Andy Sullivan

Congress paused on Wednesday to thank the air travelers who possibly saved their lives on Sept. 11, 2001 by fighting back against the al Qaeda hijackers who had taken over their plane.

In a brief ceremony, congressional leaders unveiled a plaque inscribed with the names of those aboard United Airlines Flight 93, who forced the hijackers to crash the plane in a Pennsylvania field before reaching its target, presumed to be the Capitol or the White House.

Hijackers diverted the San-Francisco bound plane and pointed it toward Washington that morning as part of a coordinated attack that also crashed three jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The plaque, mounted near the Capitol rotunda, notes that those aboard the plane "not only saved countless lives but may have saved the U.S. Capitol from destruction."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader John Boehner and other lawmakers read out the names of the 40 passengers and crew, occasionally stumbling over the pronunciation of their names.

Marilyn Johnson, a relative of the plane's co-pilot LeRoy Homer Jr., said she was pleased by the recognition.

"You know how people say sometimes, 'Oh, move on,' but I'm happy that people know that this was a great accomplishment. ... We know that our loved ones will never be forgotten," she told Reuters.

Lawmakers later gathered in a nearby hall to sing "God Bless America," the song that also provided a brief moment of unity when they sang it on the Capitol steps in 2001.

"We stand in a building that might not be here but for these heroes," Reid said.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Jonathon Ernst (A flag flies in front of the U.S. Capitol)

Senator Edward Kennedy will be buried on Saturday near his brothers, former President John F. Kennedy and former Senator Robert F. Kennedy, at Arlington National Cemetery.

The site is about 200 feet south of the eternal flame that marks John Kennedy's grave, a popular tourist draw directly across the river from Washington.

Robert Kennedy's gravesite, marked by a simple white wooden cross, lies about 95 feet away.

It was not clear what type of headstone will be on  Teddy Kennedy's site, or whether it will include a granite plaza similar to those of his brothers, a cemetery spokesperson said.

All three sites are on a steep grassy hillside, directly below the graceful mansion that was home to Robert E. Lee, the general who led Confederate troops in the Civil War.

The U.S. government seized the property during the war. As the body count mounted, U.S. generals turned the property into a military cemetery to ensure it would have no commercial value were Lee to return. Lee's son won the property back in court, then sold it to the government for $150,000.

The cemetery now holds the remains of more than 300,000 veterans of all of the nation's wars, from the American Revolution through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are roughly 6,400 funerals each year.

Kennedy will join 155 other members of Congress who are buried at the cemetery.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Jim Young (Funeral planners look over the site where Kennedy will be buried)

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett may no longer be with us, but Congress is still hanging around. Good thing, too, as they've got plenty of work to do.

The House of Representatives is poised to vote today on one of the most significant environmental bills in history. It could be a nail-biter as Democratic leaders are still scrambling to ensure they have enough votes to pass the measure, which aims to wean industry off of carbon-emitting fuels blamed for global warming.

After that it has to clear the Senate, where Republicans will have an easier time derailing it if they so desire.

They're still plugging away on healthcare reform. Senators say they're closer to agreement on a $1 trillion bill that would extend coverage to nearly everyone without adding to huge budget deficits.

On top of that, President Obama wants Congress to tackle immigration and overhaul financial regulation by the end of the year. He also hopes to get Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court by September.

Something's got to give, and that appears to be transportation spending. House Democrats have been working on a $500 billion package that would create a new fund for road repairs and increase spending on transit and rail.

That could require new gas taxes -- never a popular option with voters -- and Obama's told Congress to wait until after the 2010 midterm elections to take it up.

So what's the best metaphor for the transportation bill? Is it:

a. Stuck in traffic?

b. Derailed?

c. In a holding pattern?

photo credit: REUTERS/Nigel Roddis (A tribute to Michael Jackson in London, June 26)

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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford hurt many people when he spent the last weekend "crying in Argentina," as he put it at a press conference yesterday.

There's his family, of course, and his Republican Party, where he had emerged as a rising star.

