Gore signs on to teach. Ex-vice president to work at Columbia, Fisk and Middle Tennessee State. He has the ultimate insider’s perspective, Sreenivasan said. He has stories that no one else could tell. More NBC News.

The Asian Effect: Schools Put Lunar New Year on Party List. Classrooms throughout Southern California will celebrate, a sign of how ethnic makeup has changed. One of Southern California's most dramatic demographic shifts of the last two decades will show up vividly in schools today as classrooms celebrate the Asian lunar New Year with red envelopes, sticky rice cakes and colorful mock-ups of snakes.

In Garden Grove and Westminster classrooms, celebrations of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, have become as common as shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day or tacos on Cinco de Mayo, principals said. More LA. Times.

Jan. 24, 2001: Asian-Americans celebrate the Year of the Snake. On the lunar calendar, and in the calendars of a large and growing percentage of Bay Area residents, today is New Year's Day.

Many Asian-Americans, especially those with Chinese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese roots, have spent a month preparing for a new beginning that's described as Thanksgiving, New Year's and Christmas rolled into one. More SJMN.

Jan 23, 2001: Powell takes FCC reins. Michael Powell, the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, was tapped on Monday by President George W. Bush to head the Federal Communications Commission, where he will oversee the telecommunications and cable industries. The 37-year-old Michael Powell, a Republican, has been a commissioner at the FCC since November 1997 and was expected by industry representatives to become chairman in a Bush administration, succeeding William Kennard, who resigned the post last week. More CNN.

Jan. 22, 2001: First day for ‘citizen’ Bill Clinton. First day out of office, he’s greeted by chants of ‘Eight more years’. The newly former president said he wanted to spend the next week making plans and, describing himself as tired, said he would be sleeping a lot. More NBC News.

Speedy appearances at inauguration balls characteristic of Bush. A new day has dawned in Washington, and it is shorter than the one that preceded it. And at the open house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on Sunday afternoon, Bush cheerfully greeted visitors, just as Bill Clinton had done eight years before. But while Clinton extended the smiling and handshaking to three and then four hours, Bush confined his activity to roughly two.

Clinton was known to chatter with his aides into the wee hours and, within a few months of moving into the White House, had ordered the kitchen to stay open late. Bush likes to be in bed by 10 p.m. And while that perhaps owed more to discomfort than haste, it was nonetheless a metaphor for Bush's personal and professional style, so different from Clinton's. More SJMN.

Jan. 21, 2001: Seniors celebrated Vietnamese New Year, the year of the Snake in San Jose. About one hundred Vietnamese seniors enjoyed Vietnamese foods and got gifts at Vietnamese American Council on Saturday noon while watching Vietnamese video. The luncheon has been funded by Santa Clara county for the several years as nutrition program. Nutrition program is operated across the country by each county. Thanks to Bon Liquors on Santa Clara street and Kim Loi Video Production donation, a dozen of seniors came home with a bottle wine and Vietnamese CD and videos for winning at the ticket draw. HVM News.

For Tet, Little Saigon's Partying Hearty. O.C.'s Vietnamese community hosts one of the nation's biggest lunar New Year celebrations. Orange County's Little Saigon remains the hottest spot in America where Vietnamese try to congregate for Tet.

The business and cultural hub is home to more than 3,000 shops and is the epicenter of the largest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam. A cultural parade and two festivals--one this weekend at the Westminster Civic Center, and a three-day festival that begins Friday at Garden Grove Park.

And although there are festivals elsewhere in the nation, Westminster's is the biggest. Last year, one of Orange County's two main Tet festivals attracted at least 60,000 people. By comparison, a crowd of about 50,000 attended the Tet festival in San Jose, home to the second-largest Vietnamese community in the nation. Houston attracted an estimated 25,000 to its festival and about 2,000 people attended Minnesota festivities.

Duong, who has only seen her aunt twice in two decades, shopped for fruit, sesame candies, fake paper clothes and gold last week. On Wednesday, she gathered with friends and other relatives for a feast and ceremony to honor Ong Tao--the kitchen god--with prayers, lighted incense and offerings of food.

Legend has it that one week before Tet, the chief guardian spirit of the hearth returns to heaven to report on the family's activities over the past year, and the family either gets awarded or punished for its deeds. More LA. Times.

Culture of sharing. About 30,000 family members and friends gather in Westminster to celebrate Tet, a tradition of the Vietnamese New Year. More OC. Register.

