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Washington (CNN) - Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, blasted national reporters Wednesday for focusing on trivialities instead of the war in Afghanistan.

While delivering a speech, Kennedy spotted only a handful of reporters sitting in the press gallery overlooking the House floor. But because House floor debates are televised, reporters often monitor the proceedings from their desks outside the chamber where they can more easily take notes and work on computers.

'The time for talk is over. It's time to vote,' President Obama said Wednesday in Missouri.

St. Charles, Missouri (CNN) - President Obama took his increasingly populist health care overhaul pitch to the political battleground state of Missouri Wednesday, turning up the heat on private health insurers in a speech.

"What we're proposing is a common-sense approach to protecting you from insurance company abuses, and saving you money," said Obama, his shirtsleeves rolled up in the 75-degree heat. "That's the proposal and it's paid for. I believe Congress owes the American people a final up-or-down vote on health care reform."

He added, "The time for talk is over. It's time to vote."

Obama said many of the changes would be paid for by cutting waste in health care, which he said is estimated to have cost taxpayers almost $100 billion last year.

He likened the national debate about proposed changes to the current system to previous debates that swirled around the topic, including the passage of Medicare in 1965, and before.

"We've been debating it for 70 years," he said.

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(CNN) – The Republican congressman who lost to New York Democrat Eric Massa in 2008 announced Wednesday that he will not run again for the now vacant seat.

"Over the last week, I have heard from hundreds of my former constituents urging me to run for my old congressional seat," Randy Kuhl said in a written statement. "Their emotional plea to me was humbling and most appreciative. But, after careful consideration, I have decided to forgo a run for Congress. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me during my 28 years of public service."

In the statement, Kuhl also urged his neighbors and friends to support Republican Tom Reed's candidacy for Massa's old seat. Reed announced his bid prior to Massa's surprise decision last week not to seek re-election in November which was followed by another surprise announcement that Massa would resign effective Monday evening.

–CNN's Deirdre Walsh and Martina Stewart contributed to this report.

House Democrats said Wednesday they will ban earmarks directed to for-profit companies.

Washington (CNN) - House Democrats said Wednesday they will ban earmarks
directed to for-profit companies.

The move, announced by the Appropriations Committee and its Defense subcommittee, would apply to government spending bills Congress is considering for next year. But the committee said in a written statement the new rules are also "intended to become a long term proposition."

Out the door will be earmarks directed to private firms, many of them military contractors who frequently obtain multi-million dollar, no-bid contracts through the process. Instead, those companies will be allowed to
apply directly for funding to the Defense Department, which will decide what projects it wants to fund.

Defense earmarks include research proposals, systems upgrades and equipment production.

The Appropriations Committee said the earmark restrictions would have prohibited 1,000 earmarks this year, amounting to $1.7 billion.

In addition to the ban on earmarks aimed at for-profit businesses, the Appropriations Committee said it plans greater oversight of earmarks going to non-profits, directing executive agencies to audit 5 percent of all of those earmarks to make sure they are, in fact, being used as intended.

"Earmarks" refer to federal funding designated for particular projects, with taxpayer money allocated by members of Congress to home-state and home-district projects, often with an eye toward re-election.
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(CNN) - Add another Republican to the race for Vice President Joe Biden's old Senate seat.

Christine O'Donnell formally announced her candidacy Wednesday. O'Donnell, a conservative commentator and marketing consultant who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2006 and 2008, had been talking about running again since last summer. She will now face off for her party's nomination against Rep. Mike Castle, Delaware's 9-term at-large congressman and a former 2-term governor of the state,

"Delaware voters deserve a candidate who understands that governments can't spend their way to recovery and they cannot tax the country into prosperity. That is why I have made the decision to run for US Senate," said O'Donnell at a kick-off event at the University of Delaware's Wilmington campus. "The problem is we don't have enough elected leaders who understand that, far too often, the actions of Congress kill job growth and lead to higher taxes and bigger deficits."

Castle's campaign tells CNN that "Mike welcomes all candidates who enter the race for United States Senate and looks forward to this campaign. He is committed to keeping both Congress, and this campaign, focused on solutions to issues that voters care about– economic growth, runaway federal spending, and getting Delawareans back to work."

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Washington (CNN) - Rep. Bart Stupak, the pro-life Democrat from Michigan who has made legislative language over abortion funding a flashpoint in the debate over health care reform, is now facing a primary challenger from the left. Connie Saltonstall, a former Charlevoix County commissioner and retired businesswoman from Charlevoix, Mich. who announced her primary challenge Tuesday.

"The main issue is he was willing to sacrifice health care reform because of abortion funding," Saltonstall told CNN. "He's been my congressman for many years. I have compromised voting for him because of his position on choice. Health care and choice are two issues I am especially concerned about."

Saltonstall also says she will continue her campaign regardless of the final abortion language in the health care bill, or Stupak's vote.

"The people in our district lost trust in him. At dinners, he did powerpoint presentations on health care telling us he was going to introduce amendments, but telling us he would support health care regardless of the amendment. But then when the amendment passed, at his press conference he stated if his amendment language was not included, he would take the bill down. He has continued to say he would not vote for the health care bill unless his language was put in," she explained.

