The latest news on the Financial bailout, healthcare, Evangelicals and Sarah Palin, Afghanistan, Iraq, India's nuclear deal, China, Zimbabwe, and select opinion articles

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Financial bailout. Lawmakers Revise Rescue Plan "Prodded by a wave of angry calls from constituents, congressional leaders dialed back partisan bickering over the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan and advanced modest changes to the legislation in an effort to win over House Republican holdouts." Senate to Vote Wednesday on Bailout Plan"Senate leaders scheduled a Wednesday vote on a $700 billion financial bailout package after accepting tax breaks and a higher limit for insured bank deposits in a bid to win House approval and send legislation to President Bush by the end of the week." Senate plans vote today on a revised bailout plan "The Senate plan includes tax cuts for businesses and renewable energy, a higher ceiling on federal bank deposit insurance and a fix to the alternative minimum income tax that forces millions of Americans to pay higher individual income taxes. The new bill would also raise the cap on federally insured bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000, a move both Barack Obama and John McCain endorsed." A Two-Pronged Push To Aid Ailing Banks "Two federal agencies moved yesterday to ease the financial pressure on banks even as Congress continued to debate the wisdom of a broader intervention." Candidates call for bipartisan support of rescue plan "After trading barbs over the financial crisis and the collapse of the rescue package, John McCain and Barack Obama softened their rhetoric, at least in their public appearances, calling for bipartisanship and pledging to work with reluctant members of Congress to craft a palatable solution."

ANALYSIS: Rescue Package Not the Only Loser In House's Vote "There were no winners when the House voted down the economic rescue package on Monday. The collective breakdown of leadership in Washington left political wreckage rivaling that in the financial markets -- and it spread across the spectrum." Lesson From a Crisis: When Trust Vanishes, Worry"But there is good reason for the public's skepticism. The experts and policy makers who so desperately want to take action have failed to tell a compelling story about why they're so afraid." Bailout's failure highlights U.S. leadership vacuum "The bailout plan's defeat this week in Congress - and the uncertain prospect of its revival - has highlighted the extent to which Mr. Bush's power to shape the national agenda has faded in the end days of his presidency. But it has also revealed a sizable leadership vacuum in U.S. politics." On the bailout: Voters vented, lawmakers listened"High foreclosure rates plus tight races added up to less support for the plan as lawmakers opted to put their districts first."

Healthcare. Mass. gets $10.6b for healthcare insurance "At a time when many states are facing substantial cuts in federal financing, Massachusetts will be able to expand its first-in-the-nation healthcare law because of a federal promise of $10.6 billion over the next three years," Financing for Massachusetts Preserves Health Plan "Massachusetts received the Bush administration's seal of approval for its universal health care plan on Tuesday when it reached agreement with federal officials on financing a three-year continuation of the landmark experiment."

Evangelicals & Palin. To some evangelicals, Palin's career violates biblical teachings "The Alaska governor has lifted John McCain's support among conservative Christians, but some believe her work outside the home has turned 'husbands lead, wives submit' on its head."

Afghanistan. Insurgents in Afghanistan Are Gaining, Petraeus Says "Gen. David H. Petraeus said in an interview that he expected the fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan to get worse before it got better." Trio of warlords blamed for surge in Afghanistan violence "The three men, who sometimes cooperate with one another, work largely unhindered from bases in Pakistan. U.S. strikes against them have proved futile." UK envoy says Afghan mission is doomed "The official version of the US-led campaign in Afghanistan received a blow today with a leaked report that the British Ambassador in Kabul believes that US strategy is wrong and the war is as good as lost." Military sees window to adjust Afghanistan plan "The US military is working to put a new strategy in place for Afghanistan and Pakistan that could allow it to expand airfields, preposition military forces and equipment, and prepare for a more robust effort soon against Islamist extremists in the region."

Iraq. Violence Declines Further in Iraq "Violence in Iraq dropped further during the summer although security gains remain "reversible and uneven," with the main threats coming from Iranian-backed militias and the Shiite-led Iraqi government's slow integration of volunteer Sunni fighters, according to a Pentagon report." Iraq remains 'locked in conflict' "The US defence department says the fundamental character of the conflict in Iraq remains unchanged, despite dramatic security improvements there." Surge test: Will Iraq's government back Sunni militias? "The success of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq was possible in large part because of the creation of Sunni Muslim militias that rose up against Islamic extremists and allied themslves with U.S. forces. Now the control of those forces is passing to the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. American officials are watching closely, worried that the transition won't go well."

India nuclear deal. U.S.-India nuclear accord before Senate "The Senate is poised to take up the U.S.-India nuclear accord Wednesday, and could hand the Bush administration an unexpected foreign-policy success just before lawmakers head home for the year." US senate to vote on India deal "The US senate is set to vote on a nuclear co-operation agreement between India and the US, the final legislative hurdle for a deal that overturns a 30-year ban on civilian nuclear trade with New Delhi."

China. China report urges missile shield "The United States needs new weapon systems, including missile defenses and other advanced military capabilities, to deter and counter China's steady buildup of nuclear and conventional arms, according to a draft internal report by a State Department advisory board."

Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe power-sharing deal in trouble "The Zimbabwe government's power-sharing agreement appeared near to collapse yesterday after President Robert Mugabe demanded the right to appoint all key cabinet ministers, threatening to render the opposition powerless." Zimbabwe deadlocked over cabinet "Zimbabwe's president and opposition leader have failed to break an impasse on the formation of the new cabinet in order to finalise a power-sharing agreement."

Commentary.

The Trickle-Up Bailout (Jonathan G.S. Koppell and William N. Goetzmann, Washington Post) "The financial crisis is a liquidity crisis, yes, but it is ultimately a product of homeowner failures to pay. Unless this fundamental problem is fixed, we will continue to see -- and need to treat -- the symptoms. The proposed bailout ignores this. Yet the sum being demanded from taxpayers is almost certainly more than sufficient to pay off all currently delinquent mortgages."

Food crisis in Africa (John Holmes, Washington Times) "Three years ago, in particular at the Gleneagles Summit, the world focused long-overdue attention on Africa. Pledges were made and promises trumpeted. Fast forward to 2008, when world leaders gathered at United Nations headquarters to assess progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the first of which is to "halve world poverty and hunger." How far have we come toward ending the pervasive indignity of hunger that haunts so much of sub-Saharan Africa?"