The latest news on Congress Agenda, Climate Change, Kansas Trial, Third World Disease Vaccine, Afghanistan, Israel-West Bank, Iran, Iraq-UK Inquiry, and Select Op-Eds.

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Quote of the Day. "We don't know exactly what is happening in this country. The president is putting on his karakul hat, talking about security in London, but here our mullahs are being killed, our soldiers are being killed, our innocent civilian people are being killed, and nobody cares." Abdul Qadir, son-in-law of an Afghan Imam killed yesterday by shots from a NATO convoy. (New York Times)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

Rowan Williams goes to Wall Street to tell the money men to repent "The whole world, and not just Britain, is broken, with continents such as Africa feeling forgotten and uncared for, the Archbishop of Canterbury said in the heart of New York's financial district yesterday."

£10,000 grant for Christian police who believe prayer can cut crime "A [British] Christian policing group which believes that the power of prayer can catch criminals and keep officers safe from harm has been awarded a £10,000 grant [$16,000 US dollars] from the Home Office to widen its involvement with local church groups."

HAITI

Lack of crowd control hampers food and water delivery to Haitian quake victims "For more than 500 people who have banded together in solace and solidarity in a field here, there is no food. At the beginning of the week, a delegation went to the mayor's office, then to the United Nations and back to the mayor." Haiti begins tearing down Port-au-Prince without rebuilding plans in place "More than two weeks after the Jan. 12 earthquake, the work of taking apart a ravaged city is slowly, and chaotically, beginning." As Aftershocks Continue, Haiti Ponders Rebuilding "More than two weeks after the earthquake that devastated much of this country's southern half, the capital remains a city of teetering walls, dangling electrical wires and precariously balanced heaps of jagged cinder block and wrought iron, all rattled daily by aftershocks." Haiti recovery 'to take decades' "The acting head of the UN mission in Haiti has said reconstruction will take several decades, following the devastating earthquake two weeks ago."

NEWS AT HOME

Congress Agenda. After Obama speech, Democrats confused about path ahead "A day after President Obama called on them to renew efforts to pass his ambitious agenda, congressional Democrats remained in disarray Thursday about how to move forward, with at least some pointing at the White House as the cause of the legislative standstill gripping Capitol Hill." His Health Bill Stalled, Obama Juggles an Altered Agenda "The White House on Thursday signaled the outlines of its strategy for breaking the partisan logjam holding up President Obama's agenda, saying Democrats would move quickly to underline their commitment to fixing the broken economy and to build an election-year case against Republicans if they do not cooperate." While Confident Health Care Will Pass This Year, Democrats Still Search for a Plan "Democratic leaders in Congress voiced resolute optimism on Thursday that they would adopt major health care legislation this year, and they said that doing so was a crucial element of President Obama's broader agenda to create jobs, revive the economy and reduce federal budget deficits." Hard slog for SOTU proposals "Some of what Obama proposed is likely to encounter little resistance. Other ideas, such as energy legislation, were in trouble before his speech and not in much better shape after it. And most of his proposals fall into the middle, facing a long, hard slog."

President & Congress v. Supreme Court. Obama-Alito tensions surface at State of the Union address "Legal scholars could not recall a similar incident in which a president criticized a high court ruling in a State of the Union speech. On the other hand, it is rare for the justices to hand down a momentous decision in mid-January, just before the president goes to Capitol Hill for his annual speech to the assembled lawmakers." A Rare Rebuke, in Front of a Nation "It is not unusual for presidents to disagree publicly with Supreme Court decisions. But they tend to do so at news conferences and in written statements, not to the justices' faces." Democrats prepare legislation to counter ruling on campaign spending "Sensing a clear political opportunity, congressional Democrats are rushing to craft legislation to counter a Supreme Court ruling that they fear could lead to a flood of foreign spending on U.S. political campaigns."

Army Suicides. Army's suicide 'crisis' leads to action "Alarmed by the suicides of eight soldiers in the year's first eight days, the Army's No. 2 general told commanders to have face-to-face contact with GIs to remind them 'each one is valued by our Army,' according to the Jan. 8 memorandum provided to USA TODAY."