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Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday said the annual State of the Union address has ‘degenerated into a political pep rally.’

Washington (CNN) – Simmering tension between the White House and the Supreme Court spilled into public this week when Chief Justice John Roberts labeled the political atmosphere at the recent State of the Union address "very troubling."

With six members of the court just a few feet away in the audience, President Barack Obama used the occasion to directly criticize the conservative majority's ruling in a campaign finance case.

Roberts told students at the University of Alabama on Tuesday that such partisanship at the annual address in Congress leaves him questioning whether members of the court should continue to attend, as most do, in accord with tradition.

"It does cause me to think whether or not it makes sense for us to be there" said the 55-year-old Roberts. "To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we're there."

Roberts was among the five justices who ruled in favor of loosening previous congressionally mandated restrictions on so-called "corporate" spending in federal elections. The decision opened up spending for a range of corporations, unions and advocacy groups.

The White House was quick to attack Roberts indirectly, focusing on the ruling itself, and Obama continued the criticism in his address, saying, "With all due deference to the separation of powers, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections."

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Washington (CNN) – Call it "back wax-gate."

The Democratic National Committee is out with a new Web video Wednesday poking fun of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's recent suggestion that his primary opponent Marco Rubio might have charged a back wax to the tab of the state GOP.

Rubio's spokesman Alex Burgos has denied Crist's allegation that a $134 charge on Rubio's Republican Party of Florida credit card might have included a back waxing.

"Marco paid $20 for a haircut with a razor on the neck, and he bought some items that went into a silent auction, including gift certificates," Burgos said.

Burgos said the salon in question, Churchill's Barber Shop, sells "travel kits and other gift sets that people usually buy around the holidays as gifts."

Rubio's denial hasn't stopped the DNC from trying to make hay of the increasingly contentious race between Crist and Rubio.
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Washington (CNN) - What's on the mind of the man often called "Bush's Brain"? In an interview with CNN Wednesday, Rove wondered if the Tea Party movement will help, or hurt, Republicans. And he said his former ally-turned-critic, onetime White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, is talking "strange."

The former senior adviser to President Bush told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the Tea Party movement is a wide and diverse group, but said he worries the movement might harm the GOP.

"It will hurt the Republican Party if some elements of the Tea Party decide to become third party advocates, because it will split the conservative vote," he said.

Despite that concern, Rove said he believes the vast majority of tea partiers "are trying to figure out, in a decentralized, grassroots way, how they can remain a force, a movement, that holds the feet of elected officials in both parties to the fire."

Meanwhile, Rove was reserved in responding to fresh and stinging criticism from McClellan - Rove's first time doing so.

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Utah Sen. Bob Bennett is facing a blitz of robocalls by the anti-tax Club For Growth.

Washington (CNN) - The anti-tax Club for Growth has started a blitz of robocalls attacking Utah Sen. Bob Bennett, a three-term incumbent being challenged on his right flank by multiple Republican candidates.

"Since Utahans last sent Sen. Bob Bennett to Washington, he voted to bail out Wall Street, voted for billions in wasteful spending like Alaska's 'Bridge to Nowhere,'" the 30-second call says. "Even joined with liberals supporting big government healthcare."

A spokesman for the Club said the calls have been going out for about a week.

"Had enough?," the call asks, before telling listeners to "vote for a change" in the state's March 23 Republican precinct caucuses. Those caucuses will determine delegates to the state GOP convention, where the party's Senate nominee will be selected.

The script is the same as an anti-Bennett television ad launched by the Club last week.

Update 5:25 p.m.: When reached for comment, campaign spokesman Jim Bennett told CNN that, "Bob Bennett is leading the fight against Obamacare. This is simply more of the same dishonest nonsense from an out-of-state special interest group trying to tell Utahns how to think. It's dirty politics, and Utah voters are smart enough not to fall for it."

New York (CNNMoney.com) - The Senate on Wednesday approved a wide-ranging bill that would push back the deadline to file for extended unemployment insurance until year-end and extends dozens of expired tax breaks.

The bill, passed by a 62-36 vote, is the latest job creation effort to go before lawmakers, though it contains virtually no new initiatives. Its price tag has wavered between $140 billion and $150 billion, which is partially offset. Its next stop is the House.

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Actress Reese Witherspoon is in Washington today to tackle some tough issues.

Washington (CNN) – Reese Witherspoon is getting serious.

Witherspoon told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday about her quest to stop violence against women around the world. She said she isn't alone in her fight.

"I think when you have strong powerful women standing up and speaking out about these issues, not to mention how many women represent us in the Senate and the House of Representatives, you're going to start to see a major change in these areas," stated the actress.

The actress is in town to attend the 2010 International Women of Courage Awards along with First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Witherspoon is a representative of the Avon Foundation and is partnering with the non-profit group Vital Voices to shine a light on the difficult issues women face as a result of abuse.

Watch the full interview at 6 p.m. EST on "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."

Andrew Young, a former aide to Sen. John Edwards, could soon be sent to jail.

