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The latest news on A story for Father's Day, Flooding in the Midwest, Fatherhood, Food prices, Small churches, Tim Russert, Habeas corpus, Congress, Bush in UK, Iran, Nuclear blueprint, Aid for Africa, Iraq, Israel Afghanistan-Pakistan, and Op-Eds.

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A story for Father's Day. Cowboys' Ware Fulfills a Challenge for Fatherhood "DeMarcus Ware cradled his 3-month-old daughter, smoothing her plentiful black hair, tickling her tummy, kissing her cheeks. On his living room couch this month, Ware looked nothing like a menacing All-Pro linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. He made baby noises. He shook rattles."

Flooding in the Midwest. Mississippi rising as next threat "While Iowans battle flooding in small towns and larger cities, residents along the Mississippi River are trying to tame the power of North America's largest river as it swells with water from the Iowa and Cedar Rivers," 83 Iowa counties declared disaster areas "While announcing welcome news that water levels on the Iowa and Cedar Rivers continued to drop Sunday, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said he has declared 83 of Iowa's 99 counties to be disaster areas." Already Flooded Iowa Town Avoids Catastrophe "Columbus Junction is at the convergence of the Cedar and Iowa rivers, which have wreaked havoc in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and other points north during a devastating week of flooding in the Midwest." In Midwest Floods, a Broad Threat to Crops "Here, in some of the best soil in the world, the stunted stalks of Dave Timmerman's newly planted corn are wilting in what sometimes look more like rice paddies than the plains, the sunshine glinting off of pools of collected water."

Fatherhood. Obama in Father's Day sermon reminds dads that parenting doesn't end at conception In a Father's Day address heavy with personal and political meaning, Democrat Barack Obama told worshipers at a Chicago church Sunday that government must do more to help families---but he also exhorted parents, especially fathers, to play their part by raising healthy children." Obama Calls for More Responsibility From Black Fathers "In an address that was striking for its bluntness and where he chose to give it, Mr. Obama directly addressed one of the most delicate topics confronting black leaders: how much responsibility absent fathers bear for some of the intractable problems afflicting black Americans."

Food prices. Food prices force groups that offer square meals to cut corners "Military planners are considering switching troops from milkshakes to less expensive soy shakes. Federal prisons are cutting back on dessert. Schools are trimming workers' hours and replacing lasagna with more economical spaghetti. Infant-feeding programs are running on emergency funds."

Small churches. Here's the church, but where are the people? "At a time when the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and other Catholic dioceses around the nation have been closing parishes that attract as many as several hundred worshipers a week, Protestant denominations are supporting congregations a fraction of that size."

Tim Russert. Journalist Revitalized Washington Talk Shows "Tim Russert, the NBC commentator who revolutionized Sunday morning television and infused journalism with an unrelenting passion for politics, died of a heart attack [Friday]." Tim Russert, 58; keen-minded NBC journalist brought blue-collar touch to political coverage "Shellshocked NBC News employees struggled with their emotions as they covered the death of the veteran political journalist, who had been a near-ubiquitous presence on MSNBC this year as he reported on the 2008 presidential campaign."

Habeas corpus. Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts"The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered its third consecutive rebuff to the Bush administration's handling of the detainees at Guantánamo Bay, ruling 5 to 4 that the prisoners there have a constitutional right to go to federal court to challenge their continued detention."

Guantanamo detainees have constitutional rights, Supreme Court says "The justices said the Constitution from the beginning enshrined the "privilege of habeas corpus" -- or the right to go before a judge -- as one of the safeguards of liberty. And that right extends even to foreigners captured in the war on terrorism,"

Congress. Partisanship prevails in Congress, while U.S. problems go unsolved "Congress is spending these opening weeks of the general-election campaign trying to score points with voters by forcing partisan opponents to cast embarrassing votes - and doing virtually nothing to ease the nation's economic, energy or foreign crises."

Bush in UK. Bush and Brown portray broad unity "Speaking at a joint news conference with George Bush, Brown said it was in the "British national interest" to take on the Taliban. As the two leaders put on a display of unity, Bush praised the prime minister for being "tough on terror" after two hours of talks in Downing Street." Bush and Brown in warning to Iran "Gordon Brown and President George Bush have warned Iran to accept their "offers of partnership" or face tough sanctions and international isolation." Britain announces new sanctions against Iran "Britain will freeze assets of Iran's largest bank in a further move to discourage the country from developing nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday."

Iran. Iran is offered incentives to halt uranium enrichment "World powers urged Iran on Saturday to suspend its controversial enrichment of uranium in exchange for a new package of economic and political incentives. But the proposal appeared to differ little from one rejected in 2006, and Tehran appeared poised to spurn the latest offer as well." Bush Says Iran Spurns New Offer on Uranium "President Bush accused Iran of rejecting a new set of incentives to stop enriching uranium, only hours after the proposal received a cold shoulder when it was delivered by Western diplomats in Tehran."

Afghanistan-Pakistan. Karzai threatens Pakistan raids "Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, escalated tensions with neighbouring Pakistan by threatening to send troops across the border to hunt down the Taliban's leadership." Karzai issues warning to Pakistan "He said that when militants crossed over from Pakistan to kill Afghans and coalition troops, his nation had the right to retaliate in "self-defence"."

Op-Eds.

Russert. Big Tim (WILLIAM KRISTOL, New York Times) "Before he was a journalist, Tim Russert, who died suddenly Friday, was a pol. In both incarnations, he was a pro's pro. Throughout, he was an awfully good guy." The Many Gifts of Tim Russert (David S. Broder, Washington Post) "We didn't know what kind of a journalist Tim would be -- or even whether he was serious about being one. It didn't take long to figure out that he would be one of the best -- and most fearless -- in the business."

Obama and faith. Why the Christian right fears Obama (Daniel Gilgoff, USA Today) "The language of faith isn't a foreign tongue to the senator of Illinois. He talks the talk and easily engages believers. In fact, Obama has a better footing with the religious-minded than competitor John McCain." Obama's Play for the Faithful (Amy Sullivan, TIME) "It's safe to say there's no page in the Democratic handbook that recommends sitting down with several dozen right-of-center Christian leaders one week after clinching the party's presidential nomination."