Daily News Digest

The latest news on Economy, Faith-based schools, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Executions, New lobby group, Faith and politics, Feature-Tony Hall, Food aid, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Iran, Israel-Gaza, Syria, Darfur, Pakistan, Reformed Islam and Op-Ed.

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Economy. Haggling over farm bill hurts those on food aid "The continued failure of Congress to approve a final version of the 2007 farm bill could adversely affect low-income families who rely on food stamps and other federal nutrition assistance as food prices continue their dramatic rise," Cutoffs and Pleas for Aid Rise With Heat Costs "After struggling with soaring heating costs through the winter, millions of Americans are behind on electric and gas bills, and a record number of families could face energy shut-offs over the next two months," More troops are battling foreclosure "As the home foreclosure crisis sweeps across America, military and financial aid groups say they are hearing from a rising number of troops who say they are falling behind on their mortgage payments and struggling to keep their homes."

Faith-based schools. Faith-based schools deemed 'critical' "President Bush, at a White House summit toda, pushed the idea of providing federal funding to help inner-city faith-based schools that are struggling financially or closing, calling them "a critical national asset"

Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Rev. Wright says 'devious' forces behind use of his words against Obama "In a rare interview, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. told journalist Bill Moyers that media organizations circulating controversial sound bites of his sermons on the Internet wanted to paint him as "un-American" or "some sort of fanatic" to bring down Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama."

Executions. Executions may resume by summer "For the first time since Ohio resumed executions in 1999, a woman is among 27 Death Row inmates whose legal options are closing."

New lobby group. U.S. Jews Create New Lobby to Temper Israel Policy "Several prominent American Jews have formed a new pro-Israel lobby as an alternative to traditional organizations that, they assert, often impede progress in the Middle East because of their generally reflexive support of Israel."

Faith and politics. Some young religious voters focus on social justice "They are trying to expand the focus of faith-based politics beyond the religious right's hot-button issues of abortion and gay marriage. And they are placing social justice issues, like poverty and war, at the intersection of their moral and political decision making." Clinton's faith underestimated "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is more devout than public perception has allowed, her Methodism carried close to her heart alongside her political interests, even if she is almost reluctant to talk about it."

Feature-Tony Hall. A hunger for faith "For most of [Tony Hall's] 24-year career in Congress and beyond, he has focused with great passion on the issue of worldwide hunger. Along the way, he also served as a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations agencies in Rome and received three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's envoy dealing with religious groups in the Middle East."

Food aid. Charity World Vision says forced to cut aid "World Vision says soaring food costs will force it to cut 1.5 million people from the roster of 7.5 million it fed last year, one-third of them children who rely on the organization's aid to survive."

Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe police storm MDC office "Riot police in Zimbabwe have carried out raids on headquarters of independent poll monitors and the opposition MDC in the capital, Harare." Opposition 'Clear Victor' in Zimbabwe, U.S. Says "The top American envoy to Africa declared Thursday that Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was the "clear victor" over President Robert Mugabe in the nation's disputed election and called on other countries - including the United States - to help solve the deepening political and humanitarian crisis there."

Iraq. Sunni bloc to return to Iraq government "Iraq's main Sunni Arab political bloc announced that it was ready to rejoin the Cabinet, a step that could boost reconciliation efforts and help shore up Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government." Top Sunni Bloc Is Set to Rejoin Cabinet in Iraq "They cited a recently passed amnesty law and the government's crackdown on Shiite militias as reasons for the move."

Iran. US 'extremely concerned' over Iran "The chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff has told Al Jazeera he is "extremely concerned" about Iran's role in Iraq, which he says could grow more destructive.Syriareactor. UN censures US and Israel over Syria nuclear row "The UN's nuclear chief criticised the US for the delay in publishing what Washington claims is proof that a Syrian nuclear reactor was built with help from North Korea." UN probes US Syria reactor claim "The UN's nuclear watchdog has said it will investigate US claims that Syria was building a secret nuclear reactor with North Korean help." U.S.: Syrian reactor was almost complete "In recent internal discussions, senior Israeli defense establishment officials expressed concern that the official American release of details about the strike would embarrass Syrian leader Bashar Assad, and lead him to take a more aggressive stance toward Israel."

Darfur. Peacekeepers in Darfur continue to struggle "No one knows when the force will reach full strength. Contributing countries are struggling to meet their commitments; 2,000 troops have joined the 7,000-strong AU force to form the United Nations and African Union Mission in Darfur."

Pakistan. Pakistan Asserts It Is Near a Deal With Militants "A 15-point draft of the accord, which was shown to The New York Times, called for an end to militant activity and an exchange of prisoners in return for the gradual withdrawal of the Pakistani military from part of the tribal region of South Waziristan."

Reformed Islam. Reform-minded Turkish scholars prepare to reinterpret Islam "In a sterile, boxy stone building in the shadow of Ankara's central mosque, a group of Turkish scholars is spearheading a reinterpretation of the literary foundations of Islam that's been compared to Christianity's Protestant Reformation."

Op-Ed. Pennsylvania Fault Lines (E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) "Perhaps it was inevitable: The Democrats ' battle for the presidential nomination has led us into the thicket of race and religion.