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Quote of the day. "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Astronaut Neil Armstrong, as he took his first step onto the surface of the moon, 40 years ago today. (Today’s news on the commemoration, Washington Post)
Health care. Obama Heads to the Front to Do Battle on Health-Care Reform “Six months into his presidency, Barack Obama may have no greater test of his ability to translate personal popularity into a successful legislative agenda than the upcoming two weeks.” Governors Fear Medicaid Costs in Health Plan “The nation’s governors, Democrats as well as Republicans, voiced deep concern Sunday about the shape of the health care plan emerging from Congress, fearing that Washington was about to hand them expensive new Medicaid obligations without money to pay for them.” Democrats' Worry: Their Rich Voters “A group of Democrats elected in recent years from some of the country's richest congressional districts have emerged as a stumbling block to raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for President Barack Obama's ambitious health-care overhaul just as the plan has begun to meet increasing resistance over its cost.”
Health care & abortion. Health Bill Might Direct Tax Money to Abortion “An Obama administration official refused Sunday to rule out the possibility that federal tax money might be used to pay for abortions under proposed health care legislation.”
Children’s health insurance. Defying Slump, 13 States Insure More Children “Despite budgets ravaged by the recession, at least 13 states have invested millions of dollars this year to cover 250,000 more children with subsidized government health insurance.”
Hispanic worker deaths. Hispanic worker deaths up 76% “The number of Hispanic workers who die on the job has risen, even as the overall number of workplace deaths has declined, according to federal statistics.”
U.S. war deaths. Iraq leader plans to visit Arlington “U.S. troops have now departed almost completely from the streets of Iraq's cities, and Prime Minister Nouri Maliki plans to visit the graves of American soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery during a trip to Washington this week and to offer a personal 'thank you' to the men and women who gave their lives for the sake of a new Iraq.” As wars' toll nears 5,000, Dover shows quiet dignity “Tonight, as always, the passengers stop talking when the van makes a sharp left on the tarmac and rolls toward the rear hatch of the C-17 transport. Now they see its cargo: two gleaming, 7-foot-long aluminum cases, each covered with an American flag.”
Violent crime drops. Drop in Violent Crime in D.C. Area and Some Other Major Cities Puzzles Experts “Violent crime has plummeted in the Washington area and in major cities across the country, a trend criminologists describe as baffling and unexpected.”
Food stamps & farmers markets. Food Stamps, Now Paperless, Are Getting Easier to Use at Farmers’ Markets “Over the past five years, though, states and the federal government, with help from nonprofit organizations, have made hundreds of thousands of terminals available at farmers’ markets.”
Minimum wage. On Friday, lowest-wage workers get a pay hike “Two previous wage hikes, one in 2007, the other in 2008, pushed the federal wage to $5.85 and then to the current $6.55 an hour. The third, which goes into effect Friday, will push it to $7.25 an hour.”
Climate bill. House climate bill was flooded with last-minute changes “There were about 300 pages of last-minute amendments, many designed to make money for industries and constituencies important to fence-sitting lawmakers.” Pollution credits are hot issue in climate bill “Rio Tinto, a mining giant that provides coal for utilities in the United States, is a major producer of the greenhouse gas emissions the Obama administration wants to cap. But the Australian company is counting on farmers in Iowa and around the globe to help the business avoid making some costly changes in its operations.”
Interfaith dialogue. Rabbis, imams visit U.S. for dialogue “A group of 28 imams and rabbis from 10 European countries arrived in New York and Washington this week for whirlwind visits to interfaith centers to break new ground on Muslim-Jewish relations and combat Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in each other's communities.”
Mandela Day. South Africa hails 'Mandela Day' “Supporters of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, have celebrated the anti-apartheid icon's 91st birthday with the launch of a special day in his name.”
