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Quote of the Day. "There are more people in the shadows. This is our busiest year ever." David Bates, president of Olive Branch Mission, the oldest rescue mission in Chicago, which is now on the front lines of the new homelessness crisis. (USA Today)
FAITH IN THE NEWS
White House Faith Office Answers Critics "The White House's faith-based office is defending itself against critics who complain that not much has changed since President Bush was in office."
Missionaries Go to Haiti, Followed by Scrutiny "Moved by awful images of the Jan. 12 earthquake, a broad band of religious groups has swept down here in recent weeks. But rather than fostering a universal spirit of interfaith cooperation, the hasty assemblage of religious organizations has sometimes created tensions among them."
NEWS AT HOME
Bayh to Retire. Democratic Sen. Bayh of Indiana won't run for reelection "Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana announced Monday that he will not seek a third term in November, a decision that, coming on the heels of other Democratic departures, could imperil the party's prospects of retaining control of the Senate." Democrat Evan Bayh won't seek reelection, cites Senate gridlock "In a sign that political paralysis in Congress is taking a toll on its own members, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) on Monday unexpectedly announced he would not run for reelection this year, blasting the Senate for its recent failure to address major issues like reducing unemployment and the federal deficit."
Health Care. In California, Exhibit A in Debate on Insurance "With health care negotiations stalled in Washington, the Obama administration is seizing on the seething fury felt by Mr. Punzet and nearly 700,000 other Anthem customers in California who have received notices of increases that average 25 percent." Excise Tax Loses Support Amid White House Push "An agreement to tax high-cost, employer-sponsored health insurance plans, announced with fanfare by the White House and labor unions last month, is losing support from labor leaders, who say the proposal is too high a price to pay for the limited health care package they expect to emerge from Congress."
Tea Party Movement. Tea party leaders will meet with Steele and other Republican operatives "About 50 leaders of the grass-roots 'tea party' movement will meet in Washington on Tuesday with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele and other top GOP operatives to discuss campaign strategies and conservative principles." Tea Party Movement Lights Fuse for Rebellion on Right "The Tea Party movement has become a platform for conservative populist discontent, a force in Republican politics for revival, as it was in the Massachusetts Senate election, or for division."
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD
Haiti. Children killed as school collapses in Haiti "A school partially collapsed in north Haiti after a mudslide yesterday, killing four children and bringing further catastrophe to a country already devastated by last month's massive earthquake." US soldiers shift duties from Mideast to Haiti "Although the ruined streets of Haiti are filled with millions of hungry, desperate, homeless people, the 6,200 American soldiers on the ground here are facing a climate far different from Iraq and Afghanistan."
Afghanistan. Coalition advances as civilian death toll reaches 20 "Coalition forces continued to advance into Taliban-held areas in the violent southern Afghan province of Helmand yesterday on the third day of a major offensive aimed at breaking the insurgents' control over hundreds of thousands of local people." Half of Town's Taliban Flee or Are Killed, Allies Say "As heavy fighting in the insurgent stronghold of Marja carried into its third day, the number of Taliban fighters in the area has dropped by about half, American and Afghan commanders said Monday." U.S. curtails use of airstrikes in assault on Marja "In the new way the United States and its NATO allies are waging the Afghan war, dropping a bomb on or near a house is forbidden unless troops are in imminent danger of being overrun, or they can prove that no civilians are inside." Taliban reportedly held civilian hostages when U.S. rockets hit "Amid intelligence reports alleging that Taliban insurgents are holding civilians as hostages, American and Afghan forces moved cautiously through the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Monday as they pressed the biggest offensive since the U.S. landed troops in Afghanistan more than eight years ago."
Pakistan. How significant is Mullah Baradar's arrest? "The capture of top Taliban militant commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the Pakistani city of Karachi is the most important catch for the American CIA and the Pakistani intelligence service since March 2007." Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban's Top Commander "The Taliban's top military commander was captured several days ago in Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces, according to American government officials." Taliban deputy 'seized' in Pakistan "Mullah Abdul Ghani Brader, a senior Taliban military commander, has been captured in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, US media has reported."
Iran. Clinton warns of Mideast nuclear race "US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has told college students in Saudi Arabia that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon it could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Clinton said that could in turn create problems that she termed 'quite dangerous.'" Iran warns over new sanctions "Anyone placing sanctions on Iran would be 'regretful,' President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday. Earlier Russia had indicated it considered sanctions against Iran were still an option if Iran did not co-operate with the UN's nuclear watchdog." Clinton Raises U.S. Concerns of Military Power in Iran "The United States fears that Iran is drifting toward a military dictatorship, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps seizing control of large swaths of Iran's political, military and economic establishment."
Zimbabwe. EU renews sanctions on Zimbabwe "It said the extension was due to a lack of progress in the implementation of the country's power-sharing deal."
OPINION
The Lean Years (David Brooks, New York Times) "It's pretty easy to take these economic facts and draw stark cultural consequences. Long-term unemployment is one of the most devastating experiences a person can endure, equal, according to some measures, to the death of a spouse. Men who are unemployed for a significant amount of time are more likely to drink more, abuse their children more and suffer debilitating blows to their identity."
Yes, global warming could mean more snow (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) "Here's a recent headline that caused a few double takes in Washington, D.C.: 'Global warming hearing postponed because of snow.'
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