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Washington (CNN) — Sen. Scott Brown’s vote Wednesday for the Democratic-backed $15 billion jobs bill is a sign that he’s showcasing a campaign pledge to bring an independent mind to Washington, a Senate analyst said.

“I think this shows independence,” said Brian Darling, director of Senate relations for the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation. “A $15 billion jobs bill is an important vote, but it’s not going to be one of the more important votes that they are going to have this year.”

Brown, who received widespread support from conservatives and Republicans, was also able to win over independent voters and Democrats in the solidly blue state.

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(CNN) – The vast majority of Americans believe Congress is not tackling the nation’s jobs problem, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Thursday found that 84 percent of Americans think Congress has not done enough to create jobs, and only 14 percent said they are satisfied with lawmakers’ efforts so far.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The mayor of Providence, R.I., and a former state Democratic Party official are running for Patrick Kennedy’s U.S. House seat.

Kennedy announced this week that he would not seek a ninth term.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline said Saturday he’s in the race. In 2002, the 48-year-old attorney became the first openly gay man elected mayor of Providence. He promised to clean up city government after a City Hall corruption scandal.

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PHOENIX – Defeated just two years ago as the Republican presidential candidate and with his bonafides as a true conservative again being challenged, John McCain finds himself in a struggle to get even his party’s nomination for another term in the Senate.

Many conservatives and Tea Party activists are lining up behind Republican challenger and former talk radio host J.D. Hayworth, reflecting a rising tide of voter frustration with incumbent politicians. Only 40 percent of Arizonans have a favorable view of McCain’s job performance.

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama renewed his pledge on Saturday to make job creation his top priority in 2010 but said it was also critical to rein in a record budget deficit that threatened an economic recovery.

Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to remind Americans of the various proposals he put forward in the last week to spur job growth and tame a $1.4 trillion deficit.

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Washington (CNN) — President Obama announced Thursday that the federal government will spend $8 billion developing a nationwide high-speed train system — an investment the White House says is needed to help spur long-term economic growth.

The investment, to be made through a series of state grants, will be funded through the government’s $862 billion economic stimulus package.

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Washington (CNN) – A new group wants former Vice President Dick Cheney back in the White House.

The organization – “Draft Dick Cheney 2012″ – launched on Friday, and unveiled their new Web site. Their aim: To convince the former vice president to seek the Republican presidential nomination in the next race for the White House. But there may be a major roadblock to the group’s pitch – Cheney himself.

“The 2012 race for the Republican nomination for President will be about much more then who will be the party’s standard bearer against Barack Obama, the race is about the heart and soul of the GOP,” said Christopher Barron, one of the organizers of the Draft Cheney movement.

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Washington (CNN) — Voters disappointed over health care and other legislative efforts have now sent 5 million “pink slips” to members of Congress, the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily said Tuesday.

Several Republican lawmakers joined WorldNetDaily figures to endorse the campaign Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

“These pink slips are a call for fiscally responsible and constitutionally responsible Americans,” said Rep. Steve King of Iowa.

A pink slip is symbolic of job dismissal, a theme not lost on Rep. Trent Franks, R-Arizona, who said members need to vote the will of the people or be fired in the next election.

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Washington (CNN) — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had said she would resign her seat to run for governor of Texas, plans to announce Saturday she will remain in the Senate as she seeks the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination, a Hutchison aide tells CNN.

“She will announce tomorrow at the Texas Federation of Republican Women’s Convention in Galveston that she will not be resigning her seat before the primary,” said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“She is running for governor because she feels it is important to fight on two fronts, for the race for governor and against the Democratic health care proposal and cap and trade.”

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WASHINGTON – Fewer people are claiming unemployment benefits — but still too many to signal that the economy is close to gaining jobs.

First-time claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 502,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3, and below economists’ estimates.

Claims would have to fall to the high 400s to indicate the economy could soon produce even a slight gain in jobs, estimates Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JPMorgan Chase. That level of claims could be reached by January, he said, and the economy should start gaining jobs sometime in the first quarter of 2010.