Bush Urges Economic Boost

In his final State of the Union speech, an upbeat President Bush plugged his $150 billion stimulus plan today and urged lawmakers not to "load up the bill," CNN reports. He also advised cutting $18 billion in "bloated" programs, promised to veto pork-barrel funding, and asked policymakers to make tax cuts permanent—all to boost an economy that will return to health "in the long run."

Bush also pressed policymakers to fund green technology and vowed to sign a climate change accord that "includes every major economy and gives none a free ride." Turning to Iraq, he praised the troop surge and asked Congress to keep bankrolling US forces. He called al-Qaeda "on the run" but warned of ongoing terrorist threats, and asked for wiretapping legislation to be renewed before it expires next month. (More George W. Bush stories.)