Washington (CNN) - In the ongoing political drama involving sex, lies, videotape and John Edwards – a judge in North Carolina added a new level of suspense: a threat of jail time.

Former Edwards aide Andrew Young could soon be sent to jail, along with his wife, for contempt of court. State Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones said he wants a full explanation of how the couple handled items sought by Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter, including a purported sex tape between her and the two-time presidential candidate, according to CNN affiliate WTVD in Raleigh-Durham.

On the stand, Young pleaded he'd turned over all the items being sought, telling the judge, "I swear I'm trying to tell you the truth." He added, "It's been a long time ago."

The purported sex tape between Edwards and Hunter is among the bombshells Young makes in his book, "The Politician." Edwards previously admitted having an affair with Hunter and, later, admitted being the father of Hunter's daughter.

New York (CNNMoney.com) - The United States dropped a record $220.9 billion further into the red in February, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

The shortfall was up from the previous record $193.9 billion shortfall in February last year.

It's the 17th straight month that the U.S. government has posted deficits. The last time the government posted a monthly surplus was in September 2008, when the government reduced the deficit by $45.7 billion.

The cumulative deficit for fiscal 2010, which started in October, reached $651.6 billion, up from $589.8 billion in the same period the year before. The Obama administration is forecasting that the deficit will hit $1.56 trillion this year.

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Former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images)

Washington (CNN) - Aside from a moral obligation, improving the health of people in other nations is smart foreign policy, former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday.

"We live in an interdependent world in which we have learned the hard way that no matter how brilliantly our forces perform, we can not kill, jail or occupy all of our adversaries," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in discussing why the issue of global health should be important to the United States.

"We have to build a world with more partners and fewer adversaries," Clinton said. "That's what foreign policy's about. ...if people think you care whether their children live or die, you don't have to send our young people off to war as often," he said.

He and Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft and the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, testified on global health before the committee. Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation, which works on global initiatives, including the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative.

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John McCain scored another high-profile endorsement Wednesday.

Washington (CNN) - Another high-profile Republican is backing Sen. John McCain's bid for a fifth term in the Senate.

McCain's campaign announced Wednesday that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has endorsed the Arizona Senator.

"As we continue to face tough challenges both at home and abroad, America needs leaders like Senator John McCain in the United States Senate," said Bush. "John is a proven conservative leader committed to reducing taxes, fighting wasteful spending and keeping America safe."

McCain is facing a challenge on his right from former Arizona congressman and talk show host J.D. Hayworth.

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Is it possible to be a fake Tea Partier?

Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) - It's a grassroots protest movement composed of the newly politicized and people distrustful of hierarchy. So how is it possible to be an illegitimate Tea Party member?

Ask Republicans in Nevada. Some are accusing Jon Scott Ashjian, a new Tea Party candidate running for U.S. Senate, of being a fake. The allegation? He was put in the race by agents of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to siphon votes from the GOP.

"No doubt about it", says Danny Tarkanian, one of the many Republican senate candidates hoping to challenge Reid in November. "Nobody in the Tea Party knows who he is. He didn't know any of the principles of the Tea Party," Tarkanian tells CNN. He even accuses "Harry Reid's staff, campaign, whatever" of picking Ashjian because he's Armenian, as is Tarkanian. He explains, "They know the Armenians are very close they'll vote for each other."

Sue Lowden, the Republican front-runner in the Senate primary according to recent polls, is the former Nevada Republican Party chair and seems to be the Republicans' best hope of unseating Harry Reid in November. Or at least she did, until Ashjian got into the race. Lowden says she's been very active with Tea Party groups in Nevada. "I am a Tea Party voter, absolutely." Which is why she tells us she finds it "a little strange" that Ashjian is emerging now. "I don't know who this person is. He's never been involved with anything that I'm aware of in this state." She doesn't know if he's a spoiler. "We'll find out for sure," she promises, adding "I've never seen him at one of our tea parties, by the way."

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Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias visited the White House Tuesday.

Washington (CNN) - The Democrat who hopes to keep President Obama's old Senate seat blue was at the White House on Tuesday.

Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois State Treasurer and Senate candidate, met with administration officials while he was in Washington, D.C. for a Greek Independence Day celebration.

"My meetings today at the White House have been very productive," Giannoulias said in a statement. "I want to help the president change the broken system here in Washington."

Giannoulias will face Republican Rep. Mark Kirk in November, and has in recent weeks faced a series of questions about his role in the management of his family's bank.

White House Press Secretary offered measured support for Giannoulias when asked about the visit.

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New York (CNNMoney.com) - A total of 30 states and Washington, D.C., reported rising unemployment rates in January, down from the number in the previous month, according to a government report released Wednesday.

Jobless rates decreased in nine states, according to the Labor Department's monthly report on state unemployment. Eleven states reported no change.

In December, 43 states reported monthy jobless rate increases.

Twenty-five states posted jobless rates lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.7% in January. Eleven states and Washington, D.C., reported rates higher than the national average, down from 17 states and Washington, D.C. posting rates higher than the national average of 10% in December.

The report said all 50 states had an unemployment rate in January that was higher than a year earlier.

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