Daily News Digest

The latest news on Unemployment, Pell Grants, Housing, Prison ministry, MLK anniversary, Immigration, Iraq-Congress, Iraq war, Zimbabwe and Opinion.

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Unemployment. March data show sharpest job losses in 5 years "With the government reporting the third straight month of job losses and wages lagging behind inflation, the problems that originally centered on housing and financial markets now appear to have spread through almost every segment of the economy." Democrats Call for New Aid Package as 80,000 Jobs Are Cut"The presidential candidates, already divided over how to alleviate the mortgage and housing crisis, divided again over how to generate jobs and help the unemployed."

Pell Grants. Bills aim to help students "The House passed a bill in February that would allow college students to receive Pell Grants, or need-based financial aid, during the summer in addition to the normal school year. The Senate passed a similar bill last summer."

Housing. Senator To Widen Housing Proposal "The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, reacting to criticism that a bipartisan housing bill would do little for homeowners facing foreclosure, vowed yesterday to move quickly on broader legislation to help troubled borrowers get cheaper mortgages backed by public funds."

Prison ministry. With an Ex-Inmate's Help, Returning to Life Outside"While at Sing Sing, he earned a master's degree in professional studies offered by New York Theological Seminary. He now presides over a small village in exile, the Redemption Center in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, where 17 recently released men and women are trying to find their way back into the world they left - sometimes decades ago - because of crime and drugs."

MLK anniversary. Thousands Are Drawn To Memphis to Honor King "Throughout the day visitors lined up in the rain outside the museum, standing with a clear view of the balcony in front of Room 306, where King was shot." Day on Campaign Trail to Remember Dr. King "Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a cabinet-level poverty czar and Senator John McCain said he was wrong to have voted a quarter century ago against a federal holiday in memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.