Bush assumes the presidency. George W. Bush became the nation’s 43rd president Saturday, promising to build a single nation of justice and opportunity. Bush, only the second president in U.S. history to hold the same office as his father, said he will not accept nor allow a situation in which our differences run so deep it seems we share a continent but not a country. In the 15-minute inaugural address, briefer than most, Bush also sought to outline his goals. More NBC News. Full text of Bush’s inaugural address. Inaugural video diaries.

Clinton gets a rousing farewell. In an emotional farewell address at Andrews Air Force Base, the former president said, You gave me the ride of my life and I tried to give as good as I got. More NBC News. Full text of Clinton’s departure remarks.

SF Mayor Willie Brown fathers child with staff member. SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor Willie Brown says he is going to be a father again. Brown, 66, has been separated from his wife, Blanche, for 20 years and said he does not plan to divorce or get remarried. He has three grown children and two grandchildren. Brown said he wants to protect the privacy of Carpeneti, a 38-year-old divorced mother. More Seattle P-I.

Jan. 20, 2001: Vietnamese New Year Enlivens Westminster. The festival will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and Sunday, presented by the Union of Vietnamese Student Assns. of Southern California. Attendance in the past has topped 50,000 per weekend, said Lt. Mitch Waller of the Westminster Police Department. More LA. Times.

Bush promises Inauguration Day emphasizing unity. After months of campaigning, and weeks of waiting for an electoral outcome, President-elect George W. Bush is just hours away from being sworn in as the United States' 43rd president.

For the new president, Saturday's public schedule was to begin with a traditional worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House. Next, coffee at the White House with outgoing President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, the Democrat whom Bush so narrowly defeated. More CNN.
Full coverage, live video online from MSNBC.

Clinton cuts deal to avoid indictment. As part of a deal to ensure he is not indicted after he leaves office, President Bill Clinton admitted for the first time Friday that he made false statements about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during sworn testimony in the Paula Jones lawsuit. The admission brings to a close almost eight years of legal scrutiny by three independent counsels, but it also requires Clinton to give up his Arkansas law license for five years. More NBC News.

Jan. 19, 2001: Clinton keeps farewell short and `full of hope'. President Clinton addressed the nation from the Oval Office for the last time Thursday, reveling in his achievements and urging his successor to follow his lead in dealing with the economy and the world. More SJMN.

IF MONEY RUNS OUT. In doomsday plan, lights would be off 12 hours a day. This week's blackouts pale in comparison with the doomsday plan revealed Thursday by PG&E, which envisions hospitals and police without power for six hours a day and everyone else plunged into darkness for twice that long -- unless the utility continues to get help from the state. More SJMN.

Hi-tek is gone, but not forgotten. Anti-communist protests 2 years ago raised Little Saigon's political consciousness and encouraged young Vietnamese-Americans to lead. WESTMINSTER -- Two years ago Thursday, Truong Van Tran raised a picture of Ho Chi Minh in his video store and with it the ire of the Vietnamese community.

Every day for nearly two months, thousands of Vietnamese- Americans came out to protest the display of communist icons, until Tran was forced to shut his Bolsa Avenue store on March 11, 1999. The 53-day Hi-tek protests were a watershed event in the Vietnamese community because they raised awareness of the community's political consciousness, revealed the intolerance for communism and prodded the younger generation toward leadership roles, observers say. More OC. Register.

Jan. 18, 2001: Jackson admits to illegitimate child. Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson on Thursday confessed to an extramarital affair that resulted in the birth of a daughter who is now 2 years old. More NBC News. Rev. Jesse Jackson’s statement.

Veteran Peterson to keep ambassador's post. HANOI -- Pete Peterson, the former prisoner of war who became the first U.S. ambassador to communist Vietnam, said today that he has agreed to stay on in Hanoi. More SJMN.

Hanoi hesitant to join U.S. policy on China. HANOI -- The new U.S. administration of George W. Bush is expected to take a tougher approach toward China. And Vietnam, a nation with a long history of tension with its giant neighbor to the north, could play an important role in any U.S. attempt to reshape its Asian policy.

But the Vietnamese also are signaling their reluctance at being drawn into any new alliances against China. That diplomatic hesitation may have been behind Hanoi's last-minute cancellation this week of a visit by Adm.

Dennis Blair, the commander of all U.S. military forces in Asia and the Pacific. Blair was on a tour of Southeast Asia that has been widely seen as part of exploring a regional alignment that could be part of a U.S. policy to balance or contain Chinese domination of the region. More SJMN.

