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Quote of the Day."In the entire First World, fatal crashes are at the brink of extinction." Arnold Barnett, a professor who specializes in accident statistics at MIT, on news that there were no passenger fatalities on any airline based in developed nations, including the U.S., in 2010. (USA Today)
RELIGION IN THE NEWS
Poll: 8 in 10 Say Prayer Saved Giffords "About 77 percent of American voters say they believed that prayer literally helped Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords survive the Tucson shooting, according to a Fox News poll released Thursday."
Churches Increasingly Fans of Facebook, Social Media "Churches are turning increasingly to social networking tools as ministry aids and Facebook is by far the most popular tool, according to a new study by LifeWay Research."
More church websites invite posting of prayers "Need prayer power? Try the World Wide Web. More than four in 10 Protestant churches with websites now invite people to post pleas to the Lord on the main church site so volunteers and staff can chime in on the soulful call, according to a new survey."
S Korean pastor jailed over trip "A South Korean clergyman has been jailed for five years for travelling to North Korea and praising its leaders."
Russian Orthodox Church calls for dress code, says miniskirts cause 'madness' "In a sign of the growing political ambitions of the Russian Orthodox Church, a top official wants a national dress code for men and women. It would forbid men from wearing T-shirts or track suits in public. Islamic groups have come out in support of the idea."
NEWS AT HOME
U.S.- China summit. For China and U.S., summit gets passing grade "For the Obama administration, the meeting went smoothly and yielded some progress on difficult issues -- but it also served as a reminder that the U.S.-China relationship will continue to be among Washington's most nettlesome." Hu Jintao bristles: Back off on Tibet and Taiwan "Chinese President Hu Jintao, addressing business leaders in Washington, said any US-China relationship must be based on mutual respect, calling Tibet and Taiwan core Chinese interests."
Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords moves to rehab facility Friday "Fresh from a sunny outing that brought a smile, Gabrielle Giffords is moving to a Houston rehab center where her husband hopes the "fighter" continues on the path to a full recovery." With next step, Giffords has long fight ahead "With the expected transfer Friday of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) from a hospital in Tucson to a rehabilitation center in Houston, her treatment transitions from a heroic, high-tech fight to save her life to a long and arduous slog to help her brain rebuild itself."
GOP budget cuts. GOP bloc in House calls for deep cuts "Congressional conservatives on Thursday demanded far more dramatic reductions in government spending than House GOP leaders have recently proposed, in the first sign of a fissure between old-guard Republicans and tea-party-backed newcomers." G.O.P. Bloc Presses Leaders to Slash Even More "House Republican leaders confronted pressure from conservatives on Thursday to take more aggressive steps to cut federal spending, with a large group of lawmakers calling for outlays to be slashed by $2.5 trillion over the next decade, far more than the party has sought so far." GOP Will Seek Cuts to 2008 Levels "House Republicans are launching their long-promised effort to scale back federal spending to the levels in place before President Barack Obama took office. But the GOP is divided over how quickly to try to meet that target."
Economy. Path Is Sought for States to Escape Debt Burdens "Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers." With more jobs coming in 2011, it may finally feel like recovery "America's slow climb from the depths of the Great Recession appears well under way. As fears of a double-dip downturn fade, even the most pessimistic experts are asking how far and how fast will the U.S. economy recover this year?"
Health-care legislation. House Republicans offer own healthcare legislation "Following up on their largely symbolic vote to repeal the new healthcare law, oved ahead Thursday with more targeted efforts to advance their own healthcare initiatives, including deregulating health insurance sales." Abortion inserted into repeal effort "The high-profile introduction of a Republican anti-abortion bill - just hours after the health repeal vote and prior to any legislation on jobs or economy-has groups on both sides of the issue gearing up for another aggressive fight."
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD
Retail invasion of Canada. U.S. retail invasion gathers pace "The impending entry of new chains underscores the growing appeal of the Canadian retailing landscape in an economy more buoyant than many U.S. and European markets."
World food crisis. The G20's next project: Solve global crisis of unstable food prices "Even as the G20 wrestles with the aftermath of the financial crisis, the group of global powers is preparing to tackle another of the world's most urgent issues
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