This historic election has finally come to an end. Barack Obama has defeated Republican John McCain to become the next President of the United States. 

Barack Obama accepts the Democratic party’s nomination to become President of the United States. Here’s the historic speech in it’s enirety:

U.S. District Judge John Bates has just ruled that top aides to President George W. Bush can’t illegally avoid congressional subpoenas. “Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional subpoena,” Bates wrote, according to the Associated Press. Both Harriet Meyers and Joshua Bolten must appear before congress, even if they plan not to testify.

The aides must testify the role the Bush Administration played in the firing of 9 U.S. attorneys last year.

Had this ruling passed, it would have greatly increased the power of the President. Nancy Pelosi called the ruling “very good news for anyone who believes in the Constitution of the United States and the separation of powers, and checks and balances.”

The Administration can still appeal the ruling.

More on this story as it develops…

AP Story, via ABC News >

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/berlinvideo/

Full transcript after the jump.
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Bill Clinton will assist the Obama campaign to help ensure that a Democrat takes the White House in November. The Associated Press is reporting that Bill Clinton said through a spokesman, Matt McKenna, that “President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure Senator Obama is the next president of the United States.” It is unclear what Clinton will specifically do for the Obama campaign, but some speculate that he might actively campaign for Obama. Throughout his wife’s candidacy, the former president was an outspoken critic of Obama, calling him inexperienced and incapable of leading the country. Obama has still not spoken directly with Bill Clinton.

AP News Story >

A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama. From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.

Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges — including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis. Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.

This moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action.

Over the past 18 months, Barack Obama has united a movement. He knows change does not come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Capitol Hill. It begins when people stand up and take action.

With the help of millions of supporters like you, Barack Obama will bring the change we so desperately need in order to solve our country’s most pressing problems.

On the issues that matter most, Barack Obama is clearly the right choice to lead our nation.

We have a lot of work to do in the next few months to elect Barack Obama president, and it begins by making a contribution to this campaign today.

Thank you for joining me,

Al Gore

LIVE TONIGHT — 8:30 p.m. EDT

The Associated Press is reporting that the the United States national debit is increasing substantially, and will top 10 trillion before Bush leaves office next year. It is currently at $30,000 per American.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It’s expanding by about $1.4 billion a day — or nearly $1 million a minute.

What’s that mean to you?

It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.

Full story: (Credit to Associated Press, links to USA Today)

A measure that would have given troops sent to Iraq as much vacation time as the time they had spent in the battle zones failed to pass due to too few Republican votes. With just four more votes, the amendment, proposed by Virginia Senator Jim Webb, would have passed with the required 60 votes. The Bush Administration had threatened to veto the bill if it would have passed, arguing that it would limit the Pentagons ability to deploy the necessary troops to Iraq. The amendment also failed to pass this July, with the support of only 56 of the required 60 senators.

Wyoming Republicans want to join in on the fun too! They’ve announced that they will be holding Primaries on January 5th, making them the first voters in the nation. That puts them ahead of the previous firsts, Iowa and New Hampshire. Wyoming may be first4 now, but it’s not expected to stay there. It’s turning in to some sort of game, a messed up one at that. Holding elections so early would be good for the local economy, due to the candidates campaigning in their towns, but it screws up the whole voting process, because the first votes are usually the ones that determine the parties nominations. Wyoming might also loose half of their delegates, and the Republican National Committee promised to penalize states that hold their votes too early.Currently, South Carolina’s primaries are scheduled to take place on Jan. 19,  Iowa on Jan. 14 and New Hampshire on Jan. 22. Nevada is scheduled for Jan. 19. All of this is expected to change, as all these states join in on this crazy game.

Read AP/Yahoo News article >

Alberto Gonzales, US Attorney General, announced his resignation this morning. He will be leaving office on September 17.

From Wikipedia:

Alberto Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American jurist who is the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. While Bush was Governor of Texas, Gonzales had served as his general counsel, and subsequently he served as Secretary of State of Texas and then on the Texas Supreme Court. From 2001 to 2005, Gonzales served in the Bush Administration as White House Counsel. Amidst several controversies and allegations of perjury before Congress, on August 27, 2007, Gonzales announced his resignation, effective September 17, 2007. (His letter to the president is dated August 26, 2007.) He did not announce the reasons for his resignation. He is the highest-ranking Hispanic in the federal government to date.