The latest news on the Presidential Debate, Wall Street, Global Finance, Main Street, Infant Mortality, Immigration, Climate Change, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Strategic Review.

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Presidential debate. A Hard-Hitting Final Round "Seeking to recapture the momentum in the presidential race, John McCain aggressively criticized Barack Obama's past relationships and challenged his character Wednesday night while Obama sought to link McCain to President Bush and direct the conversation to 'solving the big problems here in America.'" McCain Presses Obama in Final Debate "Senator John McCain used the final debate of the presidential election to raise persistent and pointed questions about Senator Barack Obama's character, judgment and policy prescriptions in a session that was by far the most spirited and combative of their encounters this fall." McCain deals no lethal blows in final debate with Obama "John McCain came into the third and final presidential debate needing to somehow wrestle the campaign out of Barack Obama's arms. He did not do it." The final showdown "A newly aggressive Sen. John McCain clashed repeatedly with Sen. Barack Obama over raising taxes in a tough economy, the nasty tenor of each campaign and a former 1960s radical activist turned Chicago professor." McCain brings best and worst to final debate "John McCain brought his best -- and also his worst -- to his final debate with Barack Obama, arguably his best and last chance to change the landscape of the presidential campaign and overtake Obama."

Wall Street. Markets Suffer as Investors Weigh Relentless Trouble "Stock markets plunged anew on Wednesday, nearly wiping out the record gains of Monday and sending another wave of wealth destruction washing over American households." New stimulus package might be next in federal effort to gird economy "Amid fresh signs that the nation is in recession -- and yet another jaw-dropping decline in the stock market -- Congress is gearing up to enact a new economic stimulus plan to help ordinary Americans."

Global finance. Let's do it my way, resurgent Gordon Brown orders EU leaders "Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy issued rival plans to rescue the global financial system yesterday as they jousted over who should take charge of far-reaching regulatory reforms." G-8 plans summit on financial reforms "Leaders of the world's eight major industrialized nations are to meet as early as next month to begin mapping out a joint strategy for preventing another global financial meltdown."

Main Street. Home Prices Seem Far From Bottom "Home prices across much of the country are likely to fall through late 2009, economists say, and in some markets the trend could last even longer depending on the severity of the anticipated recession." As Budgets Tighten, More People Decide Medical Care Can Wait "From Park Avenue dental offices to the Arlington Free Clinic, the global economic crunch is forcing a growing number of Americans to scale back on medical care." Patrick to cut 1,000 jobs from state payroll "Governor Deval Patrick [MA] said yesterday that he will eliminate 1,000 jobs from state government and slash the budget by more than $1 billion, reacting to the national economic crisis with sweeping cuts that his administration called the worst single round of midyear budget rollbacks in state history."

Infant mortality. U.S. falls behind other developed countries in infant mortality "After a century of declines, the U.S. infant mortality rate barely budged between 2000 and 2005, causing the United States to slip further behind other developed countries despite spending more on healthcare."

Immigration. Immigrants hear mixed messages "Immigration ties politicians in knots. Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama agree on the end goal -- granting citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants -- yet disagree about how to get there." A Somali Influx Unsettles Latino Meatpackers "Grand Island [NE] is among a half dozen or so cities where discord has arisen with the arrival of Somali workers, many of whom were recruited by employers from elsewhere in the United States after immigration raids sharply reduced their Latino work forces."

Climate change. EU 'holds firm' on climate goals "EU leaders will maintain their targets and timetable for tackling climate change, despite objections from some nations, the French president has said."

Africa. Aid agency believes in Africa "The Millennium Challenge Corp., an aid agency of the U.S. government created four years ago to assist the 'poorest of the poor' countries, has emerged as a resource for economic development in Africa."

Iraq. Iraq Inches Closer to Security Pact With U.S. "Iraqi negotiators are reviewing a revised draft of a long-delayed security agreement to govern the conduct of American forces in Iraq, an Iraqi government spokesman announced Wednesday." US bows to Iraqi demands over troop withdrawal "America appeared to bow to demands by Baghdad about the future status of its troops in Iraq yesterday, apparently agreeing that they must leave the country in three years' time and could face prosecution in an Iraqi court if they broke the law."

Afghanistan. Gates Seeks More Military and Civilian Support in Afghanistan "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Wednesday that the mission to stabilize Afghanistan had shown significant gaps in the ability of the United States and NATO to integrate their civilian and military efforts, and he warned that it 'remains to be seen' whether the allies could better coordinate their work." NATO Modifies Airstrike Policy In Afghanistan "In a bow to public outrage over a recent spate of U.S.-led airstrikes in Afghanistan that resulted in more than 100 civilian deaths, NATO officials have ordered commanders to try to lessen their reliance on air power in battles with insurgents, NATO and Afghan officials said." Afghan strike 'kills civilians' "At least 18 civilians are killed in an air strike by foreign forces in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, reports say."

Strategic review. Petraeus Mounts Strategy Review "Gen. David H. Petraeus has launched a major reassessment of U.S. strategy for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and the surrounding region, while warning that the lack of development and the spiraling violence in Afghanistan will probably make it 'the longest campaign of the long war.'"