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Quote of the day. "We're not going to just be chanting, 'Yes we can! Yes we can!' We are going to put the pressure on discussing the details." Jorge Mujica, an immigration advocate in Chicago, on efforts to move forward with efforts for immigration reform. (Associated Press)
Health care. House Health Care Bill Criticized as Panel Votes for Public Plan “The House Energy and Commerce Committee resumed work Thursday on major health care legislation, voting to establish a government-run health insurance plan, as top Republicans stepped up their criticism of the ambitious legislation.” GOP Senators Try to Slow Health Talks: Grassley and Enzi Rebel Against Timetable “In a setback for President Obama, Senate GOP negotiators sought Thursday to slow down health-care talks, likely delaying a long-awaited bipartisan deal until after the August recess.” Liberal Democrats threaten to reject House healthcare compromise “After months of marching in line as senior Democrats worked with the White House to develop healthcare legislation, liberal lawmakers from solidly Democratic districts are threatening a revolt that could doom President Obama's bid to sign a major bill this year.”
Gates & Crowley at White House. Gates, Police Officer Share Beers, Histories With President “Two weeks after a noted black scholar accused a white police sergeant of racial profiling for arresting him at his home near Harvard University, the men hoisted mugs of beer Thursday evening at the White House with President Obama and Vice President Biden.” Over beers, a taste of what’s to come “They did not link arms, and there were no public apologies. But a subdued meeting over beers on the White House patio last evening appeared to achieve President Obama’s goal of encouraging a deeper dialogue on race between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley.” Over Beers, No Apologies, but Plans to Have Lunch “They came, they met, they drank. They did not apologize.”
Food safety. House Approves Food-Safety Bill; Law Would Expand FDA's Power “The House approved the first major changes to food-safety laws in 70 years Thursday, giving sweeping new authority to the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the way food is grown, harvested and processed.” House Approves New Food-Safety Laws “In a major step toward an overhaul of the nation’s food safety system, the House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday to require more frequent inspections of processing plants and give the government the authority to order the recall of tainted foods.”
Recession effects. For recession babies, life begins in homeless shelters “Throughout South Florida, social service agencies report sharp increases in the number of infants and very young children being sheltered in homeless centers. The reasons might be no more complicated than the sagging economy.” Recession sparks rise in health and tenant/landlord complaints “Consumer protection agencies had to cut staff — and, as a result, help fewer people — in the midst of a recession that's spawned growth in home foreclosure "rescue" scams and complaints about debt collectors.”
Banker’s bonuses. Bankers' Bonuses Beat Earnings as Industry Imploded “The nation's nine largest banks handed out $32.6 billion in bonuses last year even as they ran up more than $81 billion in losses and accepted billions of dollars in emergency federal aid, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo says in a report released Thursday.” Big Banks Paid Billions in Bonuses Amid Wall St. Crisis “Thousands of top traders and bankers on Wall Street were awarded huge bonuses and pay packages last year, even as their employers were battered by the financial crisis.”
Rove & U.S. attorney firings. Rove declares his innocence in 2006 U.S. attorney firings “After years of silence, top Bush administration political advisor Karl Rove went on a public relations offensive Thursday, saying he did nothing wrong in the controversial firings of nine U.S. attorneys.” E-Mails Show Larger White House Role in Prosecutor Firings “Political adviser Karl Rove and other high-ranking figures in the Bush White House played a greater role than previously understood in the firing of federal prosecutors almost three years ago, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post.”
Sudan. U.S. Diplomat Urges Revised Sudan Policy “President Obama's top Sudan envoy said Thursday that there was no basis for keeping Sudan on the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism and that it was only a matter of time before the United States would have to 'unwind' economic sanctions against the Khartoum government.” Envoy queries Sudan terror status “A senior American official has said there is no evidence to support keeping Sudan on a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.” Obama aides clash over Sudan policy “The clash - one of the first to become public in the new administration - came into the open Thursday when the president's special envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, told Congress that he did not think there was any evidence to support the continued designation of Sudan as a sponsor of terrorism.”
Iraq. U.S. Adviser’s Blunt Memo on Iraq: Time ‘to Go Home’ “A senior American military adviser in Baghdad has concluded in an unusually blunt memo that Iraqi forces suffer from entrenched deficiencies but are now able to protect the Iraqi government, and that it is time 'for the U.S. to declare victory and go home.'”
Afghanistan. McChrystal Preparing New Afghan War Strategy “The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is preparing a new strategy that calls for major changes in the way U.S. and other NATO troops there operate, a vast increase in the size of Afghan security forces and an intensified military effort to root out corruption among local government officials.” UN: Sharp rise in Afghan deaths “The civilian death toll in Afghanistan has risen by 24 per cent this year, the United Nations has said. In a new report released on Friday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) blamed bombings by the Taliban and air raids by international forces for the majority of the killings.” Afghanistan faces growing addiction problem “Afghanistan is notorious as the world's leading producer of opium and heroin, most of it shipped to Europe. Less well-documented is the country's own addiction epidemic. As many as a million Afghans, mostly men but increasing numbers of women, are addicted to heroin or opium.”
Iran. Iranians Gather in Grief, Then Face Police “Thousands of people gathered in Tehran on Thursday to commemorate those killed in Iran’s post-election crackdown, but a vast deployment of police officers used tear gas and wooden batons to disperse them, in some of the largest and most violent street clashes in weeks.” Violence Breaks Out In Streets of Tehran “Iranian security forces clashed with thousands of demonstrators across Tehran and struggled to maintain control Thursday after opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was prevented from visiting the graves of those killed in protests last month.” Iranians defy authorities to mourn those slain in the unrest “Thousands flood a Tehran cemetery on the 40th day since the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan. Their defiance sets the stage for protests next week, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to be sworn in.”
Israel-Iran. ANALYSIS/U.S. losing faith in usefulness of Tehran dialogue “The talks held in Israel this week by senior Obama administration officials, which focused to a large extent on blocking Iran's nuclear program, indicate that the Americans - influenced by the Iranian regime's conduct toward the post-election unrest that began in early June - are for the first time showing more understanding for Israel's view of events.”
Burma. Verdict delayed in Suu Kyi trial “A court in Burma has postponed delivering its verdict in the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The court had been due to rule on the case on Friday, but the verdict has now been delayed until 11 August.”
India. Report highlights hunger in India “India is emerging as the world centre of hunger and malnutrition, a report by Indian campaign group, the Navdanya Trust, says. The trust says that there are more than 200 million people - or one-in-four Indians - going without enough to eat.”
Palestine. Divided, demoralized Palestinian movement hopes to hit 'restart' “For half a century, the fortunes of the Palestinian people have been inextricably linked to the fate of Fatah, the once-dominant political movement founded by Yasser Arafat. Five years after Arafat's death, the movement is divided, and hopes of establishing even a weak Palestinian state alongside Israel appear as elusive as ever.”
Editorial. Obama's evenhanded Mideast policy (Los Angeles Times) “Evenhandedness usually is considered to be a positive attribute in diplomacy, but when it comes to the Middle East, many Israelis and their supporters see it as code for a pro-Arab policy. In that view, President Obama's insistence that Israel freeze Jewish settlement construction is anti-Israeli and a sop to the Arab street. That's wrong.”
Opinion. Health Care Realities (Paul Krugman, New York Times) “It’s not just that many Americans don’t understand what President Obama is proposing; many people don’t understand the way American health care works right now. They don’t understand, in particular, that getting the government involved in health care wouldn’t be a radical step: the government is already deeply involved, even in private insurance."
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