The latest news on Violence at the Holocaust Museum, Health Care, School Lunches, Service Organizations Struggle, California Budget, North Korea, Aid to Africa, Afghanistan, Iran, Mideast, South Africa, Canada Carbon Plan, Green Guatemalan, and Select Op-

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Quote of the day. "I am more concerned with the threat from the Christian-identity groups than the homegrown Islamic terrorists. It's a disaster waiting to happen. The fact that this guy did what he did may be symptomatic of things to come." Maria Haberfeld, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, on yesterday's shooting at the Holocaust Museum. (Washington Times)

Violence at Holocaust Museum. At a Monument of Sorrow, A Burst of Deadly Violence "At 12:40 p.m. yesterday a man stepped through the doors of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He took two paces, lowered his rifle at a security guard and, before anyone could react, opened fire in a popular national landmark." Holocaust Museum suspect's views were known "An elderly Maryland man with a long history of ties to neo-Nazi organizations walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday and opened fire, killing a security guard and sending visitors scrambling for cover." Jewish groups say attack is a 'wake-up call' "Three Jewish watchdog groups say they've long had their sights set on the elderly man accused of storming the U.S. Holocaust Museum and killing a guard Wednesday afternoon."

Health care. A panic attack over healthcare tab "Behind the open brawling over how to rebuild the nation's healthcare system, another struggle is beginning that may be the toughest test for the drive to cover millions of people without insurance and improve medical care for all: who should pay the eye-popping bill." Doctors' Group Opposes Public Insurance Plan "As the health care debate heats up, the American Medical Association is letting Congress know that it will oppose creation of a government-sponsored insurance plan, which President Obama and many other Democrats see as an essential element of legislation to remake the health care system." Canadians contrast their health care to U.S.'s "For a Canadian facing emergency surgery in the United States, a ride on a privately chartered Lear jet back to Canada is a whole lot cheaper than having the operation in a U.S. hospital."

School lunches. More students on lunch programs "Nearly 20 million children now receive free or reduced-price lunches in the nation's schools, an all-time high, federal data show, and many school districts are struggling to cover their share of the meals' rising costs." School systems juggle to cover cost of students' free lunches "School systems nationwide are trimming lunch menus, buying more food in bulk and delaying purchases of kitchen equipment to offset the costs of serving free or reduced-price lunches to millions of newly eligible students from cash-strapped families." Demand grows for meals "Below are the numbers receiving free and reduced-price lunches and the percentage change from February 2008 to February 2009. (Figures are preliminary.)"

Service organizations struggle. They're nonprofit, but they still need money to work "The Salvation Army's problem in Elkhart [IN] -- where unemployment is nearing 20 percent -- is reflected nationally among nonprofits that provide human services. These groups, which help fill the gaps in large public assistance programs, are swamped by need amid ongoing layoffs and foreclosures, while individual, foundation and corporate donations falter."

California budget. Schwarzenegger threatens to shut down state government "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed Wednesday to let California government come to a 'grinding halt' rather than agree to a high-interest loan to keep the state afloat if he and the Legislature do not close the yawning budget gap in coming weeks."

North Korea. Major Powers Reach Deal on Draft U.N. Resolution on North Korea "The United States, China and other major powers reached agreement Wednesday on a draft U.N. resolution that condemns North Korea's recent underground nuclear test and imposes additional military, financial and trade sanctions on the communist state." North Korea Could Face New Round of Sanctions "The Security Council's five permanent members agreed on Wednesday on a draft resolution that would ratchet up sanctions against North Korea by concentrating on its financial transactions and its arms industry, including allowing for inspections of its cargo vessels on the high seas." China backs North Korea cargo search sanction "The major powers, including the United States and China, agreed yesterday on a system to inspect suspect cargoes in and out of North Korea despite Pyongyang's warning that it would regard such checks as an act of war." Punishing North Korea won't be easy "Past sanctions have failed to rein in Pyongyang's misconduct because Kim Jong Il has ways around the embargoes. That leaves the impoverished public to suffer."

Aid to Africa. G8's promise to Africa is likely to be broken, warns campaign group "The G8 group of leading industrial nations looks set to break its promise to eradicate poverty in Africa because of a poor performance by France and especially Italy, aid campaigners warned today."

Afghanistan. British troops bear brunt of rise in Afghan Taliban attacks "A huge increase in insurgent activity has been recorded in Helmand, the Afghan province where British soldiers are based and where the Taliban is concentrating its attacks, according to NATO figures released today." More Leeway for New U.S. Commander in Afghanistan "The new American commander in Afghanistan has been given carte blanche to handpick a dream team of subordinates, including many Special Operations veterans, as he moves to carry out an ambitious new strategy that envisions stepped-up attacks on Taliban fighters and narcotics networks."

Iran. Ahmadinejad fights for survival as rival surges "Tensions flared in Tehran last night as thousands of protesters marched to the state television centre, enraged by the discovery that President Ahmadinejad was being given far more airtime than his opponents." In Iran Race, Ex-Leader Works to Oust President "Though not a candidate himself, former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has engaged in a bitter behind-the-scenes feud with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that has helped define the Iranian presidential race." Iran Guard warns reformist groups "The political chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned reformists in the country against seeking what he called a 'velvet revolution,' vowing that it would be 'nipped in the bud.'"

Mideast. Netanyahu's speech: Yes to road map, no to settlement freeze "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will announce in his foreign policy speech scheduled for Sunday the adoption of the road map and the 'two-state solution' for settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according to sources close to the prime minister."

South Africa. South Africa's Jobless Hope New President Delivers Work "Like birds perched on a wire, the jobless men sat along a concrete wall, idle on a sun-drenched day and voicing an ardent hope that their new president, Jacob Zuma, would deliver for them."

Canada carbon plan. Ottawa unveils carbon market plan "The federal government took the long-awaited step Wednesday of detailing its plan to trade pollution permits on the open market. Environment Minister Jim Prentice released two draft documents laying the ground rules for a federal carbon-offset scheme."

Green Guatemalan. Bullets don't stop Guatemala green activist "Drug traffickers. Midnight loggers. Mining giants. Corrupt military men. Politicians. The 47-year-old Melini has taken on all of them as lead agitator of a Guatemalan environmental advocacy group, the Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action, or CALAS."

Opinion. This Time, We Won't Scare (Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times) "Perhaps you've seen those television commercials denouncing health care reform as a plot to create a Canadian-style totalitarian nightmare, and you feel a wee bit scared." Getting to Bipartisan Health-Care Reform (David S. Broder, Washington Post) "The goal of the Obama White House is to come up with a health-care plan that can attract bipartisan support. The president has told visitors that he would rather have 70 votes in the Senate for a bill that gives him 85 percent of what he wants rather than a 100 percent satisfactory bill that passes 52 to 48."