Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »
Quote of the day. "We ask the question all the time: 'What are y'all doing for us in this neck of the woods?' We can't get streetlights down here. We got holes in the street." R.C. Brock, a resident of the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans on the pace of rebuilding poor, mostly African-American neighborhoods. (Los Angeles Times)
Doctor killed in church. Abortion Doctor Slain by Gunman in Kansas Church “George Tiller, one of only a few doctors in the nation who performed abortions late in pregnancy, was shot to death here Sunday in the foyer of his longtime church as he handed out the church bulletin.” Late-Term Abortion Provider George Tiller Killed in Wichita Church “George R. Tiller, the nation's most prominent provider of controversial late-term abortions, was shot and killed yesterday in the lobby of his Lutheran church in Wichita, where he was serving as an usher.” Suspect in Tiller's death supported killing abortion providers, friends say “Scott P. Roeder, 51, of Merriam, Kan., a Kansas City suburb, was well known among abortion foes. One fellow anti-abortion activist said Roeder once entered a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas City and confronted the doctor.” A history of violence on the antiabortion fringe “The slaying of Dr. George Tiller in his Kansas church Sunday was part of a decades-long history of domestic terrorism aimed at abortion providers, carried out by a small minority of the much broader and generally peaceful movement that opposes abortion.”
GM bankruptcy. General Motors files for bankruptcy “The fast-track bankruptcy filing -- the third-largest in U.S. history -- is designed to create a smaller and more competitive GM, but also forces the iconic automaker into an uncertain era of government ownership.” G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start “President Obama will push General Motors into bankruptcy protection on Monday, making a risky bet that by temporarily nationalizing the onetime icon of American capitalism, he can save at least a diminished automaker that is competitive.” When cars were America's idols “If you were to walk up to a typical New York executive in the 1960s -- think Don Draper in AMC's 'Mad Men' -- and tell him that General Motors Corp. would be in bankruptcy by 2009, he would have thought you were delusional, or perhaps a Communist.”
Congress returns. Congress Returns, to Full Plate and Tests for Democrats “Congress returns this week to face an agenda stuffed with difficult, high-profile issues that will test the ability of Democrats and the White House to deliver health care, energy and spending legislation while simultaneously contending with a Supreme Court nomination.” Climate and energy bill faces hurdles when Congress returns “Congress will return Monday ready to engage in a historic debate on whether the country should shift to cleaner and more efficient use of energy and reduce the heat-trapping gases building up in the atmosphere.”
Immigration. Use of Tax Records in Colorado Immigrant Probe Questioned “Immigrant advocates say they have seen nothing like it: thousands of confidential tax records from an income tax preparer seized by a prosecutor looking for illegal immigrants in this northern Colorado city.” U.S. census sparks feud over the counting of illegal immigrants “In a high-stakes battle that could affect California's share of federal funding and political representation, immigrant activists are vowing to combat efforts by a national Latino clergy group to persuade 1 million illegal immigrants to boycott the 2010 U.S. census.”
New Orleans. New Orleans rebuilds, but along the same lines? “Nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, it is the worry that will not fade, complicating the rebuilding of New Orleans and defining and reflecting this fragile city's racial divisions. Call it the fear of a shrunken city.”
U.S.-Cuba. Cuba Agrees to Resume Immigration Talks With U.S. “Cuba has agreed to restart talks with the United States on immigration and has signaled its willingness to cooperate on issues including terrorism, drug trafficking and even mail service, a sign that the island's communist government is warming to President Obama's call for a new relationship after decades of tension.”
Pakistan. U.S. Officials Cite Gains Against Al-Qaeda in Pakistan “Drone-launched U.S. missile attacks and Pakistan's ongoing military offensive in and around the Swat Valley have unsettled al-Qaeda and undermined its relative invulnerability in Pakistani mountain sanctuaries, U.S. military and intelligence officials say.” Pakistan plan to attack Taliban haven promises wider war “Waziristan, the remote area that's the epicenter of Taliban and al Qaida militants in Pakistan, is set to become the next war zone in the nation's fight against Islamic extremists, where clashes between insurgents and the army erupted over the weekend.”
Afghanistan. Afghan Valley Offers Test for Obama Strategy “The Jalrez Valley is a test case, the first area in Afghanistan where President Obama’s strategy of increasing troop levels has been applied, and it is a promising early indicator.”
North Korea. North Korea's intentions unclear, Gates says “Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged today that North Korea may be preparing for another long-range missile test, but said Pyongyang's intentions were in doubt.”
Palestine. Police raid sparks West Bank clash “Three Palestinian police officers, two Hamas fighters and a bystander have been killed in a clash in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian security officials say.” 6 dead as Palestinian factions clash in West Bank “The clash underscored the risks for the Palestinian Authority as it moves forcefully, with fresh encouragement from President Obama, to disarm militants intent on attacking Israel.”
Israeli settlements. U.S. Weighs Tactics on Israeli Settlement “As President Obama prepares to head to the Middle East this week, administration officials are debating how to toughen their stance against any expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.” PM: Demand to halt natural W. Bank growth 'unreasonable' “The American demand to freeze settlement construction for natural growth is not reasonable, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday.”
Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe PM admits lack of progress “Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's prime minister, has said that his efforts to restore democratic freedoms and the rule of law to Zimbabwe have so far failed.”
Iran. Iran president's rivals slam his foreign policy “In a political race most analysts predicted would hinge on domestic bread-and-butter issues, foreign policy has emerged as a major battleground -- and a potential Achilles' heel for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”
Editorial. Yes, freeze settlements (Haaretz) “The settlements threaten to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the implementation of the partition solution, which is essential for preserving Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state. Defending the settlements requires Israel to operate a complex system of access roads and roadblocks, which make Palestinians' lives more difficult and inflict serious financial harm on them.”
Opinion. Death Penalty Disgrace (Bob Barr, New York Times) “There is no abuse of government power more egregious than executing an innocent man. But that is exactly what may happen if the United States Supreme Court fails to intervene on behalf of Troy Davis.” A New Red Line on Iran's Nuclear Program (Graham Allison, Washington Post) “The Iranian nuclear challenge was transformed on President George W. Bush's watch. Events in Iran have advanced faster than the policy community's thinking about the problem. The brute fact is that Iran has crossed a threshold that is painful to acknowledge but impossible to ignore: It has lost its nuclear virginity.” Values Voters In a Downturn (E.J. Dionne Jr, Washington Post) “But a funny thing happened on the road to the revival tent. The crash of the economy has concentrated the minds of Americans on other things. Moral conflict just isn't what it used to be.”
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!