Daily News Digest

The latest news on Economy, Jobs, Offshore drilling, Presidential campaign, War resisters in Canada, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan, Church of England, and Editorial.

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Economy. Banking Stocks Take a Lashing "Banking stocks suffered some of their worst losses in a generation yesterday as investors' confidence in the U.S. financial system continued to erode despite the dramatic initiative by the federal government Sunday evening to bolster mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." Confidence Ebbs for Bank Sector and Stocks Fall "Even as the Bush administration moved to rescue the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies, confidence in the banking sector spiraled downward Monday." Foreclosure aid is powered by Bush administration's urgent call for Fannie, Freddie rescue "A foreclosure aid plan that was facing a sluggish trip through Congress has a powerful new engine behind it: the Bush administration's urgent request to rescue mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." Aid package for mortgage giants may boost broader housing bill "The Bush administration's emergency move to shore up the mortgage market will reap another dividend on Capitol Hill: It's helping propel into law a broader housing bill that was threatened by wrangling between House and Senate Democrats."

Jobs. Department Is Criticized on Disputes Over Wages "The Government Accountability Office sharply criticizes the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department in two reports to be issued on Tuesday, saying it mishandled many overtime and minimum-wage complaints and delayed investigating hundreds of cases for a year or more." Ohioans' jobless benefits in crisis "Jobless Ohioans will need to get by with reduced benefits and employers must pay higher unemployment taxes to keep the state's unemployment compensation trust fund from going broke," Jobless Rate for Youths Is Increasing "Young adults seeking low-skill service jobs for the summer must contend with older, laid-off workers, illegal immigrants and college graduates who cannot find work in their fields, as well as with cuts in federal summer jobs programs. As a result, the national youth jobless rate for June was at its highest in six decades,"

Offshore drilling. Bush Acts on Drilling, Challenging Democrats "President Bush lifted nearly two decades of executive orders banning drilling for oil and natural gas off the country's shoreline while challenging Congress to open up more areas for exploration to address soaring energy prices." California leaders denounce Bush's lifting of offshore oil ban "As soon as the president made the announcement that he was lifting an executive order made 18 years ago by his father that prohibits offshore drilling, California's leaders accused Bush of cozying up to oil interests and that the plan would do nothing to lower gasoline prices."

Presidential campaign. McCain making play at NAACP for votes Obama should win "Barack Obama and John McCain vie for African-American votes this week with appearances before the NAACP convention in Cincinnati, a stop with potential opportunities and pitfalls for both candidates." Obama re-admonishes African Americans "Unswayed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson's disapproval, Sen. Barack Obama pressed his message that African Americans needed to take more responsibility for their lives and families," McCain's turn before La Raza in San Diego "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) continued his fervid courtship of Latino voters, speaking to about 2,000 people at the National Council of La Raza's annual convention the day after his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, came calling."

War resisters in Canada. U.S. war deserter loses last bid to stay in Canada "A federal court judge has ordered the removal of a U.S. Army deserter from Canada, a decision that signals this country is no longer a safe haven for American soldiers who decide to evade military service at home and abroad." Canada to deport U.S. war deserter "U.S. army deserter Robin Long is slated to be deported back to his army base in Fort Knox, Ky., Tuesday, which would make him the first resister to the U.S. war effort in Iraq to be sent out of Canada."

Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe churches criticise poll "Church leaders in Zimbabwe have for the first time raised serious concerns about presidential election results. The heads of all Zimbabwe's Christian denominations said the poll was not an expression of the will of the people." S Africa urged to act on Zimbabwe "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian president, has called on Thabo Mbeki, her South African counterpart, to help bring about peace in Zimbabwe in a speech marking Nelson Mandela's birthday in South Africa." Connection to Mugabe Threatens South African President's Legacy "Mbeki's long -- and so far, failed -- diplomatic bid to ease Mugabe into retirement after 28 years has tied the legacies of the two men together, and badly damaged Mbeki's reputation as the exemplar of a new kind of African president."

Sudan. Sudan rejects case against Bashir "Sudan has dismissed the move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek the arrest of its president on charges of waging a campaign of genocide and rape in Darfur." U.N. braces for retaliation after indictment "U.N. peacekeeping forces and humanitarian groups in Darfur are bracing for attacks from Sudanese forces and allied Janjaweed militias in retaliation for the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir." Church of England. Beset by liberals, hounded by conservatives, Williams needs a miracle to keep church intact "As he prepares to welcome the bishops of the worldwide Anglican communion to their once-a-decade meeting at the Lambeth conference tomorrow, his first as Archbishop of Canterbury, Williams knows that as many as a quarter will not turn up and that there are open challenges to his leadership of the third largest Christian denomination, both from across the world and within the Church of England."

Editorial. Medicare's Bias (New York Times) "The intense struggle in Congress last week over a relatively modest Medicare reform bill has underscored a disturbing truth: many of the private plans that participate in the huge government-sponsored health insurance program for older Americans have become a far too costly drain on Medicare's overstretched budget."