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Quote of the Day. "What they find there helps me understand who we were then. How can you know who you really are if you don't know from whence you came?" Mary Weston, 74, who lives near the remains of Timbuctoo, NJ, a town founded in the 1820s when Quaker abolitionists sold land to free black men, including her great-great-great-grandfather, who bought a lot in 1829.The abandoned site is now being excavated by archeologists. (Washington Post)
RELIGION IN THE NEWS
Mexican bishops express solidarity with Arizona immigrants "The secretary general of the Bishops' Conference of Mexico published a message of solidarity with those affected by Arizona's new illegal immigration law."
NEWS AT HOME
War Support Drops. Support wanes for Obama, war plan "Public support for President Obama's Afghanistan war policy has plummeted amid a rising U.S. death toll and the unauthorized release of classified military documents, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows. Support for Obama's management of the war fell to 36%, down from 48% in a February poll. Now, a record 43% also say it was a mistake to go to war there after the terrorist attacks in 2001."
Jobs and Economy. 99 Weeks Later, Jobless Have Only Desperation "Ms. Jarrin is part of a hard-luck group of jobless Americans whose members have taken to calling themselves '99ers,' because they have exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits that they can claim." Budget woes snare state aid bill "While scrambling to save pre-election jobs assistance, Senate Democrats are quietly conceding that Republicans have already won and big swaths of President Barack Obama's 2011 budget will be cut when Congress returns after its summer recess."
Oil Spill. Gulf Spill Is the Largest of Its Kind, Scientists Say "The BP spill is by far the world's largest accidental release of oil into marine waters, according to the most precise estimates yet of the well's flow rate, announced by federal scientists on Monday." Oil spill dumped 4.9 million barrels into Gulf of Mexico, latest measure shows "The blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico gushed 12 times faster than the government and BP estimated in the early weeks of the crisis and has spilled a whopping 4.9 million barrels, or 205.8 million gallons, according to a more detailed analysis announced late Monday."
Immigration. Virginia legal opinion supports checks of immigration status "Virginia joined the national debate over immigration Monday when Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II issued a legal opinion that authorizes law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone stopped by police officers for any reason." Arizona was once tolerant of illegal immigrants. What happened? "Arizona has made a name for itself as the state with the harshest policies against illegal immigration. But as few as six years ago, this border state was among the nation's most welcoming of illegal immigrants."
Economy-Election Issue. Economy outranks Iraq, Afghan wars for voters this year "Even the recent barrage of headline-dominating news about the two wars hasn't vaulted the issue, which dominated American political debate in the last decade, into the forefront of 2010 voter concerns. This year, the economy remains the dominant political concern."
Health Care. Covering New Ground in Health System Shift "Consumers and policy makers will be crossing treacherous terrain as they make the transition to a new health-care system in the next three and a half years. Until 2014, the purchase of insurance remains voluntary (except in Massachusetts), and insurers in most states are still free to charge higher premiums to people judged likely to need costly care." Health-care law to save Medicare $8 billion through next year, report predicts "The new health overhaul law will start producing savings for Medicare right away and, over time, will add 12 years of solvency to the program's giant trust fund for inpatient care, the Obama administration says in a report to be released Monday."
Violence Against Women. Bill seeks action to curb brutality against women globally "Bipartisan legislation that would mandate a comprehensive plan to combat violence against women worldwide is poised for a potential congressional vote, marking tough new action by the United States on a problem that's commonplace across the globe."
Congressional Ethics. For Congress, a New Vigilance in Policing Ethics "The charges reflect, in part, a heightened sensitivity in Washington to indiscretions by members of Congress. The House ethics committee, which has brought the charges, has come under fire for failing to hold lawmakers accountable in previous investigations."
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD
Iraq. Obama tells veterans that end of Iraq war is about to begin "President Obama began a month-long effort Monday to remind an American electorate fatigued by war that the U.S. military effort in Iraq is about to enter its end game." In Speech on Iraq, Obama Reaffirms Drawdown "The series of events, starting with a speech here to a veterans' group, puts the president in the thick of a volatile national security debate at a critical moment for both wars as he draws down troops from one theater and sends more to the other." Iraq violence flares as US begins to draw down troop levels "The attacks come amid a drawdown of US forces and political instability in Iraq. Iraqi politicians are still fighting over who should become prime minister because of unclear results in the March elections and there is speculation that insurgents are taking advantage of the discord."
Afghanistan. Insurgent squad attacks NATO base in Afghanistan "A squad of six gunmen and would-be suicide bombers mounted a ground attack against the biggest NATO base in southern Afghanistan. All were killed." In Kandahar, U.S. tries the lessons of Baghdad "This city is starting to feel a lot like Baghdad. Tall concrete blast walls, like those that surround the Green Zone, are seemingly everywhere. Checkpoints supervised by U.S. soldiers have been erected on all major roads leading into the city." Critical U.S. battle begins in Afghanistan amid many doubts "As the U.S.-led coalition launches its most critical military operation of the nine-year war in Afghanistan, doubts are growing about whether the United States and its allies can contain the surging Taliban-led insurgency and prevent the country from reverting to an al Qaida sanctuary or erupting in civil war." War in Afghanistan 'being lost' "The international community is losing the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has said."
Gaza Flotilla Inquiry. U.N. Forms Review Panel for Israeli Raid on Flotilla "The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, announced Monday the formation of a panel to look into the deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish-led aid flotilla bound for Gaza in May." Israel endorses UN flotilla probe "Israel has announced it will co-operate with a UN investigation into its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May."
Mideast Violence. Deadly Israel-Lebanon troop clash "Three Lebanese soldiers, a senior Israeli officer and a Lebanese journalist have been killed in an exchange of fire in the border area." Israeli officer killed in clash on Israel-Lebanon border "Lebanese and Israeli troops exchanged fire on the border Tuesday in the most serious clashes since a fierce war four years ago, and Lebanon said at least three of its soldiers and a journalist were killed in shelling." Rocket Hits Resort on Border of Jordan and Israel "A mysterious rocket that may have been launched from the Egyptian desert slammed into this Red Sea resort on Monday morning, and Jordanian officials said it killed a taxi driver and wounded five others." Assad: Chances of war 'increasing' "Bashar al Assad, the Syrian president, has warned that 'the possibility of war is increasing' in the region."
Pakistan Flood. Pakistan flood misery mounts "The worst floods in memory in Pakistan have affected more than three million people so far and the death toll has climbed to over 1,500, the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) has said." Pakistan push to flooded villages "While water is receding in some areas, many communities remain cut off by the region's worst flooding for 80 years."
Sudan. Unrest feared as Sudan talks stall "The ruling party in Sudan has sought to play down concerns about potential violence after talks between officials from the north and the south stalled over a referendum in the disputed oil-producing Abyei region."
North Korea Sanction. U.S. Envoy Holds Talks on North Korea Sanctions "After meeting Monday with South Korean officials, American officials elaborated on Washington's intention to increase pressure on foreign banks and businesses that help North Korea in illicit activities. The action raised the possibility that the tough new measures would mirror those that escalated tensions in the region five years ago."
Cuba-Economy. Cuba to ease some economic controls "Cuban President Raul Castro has ruled out large-scale market reforms to revive the communist island's struggling economy. But Mr. Castro said the role of the state would be reduced in some areas, with more workers allowed to be self-employed or to set up small businesses."
China-Energy. China overtakes US as world's biggest energy consumer "According to the respected International Energy Agency, China's use of coal, oil, wind, and other sources of power more than doubled in the past decade to reach the equivalent of 2.26bn tonnes of oil in 2009, creeping past the US total of 2.17bn tonnes.
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