Daily News Digest

The latest news on the Economy, Death penalty, HIV/AIDS, Military grants, Anglicans, Iran, Iraq, Taliban, Passing, and Opinion.

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Economy. Hovering Above Poverty, Grasping for Middle Class "Low-wage workers in the United States are gripped by increasing financial insecurity as they inch along an economic tightrope made riskier by pervasive job losses and rising prices." Housing Lenders Fear Bigger Wave of Loan Defaults "The first wave of Americans to default on their home mortgages appears to be cresting, but a second, far larger one is quickly building. Homeowners with good credit are falling behind on their payments in growing numbers," Jobless Rate Climbs to 5.7% as 51,000 Jobs Lost in July "The unemployment rate spiked again in July, to 5.7 percent, its highest level in more than four years and a strong signal that come Election Day millions of Americans will still be hunting for work."

Across America, economic woes are mounting "As politicians and policymakers in Washington struggle to control the fallout from the housing crisis, the banks' credit crunch, $4 a gallon gasoline, rising food prices and mounting unemployment, McClatchy newspapers across America reported Sunday that the bad economic news is beginning to bite in their areas." To read more about how the economy looks to people in places other than Wall Street and Washington, go to:

As economic news worsens, Sacramento residents tighten belts

Foreclosures leave Californians living in limbo

Fuel costs put Kansas companies out of business

Jobless rate beginning to worry the nation's heartland

Medical bills pinch elderly in North Carolina

Economic woes hitting home in Georgia

Death penalty. Texas set to defy World Court with execution "Texas is set to defy the World Court and anger Mexico on Tuesday by executing a Mexican national who was not informed of his right to consular services after his arrest." Medellin set to die Tuesday for Ertman-Peña killings "Texas finds itself in defiance of the United Nations, the Organization of American States and national leaders in its planned execution of Mexican citizen Jose Medellin." Texas set to execute Mexican at center of diplomatic battle "In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that 51 Mexican defendants were not properly notified of their rights to consular access and were entitled to new hearings. President Bush ordered states to comply, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he'd overstepped his authority."

HIV/AIDS. H.I.V. Study Finds Rate 40% Higher Than Estimated "The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that 56,300 people became newly infected with H.I.V in 2006, compared with the 40,000 figure the agency has cited as the recent annual incidence of the disease." Global AIDS conference kicks off "The global AIDS conference has opened in Mexico with an appeal for the world not to waver in fighting a disease that has claimed more than 25 million lives and placed 33 million others under its shadow."

Military grants. Military's Social Science Grants Raise Alarm "The Pentagon's $50 million Minerva Research Initiative, named after the Roman goddess of wisdom and warriors, will fund social science research deemed crucial to national security. ... But the Network of Concerned Anthropologists ... said dependence on Pentagon funding could make universities an "instrument rather than a critic of war-making."

Anglicans. Anglican leader seeks moratorium on consecration of gay bishops as summit ends in England "Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, struggling to hold together the troubled world Anglican family, urged church leaders gathered Sunday in England not to consecrate another gay bishop, saying the fellowship will be in "grave peril" without a moratorium." Lambeth conference: Archbishop blames liberals for church rift "The Archbishop of Canterbury blamed liberal North American churches yesterday for causing turmoil in the Anglican communion by blessing same-sex unions and consecrating gay clergy as he attempted to chart a way out of the crisis that has been engulfing the church." Anglicans to Seek Pact to Prevent a Schism "Nearly three weeks of discussion aimed at preventing a breakup of the worldwide Anglican Communion over homosexuality ended Sunday at a conference here with 650 bishops and archbishops agreeing to seek a new pact among all parties to the ecclesiastical controversy."

Iran. Tehran says it won't stop nuclear work, talks to EU "Iran and the representative of six world powers talked by telephone on Monday over Tehran's disputed nuclear program but the Islamic Republic said it would press ahead despite a demand to halt the work." Sanctions may be in store if Iran rebuffs nuclear offer "The United States and Europe are poised to seek harsher U.N. financial sanctions against Iran if it fails to meet this weekend's deadline to accept an international offer of negotiations in exchange for freezing its nuclear program," Iran ignores deadline to agree to talks on nuclear program "Over the weekend, Iran failed to respond to an informal two-week deadline to give a yes-or-no answer to negotiations on dismantling crucial parts of its nuclear program."

Iraq. Battle over oil-rich city threatens to derail Iraqi elections "Despite intense U.S. pressure, Iraqi legislators failed to reach an agreement to solve an increasingly bitter dispute over the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk." Iraqis Fail to Agree on Provincial Elections "Iraqi political leaders met Sunday to try to reach a deal that would allow provincial elections to proceed, but they again failed to agree, further dimming prospects that the elections would be held this year."

Taliban. Ragtag Taliban Show Tenacity in Afghanistan "Six years after being driven from power, the Taliban are demonstrating a resilience and a ferocity that are raising alarm here, in Washington and in other NATO capitals, and engendering a fresh round of soul-searching over how a relatively ragtag insurgency has managed to keep the world's most powerful armies at bay." Why Pakistan is unlikely to crack down on Islamic militants, despite U.S. pressure "The Bush administration and its allies are pressing Pakistan to end its support for Afghan insurgents linked to al Qaida, but Pakistani generals are unlikely to be swayed because they increasingly see their interests diverging from those of the United States."

Passing. Solzhenitsyn, Literary Giant Who Defied Soviets, Dies at 89 "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose stubborn, lonely and combative literary struggles gained the force of prophecy as he revealed the heavy afflictions of Soviet Communism in some of the most powerful works of the 20th century, died late on Sunday at the age of 89 in Moscow." Tributes to writer Solzhenitsyn "World figures have paid tribute to Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a day after his death aged 89."

Opinion. Gay marriage: A way out (Oliver Thomas, USA Today) "This cultural battle can be solved without the two sides on this issue abandoning their principles. How? Put 'marriage' and 'civil unions' on the proper sides of our church-state divide." 'Bomb Bomb Iran'? Not Likely. (David Ignatius, Washington Post) "Analysts speculate about the danger of a U.S. or Israeli military attack on Iran before the Bush administration departs office next January. But if you read the tea leaves carefully, the evidence is actually pointing in the opposite direction."