The latest news on the Crisis Around the Country, Economy, Obama Suspending Campaign, Alternative Energy, Immigrants, Death Penalty, Guns & Politics, Afghanistan, Trafficking, Iraq, Canada, and the Rich-Poor Gap.

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Crisis around the country. Cities see 'alarming' homeless numbers "More families with children are becoming homeless as they face mounting economic pressures, including mortgage foreclosures, according to a USA TODAY survey of a dozen of the largest cities in the nation." An eroding model for health insurance "Working Americans once could rely on employer-based benefits. But more people are being forced into the individual market, where coverage is costly, bare-bones and precarious." U.S. suicide rate is up "After falling for more than a decade, the U.S. suicide rate has climbed steadily since 1999, driven by an alarming increase among middle-age adults." Pets fall prey to tighter household budgets "The tears flow these days at local animal shelters as more families say goodbye to Fido or Felix, the beloved household pets. They are not crying because the ever-protective dogs or cuddly cats have grown old and their health is failing. They are crying because they can't afford to keep them anymore."

Economy. Economic Stimulus Gains Traction "An effort to boost the economy with a massive injection of public funds gained momentum, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke tentatively endorsed the idea of a new stimulus package and the Bush administration softened its opposition." Signs of Easing Credit and Stimulus Talk Lift Wall Street "The tentative re-emergence of trust among lenders - a rare commodity of late - raised hopes that the immediate financial pressures on banks, businesses and municipalities could ease somewhat, cushioning the blow of a likely recession."

Obama suspends campaign. Obama goes to ill grandmother "Barack Obama will suspend his presidential campaign for part of two days this week to return to his native Hawaii to be at the side of his gravely ill grandmother." Obama cancels campaign events to visit ailing grandmother "Barack Obama will temporarily leave the campaign trail later this week to fly to Hawaii to be at the side of his ailing 85-year-old grandmother."

Alternative energy. Alternative Energy Suddenly Faces Headwinds "For all the support that the presidential candidates are expressing for renewable energy, alternative energies like wind and solar are facing big new challenges because of the credit freeze and the plunge in oil and natural gas prices."

Immigrants. Supreme Court to hear case on immigrants' use of fake IDs "The Supreme Court said that it will decide whether the government can use new identity theft laws to send illegal immigrants using fake identification cards to prison or to force them to leave the country." Justices Take Case on Illegal Workers and Penalties for Identity Theft "The question in the case, one that has divided the federal appeals courts, is whether workers who use false Social Security and alien registration numbers must know that they belong to a real person to be subject to a two-year sentence extension for 'aggravated identity theft.'"

Death penalty. Two Justices Clash Over Race and Death Penalty "In respectful but pointed language, Justices John Paul Stevens and Clarence Thomas clashed over whether race could have influenced the imposition of the death sentence for Artemus Rick Walker, a black Georgia man convicted of killing a white bank vice president."

Guns & politics. Ruling on Guns Elicits Rebuke From the Right "Two prominent federal appeals court judges say that Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion in the case, District of Columbia v. Heller, is illegitimate, activist, poorly reasoned and fueled by politics rather than principle."

Afghanistan. Taliban gunmen kill Western aid worker on Afghan street "The brazen attack in broad daylight against a woman who worked for a Christian aid group sends a chill through foreigners living in Kabul. In northern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber kills seven people." Killed for being Christian "Gayle Williams worked with the poorest and most unfortunate of the children in Afghanistan, young boys and girls who had lost limbs to landmines and bombs. She was dedicated to her task of teaching them the basic skills needed to survive in a harsh and violent land." Death of a Christian: the high price of doing good in Afghanistan "No one who takes up a post as an aid worker in Afghanistan could be accused of playing safe. Whether driven by altruism, adventure or burning faith, the hundreds of mostly young aid workers drawn there face risks often as great as the military."

Trafficking. Child sex trade soars in Cambodia "Girls as young as 14 work in brothels around Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, and while the industry is often shown as serving predatory foreign tourists, local men have been found to be the mainstay of clients. Thousands of children are bought and sold for sex every day in Cambodia an investigation by Al Jazeera found."

Iraq. Iraq security pact in limbo; U.S. election a factor "The future of a crucial security pact between Iraq and the United States is increasingly in doubt, amid growing opposition within Iraq and indications that the Iraqi government may prefer to wait until a new U.S. administration is in place before striking a deal." Iraq seeking changes to US deal "Iraq's cabinet is demanding changes to a draft agreement with Washington that would allow US forces to stay until 2011, a government spokesman has said."

Canada. Dion out as Liberal leader "'I failed.' With those words, Stéphane Dion gave up the Liberal leadership, a prize hard-won less than two years ago and lost in the wake of the worst election results for the party in 20 years." Dion quits, but will stay until successor is found "Acknowledging he 'failed,' Stephane Dion is stepping aside to make way for a new Liberal leader, but will remain in the job until a successor is chosen at a leadership convention."

Rich-poor gap. 'More inequality' in rich nations "The gap between rich and poor in most wealthy nations has widened, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said. Across the 24 OECD countries where data was available, the cumulative rise in inequality was 7% over the past 20 years." Rich-poor gap widens in Canada "The gap between the rich and poor in Canada widened significantly in a recent 10-year period partly because Ottawa spent less on cash benefits than many other developed countries, the OECD says."