Jan. 17, 2001: Speeches helped Powell build wealth. Gen. Colin L. Powell has amassed a fortune of at least $27.3 million since he retired from military service seven years ago, thanks largely to speaking fees that last year alone brought in $6.7 million from a variety of corporations, trade associations and universities, according to his financial disclosure forms. More Wash. Posts.

Theodore Roosevelt, black Civil War hero awarded Medal of Honor. President Clinton posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to a pair of distinguished veterans of 19th Century wars Tuesday, as he recalled the battlefield exploits of famed "Rough Rider" Teddy Roosevelt and Andrew Jackson Smith, a black Union soldier previously unrecognized for his service.

Honey Hill was regarded as one the most hard-fought battles of the South Carolina campaign. One eyewitness wrote that "One could walk on the dead for over a mile without touching the road."

"Sometimes it takes this country a while, but we nearly always get it right in the end. I am proud that we finally got the facts," said Clinton. More CNN.

Jan. 16, 2001: Ashcroft got draft deferment for teaching. POSITION WAS ARRANGED BY FRIEND OF HIS FATHER'S. When John Ashcroft faced induction into the Army in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, he sought an occupational deferment from his local draft board on the grounds that his civilian job was critical. More SJMN.

Jan. 15, 2001: Nation pauses to remember civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Many people across the United States are spending their day Monday observing the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, set aside to commemorate what this year would have been the slain civil rights leader's 72nd birthday. More CNN.

Jan. 14, 2001: Ashcroft, judge have longstanding feud. Nine years ago, then-Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft had enough support in the Legislature to pass a ban on most abortions, but young Democratic House member Ronnie White outmaneuvered him and killed the measure. The clash was the start of a contentious relationship that crested in 1999 when Ashcroft succeeded in persuading the Senate to keep White, now a Missouri Supreme Court judge, off the federal bench. More SJMN.

Latinos struggle locally for representation. REPORT: The number of elected Latino officials in O.C. dropped from 30 to 24 between 1996 and 2000.

California has elected a Hispanic lieutenant governor and Assembly speaker, but there are no Latinos on the Orange County Board of Supervisors or the Anaheim City Council, which serves a city that is 40 percent Hispanic.

One in four in the California Assembly is Latino, while one in 19 city council members in the county is Latino. Hispanics make up 30 percent of the population in the county. In 20 years, they are expected to surpass whites to become the largest ethnic group. More OC. Register.

Jan. 13, 2001: Why Bush nominated John Ashcroft. So why has he chosen for his attorney general John Ashcroft, whose staunch conservative views are anathema to civil rights, abortion-rights and gun-control advocacy groups? Because Bush is staying true to his core values, supporters say. More NBC News.

Ashcroft-Carnahan Exchange. Following is the exchange of correspondence between Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., and the man her late husband defeated on Election Night, John Ashcroft. Ashcroft, a Republican, asks Carnahan in a handwritten note to introduce him at what is expected to be a contentious confirmation hearing next Tuesday. More ABC News.

Dec. 12, 2001: Tax group estimates Clinton's lifetime pension at $7.29 million. The National Taxpayers Union estimated Clinton's lifetime pension payout based on an insurance actuarial formula that predicts that someone of his age, health and profession should live to the age of 82.

If Bush, now 54, serves four years, his projected lifetime pension payout would be $6.6 million.

"The pensions give the president the power of discretion in choosing how they want to conduct the remainder of their days. We would not want to live in the world in which former presidents were compelled to work for the highest bidder." More CNN.

Jan. 11, 2001: Bush picks Chao for labor secretary, Zoellick for trade representative. President-elect George W. Bush has chosen longtime public servant Elaine Chao, 47, as his new designee for labor secretary and Robert Zoellick as U.S. trade representative, he announced at a news conference Thursday in Washington.

Chao is a onetime deputy transportation secretary, director of the Peace Corps and former president and CEO of the United Way charitable organization. She is married to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, whose connections could prove helpful during the confirmation process following the difficulties experienced by Bush's first choice for the position, Linda Chavez. More CNN.

Katherine Harris Denies Partisanship. Florida Secretary of State Says She Has No Plans To Join Bush Administration. In her first interview since she became a lightning rod for criticism in the battle over the presidential election, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris denies any wrongdoing, partisanship, or abuse of discretion in her moves to certify George W. Bush as the winner of her state's contested vote for president.
Watch Sawyer's exclusive interview with Harris on PrimeTime Thursday . It airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET. More ABC News.

