The latest news on the Economy, Immigrants, Immigration, Racial Shift in Drug Prisoners, Iran Trial, Iran Nuclear Program, Sudan, U.S. Guns to Mexico, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Select Op-eds.

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Economy. Obama says changes are needed to help recovery take hold "With signs that the worst of the recession may have passed, President Obama is trying to keep the nation focused on a still-troubled economy and regain momentum in Congress for his plan to revamp healthcare, energy, education and financial regulation -- thorny issues that have long defied solution." Obama Stands Firm on a Sweeping Agenda "As he spoke about the economy on Tuesday, President Obama invoked the parable in the Sermon on the Mount about two houses, one built on sand only to be blown away in a storm and another built on rock impervious to the swirling winds." Obama urges patience, lower expectations on economy "President Barack Obama told Americans Tuesday to brace for 'more job loss, more foreclosures, and more pain' in 2009, saying the recession isn't over yet despite some early promise from the government's massive spending on bailouts and economic stimulus."

Immigrants. Study Finds Illegal Immigrant Population Mostly Made Up of Young Families "A new report providing the most detailed portrait to date of the illegal immigrant population found that it is mostly made up of young families that are having children at a much faster rate than previously known." Study: Poverty more likely for kids of illegal immigrants "Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as the children of American-born parents."

Immigration. Illegal immigration slowdown in California "In five years of social outreach at Our Lady Queen of Angels church in Los Angeles, Guillermo Armenta has always seen more parishioners stream into this historic haven for illegal immigrants than leave. Until now." Many immigrants deported for nonviolent crimes "Federal authorities have repeatedly said their priority is to find and remove illegal immigrants with violent criminal histories, but the U.S. government's stepped-up enforcement in recent years has led to the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants convicted of nonviolent crimes, according to a new study." Unions agree on path for immigration reform "The nation's top two labor federations announced a framework Tuesday for comprehensive immigration reform, setting aside differences with the hope of pushing legislation through this year."

Racial shift in drug prisoners. A Racial Shift in Drug-Crime Prisoners "For the first time since crack cocaine sparked a war on drugs 20 years ago, the number of black Americans in state prisons for drug offenses has fallen sharply, while the number of white prisoners convicted for drug crimes has increased." Decline in Blacks in State Prisons for Drugs "The number of African-American drug offenders in state prisons has declined for the first time since law enforcement agencies started the war on drugs 25 years ago, even as convictions of white drug offenders have increased."

Iran trial. Trial of Iranian American journalist over, officials say "The trial of an Iranian American journalist facing espionage charges is over and her fate rests in the hands of a judge who will deliver a verdict in the next three weeks, a judiciary official in Tehran told reporters Tuesday." American Journalist Stands Trial in Iran "An Iranian judiciary official said Tuesday that the trial of an American journalist accused of spying for the United States had begun on Monday in secret, and that a verdict was expected within two weeks."

Iran nuclear program. Iran offers new package to break nuclear weapons deadlock "Tehran is preparing new proposals to break the deadlock over its nuclear program, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said today in a sign of thawing relations with the west." U.S. still insistent that Iran suspend uranium enrichment "After a New York Times report claimed that the United States administration would not demand that Iran halt uranium enrichment as a condition for beginning talks between Washington and Teheran, a White House spokesman issued a statement which did not confirm the report, but also failed to categorically deny it."

Sudan. Khartoum attackers to be hanged "A Sudanese court has sentenced 10 members of Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) to death for a 2008 attack on Khartoum, the county's capital."

U.S. guns to Mexico. U.S. Stymied as Guns Flow to Mexican Cartels "The federal system for tracking gun sales, crafted over the years to avoid infringements on Second Amendment rights, makes it difficult to spot suspicious trends quickly and to identify people buying for smugglers."

North Korea. North Korea Answers U.N. by Ousting Nuclear Inspectors, Condemning Six-Party Talks "Fuming at the U.N. Security Council for condemning its missile launch, North Korea ordered U.N. nuclear inspectors out of the country on Tuesday, said it will restart its plutonium factory and vowed never to participate again in six-country nuclear negotiations." North Korea asks nuclear inspectors to leave "North Korea threatened yesterday to re-ignite its nuclear reactor, process more plutonium for nuclear weapons and withdraw permanently from international disarmament negotiations."

Afghanistan. Afghan women protest 'rape legalization' "Hundreds of angry Afghan women gathered outside the Kabul mosque run by a hardline Shia cleric today to protest against a law that human rights organizations claim legalizes marital rape." Taliban leader risks his life to seek peace "Facing another bloody summer of fighting in Helmand province, the Taliban commander uttered words that could cost him his life. 'We all want peace. We want to put down our guns,' he said quietly."

Iraq. Iraq Tries to Prove Autonomy, and Makes Inroads "With the Americans leaving and security improved, the Iraqi government has been on a nonstop campaign to convince the world that it is a sovereign state, a client neither of the United States nor of Iran."

Opinion. In the Age of Pirates (Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times) "So, in sum, we have four problem countries at the heart of U.S. foreign policy today that we don't have the will or ability to ignore but seem to lack the leverage or the allies to decisively change. The big wild card - a critical mass of people who share our aspirations inside these countries, rising up and leading the fight, which is ultimately what tipped Iraq for the better - I don't see. As such, I fear we are sliding into commitments in Afghanistan and Pakistan without a real national debate about the ends or the means or the exits. That is a recipe for trouble."