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Quote of the day. “We’re looking at a problem that could be as bad as drunk driving, and the government has covered it up.” Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety, on a decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration not to release extensive research on the dangers of drivers using cell phones. (New York Times)
Health care. Republicans Launch New Effort to Kill Health-Care Measures “Emboldened by divided Democrats and polls that show rising public anxiety about President Obama's handling of health care and the economy, Republicans on Monday launched an aggressive effort to link the two, comparing the health-care bills moving through Congress to what they labeled as a failed economic stimulus bill.” Democrats May Limit Tax Increases for Health Care Plan “As President Obama began a new push to overhaul the health system, Democratic Congressional leaders, bowing to unease among lawmakers and governors in their own party on Monday, suggested scaling back a plan to tax top earners to pay for the sweeping legislation and signaled a retreat from their ambitious timetable.” Health care debate's biggest players turn up volume “The health care scare is on. With the House of Representatives and the Senate hoping to vote on comprehensive health care bills by the end of this month, opponents and proponents of the measures are intensifying their rhetoric and saturating the media to move public support to their sides.” Mayo Clinic calls House plan bad medicine “A world-renowned clinic that President Obama held up as an example of good medicine said Monday that the American people would be 'losers' under the House's health care proposal, joining the growing chorus of critics the Obama administration is trying to fend off as the debate intensifies from Capitol Hill to Main Street.”
Immigration. Obama Hones Immigration Policy “The Obama administration is using its executive powers to change U.S. immigration policies and practices on a range of fronts, not waiting for efforts by Congress to tackle a broader overhaul of the system.” Feds shift gears on illegal immigration “The Department of Homeland Security is changing the way it tackles illegal immigration, in many cases remaking or rescinding Bush administration policies. The changes put heavier emphasis on employers, including more investigations of hiring records and fines for violations.”
Racial profiling. Harvard Professor Jailed; Officer Is Accused of Bias “Colleagues of Henry Louis Gates Jr, Harvard’s most prominent scholar of African-American history, are accusing the police here of racism after he was arrested at his home last week by an officer investigating a report of a robbery in progress.” Racial talk swirls with Gates arrest “His front door refused to budge, which is why Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., just home from a trip to China filming a PBS documentary, set his luggage down and beckoned his driver for help. The scene - two black men on the porch of a stately Cambridge home in the middle of the day - triggered events that were at turns dramatic and bizarre, a confrontation between one of the nation’s foremost African-American scholars and a police sergeant responding to a call that someone was breaking into the house.”
Dying in America. More bodies go unclaimed as families can't afford funeral costs “The poor economy is taking a toll even on the dead, with an increasing number of bodies in Los Angeles County going unclaimed by families who cannot afford to bury or cremate their loved ones.” Home Burials Offer an Intimate Alternative “Advocates say the number of home funerals, where everything from caring for the dead to the visiting hours to the building of the coffin is done at home, has soared in the last five years, putting the funerals 'where home births were 30 years ago.'”
Army increase. Gates Says U.S. Army’s Size Will Grow by 22,000 “Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday announced a temporary increase in the size of the Army of up to 22,000 troops to meet what he called the 'persistent pace' of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Detention policy delayed. U.S. terror policy report delayed “Mr. Obama commissioned the report as part of his efforts to close the U.S. detention centre at Guantanamo Bay by the beginning of next year.” Reports on U.S. Detention and Interrogation Policy Will Be Delayed Six Months “The Obama administration is delaying completion of reports examining U.S. detention and interrogation policy, officials said Monday, in a sign of the formidable issues it faces in grappling with how to handle terrorism suspects as it prepares to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay.”
Afghanistan. A Deadly Month for U.S. Troops in Afghanistan “Four American soldiers were killed by a roadside explosion in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, making July the deadliest month for American service members in the country since the 2001 invasion and underscoring the frightening rise in the sophistication and accuracy of roadside bombs.” Afghan cities attacked by Taliban “At least five Afghan security personnel and several militants die in a series of Taliban attacks in eastern Afghanistan.” In One Afghan Province, Votes for President Could Turn on Loss of Poppy Income “The economic fortunes of Badakhshan province, a remote and wildly beautiful corner of far northeastern Afghanistan, have risen and fallen over the past seven years with the production of opium poppies.”
Iran. Hard-Line Force Extends Grip Over a Splintered Iran “As Iran’s political elite and clerical establishment splinter over the election crisis, the nation’s most powerful economic, social and political institution — the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps — has emerged as a driving force behind efforts to crush a still-defiant opposition movement.”
Honduras. U.S. increases pressure on Honduras' de facto leaders “The Obama administration has sharply increased pressure on the de facto government running Honduras following last month's military coup, hoping to break a stalemate in negotiations with ousted President Manuel Zelaya.”
Israel-West Bank. IDF planning to evacuate all illegal West Bank outposts in one day “Amid the increased tension between the United States and Israel surrounding construction in the settlements, the Israel Defense Forces is drafting a plan to evacuate 23 illegal outposts in one day.” Israeli settlers burn Palestinian olive trees "Israeli settlers on horseback set fire to fields of olive trees and stoned Palestinian cars in the West Bank yesterday, apparently in response to the Israeli army’s removal of an illegal outpost in the area.”
Mumbai trial. Trial of Mumbai suspect adjourned “The trial of the sole surviving suspect from last year's Mumbai attacks has been adjourned to allow the prosecution more time to respond to the defendant's unexpected confession.” Mumbai gunman makes courtroom confession “The lone terrorist gunman to survive the Mumbai attacks confessed to his role in the atrocity yesterday, dramatically reversing months of denials — and possibly paving the way for a thaw in relations between India and Pakistan.”
HIV therapy. Simple HIV drug therapy 'could save thousands in Africa' “Hundreds of thousands more Africans with HIV could be treated without extra spending if blood tests for monitoring side effects are abandoned, the biggest trial of HIV therapy in the continent has found.” HIV care 'should switch to villages' “More HIV/AIDS patients in Africa could be treated if funds were switched from lab testing to care in villages, study suggests.”
Opinion. Immigration Pitfall (Jorge G. Castaneda and Tamar Jacoby, Los Angeles Times) “President Obama looks to be gearing up to make good on his campaign promise of comprehensive immigration reform. But unlike in 2006, when Democratic and Republican reformers agreed on what was needed in an overhaul, this year there's a new fault line."
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