The latest news on Torture, Abortion, Bipartisan Senate, Wage Discrimination, Ohio Benefit Bank, Unemployment, Religion and Obama, State Department Special Envoys, Israel-Gaza, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Select Op-eds.

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Torture. Obama Reverses Bush Policies On Detention and Interrogation "President Obama took dramatic steps yesterday to reverse Bush administration policies on the detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists, ordering the closure of the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and banning the use of controversial CIA interrogation techniques." Obama sends a message: the United States will not torture "President Barack Obama sent the world a clear message Thursday that he's changing course from the Bush years, ordering an end to some of the most controversial tools used against suspected terrorists and launching high-profile diplomacy in the Middle East and other hot spots around the globe." Obama shuts network of 'ghost prisons' "Barack Obama embarked on the wholesale deconstruction of George Bush's war on terror, shutting down the CIA's secret prison network, banning torture and rendition, and calling for a new set of rules for detainees." Bush's 'War' On Terror Comes to a Sudden End "President Obama yesterday eliminated the most controversial tools employed by his predecessor against terrorism suspects. With the stroke of his pen, he effectively declared an end to the 'war on terror,' as President George W. Bush had defined it." Intelligence Pick Calls Torture Immoral, Ineffective "Retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair, President Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. intelligence community, told Congress yesterday that torture 'is not moral, legal or effective' and that 'there will not be any waterboarding on my watch.'"

Abortion. Obama Intends to Lift Family-Planning 'Gag Rule' "President Barack Obama will issue an order restoring U.S. funding for international family-planning groups involved with abortion. But he chose not to do so on Thursday, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade." Abortion Foes Recall Lincoln's Slavery Stand "The inauguration of a president who supports abortion rights fired up the annual March for Life yesterday, with activists warning of new, more liberal legislation and urging President Obama to view abortion as a civil-rights issue akin to slavery." Anti-abortion marchers hope Obama's listening "On the same grounds where many gathered just two days earlier to witness President Obama's inauguration, thousands of people joined the annual March for Life on the National Mall to protest the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade and to voice their opposition to the new president's policies on abortion."

Bipartisan Senate. Senate Undertakes Bipartisan Ways "A real debate over wage policy on the Senate floor. Envoys of a Democratic White House briefing Republicans about terrorism detainees. The House Appropriations Committee hashing out an economic recovery bill, in a daylong public session."

Wage discrimination. Senate Passes Wage-Discrimination Bill "A wage-discrimination bill that narrowly failed less than a year ago moved closer to becoming law last night, when the Senate passed the legislation and sent it back to the House for final consideration."

Ohio benefit bank. Poor residents connected to aid "A community-based effort has helped 35,000 low-income Ohioans access more than $45.6 million in government-subsidized health care, food stamps, tax credits and other benefits since 2006, according to a report being released today."

Unemployment. Jobless situation even worse than numbers show, experts say "When the state releases the latest unemployment figures for California and greater Sacramento today, they will tell only part of the story. Unaccounted for will be the growing numbers of workers who have had to settle for less of a job than they wanted."

Religion and Obama. The role of religion under Obama "After decades of ceding God to the GOP, at least in the public square, Democrats - with President Obama in the lead - are speaking with a fuller religious voice. The watchword? Inclusiveness."

State Department special envoys. Obama Visits State Dept. as Clinton Announces 2 Special Envoys: Holbrooke for Afghanistan-Pakistan and Mitchell for Middle East "President Obama traveled to the State Department yesterday afternoon for a visit that was as rich in symbolism as in substance, underscoring his pledge to give top priority to diplomacy as he outlined an activist policy in the Middle East and warned that 'difficult days lie ahead' in Afghanistan." Appointing Emissaries, Obama and Clinton Stress Diplomacy "Signaling his determination to use diplomacy to address the world's toughest conflicts, President Obama went to the State Department to install high-level emissaries to handle the Arab-Israeli issue and Pakistan and Afghanistan." Obama: We will aggressively seek lasting Middle East peace "President Barack Obama's newly minted Mideast envoy George Mitchell will arrive in Israel even before the Knesset elections on February 10, a senior government source said. According to Obama, it 'will be the policy of my administration to actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians as well as Israel and its Arab neighbors,' he said yesterday." Obama lays out Middle East vision "Barack Obama, the U.S. president, has urged Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas to maintain their ceasefires in Gaza in his first remarks on the crisis since taking office."

Israel-Gaza. Cairo talks on ceasefire in Gaza "An Israeli envoy is due to hold talks in Egypt on how to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, following Israel's three-week offensive there." Israel to allow Egypt to boost force on Gaza border to fight smuggling "Israel has taken a favorable view of an Egyptian request to increase the force of its border guards along the Philadelphi Route by at least 750 -- and possibly as much as 1,500 -- according to a senior Israeli political source." A battle over what happened in Gaza "The graves are dug, the wounded tended, but the battle over what happened in the Gaza Strip during Israel's 22-day offensive remains unfinished." Palestinian Rival Says It Is Attacked by Hamas "The 27-year-old in a sweatsuit limped to the table, heaved himself into a chair and began to talk about how he had been shot. Men from Hamas have begun to assault people they suspect of supporting its chief political rival, Fatah, he said, and on Sunday, he became one of the victims."

Zimbabwe. Hunger strike for Zimbabwe change "Archbishop Desmond Tutu is among activists in southern Africa who have launched a fast and hunger strike in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe."

Iraq. Departing U.S. Envoy In Iraq Sees Risks Ahead - Crocker Warns Against Abrupt Troop Withdrawal "Ryan C. Crocker, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Iraq, warned Thursday that a precipitous withdrawal of American troops runs 'some very serious risks,' from the resurgence of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq to a collapse of faith in a nascent Iraqi state that still faces what he called 'enormous challenges.'" U.S. envoy to Iraq warns against abrupt troop withdrawal "U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Thursday warned against a hasty withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and offered a sobering assessment of the country despite what he called its 'remarkable transition' in the last two years."

Afghanistan. Disputes cloud Afghan 'public guards' plan "Alarmed by the tightening Taliban grip on huge swaths of Afghan countryside, U.S. strategists last year began quietly pushing the idea of using locally recruited tribesmen to protect their villages against an increasingly lethal insurgency."

Opinion. Infrastructure: It's Job 1 to Americans (Frank Luntz, Los Angeles Times) "I'm a pollster and political consultant associated with Republican causes: the Contract with America, the 'death tax' and, of course, ending wasteful Washington spending. So why am I behind the new stimulus legislation -- the biggest spending bill ever to be considered by Congress? Maybe because when it comes to some things -- crumbling schools, overcrowded highways, an ineffective energy system, clean-water facilities that don't clean water and trains and planes that are always late -- we're all on the same side."