Nancy Cordes (née Weiner) is the CBS News ^[1] Congressional Correspondent based in Washington, D.C. She is a regular contributor to all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. ^[2]

Professional[link]

Prior to joining CBS News in 2007, Cordes was an ABC News correspondent based in New York (2005-07), where she reported for all ABC News broadcasts and covered many major news stories, including Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and the 2004 election.^[3] Before that, she was a Washington-based correspondent for NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News (2003-04). Prior to joining ABC News, Cordes was a reporter for WJLA-TV Washington, D.C. (1999-2003), where she covered the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, the 2000 Presidential race, the D.C.-area sniper attacks, and peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia. She began her career as a reporter for KHNL-TV Honolulu (1995-97).

Education[link]

Cordes is a graduate of Punahou School in Honolulu, and a Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. Cordes received a master's degree in public policy at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Personal life[link]

Cordes was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Hawaii on the islands of Kauai and Oahu. She currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband and daughter. ^[4]

She gave birth to her second child, a son, on May 14, 2010.

References[link]

Betty Nguyen is an American news anchor with CBS News. Nguyen joined CBS News on March 11, 2010. She anchored the The CBS Morning News from 2010 to 2012, and was a correspondent for CBS This Morning.^[1][2] She left CBS in April 2012.^[2]

Life and career[link]

Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam. She is of Vietnamese and Scottish American descent. Nguyen and her family left Vietnam for the United States in April 1975. She grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin. Nguyen was a cheerleader during her younger days, and a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority in college.^[3] Nguyen graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.^[4]

Betty joined CBS News in March 2010 from CNN where she previously worked for six years. At CBS News, she anchored the overnight newscast Up to the Minute and CBS Morning News. During her tenure there, she also substituted on the CBS Evening News with Russ Mitchell, along with Senior Business Correspondent Anthony Mason. From 2011 to 2012, she served as headline anchor of the Saturday edition of The Early Show and CBS This Morning Saturday. Betty Nguyen left CBS News in April 2012 following the April 6, 2012 edition of the CBS Morning News.^[2]

Before becoming a network anchor and correspondent for CBS News, Nguyen anchored the weekend morning edition of CNN Newsroom. She spent six years at CNN covering major news events including the earthquake in Haiti, presidential elections in Africa, hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II, and went on an undercover assignment in Myanmar. Prior to that, Nguyen was an anchor at KTVT-TV, the CBS affiliate in Dallas, where she covered numerous breaking news events, including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Nguyen began her career as a morning anchor and reporter at KWTX-TV, the CBS affiliate in Waco, Texas.^[1]

In 2007, the Smithsonian Institution recognized Nguyen as the first Vietnamese-American to anchor a national television news broadcast in the United States.^[5] According to Maxim.com, Nguyen was named one of "TV´s 10 Hottest News Anchors" in 2008.^[6] In 2011, she was listed as one of "The 10 Most Stylish Anchors & Reporters" by The Huffington Post.^[7]

She spent a short time as a freelance correspondent for E! Entertainment Network. Nguyen has hosted several specials and was featured as a reporter on episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. She can also be seen in Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts".^[8]

Nguyen is a Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Cowboys fan as well as a fan of the Texas Longhorns, her alma mater.^[9]

Fleeing Vietnam[link]

Nguyen was "not even a year old" toward the end of the Vietnam War when her family fled South Vietnam.^[10][11] From a CNN videotape, she speaks about her father.^[12]

Board Membership and Affiliations[link]

• Co-founder of Help the Hungry ^[13]
• Member of the Asian American Journalists Association^[5]

• 2003 Regional Emmy award for "Outstanding Noon Newscast"^[14]
• 2003 Legacy of Women Award recipient at the 11th annual Legacy of Women awards luncheon^[15]
• 2003 Great Women of Texas: Women of Influence Honoree, an honor presented by the Fort Worth Business Press ^[16]
• 2007 Golden Torch Award recipient, an honor from the Vietnamese American National Gala (VANG)^[17]
• 2008 Outstanding Young Texas Exes Award recipient^[18]
• 2008 My Hero recipient, which is CNN's internal Hero of the Year awards called My Heroes^[19]
• 2009 Andrew Heiskell Community Service Award recipient at 28th annual Andrew Heiskell Community Service awards luncheon^[20]
• 2010 ZTA Foundation Outstanding Alumna Award ^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Betty Nguyen CBS Profile
• Betty Nguyen's Twitter page
• Betty Nguyen's Facebook page
• Betty Nguyen at the Internet Movie Database
• Help the Hungry
• Betty Nguyen and the Dallas Mavericks
• BN Magazine: Up-Close
• Nguoi Viet Online Profile: Betty Nguyen
• CNN's first Vietnamese voice: on the air and on the record
• Betty Nguyen discusses her Hapa identity
• 10 Most Stylish TV Anchors & Reporters

