Daily News Digest

The latest news on Mortgages, AIDS relief, Measuring poverty, Church & immigration, Afghanistan, Sudan-Darfur, Iraq, Mideast WMDs, North Korea, India, Supreme Court, Opinion.

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Mortgages. Government May Aid Mortgage Giants "The federal government unveiled a broad program yesterday evening to bolster troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, extending unprecedented support to the companies and proposing new authority to lend them money and even buy their stock." Welcomes but warnings for Fannie, Freddie rescue plan A government plan to rescue mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was welcomed by one of the world's biggest holders of dollar assets on Monday but fears remained about the state of the global financial system.

AIDS relief. Senate set to debate global AIDS relief "Senators on Monday will take up a $50 billion package to fight AIDS globally, despite some Republican concerns the bill could divert money to unrelated programs."

Measuring poverty. N.Y. Mayor Offers New Poverty Gauge "Calling the current federal poverty measure broken and outdated, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) unveiled a new method that he and his aides said gives a more accurate picture of the poor, and that he hopes eventually will become the new national standard."

Church & immigration. Iowa Church Is a Beacon After Immigration Raid "Within minutes of the raid, with surveillance helicopters buzzing above the leafy streets, the wives and children of Mexican and Guatemalan families began trickling into St. Bridget's Church, the safest place they knew." Immigration treats church sanctuary carefully "Everyone knows where Flor Crisostomo lives, even the federal immigration officials who have ordered her deported to Mexico. The reason they haven't detained her is her address - Adalberto United Methodist Church."

Afghanistan . Nine U.S. Soldiers Killed in Firefight "Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in heavy fighting Sunday at a military base in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, according to a Western official." 9 Americans Die in Afghan Attack "Taliban insurgents carried out a bold assault on a remote base near the border with Pakistan on Sunday, NATO reported, and a senior American military official said nine American soldiers were killed." Nine US troops killed in Taliban assault "The Nato-led effort to subdue the Taliban suffered one of its heaviest blows since the 2001 invasion yesterday when nine US soldiers were killed and 15 other Nato troops injured in a day-long battle in a region close to the Pakistan border."

Sudan-Darfur. Sudanese president charged with Darfur genocide "The international criminal court (ICC) today filed 10 charges of war crimes against Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for allegedly masterminding a campaign of murder, rape and mass deportation in Darfur." Sudan head accused of war crimes "Sudan's president has been accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court." In Sudan, Scripted Protest Against War Crimes Case "Thousands of people took to the streets of Sudan's tense capital on Sunday in a carefully choreographed protest against the expected request by the International Criminal Court to arrest President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on war crimes charges." Sudan to ICC: Darfur violence may increase if you indict President Bashir "Sudan's ruling party issued a statement Sunday predicting "more violence and blood" in Darfur if the country's president is indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide, state media reported."

Iraq. U.S., Iraq Scale Down Negotiations Over Forces "U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of U.S troops in Iraq before the end of the Bush presidency, according to senior U.S. officials, effectively leaving talks over an extended U.S. military presence there to the next administration." U.S. and Iraq near a 'bridge' deal on status of U.S. troops "By the end of July, US and Iraqi officials hope to finalize a deal that would map out the role and length of stay for US troops in the country. But this is likely to be a temporary "bridge" agreement,"

Mideast WMDs. Mediterranean union wants to rid Mideast of WMDs "Forty-three nations, including Israel and Arab states, pledged Sunday to work for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction at the close of a summit to launch an unprecedented Union for the Mediterranean aimed at securing peace across the restive region."

North Korea. Deal on Verifying North Korean Disarmament "Negotiators in the North Korean nuclear talks agreed Saturday to a blueprint for verifying North Korea's nuclear disarmament as part of a deal under which it would disable its main Yongbyon nuclear weapons complex by the end of October in exchange for energy and economic aid."

India. India left launch nuclear protest "Left-wing parties in India have launched a national campaign against a controversial India-US nuclear deal. The communists stopped supporting the government last week in protest at its decision to push ahead with the deal to meet India's soaring energy needs."

Supreme Court. 2,691 Decisions (LINDA GREENHOUSE, New York Times) [Linda Greenhouse, who is retiring from The Times after three decades covering the Supreme Court, with her reflections.]

Opinion.

Religion can help end wars, too (Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today) "Yet if skeptics are going to hold religion accountable for the atrocities committed under the banners of faith, so, too, must they credit religion for the unifying and uplifting deeds performed in its name. We cannot dismiss the countless acts of compassion and peace-making by devout believers - acts that are central to the teachings of the Bible, Koran and other holy books."