Daily News Digest

The latest news on Immigration, Economy, Campaign, Scandal, "New sins," Women leaders, Iraq deaths, Cost of war, Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine, Kenya, Iran, and Opinion.

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Immigration. GOP aims to force immigration debate "House Republican leaders will introduce a petition drive today to force Democrats to debate immigration this year, using a Democrat-sponsored bill to box them into taking a stand on employers who hire illegal immigrants."

Economy. Many more going bankrupt "Bankruptcy filings have surged 22 percent in Massachusetts this year, as more people are unable to afford their rising mortgage payments or refinance their homes to pay bills, according to court filings and bankruptcy attorneys."

Campaign. Obama shuns VP talk, says he's No. 1 "If she is serious about considering him for the job, he says he is not interested and adds that she does not even have the standing to extend such an offer." Ticket-Sharing Talk Dominates Day's Campaign Activity "Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama hardly sounded like potential running mates Monday, with Obama accusing his rival of "gamesmanship" and the campaigns sparring over who is more qualified to be commander in chief." Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida "An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network."

Afghanistan. Afghan deaths soar to 8,000 in 2007 "The United Nations has delivered a grim assessment of the conflict in Afghanistan, reporting that violence increased sharply last year and resulted in the deaths of more than 8,000 people, at least 1,500 of them civilians."

Israel-Palestine. Abbas: Israel, Hamas struck cease-fire; Israel denies it "Even as Israel's leadership denied that a deal was reached with Hamas on a cease-fire, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas insisted that such an agreement was reached, through Egyptian mediation." Talks, but No Truce, Accompany Lull in Gaza Violence "A senior Israeli official and leaders of militant groups in Gaza have held talks with Egyptian officials in recent days, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel denied that Israel was engaged in talks to broker a truce, despite several days of relative quiet near the Gaza border."

Kenya. A Block-by-Block Bid for Peace "If it is easy to find horror stories in Kibera, it is also possible to find Luos who hid Kikuyus in their houses, Kikuyus who kept Luos from being massacred, and so many small gestures of trust and urgent conversations between friends such as Osodo and Kyalo that countered a violent momentum taking hold."

Iran. U.N. Alleges Nuclear Work By Iran's Civilian Scientists "Iranian nuclear engineer Mohsen Fakhrizadeh lectures weekly on physics at Tehran's Imam Hossein University. Yet for more than a decade, according to documents attracting interest among Western governments, he also ran secret programs aimed at acquiring sensitive nuclear technology for his government."

Opinion.

Sharing the Pain (Bob Herbert, New York Times) "Now that the economic crunch is reaching those near the top of the pyramid, there is finally a sense that the U.S. is facing a real crisis."

Liberals' McCain Problem (E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) "Liberals who have sung the praises of John McCain in the past confront a fascinating test of consistency, integrity and political commitment now that McCain is the virtually certain Republican presidential nominee."