Daily News Digest

The latest news on Tornadoes, Super Tuesday primaries, Pakistan, McClatchy newspapers, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, CNN Politics, Evangelical voters, Congress-stimulus, Congress-global warming, Gaza, Iraq, Iran, Chad, and Afghanistan.

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Politics isn't the most important news. Please pray for everyone affected by these storms. Southern Residents Assess Tornado Damage "Residents in five Southern states tried to salvage what they could from homes reduced to piles of debris, a day after the deadliest cluster of tornadoes in nearly a decade tore through the region, snapping trees and crumpling homes. At least 50 people were dead."

Super Tuesday primaries - lead stories and analysis..

Washington Post. Clinton and Obama Trade Victories "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won victories over Sen. Barack Obama in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York last night, giving her presidential campaign a crucial boost. But Obama countered by winning of a string of states, including the general election battleground of Missouri," McCain Dominates Big States "Sen. John McCain surged closer toward the Republican nomination by capturing the biggest Super Tuesday states, including California, but failed to knock out his rivals,"

McClatchy newspapers. Clinton, Obama claim victory, dispute delegate count; McCain takes GOP lead "Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both can point to Super Tuesday's split decision as proof that each is the best bet for November. It set up a duel that now appears to have no obvious endpoint. Republicans are left with one question: Can anyone stop John McCain? He swept big state primaries Tuesday, grabbing a huge lead in the tally needed to secure the nomination."

Chicago Tribune. Super Tuesday redefines what 'winning' means "One clear verdict: The near-national primary of Super Tuesday provided candidates in both parties with enough ammunition to make plausible claims they had done well enough to move on to the next round of primaries. And make claims they did."

New York Times. Diverging Paths for Two Parties "The Republican and Democratic presidential contests began diverging Tuesday, leaving the Democrats facing a long and potentially divisive nomination battle and the Republicans closer to an opportunity to put aside deep internal divisions and rally around a nominee."

Los Angeles Times. With no losers, the fight goes on "Not long ago, political strategists viewed Super Tuesday as a day that would likely crown the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, a 24-state extravaganza that would bring the long primary campaign to an orderly conclusion. They were wrong."

Super Tuesday Results

Washington Post STATE-BY-STATE RESULTS: Interactive Map and Delegate Counts

CNN Politics. State-by-state results and exit polling.

Evangelical voters. Evangelical voters bolster Huckabee in Southern states "Evangelical voters played a major role in Super Tuesday's Republican primaries, especially in the South, providing a huge boost for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and possibly costing Mitt Romney victory in some states," Reach of evangelicals, talk radio tested "Thunder on the political right booms across the airwaves every election year, but this time the attacks are aimed at the leading Republican presidential contender, Sen. John McCain of Arizona." Super Tuesday Results Show Split Between Evangelicals and Their Spokesmen "A nationwide Super Tuesday primary may have tightened Sen. John McCain's hold on the Republican presidential nomination. But his candidacy has already exposed divides between evangelical voters and their spokesmen."

Congress-stimulus. Senate Democrats to Push Expanded Stimulus Plan"The majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, said Tuesday that Democrats were prepared to force a showdown with Republicans over a $204 billion economic stimulus package and would not bow to pressure to simply make modest changes to a less expensive plan that was approved by the House last week."

Congress-global warming. The climate may be right for a global warming bill "Scores of climate change bills are stacking up in the legislative queue. Numerous hearings, the most recent on the polar bear, are highlighting the issue. And some regulation-averse corporate executives have even called on Congress to step in."

Pakistan . Pakistan Is Threatened, Intelligence Chief Says "Radical elements are now a threat to the survival of Pakistan, prompting Pakistani military leaders to recognize that more aggressive efforts are needed to get the elements under control," Pakistan-based Taliban pose global risk, thinktank warns "Taliban groups based in Pakistan could pose a significant international threat and become a leading terrorist group, analysts at a leading thinktank warned today." Intelligence Chief Cites Qaeda Threat to U.S. "Al Qaeda is gaining in strength from its refuge in Pakistan and is steadily improving its ability to recruit, train and position operatives capable of carrying out attacks inside the United States,"

Gaza . Gaza besieged as Israel and Hamas launch attacks "Tit-for-tat Israeli strikes and Hamas rocket attacks continued today after Monday's suicide bombing in southern Israel - the first such attack inside the country for more than a year." IDF kills nine Hamas men in Gaza, Qassams rain on Sderot "The conflict in Gaza heated up again yesterday after a few days of relative quiet, in response to the suicide bombing perpetrated by Hamas in Dimona on Monday." Egypt wants PA back on Gaza border "Egypt has called on Hamas to allow the Palestinian Authority to oversee Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, and warned Palestinians in Gaza not to test it's patience."

Iraq . U.S. Troops Kill at Least 3 Iraqi Civilians in Raid "U.S. troops killed at least three Iraqi civilians and injured a child during a raid north of Baghdad on Tuesday, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. The attack came a day after the U.S. military said it had inadvertently killed nine civilians in an airstrike"

Iran . Russia suspicious over Iran test "Russia thinks the launch of an Iranian rocket into space raises suspicion over the true aim of its nuclear programme, a foreign ministry official has said." In flip-flop, U.S. says Iran may be able to make nukes by 2009 "The head of American intelligence said yesterday it is unclear whether Tehran has returned to producing nuclear weapons in the past six months, and warned that Iran "would be technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a weapon" by the end of next year."

Chad . Chad president 'in total control' "Chad's president has appeared in public for the first time since an attempted coup, saying the government had successfully repulsed the rebels." Chadian Rebels Urge Cease-Fire As Push Falters "Chad's rebel leaders called for a cease-fire Tuesday as their attempted coup against President Idriss D¿by continued to falter in the face of military resistance and international condemnation."

Afghanistan . Rice calls for Afghanistan help "The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, today called on Nato countries to "share the burden" in Afghanistan as America stepped up the pressure on European allies to contribute more troops to the troubled mission." Rice, British officials hold talks on Afghanistan "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice huddled with British officials today to sketch out new goals for the troubled allied effort in Afghanistan at a time of deepening concern over the direction of the 6-year-old conflict."