
Under pressure to show quick results from the economic stimulus, the White House is taking credit for starting to build hundreds of rural water systems nationwide.

Facing criticism for her handling of federal stimulus money, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she would not start any new border construction projects while the department reviewed how projects were selected.
State transportation officials agreed Thursday to support a private company's bid to make passenger trains that would run on President Barack Obama's proposed high-speed rail network.

White House economists said Thursday that the Obama administration's recovery efforts have saved or created more than 1 million jobs, an estimate that underscored a cautiously optimistic forecast about the direction of the economy.
A California company that makes solar panels will receive a $535 million federal loan guarantee, allowing it to complete the first phase of a new manufacturing plant in Fremont.

Vice President Joe Biden proclaimed success beyond expectations for the $787 billion economic stimulus, but his glowing assessment overlooks many of the program's problems, including delays in releasing money, questionable spending priorities and project picks that are under investigation.
President Barack Obama ordered federal officials to disclose their contacts with lobbyists trying to influence how the government doles out money to jump-start the economy. Yet few such communications have been reported even though lobbyists say they are busier than ever with the multibillion-dollar stimulus.
"Cash for Clunkers" isn't the only economic stimulus program to attract a lot of takers.

Georgia's Republican senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, voted against the $787 billion economic stimulus package, blasting the bill as a bloated government giveaway.
The federal government sent about 3,900 economic stimulus payments of $250 each this spring to people who were in no position to use the money to help stimulate the economy: prison inmates.

The Obama administration said Friday that two Democratic senators falsely took credit for steering millions of dollars to projects in their home state, even as officials acknowledged that the Homeland Security secretary met with the lawmakers and discussed financing the projects.
Teach for America and programs like it could benefit from a $650 million competitive grant fund for school reforms pushed by President Barack Obama.
Eleven states have said no to charter schools, one of the education reforms President Barack Obama backs. They may soon be paying a penalty for that choice.
Some investors and market watchers say the stock market may have overestimated the prospects for an economic rebound — and share prices could be due for a big pullback.

Jackie Harpst expected a busy summer at her nonprofit housing agency, as work crews backed by Nebraska's share of $5 billion in federal stimulus money headed out to seal windows and spread insulation.
The Obama administration used economic stimulus money to pay for 50 airport projects that didn't meet the grant criteria and approved projects at four airports with a history of mismanaging federal grants, a government watchdog said Monday.

President Barack Obama talks about economic recovery for this economically ravaged region of northern Indiana with NBC Chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd.

AsPresident Obama returns to Elkhart CountyWednesday, msnbc.com looks at some of the promises he made on his last visit – and his progress in fulfilling them. By msnbc.com's John W. Schoen.
A top Republican congressman says the government needs a "kick in the pants" to get federal stimulus money focused on repairing dilapidated bridges.

Tens of thousands of unsafe or decaying bridges carrying 100 million drivers a day must wait for repairs because states are spending stimulus money on spans that are already in good shape or on easier projects like repaving roads, an Associated Press analysis shows.
On a scale of zero to 100, it can't get worse than the big goose egg.

How much are politicians straining to convince people that the government is stimulating the economy? In Oregon, where lawmakers are spending $176 million to supplement the federal stimulus, Democrats are taking credit for a remarkable feat: creating 3,236 new jobs in the program's first three months.
A sampling of major international companies that are positioned to make new passenger trains in the U.S.