But there is opportunity in every crisis, as Rahm Emanuel likes to say, and one man stands to benefit from Sanford's downfall: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

Barbour took over as head of the Republican Governors Association yesterday after Sanford resigned the post. From this perch, he can burnish his credentials as a party leader and Washington outsider as he assesses a possible 2012 presidential bid.

Barbour, a former lobbyist, is a longtime party insider who headed the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997, a time when the party's fortunes were rising.

He won high marks as governor for his response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, in contrast to the chaos in neighboring Louisiana and at the federal level.

He opposed taking federal stimulus money earlier this year for unemployment benefits, saying it would eventually force the state to raise taxes. That stance won praise from conservatives worried about runaway spending, though it probably made him less popular with those down on their luck.

Party insider Ron Kaufman said Barbour's reputation for competence could help restore a tarnished Republican brand.

"He's got a very loyal group of people and now he's proven he can govern. He's a serious player," said Kaufman, an adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2008.

"If the byword for the 2008 elections was change, then the byword for 2012 is competence," Kaufman told Reuters.

photo credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Barbour at a dinner for the National Governors Association at the White House, Feb. 22)

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Investigators say it likely will be weeks before they determine the cause of the deadly Washington subway crash.

But the accident, which killed nine and wounded 75 during the Monday afternoon rush hour, has once again highlighted the need to update America's aging infrastructure.

Federal investigators warned Washington's Metro system to replace or upgrade its older cars after a 2004 accident, but the transportation agency said it couldn't afford to retire the 30-year-old cars for another decade.

Now they've changed their tune.

"I think it is urgent, and let's do it as quickly as humanly possible," Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said on ABC's "Today Show." "It's not a small sum of money, but lives are more important than finances."

It will likely cost $1 billion to replace the 290 subway cars that have been in operation since Metro first opened in 1976.

Metro has a hard enough time simply keeping the trains running as it must secure funding from three states -- Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia -- with all the legislative headaches that entails.

Can the federal government help?

Public concerns about government spending are on the rise after a $787 economic stimulus bill and pricey bailouts of banks and automakers.

Congress aims to take up a $450 billion bill to finance long-term transportation spending this summer, but the Obama administration is urging an 18-month delay to allow legislators to focus on healthcare and climate change.

Some in the House of Representatives worry that could delay needed upgrades.

That's not something nervous commuters want to hear.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (Rescue workers at the scene of the June 22 crash in Washington)

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Senate Democrats will take up healthcare again today after a tough week.

Republican opposition is building after independent auditors estimated their initial efforts could cost more and cover fewer than initially hoped, reducing the chance of winning the bipartisan support that could ensure that any reforms will last.

Republican Sen. John McCain gave Reuters a grim prognosis last Friday and said the next few days will determine whether the effort succeeds or fails.

But Democratic Sen. Max Baucus still thinks he can get a bipartisan bill to President Obama by the end of the year.

Today, the Senate Health Committee, which is working on a bill that is likely to be less Republican-friendly than Baucus's effort, will resume work on its bill at 3 p.m.

Folks at the White House have healthcare on the agenda today as well.

President Obama will sign a bill that establishes significantly tougher tobacco regulations in a Rose Garden ceremony.

And Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and two other White House officials appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" to rebut Republican claims that their plan will lead to greater bureaucracy and a reduced level of care.

photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Obama apeaks tothe American Medical Association in Chicago, June 15)

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Millions of Americans could be staring at blank TV screens tomorrow, when broadcasters switch to digital signals.

The U.S. government has spent years preparing for the switch, which aims to free up airwaves for broadband and enhanced emergency communications.

The change-over will only affect those who get their TV over the air, rather than through cable or satellite connections.

But many consumers probably still haven't gotten a converter box which will allow them to watch the new digital signals with their rabbit-ear antennas.

That means they'll miss out on the frothy mix of news and entertainment (newsertainment?) of NBC's "Today Show," where this morning Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin declared she's "absolutely not necessarily" the future of the Republican Party.

In case you're wondering, Palin's still steamed at talk show host David Letterman, who made sexual jokes about her daughter a few nights back.

"It was a degrading comment about a young woman and I would hope people really start rising up and saying it's not acceptable," Palin said.

