involved if he was a soldier. General Ray Ordierno who is in charge of operations in Iraq will be issuing new guidelines absent of those written by Cucolo. The NY Times has more here.

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Stocks close prior to Christmas at highest level in 14 months - the Dow Jones closed at 10,520.10 amid reports of a weaker dollar and a fall in unemployment claims. MSNBC.com has more here.

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