Joe Manchin
United States Senator from West Virginia
Incumbent
Assumed office November 15, 2010 Serving with Jay Rockefeller
Preceded by	Carte Goodwin
34th Governor of West Virginia
In office January 17, 2005 – November 15, 2010
Preceded by	Bob Wise
Succeeded by	Earl Ray Tomblin
27th Secretary of State of West Virginia
In office January 15, 2001 – January 17, 2005
Governor	Bob Wise
Preceded by	Ken Hechler
Succeeded by	Betty Ireland
Member of the West Virginia Senate from the 13th[1] district
In office 1993–1996
Preceded by	Joseph M. Minard
Succeeded by	Mike Oliverio
Member of the West Virginia Senate from the 14th[2] district
In office 1987–1993
Preceded by	James Davis[3]
Succeeded by	Eugene Claypole
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 43rd district
In office 1983–1987
Personal details
Born	Joseph Manchin III (1947-08-24) August 24, 1947 (age 64) Farmington, West Virginia
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Gayle Conelly (1967–present)
Children	Heather Joseph IV Brooke
Residence	Fairmont, West Virginia
Alma mater	West Virginia University (B.S.)
Profession	Energy executive
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature
Website	manchin.senate.gov

Joseph "Joe" Manchin III (born August 24, 1947)^[4] is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010. He won the special election in November 2010 to fill the seat of Robert Byrd, who had died in office; the term ends January 3, 2013.

Early life, education, and business career[link]

Manchin was born in Farmington, West Virginia, in 1947, the second of five children of Mary (née Gouzd) and John Manchin.^[4][5] His grandparents were Italian and Czechoslovakian immigrants.^[4][6] His father owned a carpet and furniture store. His grandfather, Joe Manchin I, owned a grocery store.^[7] Both his father and his grandfather were elected as Mayor of Farmington, West Virginia. His uncle James Manchin was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and was elected statewide as West Virginia Secretary of State and West Virginia State Treasurer.^[8] Manchin graduated from Farmington High School in 1965.^[9]

Manchin entered West Virginia University on a football scholarship in 1965; however, an injury during practice ended his football career. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in information management and later became involved in several family-owned businesses.

Early political career[link]

Manchin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1982 at the age of 35 and was then elected to the West Virginia Senate in 1986, where he served until 1996. He ran for governor in 1996, finishing second to Charlotte Pritt among a large group of candidates in the Democratic primary election. He then ran for Secretary of State of West Virginia in 2000, winning easily.

Governor of West Virginia[link]

Elections[link]

Manchin announced his intention to challenge incumbent Democratic governor Bob Wise in the 2004 Democratic primary election in May 2003, but Wise decided not to seek re-election after a scandal, and Manchin won both the primary and general elections by large margins. His election marked the first time that two people of the same political party followed one another in the West Virginia governor's office since 1964. After the election he was criticized in the press for using tax payer funds to purchase 17 flat screen TV's for the Governors Mansion.^[10]

Manchin easily won re-election to a second term as Governor in 2008, capturing 70 percent of the vote.^[11]

Tenure[link]

Manchin speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, in his capacity as chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

Manchin was a member of the National Governors Association, the Southern Governors' Association, and the Democratic Governors Association. He was also chairman of the Southern States Energy Board, state's chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission and chairman of the Interstate Mining Compact Commission.