Jan. 10, 2001: With Freeh, Mistrust Was Mutual. Relations Soured Over FBI's Role: For or Against Administration? Relations between president, FBI director soured over agency's role. At issue was a fundamental question: Was the FBI a loyal part of the administration or a hostile force against it? More Wash. Post.

Jan. 9, 2001: Chavez bows out from Labor post. She says she didn’t want controversy to distract Bush .Linda Chavez, center, is surrounded by people she assisted during difficult times in their lives shortly before announcing her withdrawal as nominee to become labor secretary on Tuesday. More NBC News.

Chinese government says Tiananmen papers are fake. "It would also be futile to try to cover up the fact that these documents are real documents," said Nathan, a professor of political science at Columbia University. "I sympathize with the authorities. At this point, the book has just been published. They really cannot know whether they're real or not, but as they research the matter, they will find that they are real documents."

The papers are said to be based on minutes of secret meetings, intelligence reports, and logs of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's phone calls. They detail conversations Deng, who ordered the 1989 crackdown, had with other Communist leaders. More CNN.
The Tiananmen Papers. Introduced by Andrew J. Nathan by Foreign Affairs Magazine. Visions of China by CNN.

S.J. mayor taps associate Shirakawa for vice mayor. GONZALES ALSO NAMES FORMER RIVAL DANDO TO LEAD FINANCE PANEL. The mayor also chose District 3 Councilwoman Cindy Chavez to chair the committee on education, neighborhoods, youth and seniors. He handed the chair of the economic development and environment committee to newly elected District 2 Councilman Forrest Williams. More SJMN.

Powell defends Tufts speech, says he didn't know about Syrian connection. Powell volunteered that the $200,000 speaking fee for the speech, as reported in the Jerusalem Post, was overstated.

Secretary of State-designate Gen. Colin Powell on Tuesday defended a speech he gave at Tufts University shortly before the election that was funded by a Lebanese government official who is also a businessman with close ties to the Syrian government. "I was a private citizen at the time," he said. "It was before the election and I had accepted the speech even before the primaries." More CNN.

Jan. 8, 2001: Chinese government says Tiananmen papers are fake. "It would also be futile to try to cover up the fact that these documents are real documents," said Nathan, a professor of political science at Columbia University. "I sympathize with the authorities. At this point, the book has just been published. They really cannot know whether they're real or not, but as they research the matter, they will find that they are real documents."

The papers are said to be based on minutes of secret meetings, intelligence reports, and logs of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's phone calls. They detail conversations Deng, who ordered the 1989 crackdown, had with other Communist leaders. More CNN.
The Tiananmen Papers. Introduced by Andrew J. Nathan by Foreign Affairs Magazine. Visions of China by CNN.

Chavez Is Under Fire Over Illegal Immigrant. Chavez was not aware of the woman's illegal status in the 1992-1993 period, said Bush spokesman Tucker Eskew. Bush, who learned about the illegal immigrant yesterday after ABC News reported it, will "absolutely" stand behind the Chavez nomination, Eskew said. More Wash. Post.

Bush backs his embattled pick for labor secretary. President-elect Bush expressed support Monday for Linda Chavez, after Democrats raised questions about her suitability as labor secretary given that she allowed an illegal immigrant to live with her family a decade ago.

The transition team also volunteered that Chavez had provided support to two Vietnamese refugees and for the children of a Puerto Rican woman living in New York. It is against the law to knowingly hire illegal aliens, and employers can face sanctions for doing so. It is also against the law to harbor an illegal immigrant. More NBC News.

Dec. 5, 2001: Beijing Signals New Flexibility on Taiwan. Comments Appear Aimed at Bush. In an interview timed to coincide with the formation of a new U.S. government, Qian said China's emergence as a regional Asian power is "irresistible" and warned that a U.S. decision to sell advanced Aegis radars to Taiwan would harm bilateral relations. But he also declared that "China and the United States have no need to begin a war against each other" over Taiwan despite a U.S. commitment to help defend the island.

But Douglas Paal, president of the Asia Pacific Policy Center and a member of the National Security Council in the last Bush administration, who saw Qian on a trip to China recently, said Beijing's approach contrasted with threats issued to the incoming administrations of Presidents Reagan and Clinton. He said China's position was partly "tactical" to establish good relations with the new administration before the annual April decision on what arms to sell to Taiwan. More Wash. Post.