In Washington, the CEOs of General Motors and Chrysler appear before Congress to explain the process of closing dealerships -- not a popular move with lawmakers who have taken millions in campaign contributions from car sellers.

President Barack Obama meets Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the White House at 3:30.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (Palin joins former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and wife Judith Nathan at a Yankees game, June 7)

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Barack Obama and Joe Biden head to the Midwest today.

The Chinese Gitmo detainees are heading to paradise.

No, they're not winging to heaven to enjoy the company of 72 virgins. The Uighurs, as they're known, are being resettled in various beachy, tropical locales as the Obama administration seeks to empty the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison.

The United States has struggled for months to find a home for the Chinese Muslims, who were scooped up in 2001 during the invasion of Afghanistan. The Uighurs had no beef with the U.S., their lawyers say, but were instead part of an independence movement in China's far west.

China wanted them to face the music back home, but it sounds like they'll be facing the music of Jimmy Buffett instead. The Pacific Island nation of Palau agreed to take on all 17 detainees yesterday; today the Justice Department said four have already been resettled in Bermuda.

Six other Uighurs were sent to Albania in 2006, a former Communist state better known for pyramid schemes and bunkers than beaches. Evidently, good things come to those who wait.

photo credit: REUTERS/Tim Wimborne (footprints on an Australian beach -- not where the Uighurs are going, but possibly what they'll be experiencing).

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No major events are on the calendar today in the Federal City, but on the other side of the Potomac River there's plenty to chew over.

Virginia Democrats on Tuesday night picked State Sen. Creigh Deeds, an unpolished moderate from the rural Shenandoah Valley, over better-funded rivals in the state's gubernatorial primary.

This normally wouldn't be big news, but the Virginia governor's race is sure to get lots of national scrutiny as one of only two major electoral contests this year (along with the New Jersey governor's race).

Virginia, long a bastion of conservative politics, has turned blue this decade. The state has elected two Democratic governors in a row, backed Obama in last year's presidential race, and is now represented by two Democrats in the Senate.

Much of this shift has been driven by rapid population growth in the affluent Washington suburbs, where voters have more in common with liberal New Yorkers than conservative Southerners. Thus it's interesting to note that Deeds, who hails from a sparsely populated, conservative area, defeated two better-funded, more liberal candidates who call Northern Virginia home -- former Democratic party (and Clinton ally) Terry McAuliffe and state Delegate Brian Moran.

Deeds will face Republican Robert McDonnell in the November election. The two have faced off before: McDonnell beat Deeds by a mere 323 votes in the attorney general's race four years ago.

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REUTERS/Chris Wattie      Terry McAuliffe waves at 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver

The year after a presidential election, there's typically few electoral contests on the calendar as politicians focus on getting some work done so they'll have something to brag about to voters during the next election.

The few races that do occur tend to be heavily scrutinized as pundits look for something to chew over in the slow period before next year's congressional midterms.

Today, Democrats in Virginia go to the polls to pick a candidate for the governor's mansion, as incumbent Tim Kaine is constitutionally limited to one term. On the Republican side, Robert McDonnell faces no opposition for his party's nomination.

Virginia, formerly solid red, is now a swing state that has elected successive Democratic governors and backed Democrat Barack Obama in last year's presidential race.

All eyes are on Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman who headed Hillary Clinton's failed presidential bid last year.

McAuliffe has deep pockets and a high national profile and has emphasized economic issues. But he has not played a role in state politics before, and his ties to Clinton could actually be a detriment -- Obama beat her in the state's bruising February 2009 presidential primary.

The other two candidates are less known nationally but have deeper roots in the state.

State Sen. Creigh Deeds, from the Shenandoah Valley, hopes to appeal to rural voters with a moderate record and a pro-gun stance.

Former state delegate Brian Moran, who hails from Alexandria, has run as a liberal who backs gay rights and opposes a new coal power plant.

Polls are inconclusive and turnout is expected to be light, so those pundits should probably not read too much into the result.

Voting ends at 7 p.m.

photo: REUTERS/Chris Wattie (McAuliffe at the 2008 Democratic convenion in Denver)

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