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Economy concerns trump Bush's travel plans

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said he canceled his travel plans to Florida and Alabama Thursday to remain in Washington to work on the financial crisis.

"In recent weeks, the federal government has taken extraordinary measures to address the challenges confronting our financial markets," Bush said a statement, citing the government's taking control of home mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and loaned funds to bail out insurance giant AIG.

"Yesterday (Wednesday), the Security and Exchange Commission took action to strengthen investor protections and step up its enforcement actions against illegal market manipulation," Bush said "Last night, the Federal Reserve, in coordination with central banks around the world, took a substantial step to provide additional liquidity to the U.S. financial system."

Bush said the actions were necessary and important and "the markets are adjusting to them."

Americans "can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence, he said.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney would attend fundraisers in Alabama and Florida, but a tour of a waste-to-energy facility in Huntsville, Ala., has been canceled, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Wednesday night.

Congress wants say in bailout decisions

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike are expressing concern at being left out decisions made concerning the U.S. financial crisis.

Lawmakers said they can't control how or when federal money is used to address Wall Street ills, The Washington Post reported Thursday. Although many congressional members say they agree that steps taken have been necessary to prevent further panic, they said they've been relegated to the sidelines.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she has asked House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to determine if Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke should keep authority to unilaterally bail out failing firms, as he did with a loan of $85 billion to insurance giant American International Group Inc. the Post said.

Lawmakers say they're concerned about how bailout decisions are made, particularly since Lehman Brothers' request for federal financial help was denied, pushing the investment house to file bankruptcy.

House Republicans scheduled a news conference to protest the bailouts that began in March with Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns and extended recently to Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and AIG.

Yemeni police arrest 25 in embassy bombing

SANAA, Yemen, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- At least 25 militants with suspected links to al-Qaida were arrested Thursday in the deadly attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, diplomatic officials said.

A diplomatic source told CNN they were aware of reports indicating suspects were in custody, cautioning however that Yemeni security forces usually arrest "the usual suspects, and then nothing comes out of it" after such incidents.

Meanwhile, officials said the U.S. Embassy would resume normal operations Saturday.

Media reports said al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic Jihad in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, CNN said. Sixteen people -- six Yemeni security officers, four civilians and six assailants -- died in Wednesday's assault on the compound that included two bomb-laden vehicles, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.

Yemeni officials say the deadly attack in Sanaa was retaliation by al-Qaida for the government's anti-terrorism efforts.

Foreign Minister Abou Bakr al-Qurbi said, "The attack on the U.S. Embassy was retaliation by al-Qaida for the measures taken by the government to fight the terrorists," The Washington Post said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington the attack had "all the hallmarks" of al-Qaida and that the Yemeni security forces' vigilance prevented a worse outcome.

Poll: McCain less likely to bring change

NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. voters say they think Republican candidate John McCain is less likely to bring about change than his Democratic rival, a New York Times poll indicates.

Results from the New York Times/CBS News Poll released Thursday indicate voters view McCain as a "typical Republican" who would continue or expand President George Bush's policies.

The latest poll found 46 percent of voters thought McCain would continue Bush's policies, while 22 percent indicated they thought he'd be more conservative.

Thirty-seven percent of those polled said McCain would bring real change to Washington, up from 28 percent before the two parties' national conventions. In contrast, 65 percent said Democrat Barack Obama would bring real change to Washington.

Pollsters said the presidential race seems to have settled back to its pre-convention numbers: Obama, an Illinois senator, had the support of 48 percent of registered voters, compared with 43 percent for McCain of Arizona, statistically unchanged from the New York Times/CBS News poll taken in mid-August.

The poll was conducted Friday through Tuesday with 1,133 adults, including 1,004 registered voters.

The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Gallup Poll shows Americans dissatisfied

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A record low 26 percent of U.S. residents surveyed indicated satisfaction with the way the United States was being governed, an annual Gallup Poll indicates.

Showing what Gallup called a continued deterioration in public confidence in U.S. government institutions, the 26 percent was an all-time low for the 8-year-old governance poll and tied a 1973 Gallup reading as the lowest ever.

The yearly survey, conducted Sept. 8-11, seemed to evolve from negative evaluations of the jobs being done by President George Bush (31 percent approval) and Congress (18 percent). The U.S. Supreme Court drew a 50 percent acceptance mark.

On the matter of trust, just 42 percent of Americans said they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the executive branch, similar to last year's 43 percent.

Congress had a 47 percent acceptance figure, the first reading below 50 percent in 15 measurements Gallup has taken since 1972.

At 69 percent, Americans' level of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government remains strong.

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,007 adults nationwide, aged 18 and older, with a maximum margin of error of 3 percentage points.