In July 2005, Massey Energy chief executive officer Don Blankenship sued Manchin, alleging that Manchin had violated Blankenship's First Amendment rights by threatening increased government scrutiny of his coal operations due to Blankenship's political activities.^[12] Blankenship had donated substantial funds into campaigns to defeat a proposed pension bond amendment and oppose the re-election of state Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw,^[13] and he fought against a proposed increase in the severance tax on extraction of mineral resources.^[14] Soon after defeat of the pension bond amendment, the state Division of Environmental Protection revoked a permit approval for controversial new silos near Marsh Fork Elementary School in Raleigh County. While area residents had complained for some time that the coal operation there endangered their children, Blankenship claimed that the DEP acted in response to his opposition to the bond amendment.^[15]

During the Sago Mine disaster of early January 2006 in Upshur County, West Virginia, Manchin initially appeared to confirm incorrect reports that 12 miners had survived;^{[citation needed]} in actuality only one survived. Manchin later acknowledged that an unintentional miscommunication had occurred with rescue teams within the mine.^{[citation needed]} On February 1, 2006, he ordered a stop to all coal production in West Virginia, pending safety checks, after two more miners were killed in separate accidents.^[16] A total of 16 West Virginia coal miners died from mining accidents in early 2006. Manchin's overall handling of the Sago mine incident may have enhanced his popularity.^{[says who?]} In November 2006, SurveyUSA ranked him as one of the most popular governors in the country with a 74 percent approval rating.^[17]

On April 15, 2006, during an Easter visit to U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq, Manchin generated controversy^{[says who?]} by posing for photographers while signing two missiles at Balad Air Force Base.^{[citation needed]} One of the messages read, "Sending you to hell, from Almost Heaven, West Virginia." He told the media: "I just thought, 'Hey, these are people doing tremendous harm to our people.' I wanted to send them a little message."^[18] After receiving several complaints, Manchin apologized.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, a controversy arose after Manchin's daughter, Heather Manchin Bresch, claimed to have earned an MBA degree from West Virginia University. However, after information emerged detailing the fallacy of the statement, Manchin placed the blame on WVU. The results of the pressure placed on WVU were threefold; President Mike Garrison resigned after a year in office, other officials including the Dean of the Business School and Garrison's legal counsel resigned, and a panel was convened to fully investigate the measure.^[10] The issue hurt the credibility of the University, which placed a lot of pressure on the Board to take action and remedy the situation.^[19]

U.S. Senate[link]

Elections[link]

2010

Memorial service for Robert Byrd at the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, July 2, 2010.

Longtime West Virginia Democratic U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd's health was obviously declining by 2010.^{[citation needed]} Speculation focused on what Democratic West Virginia Governor Manchin's response would be if the Senator died, but the Governor consistently refused to comment on the subject prior to Byrd's death, except for stating that he would not appoint himself to the position.^[20] Senator Byrd died on June 28, 2010,^[21] and Manchin in his capacity as governor, having the responsibility of designating a replacement, appointed Carte Goodwin, his 36-year-old legal adviser, on July 16^[22] who became the youngest U.S. Senator.^{[citation needed]}

A Rasmussen Reports poll^{[citation needed]} found Manchin leading in the potential 2010 special election for the seat against Republican Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito and former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland, also a Republican. On July 20, 2010, Manchin officially announced he would seek the Senate seat.^[23]

In the Democratic primary on August 28, he defeated former Democratic Congressman and former West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler ^[24] In the general election,^[when?] he then defeated Republican John Raese.

2012

According to Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, early polling finds Senator Manchin heavily favored, leading Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito 50–39, 2010 opponent John Raese 60–31, and Congressman David McKinley 57–28.^[25] Manchin has not endorsed his party's candidate for the 2012 presidential election, saying he has "some real differences" with the presumptive nominees of both the Democrats and the Republicans, finding fault with Obama's economic and energy policies and questioning Romney's understanding of the "challenges facing ordinary people."^[26]

Tenure[link]

Manchin was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden as a U.S. Senator on November 15, 2010, succeeding appointed Senator Carte Goodwin. Before his swearing-in, rumors suggested that the Republican Party was courting Manchin to change parties,^[27] although the Republicans later suggested that Manchin was the source of the rumors.^[28] Manchin named Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis to be his chief of staff. Kofinis was formerly an adviser to Wesley Clark and John Edwards.^{[citation needed]}

Agenda[link]