Climate Change. U.S. formalizes pledge on cutting greenhouse gases "The Obama administration pledged Thursday that the United States would cut its greenhouse gas emissions about 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 -- a step that would bolster the global warming deal brokered at climate talks last month."

Kansas Trial. Doctor's Killer Puts Abortion on the Stand "Scott Roeder, the man charged with murder in the shooting of George R. Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country to perform late-term abortions, took the witness stand in his own defense on Thursday, and said that, yes, he did it." Abortion foe Scott Roeder tells jury of killing Dr. George Tiller "Before shooting him point-blank in the forehead at church last spring, Scott Roeder considered many ways of killing Wichita physician George Tiller."

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Third World Disease Vaccine. Rotavirus vaccines could reduce deaths in Third World Vaccines that protect against severe disease and death from rotavirus infections in the "United States and other developed countries work nearly as well in developing countries and should be widely employed there."

Afghanistan. UK summit unveils new Afghan policy "Control over some of Afghanistan's provinces is to be handed over to the Afghan government by the end of 2010, according to foreign ministers attending a one-day international conference in London." Afghan president plans meeting on reintegrating, reconciling with insurgents "Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that he will convene a nationwide meeting of tribal, religious and political leaders in the next few weeks to discuss reintegrating and reconciling with insurgents. Afghan government officials said Taliban members would also be welcome to attend." War Plan for Karzai: Reach Out to Taliban "Afghanistan's president declared Thursday that reaching out to the Taliban's leadership would be a centerpiece of his plan to end the eight-year-old war in his country, setting in motion a risky diplomatic gambit that could aggravate frictions with the United States." U.S. cool to Karzai plan on Taliban "Afghan President Hamid Karzai told world leaders Thursday that he intends to reach out to the top echelons of the Taliban within a few weeks, accelerating a peace initiative that has troubled U.S. and many other Western leaders."

Israel-West Bank. Israel Signals Tougher Line on West Bank Protests "For more than a year, this village has been a focus of weekly protests against the Israeli security barrier, which cuts through its lands. Now, the village appears to be at the center of an intensifying Israeli arrest campaign."

Iran. Iran's Opposition Seeking to End Stand-Off "Furthering a trend that has been visible for several weeks now, a prominent Iranian opposition leader made conciliatory remarks on Thursday that were apparently aimed at defusing tensions and ending the nation's political crisis."

Iraq-UK Inquiry. I believed beyond doubt that Iraq had WMD, Tony Blair tells inquiry "Tony Blair today robustly defended his decision to take Britain to war against Saddam Hussein in 2003, saying he believed 'beyond doubt' that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction." Blair Grilled on Iraq War "In a much-anticipated appearance before a public inquiry, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair defended his decision to go to war with Iraq and said he didn't mislead the public in the build-up to the conflict." Blair denies 'covert' Bush deal "Tony Blair has denied striking a 'covert' deal with George Bush to invade Iraq at a private meeting in 2002 at the US president's ranch."

OPINION

Obama's banking proposals are a good first step (Joseph E. Stiglitz, Los Angeles Times) "In the last two weeks, President Obama finally proposed tough new restrictions on the big banks, and then he underlined them in his State of the Union speech. It's a start."

In State of the Union address, President Obama put himself on the outside looking in (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post) "President Obama's State of the Union address didn't signal a political shift to the left or the right. It sounded more like a shrewd attempt to move from the inside to the outside -- to position himself alongside disaffected voters, peering through the windows of the den of iniquity called Washington and reacting with dismay at the depravity within."

The Perot Option (David Brooks, New York Times) "There is a specter haunting America: the specter of a saner, updated version of Ross Perot. He is lurking out there, ready to ride the free-floating anger and distrust of Washington. He is out there now in one of his homes or private jets, getting madder by the day. He is large of ego, full of money and cranky in mien."

Sojourners' Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.