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Wall Street. Democrats battling to add restrictions to $700 billion bailout "Congressional Democrats inched close to agreement on the terms of a $700 billion rescue package to stabilize shaky financial markets, but continued to encounter White House resistance to key points: limits on executive compensation at troubled firms, oversight of the Treasury's management of the bailout, and whether taxpayers would gain an equity stake in companies that benefit from the bailout." Bailout Plan Talks Advance in Congress "The Bush administration and Congressional leaders moved closer to agreement on a historic $700 billion bailout for financial firms, including tight oversight of the program and new efforts to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure." White House presses for swift action by Congress on bailout "Rushing to win quick congressional -- and public -- approval for its $700 billion bailout of the tottering financial system, the Bush administration moved toward compromises that would have been inconceivable even a few weeks ago, including new aid for debt- laden homeowners." Experts See a Need for Punitive Action in Bailout "As economists puzzle over the proposed details of what may be the biggest financial bailout in American history, the initial skepticism that greeted its unveiling has only deepened." London shares dive as Paulson fights for rescue deal "Shares in London and Asia fell sharply overnight amid growing doubts about how a $700 billion (£378 billion) U.S. government financial bailout will be able to shore up confidence in America's economy as it slips into recession." 'The World Shouldn't Have to Bear the Burden for America's Lapses' "The U.S. government is buying bad debt for $700 billion. Now Washington is asking other countries to jump in and help, too, but the Germans are bowing out."
Main Street. More Americans strain to meet housing costs "A growing number of Americans are struggling to pay for housing, despite a steep drop in home prices. Last year, 38% of homeowners with mortgages spent 30% or more of their before-tax income on housing - the threshold the government defines as unaffordable." Retirees Filling the Front Line in Market Fears "Older Americans with investments are among the hardest hit by the turmoil in the financial markets and have the least opportunity to recover."
Immigration. Data Show Big Dip in Migration To the U.S. "The number of immigrants coming to the United States slowed substantially in 2007, with the nation's foreign-born population growing by only 511,000, compared with about a million a year since 2000." Immigration boom slows as economy falters "The wave of immigrants entering the United States slowed dramatically last year as the economy faltered and the government stepped up enforcement of immigration laws."
Abortion. Study Finds Major Shift in Abortion Demographics "The face of women who have abortions has shifted significantly in the past 30 years, with relatively fewer white childless teenagers and more mothers of color in their 20s and 30s opting to terminate their pregnancies." Abortion rate is down, but report cites racial disparity "Although the overall U.S. abortion rate is at its lowest level since 1974, the drop has been far more dramatic for whites than for African Americans, who in 2004 had abortions at five times the rate of white women."
Hurricane Ike. Galveston asking Congress today for $2.3 billion in relief "As officials warned of serious health risks for evacuees who return to Galveston, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas made plans to ask Congress for $2.3 billion to help her city recover from Hurricane Ike." Texas mayor seeking $2.3 billion in federal aid for Galveston in Hurricane Ike's wake "As repair crews work to make this hurricane-ravaged island city inhabitable for the thousands of residents set to return this week, the mayor is seeking more than $2 billion in emergency federal aid."
Sudan. Student Activism Brings Sudan Native to GWU "Three weeks earlier, he had never been on a plane, never heard of a microwave oven, never seen a library full of books and computers. Now, having spent 16 years in a refugee camp after his Sudanese village was destroyed, he has fast-forwarded into a new life as a college student in the United States."
United Nations. World Leaders At U.N. Fear For Aid Efforts "Foreign leaders arriving here for Tuesday's opening of the U.N. General Assembly session voiced alarm that the U.S. financial crisis threatens to spread to other countries and torpedo international efforts to fight poverty." Brown to address world leaders on financial crisis "The financial rollercoaster of the last week has forced a dramatic realigning of priorities for leaders gathering in New York this week to discuss issues from the effort to lift Africa out of poverty to the threats posed by a resurgent Russia and the continued nuclear ambitions of Iran." A Bumpy Engagement With the U.N. "As Bush prepares for his final address Tuesday to the General Assembly, there's little doubt that many U.N. diplomats and bureaucrats will be happy to see him go. Few have been fans of what they see as his cowboy style of diplomacy, epitomized by the invasion of Iraq without a Security Council resolution in 2003."