In his maiden speech on the Senate floor on February 3, 2011, Senator Manchin outlined a 4-point “Commonsense Agenda” to “create jobs, restore fiscal responsibility, develop a balanced energy policy that establishes energy independence within this generation, and keep our promises to seniors and veterans.” ^[29]

Federal budget[link]

Manchin has co-sponsored balanced budget amendments put forth by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) ^[30], and Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Mark Udall (D-CO). ^[31] He has also voted against raising the federal debt ceiling ^[32] and advocated for substantial reductions in federal spending.^{[33] [34]}

Reducing drug trade[link]

In June 2011, Manchin joined with Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in seeking a crackdown on bitcoin currency transactions, saying that they facilitated illegal drug trade transactions. "The transactions leave no traditional [bank transfer] money trail for investigators to follow, and leave it hard to prove a package recipient knew in advance what was in a shipment," using an "'anonymizing network' known as Tor."^[35] One opinion website said the senators wanted "to disrupt [the] Silk Road drug website."^[36]

In May 2012, in an effort to reduce prescription drug abuse, Manchin offered a successful amendment to the Food and Drug Administration reauthorization bill to reclassify hydrocodone as a Schedule II substance.^[37]

Senior citizens[link]

To help locate missing senior citizens, Manchin introduced the Silver Alert Act in July 2011 to create a nationwide network for locating missing adults and senior citizens modeled after the AMBER Alert.^[38] Manchin also sponsored the National Yellow Dot Act to create a voluntary program that would alert emergency services personnel responding to car accidents of the availability of personal and medical information on the car's owner.^[39]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy
  • Subcommittee on National Parks
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• United States Senate Special Committee on Aging

Criticism[link]

Coal industry[link]

On October 6, 2010, Manchin directed a law suit aimed at overturning new federal rules concerning mountaintop removal mining. Filed by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the lawsuit "accuses U.S. EPA of overstepping its authority and asks the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia to throw out the federal agency's new guidelines for issuing Clean Water Act permits for coal mines." In order to qualify for the permits, mining companies need to prove their projects would not cause the concentration of pollutants in the local water to rise 5 times past the normal level. The NY Times reported that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the new legislation would protect 95% of aquatic life by banning operators from dumping mine waste into streams.^[40]

Manchin has received criticism from environmentalists due to his close family ties to the coal industry. He served as president of Energysystems in the late 1990s before becoming active in politics. On his financial disclosures in 2009 and 2010, his reported earnings from the company were $1,363,916 and $417,255 respectively.^[41] His company holdings were moved into a blind trust between 2005 and 2010. Critics have stated his opposition to health regulations that would raise expenses for the industry are due to his stake in the industry; Jim Sconyers, chairman of West Virginia’s Sierra Club chapter stated that "he’s been nothing but a mouthpiece for the coal industry his whole public life."^[41] However, opinions on the subject are mixed; The Charleston Gazette noted "the prospect that Manchin’s $1.7 million-plus in recent Enersystems earnings might tilt him even more strongly pro-coal might seem remote, given the deep economic and cultural connections that the industry maintains in West Virginia."^[42]

Don't Ask, Don't Tell[link]

On December 9, 2010, Manchin was the sole Democrat to vote against cloture for the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, which contained a provision to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In an interview with The Associated Press, Manchin cited the advice of retired military chaplains as a basis for his decision to vote against repeal.^[43] He also indicated he wanted more time to "hear the full range of viewpoints from the citizens of West Virginia."^[44] A day later, he was publicly criticized at a gay rights rally for his position on the bill.^[45]

On December 18, 2010, Manchin was not present for the vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and the vote on the DREAM Act, regarding immigration. The National Republican Senatorial Committeecriticized Manchin for attending a family Christmas gathering instead of voting on these sensitive issues.^[46] The Washington Post reported that he was the only Senate Democrat to miss these votes “on two of his party's signature pieces of legislation.”^[47]

Electoral history[link]

Personal life[link]

Manchin has been married since 1967 to the former Gayle Conelly, and they have three children: Heather, Joseph IV, and Brooke.^[4] He is a member of the National Rifle Association and a licensed pilot.^[4][49][50]

In 2006 and 2010 Manchin delivered commencement addresses at Wheeling Jesuit University and at Davis & Elkins College, receiving honorary degrees from both institutions.

References[link]