The latest news on Congress, START, DREAM, Unemployment Benefits End, Tax Cuts, Food Safety, California Prisons Overcrowding, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, WikiLeaks, Pakistan, Korea, Iran Sanctions, Afghanistan. 

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Quote of the Day. "Now, I've heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer, and so on. I think those descriptions are fairly significantly overwrought. The fact is, governments deal with the United States because it's in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us, and not because they believe we can keep secrets." Secretary of Defense William Gates on the Wikileaks release of diplomatic cables. (New York Times)

RELIGION IN THE NEWS

Christians join last-ditch effort to pass immigration reform for youngsters "Christian leaders were among those joining a coordinated, last-ditch effort Nov. 30 to get Congress to pass a bill providing a path to legal status for the undocumented children of illegal immigrants."

Military weighed religious concerns on DADT report "The Pentagon's long-awaited study on its policy against gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military found that repeal of the controversial policy would face resistance from some service members on religious grounds, but that repeal would not require anyone to change their personal views or religious beliefs."

First Lady Expands 'Let's Move' to Religious Groups "First lady Michelle Obama has expanded her "Let's Move" initiative to include working with religious and community organizations."

NEWS AT HOME

Congress. A 7-step guide to Congress during its lame-duck session "Congress has returned to work for a "lame duck" session, held in the shadow of last month's Republican rout in the midterm elections. For the next month, Capitol Hill will be divided between a party that has power but no mandate - and another that has a mandate but no power."

Deficit commission. Commission's final deficit report preserves controversial spending cuts; panel to vote Friday on whether to endorse plan "The leaders of President Obama's fiscal commission released a final report Wednesday that is full of political dynamite, including sharp cuts in military spending, a higher retirement age and tax reforms that would cost the average taxpayer an extra $1,700 a year." Delaying Vote, Debt Panel Splits on Taxes and Spending "The chairmen of President Obama's debt-reduction commission have been unable to win support from any of the panel's elected officials for their proposed spending cuts and tax increases, underscoring the reluctance of both parties to risk short-term political backlash in pursuit of the nation's long-term fiscal health."

START. 2 Republicans Hint at Hope for Russia Pact "President Obama's hopes of winning Senate approval for a new arms control treaty with Russia by the end of the year were encouraged on Tuesday by two Republican senators, including John McCain." Vladimir Putin: Russia will build more nukes without START "Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia will build up its nuclear arsenal if the United States reflects a "very dumb nature" and fails to ratify the START treaty signed by the two nations this year. "

DREAM. Reid moves forward on DREAM Act "The immigration bill is headed toward a vote. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would file a motion Tuesday so the Senate could take up the DREAM Act, setting up a showdown over the immigration bill that would provide some young, undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. Groups Make Late Push to Salvage Bill Aiding Illegal Immigrant Students "Immigrant advocate groups have mobilized across the country in what they call a last-ditch effort to persuade Congress to pass a bill that would grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students, pressing for action in the remaining weeks when Democrats control both houses of Congress."

Unemployment benefits end. Time runs out for 2 million Americans who will lose jobless benefits as holidays arrive "Extended unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans begin to run out Wednesday, cutting off a steady stream of income and guaranteeing a dismal holiday season for people already struggling with bills they cannot pay." Loss of jobless benefits could be serious blow to U.S. economy "With 2 million jobless workers set to lose unemployment benefits this month, the kind of extension that Congress routinely approved in the past has fallen victim to partisan deadlock - and the consequences could be serious for the U.S. economy."

Tax cuts. After meeting, hope for a deal on tax cuts "President Obama and congressional Republicans expressed determination Tuesday to reach an agreement on the tax cuts due to expire at year's end, raising the possibility of a compromise that could avert a tax increase for virtually every American worker." After White House talks, a long road to partisan cooperation "In their first sit-down since the power-shifting elections last month, President Obama and Republican leaders in Congress agreed Tuesday on a way to negotiate the fate of expiring tax cuts - the issue likely to set the tone for the relationship between the president and his newly empowered opposition. "

Food safety. Food safety bill: Spinach gets new oversight, but not beef "Months after her 2-year-old son died from eating a fast-food hamburger tainted with E. coli in January 1993, Diana Nole of Gig Harbor, Wash., went to Capitol Hill and asked Congress to overhaul the nation's food-safety laws. Now Congress could be on the verge of passing a sweeping measure that Nole and others say is a "step forward" but falls short."

California prison overcrowding. Supreme Court appears unswayed by California's prison arguments "California's bid to block a court order requiring the release or transfer of more than 40,000 inmates seemed in jeopardy Tuesday, with the U.S. Supreme Court sounding ready to force the state to significantly reduce its prison population." Supreme Court: Can judges tell California to release 40000 prisoners? "A sharply divided US Supreme Court on Tuesday confronted the thorny issue of how best to improve the quality of medical and mental health care in California's overcrowded prison system."

Don't ask, don't tell. 'Don't ask' opponents get a boost "An extensive Pentagon report about the armed forces' attitudes toward gays in the military gives a boost to the stalled push by President Obama to repeal the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law, undercutting arguments by Republicans and others that such a change would unduly strain the armed forces. " Pentagon Sees Little Risk in Allowing Gay Men and Women to Serve Openly "The Pentagon has concluded that allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the United States armed forces presents a low risk to the military's effectiveness, even at a time of war, and that 70 percent of surveyed service members believe that the impact on their units would be positive, mixed or of no consequence at all."

AIDS activists. College Campuses Are Producing a New Style of AIDS Activist "Roughly a quarter-century after gay men rose up to demand better access to H.I.V. medicines, a new breed of AIDS advocate is growing up on college campuses. Unlike the first generation of patient-activists, this latest crop is composed of budding public health scholars."

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks cables, day 3: summary of today's key points "There are no fewer than 251,287 cables from more than 250 US embassies around the world, obtained by WikiLeaks. We present a day-by-day guide to the revelations from the US embassy cables both from the Guardian and its international media partners in the story."

Pakistan. Nuclear Fuel Memos Expose Wary Dance With Pakistan "The cables, obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to a number of news organizations, make it clear that underneath public reassurances lie deep clashes over strategic goals on issues like Pakistan's support for the Afghan Taliban and tolerance of Al Qaeda, and Washington's warmer relations with India, Pakistan's archenemy." Pakistan dismisses Wikileak fears "Pakistan has dismissed fears expressed in US diplomatic cables, released by whistle-blower website Wikileaks, that its nuclear material could fall into the hands of terrorists."

Korea. South Korea to hold artillery drills near border with North "South Korea plans to hold major artillery training exercises next week