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Quote of the day. "[There was an] enormous crashing jolt. You could hear all this crashing and glass breaking, I didn't hear any brakes at all. When the dust settled, the entire front of the train was gone." Tom Baker, 47, a District resident, on the crash of two Metro trains in Washington, D.C. At least 9 people are dead and more than 70 injured. (Washington Post)
Voting Rights Act. Justices Retain Oversight by U.S. on Voting “The Supreme Court on Monday left intact one of the signature legacies of the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The court, in an 8-to-1 decision, ducked the central question in a case that was the most closely watched of the term.” Supreme Court narrows but preserves Voting Rights Act “The historic Voting Rights Act -- the 1965 law that ended a century of racial discrimination at the ballot box and gave blacks a political voice across the South -- survived a strong challenge at the Supreme Court on Monday as justices pulled back from a widely anticipated decision to strike down a key part of the law as outdated and unfair to today's South.” Supreme Court Upholds 1965 Voting Rights Act but Hints at Change “A key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act survived a constitutional challenge yesterday in the Supreme Court, but justices made it clear that a law forged in the darkest days of the nation's civil rights struggles may no longer be appropriate in a new era of American racial politics.”
Hard times. Lost jobs forcing more out of homes “The nation's foreclosure crisis — once largely confined to only a few corners of the country — is spreading to new areas as the economy teeters. The foreclosure rates in 40 of the nation's counties that have the most households have already doubled from last year.” Benefits for poor may take big hit “[Ohio governor] Strickland's proposal, unveiled late Friday, would cut out state aid to food pantries, slash funding to community health centers, abolish the state preschool program for poor youngsters and reduce eligibility for state-subsidized child care.”
Energy bill. Energy bill nears vote in House, but what's in it for consumers? “How much will it cost the average American household to reduce the U.S. share of global warming pollution and shift to cleaner sources of energy produced at home?” Climate Bill to Cost Average Consumer $175 a Year: CBO “Climate-change legislation would cost the average household $175 a year by 2020, according to the Congressional Budget Office, far below the figure commonly used by GOP critics of the House bill.”
Military strategy. Pentagon to Outline Shift in War Planning Strategy “The Pentagon will adopt a new strategy that for the first time orders the military to anticipate that future conflicts will include a complex mix of conventional, set-piece battles and campaigns against shadowy insurgents and terrorists.”
Iran. Iran body rules out poll annulment “Iran's Guardian Council, the country's highest legislative body, has ruled out the possibility of annulling the disputed June 12 presidential election despite allegations of vote fraud by the opposition.” Iran authorities say disputed vote count will stand “Iran's Guardian Council today ruled out the possibility of nullifying the country's disputed presidential election that returned hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, saying it could find no evidence of any 'major' irregularities.” Iranian Legislative Committee Raises Possibility of Legal Action Against Mousavi “The Iranian parliament's judiciary committee raised the possibility Monday of legal action against opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, while government forces violently dispersed a crowd protesting alleged fraud in the June 12 presidential election.” Iran Unrest Reveals Split In U.S. on Its Role Abroad “Iran's post-election tumult has exposed the sharply divergent ways in which the Obama administration and its Republican opponents view the nature of American power and the president's role in speaking to political dissent outside the borders of the United States.” Web Pries Lid of Censorship by Iranian Government “But this is the new arena of censorship in the 21st century, a world where cellphone cameras, Twitter accounts and all the trappings of the World Wide Web have changed the ancient calculus of how much power governments actually have to sequester their nations from the eyes of the world and make it difficult for their own people to gather, dissent and rebel.”
Martyr of Iran. Video clip launches the martyr of Iran “Her name was Neda Salehi Agha Soltan and she was a philosophy student. But the manner of her death has turned her into an instant, global symbol of the Iranian regime’s brutality.” In a Death Seen Around the World, a Symbol of Iranian Protests “The bloody video of her death on Saturday, circulated in Iran and around the world, has made Ms. Agha-Soltan, a 26-year-old who relatives said was not political, an instant symbol of the antigovernment movement.”
Afghanistan. British troops in major offensive against Taliban “More than 350 British troops led by the Black Watch and supported by one of the largest air operations in modern times have launched an assault on Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan. Taliban chief killed by 'own guard' “A Taliban leader who criticized the group's Pakistani head of command over attacks that killed two civilians has been shot dead, reportedly by one of his own guards.” Al-Qaeda commander threatens U.S. “Al-Qaeda's third-in-command has told Al Jazeera that the group would use Pakistan's nuclear weapons against the U.S. if it gained access to them.” Villagers revolt against Taliban “Tribal militias or lashkars seen as model for civilians resisting the Taliban across North West Frontier Province”
Palestine. Palestinian premier seeks stronger institutions “Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Monday that Palestinians can make a stronger case for ending Israel's occupation by building up self-governing institutions that would strengthen global support for a Palestinian state.” Palestinian Premier Sets Timeline for Establishing State, Asks Constituents to ‘Roll Up Their Sleeves' “Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday called for the establishment of a Palestinian state within two years, a timeline he said is possible if Israel upholds its existing commitments and Palestinians 'roll up their sleeves' and concentrate on building government and civic institutions.”
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