The Top 10 Stories of January 13, 2012
Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »
Quote of the day.
"I find that 95 percent of people in the world are superstitious about something, and the other 5 percent are liars." - Tom Fernsler, University of Delaware math professor who sometimes goes by the name Dr. 13, speaking of people who suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia -- the fear of Friday the 13th.
(USA Today)
1. Fractured S.C. right could boost Romney.
"Evangelicals, likely to be more than half the South Carolina electorate, remain divided about whom they will support on Jan. 21 and that lack of consensus within the state’s religious right could give Romney a clear path to victory over a marginalized field."
(Politico)
2. Ranks of older workers swelling.
"Amid the wreckage of the economic downturn, something curious happened to older Americans. More of them are working."
(Washington Post)
3. Tea Party may get rebuffed in tax cut showdown.
"House Speaker John Boehner, hoping to spare fellow Republicans a second embarrassing defeat over payroll tax cuts, is prepared to navigate around rebellious Tea Party-aligned lawmakers to get a deal."
(Reuters)
4. U.S. to pull two Army brigades from Europe.
"The Obama administration has decided to remove two of the four U.S. Army brigades remaining in Europe as part of a broader effort to cut $487 billion from the Pentagon’s budget over the next decade."
(Washington Post)
5. U.S. warns top Iranian leader.
"The Obama administration is relying on a secret channel of communication to warn Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” that would provoke an American response."
(New York Times)
6. U.S. boosts military presence in Persian Gulf.
"The Pentagon quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats."
(Los Angeles Times)
7. A figure in Egypt religious party says focus must be economy.
"The Muslim Brotherhood is expected to win more than 40% of legislative seats, transforming it from state enemy to power center. It seeks to dispel fears that Islamists will tilt Egypt toward sharia."
(Los Angeles Times)
8. Taliban set terms as U.S. pushes for talks.
"The Taliban say they will step up 'political efforts' to secure peace in Afghanistan in response to US moves to open new talks with the group, but a spokesman for the movement said it did not intend to give up its armed struggle as a precondition for negotiations."
(Al Jazeera)
9. Born in unity, South Sudan Is torn again.
"Bitter ethnic tensions that had largely been shelved for the sake of achieving independence have ruptured into a cycle of massacre and revenge that neither the American-backed government nor the United Nations has been able to stop."
(New York Times)
10. Haiti, South Florida pause to honor quake victims.
"For Haiti's 10 million surviving souls, the second anniversary of its devastating 7.0 earthquake, the hemisphere's worst natural disaster, was a day 'Nou pap janm bliye' - never to be forgotten. It also was a day of reflection and prayer."
(McClatchy Newspapers)
Extra credit – 13 for Friday the 13th.
11. Karzai leads condemnation over video.
"Afghan president Hamid Karzai and US defence secretary Leon Panetta have led a chorus of condemnation of American soldiers filmed urinating on the bodies of dead Afghans as 'inhumane' and 'utterly deplorable.'"
(Guardian)
12. Pakistan PM seeks support in crisis.
"Pakistan's PM Yousuf Raza Gilani says parliament must choose between 'democracy and dictatorship,' in a critical vote of confidence."
(BBC)
13. Myanmar frees political prisoners.
"Myanmar's government has begun releasing hundreds of prisoners, including many political detainees, pro-democracy activists say, as the country takes further steps towards political reform and ending its international isolation."
(Al Jazeera)
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.
