Afternoon update 12.18.08

Afternoon update 12.18.08
California Democrats begin approving budget solutions – Democratic legislators today began approving a complex and controversial package of tax increases and program cuts, an $18 billion effort designed to avoid the need for Republican votes that GOP leaders called illegal. The state Senate and Assembly made their way through the package of bills required for the maneuver, voting along party lines for approval. Republicans opposed the tax increases and accused majority Democrats of breaking th