Iran. Iran president blames Wall Street turmoil on U.S. 'military engagement' "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Monday that the turmoil on Wall Street was rooted in part in U.S. military intervention abroad and voiced hope that the next American administration would retreat from what he called President Bush's 'logic of force.'"
Canadian election. Liberals pledge $16B in new spending, balanced books "The Liberals unveiled a four-year, $55 billion election-campaign platform and promised to balance the books with new revenues and savings to ensure a surplus every year." No deficits, Liberals promise "Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is asking Canadians to trust him with a campaign promise to take $40 billion from their pockets in the form of carbon tax and give it back in income tax cuts."
Pakistan-Afghanistan. U.S., Afghans, and Pakistanis Consider Joint Military Force "Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States are discussing the creation of a joint military force to attack insurgent sanctuaries on both sides of the rugged Afghan-Pakistani border, a senior Afghan official said yesterday." Pakistan leaders must act decisively after deadly Marriott bombing, analysts say "More than any other terrorist attack in this volatile country, the devastating truck bombing of the Marriott Hotel over the weekend has presented government and military leaders here with a stark choice: Go all out against extremists or risk the nation's collapse into chaos."
Afghanistan. Pentagon says 3 more brigades could be ready to go to Afghanistan beginning next spring "Up to three more combat brigades could be available to go to Afghanistan beginning next spring, in answer to repeated calls from commanders for more troops, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday." Sarkozy Wins Approval for French Role In Afghanistan "The French government won parliamentary backing Monday for its domestically unpopular military involvement in Afghanistan. Accused of following an unwise policy dictated by Washington, however, it fell far short of the national consensus sought by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Afghanistan proposes joint Pakistan force "A joint Pakistan-Afghanistan military taskforce could be created to combat al-Qaeda and Taliban militants based along the border between the two countries."
North Korea. Unease Grows as N. Korea Asks to Remove IAEA Seals From Reactor "North Korea asked international nuclear inspectors yesterday to remove surveillance cameras and seals from the deactivated reactor at Yongbyon, amid rising concerns that the diplomatic deal to dismantle the country's nuclear weapons program might be unraveling." U.S. says North Korean nuclear talks at 'difficult' point, but multinational effort not dead yet "Even as North Korea moves to take back hard-won concessions on its nuclear program, the Bush administration is hoping to salvage a crumbling international effort to get the communist state to give up nuclear arms."
South Africa. South Africa: 11 Cabinet Ministers Resign in Shock Move "One day after South Africa's ruling party leader and prospective president, Jacob Zuma, appealed to members of President Thabo Mbeki's cabinet to stay in their posts, more than one-third of Mbeki's ministers resigned." Resignations rock SA government "South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and nine other cabinet members are resigning along with President Thabo Mbeki." Risks for Zimbabwe Deal in Mbeki's Resignation "Thabo Mbeki's resignation as president of South Africa could hardly have come at a worse time for Zimbabwe, where he had just brokered a power-sharing deal that has now reached a pivotal - and perilous - moment."
Editorials. Iran Slips Away (Washington Post) "Amid the financial crisis and the worsening violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran's nuclear program and Western efforts to stop it have slipped down Washington's list of priorities. That's just what Tehran's ruling mullahs were hoping for." Remember Iran? (New York Times) "We know that the United States and its allies are grappling with a lot right now, including a financial meltdown and a resurgent Russia. But Tehran's scientists are getting ever closer to mastering the skills that are the hardest part of building a nuclear weapon. This is not a problem that can be shunted off to the next president."
Commentary. A Bailout Above the Law (Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times) "'Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency,' the original draft of the proposed bill says. And with those words, the Treasury secretary - whoever that may be in a few months - will be vested with perhaps the most incredible powers ever bestowed on one person over the economic and financial life of the nation." The Establishment Lives! (David Brooks, New York Times) "We're not entering a phase in which government stands back and lets the chips fall. We're not entering an era when the government pounds the powerful on behalf of the people. We're entering an era of the educated establishment, in which government acts to create a stable - and often oligarchic - framework for capitalist endeavor." Improving Paulson's Cure (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) "Liberal Democrats are in agony over bailing out Wall Street. Conservative Republicans are in agony over massive government intervention in what they like to call the free market. Yet neither side wants to be blamed if the financial system implodes."
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