Afghanistan. U.S. names soldier in Taliban video “The U.S. military has identified a man shown on a Taliban video as an American soldier captured in Afghanistan. He was named as Pte Bowe Bergdahl, 23, from Ketchum, Idaho. He went missing from his base in a Taliban stronghold near the Pakistani border last month.” Marines Face Taliban Resistance in Clashes in Afghanistan's Helmand Province “Marines pushing deep into a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province battled insurgents in a day of firefights around a key bazaar Sunday.” U.S. increasing counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan “The U.S. government is deploying dozens of Drug Enforcement Administration agents to Afghanistan in a new kind of 'surge,' targeting trafficking networks that officials say are increasingly fueling the Taliban insurgency and corrupting the Afghan government.” Pentagon Seeks Prison Overhaul in Afghanistan “A sweeping United States military review calls for overhauling the troubled American-run prison here as well as the entire Afghan jail and judicial systems, a reaction to worries that abuses and militant recruiting within the prisons are helping to strengthen the Taliban.”
North Korea. Outside World Turns Blind Eye to N. Korea's Hard-Labor Camps “Images and accounts of the North Korean gulag become sharper, more harrowing and more accessible with each passing year. A distillation of testimony from survivors and former guards, newly published by the Korean Bar Association, details the daily lives of 200,000 political prisoners estimated to be in the camps.”
Honduras. Honduras crisis talks break down “Talks to resolve the political crisis in Honduras broke down today when coup leaders rejected a compromise plan to reinstate the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya.” Honduras crisis mediation at an impasse “Talks mediated by Costa Rica's Oscar Arias collapse after Honduras' de facto government rejects his proposal, which called for reinstating ousted President Manuel Zelaya.”
South Africa. South Africa Is Seen to Lag in H.I.V. Fight “Circumcision has been proven to reduce a man’s risk of contracting H.I.V. by more than half. Yet two years after the World Health Organization recommended the surgery, the government here still does not provide it to help fight the disease or educate the public about its benefits.”
Iran. Mousavi urges Iran to release protesters “Iran's opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, has called for the immediate release of protesters who have been detained since last month's disputed presidential election.” Khatami calls for Iran referendum “Iranian reformists, among them Mohammad Khatami, the former president, have called for a referendum to resolve the crisis that has gripped the country since last month's disputed presidential election.” Ex-President in Iran Seeks Referendum “Mr. Khatami’s comments amounted to a bold challenge to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has dismissed the opposition’s claims that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s landslide victory on June 12 was rigged, and has ordered protesters to accept it.”
U.S. & India. India signs arms pact with U.S. “An accord between India and the United States has been signed in New Delhi allowing the sale of sophisticated U.S. arms to India.” India Rejects U.S. Proposal of Carbon Limits “India dismissed suggestions that it accept binding limits on carbon emissions, with a top official Sunday delivering a strong rebuke to overtures from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the two countries to work together to combat climate change.” Clinton and Indian Minister Face Off Over Reducing Emissions “Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh complained about U.S. pressure to cut a worldwide deal, and Clinton countered that the Obama administration's push for a binding agreement would not sacrifice India's economic growth.”
Passing. Walter Cronkite, Voice of TV News, Dies “Walter Cronkite, who pioneered and then mastered the role of television news anchorman with such plain-spoken grace that he was called the most trusted man in America, died Friday at his home in New York.” America's Iconic TV News Anchor Shaped the Medium and the Nation “Walter Cronkite, America's preeminent television journalist of the 1960s and 1970s who as anchor and managing editor of 'CBS Evening News' played a primary role in establishing television as the dominant national news medium of that era, died last night at age 92.”
Opinion. Why Obama Likes His Odds (E.J. Dionne, Jr, Washington Post) “There are reasons to believe that his confident words -- they were about health-care reform but have broader application -- were not the bombast of a bluffer exaggerating the strength of his hand. They reflect the high cards that Obama holds and has only now started to play.” Evangelism 2.0 (Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today) “Stereotypes simply don't apply these days in Portland, Ore. A conservative Christian minister and an openly gay mayor of this progressive city provide a glimpse of what could be Christianity's future. Welcome to 'Jesus' favorite city.'"
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