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Budget. 2009 Budget Seeks Spending Freeze "President Bush's $3 trillion budget for fiscal 2009, scheduled for release Monday, will seek a virtual freeze on domestic spending programs while cutting billions of dollars from federal health programs to reach his goal of balancing the budget by 2012," Bush seeks 19% increase in border spending "In his annual budget request, President Bush will ask Congress to allocate $12.1 billion to construct more border fencing, hire more Border Patrol agents and expand the teams that conduct raids on businesses using illegal immigrants." Bush budget to hold down domestic spending "President Bush's 2009 federal budget, which he is expected to present to Congress Monday, will continue to hold nonmandatory spending on domestic programs at near zero growth."
Economy. Senate Democrats' Stimulus Plan Hits Roadblock"Backed solidly by the Bush administration, Senate Republicans said that they would block a $157 billion economic stimulus package championed by Senate Democrats, who said they would have no choice but to quickly adopt a cheaper, more streamlined plan approved this week by the House." Senate Delays Action on Its $157 Billion Stimulus Bill "Senate Democratic leaders put off an expected showdown over an economic stimulus plan until next week, worrying that the absence of Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) could doom efforts to force changes to the package fashioned by House leaders and President Bush."
Campaign-Democrats. In one-on-one debate, rivals tout similarities "In their first presidential debate since the Democratic field narrowed to two, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton put on courtly airs in a discussion polite enough for the average cocktail party." Obama and Clinton debate as civil as a tea party "Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on turned their last showdown before Tuesday's coast-to-coast voting into a gentle forum on issues - as well as a tag-team blast at the Republicans one of them will face this fall." Head to Head, Clinton, Obama Shelve Rancor "Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama set aside personal hostilities but sharply disagreed on who has the better combination of leadership and experience to defeat Republicans in November and lead the country as president."
Campaign-Republicans. As McCain Wins, Critics on Right Look Again "How firmly conservatives reject or embrace Mr. McCain may be a pivotal variable, both in the homestretch of the Republican primary campaign, when Mitt Romney is hoping to rally conservatives to his side, and in the general election," Romney tries to derail McCain "Mitt Romney began a last-ditch effort to persuade rank-and-file Republicans to think twice before handing John McCain the GOP presidential nomination, arguing that the Arizona senator is not a true conservative but a flawed candidate who would be defeated by the Democrats." Romney's business smarts may not help in Washington "With the struggling economy now issue No. 1 in presidential campaigns, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney points to his chief executive officer background to argue that he's best qualified to become the nation's chief executive."
National Guard. Guard, reserves called inadequate for domestic disasters National "Guard and reserve forces remain inadequately equipped and unprepared to deal with a wide range of domestic disasters, particularly an attack with unconventional weapons," Report: Military Not Ready for US Attack "The U.S. military isn't ready for a catastrophic attack on the country, and National Guard forces don't have the equipment or training they need for the job, according to a report." 'Appalling Gap' Found in Homeland Defense Readiness "The U.S. military is not prepared to meet catastrophic threats at home, and it is suffering from an "appalling gap" in forces able to respond to chemical, biological and nuclear strikes on U.S. soil,"
Immigration. 'Hate speech' infiltrating immigration debate, Latino group says "Cable news channels have let the war of words over immigration escalate into hate speech, according to a national Hispanic civil rights organization. The National Council of La Raza wants to meet executives of Fox News, MSNBC and CNN and take them to task for "handing hate a microphone" on their programs," Fewer licenses for illegal migrants "States that have been issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants are making U-turns."
Iraq. Two bombs at Baghdad pet markets kill 72: police "Bomb blasts ripped through two popular pet markets in Baghdad on Friday, killing 72 people in the deadliest attacks in the city in six months and dealing a bitter blow to Iraqi hopes that security is getting better." Twin bombings kill 64 in Baghdad "The blasts, at least one of which was detonated by a female suicide bomber, came within 20 minutes of each other."
Afghanistan. Bin Laden aide killed in US strike "A senior al-Qaida figure in Afghanistan, described by Western officials as one of Osama bin Laden's top six lieutenants, has been killed." Al-Qaeda Figure Is Killed in Pakistan "A senior al-Qaeda commander was killed this week in Pakistan, according to Western officials and an Islamic radical Web site," US seeks troops for Afghanistan "US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates has urged Germany to send more troops to Afghanistan. He warned that without reinforcements the Nato-led force could lose credibility in the country."
Malaria. Anti-Malaria Efforts Yield New Success "Widespread use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and state-of-the-art drugs has succeeded in cutting malaria deaths in half in two countries most heavily affected by the disease, the World Health Organization is reporting today." Nets and New Drug Make Inroads Against Malaria "The report was one of the most hopeful signs in the long battle against a disease that is estimated to kill a million children a year in poor tropical countries."
Global warming. Decline in Snowpack Is Blamed On Warming "The persistent and dramatic decline in the snowpack of many mountains in the West is caused primarily by human-induced global warming and is not the result of natural variability in
weather patterns."
Human Rights. Rights Group Says U.S. Is Too Eager to Endorse Suspect Elections "The advocacy group Human Rights Watch said that the Bush administration was giving lip service to the promotion of democracy around the world by endorsing suspect elections while allowing human rights violations in those countries to go unchecked." West 'failing to support democracy' "Western democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections in other nations for "political expediency", a new report by a major human rights group has said." UK and US accused of hypocrisy over despots "The US, UK and other western nations are ignoring flawed or rigged elections in some countries for the sake of political convenience, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its annual round-up of rights abuses around the world."
Israeli military. Top brass: Winograd Report is an 'earthquake' "Senior officers in the Israel Defense Forces have characterized the Winograd Committee's findings on the army's performance in the Second Lebanon War as "nothing less than an earthquake." Israel criticized for cluster bombs "In a rare internal critique of Israel's use of cluster bombs, a government-appointed commission has found a lack of "operational discipline, control and oversight" in the army's deployment of the weapons in civilian areas."
North Korea. NKorea Completes 8 Disablement Measures "North Korea has completed eight of the 11 measures required to disable nuclear facilities under an international disarmament deal,"
Mexico. Mexican Farmers Protest End of Corn-Import Taxes "Tens of thousands of farmers clogged the streets of the capital on Thursday to protest the end of tariffs on corn from the United States, warning that the elimination of trade barriers could drive them out of business and lead more Mexicans to migrate north."
Baptists. For Jimmy Carter, a more personal mission "He is grieved by his inability to make peace between liberals and conservatives in his own faith. It's a battle that has left him estranged from the Southern Baptist Convention."
Churches and Super Bowl. NFL Pulls Plug On Big-Screen Church Parties For Super Bowl "For years, as many as 200 members of Immanuel Bible Church and their friends have gathered in the church's fellowship hall to watch the Super Bowl on its six-foot screen. The party featured hard hitting on the TV, plenty of food -- and prayer. But this year, Immanuel's Super Bowl party is no more."
Opinion.
The Edwards Effect (Paul Krugman, New York Times) "But Mr. Edwards, far more than is usual in modern politics, ran a campaign based on ideas. And even as his personal quest for the White House faltered, his ideas triumphed: both candidates left standing are, to a large extent, running on the platform Mr. Edwards built."
The McCain Divide? (E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) "If John McCain secures the Republican presidential nomination, his victory would signal a revolution in American politics -- a divorce, after a 28-year marriage, between the Republican and conservative establishments."
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