Beijing wary of new U.S. policy under Bush. President-elect George W. Bush may be on a collision course with China even before he takes the oath of office. The Chinese government has refrained from making objections before Bush takes power. But top Chinese U.S. experts with government connections say the leadership is uneasy about Bush's China policy.

In March, Bush said the Chinese should ``assume'' that ``if they decide to use force, the United States must help Taiwan defend itself.'' ``Now, the Chinese can figure out what that means,'' he added. ``But that's going to mean a resolute stand on my part.''

``China understands the language of strength,'' Chang said in a telephone interview. ``The Clinton policy was wishy-washy -- not firm enough.'' The Bush team, he added, ``has more understanding of Taiwan's needs.'' An important measure of the new administration's policy will come in April, which is the annual deadline for approving arms sales to Taiwan.

U.S. policy experts Zhang and Yan said China's government, while wary of the Bush's China policy, initially will adopt a wait-and-see attitude, hoping that U.S. economic interests will be given priority over security concerns. Yan shares the widely held view in Beijing that the Bush administration policy will function along two distinct but sometimes intersecting tracks -- one devoted to business and the other to military and strategic concerns. More SJMN.

Dec. 4, 2001: Senate to open confirmation hearings for Bush Cabinet nominees. Confirmation hearings begin Thursday on Capitol Hill as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle consider President-elect George W. Bush's choices for Cabinet. Bush, meanwhile, is expected to announce more high-level appointments in his administration. More CNN.

Dec. 3, 2001: Fed makes surprise rate cut. Taking Wall Street by surprise, the Federal Reserve Wednesday slashed short-term interest rates, sending signals that it is up in arms to prevent a recession and triggering a mighty rally in the stock market. More CNN.

Sen. Clinton jumps to head of line. After being sworn in, she goes first at photo op ceremony. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she didn’t want any special treatment as she became the first first lady ever sworn into the U.S. Senate. But that wasn’t the case, and she can blame it on her husband.

For the photo op, Sen. Clinton jumped ahead of not only her 10 freshman counterparts, but also of 23 incumbent senators, including Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

The first lady enters the Senate 97th in seniority. The original schedule placed her near the end of the line for the mock ceremony before the president’s security concerns bumped her to first. The order for the mock ceremony is determined by rank and seniority. More NBC New.

107th Congress breezes through opening-session business. With the pounding of gavels and opening prayers, the House and Senate both opened the first session of the Congress at noon EST. But the chambers will defer most business until after President-elect George W. Bush is sworn in January 20.

Emerging from the November election is a Senate divided 50-50 -- a first since 1880, when the upper chamber was divided 37-37. The new House of Representatives is an almost mirror image of the previous one, with Republicans retaining a 221-213 majority. One of the first orders of business was the swearing in of 11 new senators and all 435 House members, including 41 new faces.

Both chambers will meet in joint session on Saturday for Congress' ceremonial task of reading the electoral votes that made Bush the next president by a 271-268 tally- in which Gore won the popular vote by 500,000. The House will not be at work until early February, while the Senate will begin work swiftly on Bush's proposed Cabinet. More CNN.

Jan. 2, 2001: President Clinton soon to be 'Citizen Clinton'. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bill Clinton hasn't said exactly what he'll do when he walks out of the White House on January 20 with no nation to lead. He's too young to retire. At 54, he'll be the youngest ex-president since Theodore Roosevelt. For starters, Clinton says he'll build his presidential library and adjoining policy center in Little Rock, Arkansas, and make some money, which he might need to pay off legal bills. More CNN.

Bush finishes Cabinet work. Transportation goes to a Democrat; Energy and Labor to Republicans.

President-elect Bush named a Democrat to his Cabinet on Tuesday, choosing Norman Y. Mineta, 69-year-old Japanese American to become his secretary of transportation after serving as President Clinton’s commerce secretary. Completing his 14-member Cabinet, Bush also announced his choices of Michigan Sen. Spencer Abraham, 48, to be secretary of energy and Linda Chavez, 53, who served as director of the civil rights commission under President Ronald Reagan, to be secretary of labor.

Bush’s choices live up to his vow to create a diverse government. They include two blacks, two Hispanics, one Asian American, one Arab American, four women and one Democrat. Bush still has two important non-Cabinet jobs to fill: the head of the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. More NBC News.

Last Month December 2000 News