The latest news on Health Care, Stimulus, Recession, Immigration, Obama & Pope, Nuclear Weapons, G8, Mexico Recession, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Al Qaeda, and Select Op-eds.
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Quote of the Day. "We're going to see pretty significant increases. We are even hearing from many people that, a year or two ago, used to be financial donors to the pantry." DeWayne Wells, president of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan, the largest food bank in the state, on the growing number of middle class families seeking food assistance. (Wall St. Journal)
Health care. Democrats Are at Odds on Financing Health Care “House and Senate Democrats appeared on Thursday to be on a collision course over how to pay for a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system, with the House planning to propose an income tax increase on the wealthiest Americans, an idea that Senate negotiators have all but dismissed as unworkable.” Congress Targets Wealthiest Earners for Health Reform Funds “House and Senate negotiators are looking to wealthy individuals to pay much of the $1 trillion price tag for their plan to reform health care, though they are struggling to agree on the most viable option for obtaining that new revenue.” Obama agenda stalls on Capitol Hill “The core of President Obama's congressional agenda stalled Thursday as new obstacles emerged to climate change and health care legislation, possibly crushing Democratic leaders' hopes for rapid progress this summer.”
Stimulus. In Ohio, Biden Defends Stimulus Package “In a campaign-style speech designed to seize the initiative from Republican critics and reassure voters that the White House has a plan to rescue the lagging economy, Vice President Biden forcefully defended the administration's economic recovery package on Thursday and asked for patience.”
Recession. Homeless Families Increasing, U.S. Finds “While the numbers of individual homeless people remained relatively flat, the number of people in families that were homeless rose by 9 percent from Oct. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, the report found.” Jobless finding new work on farms “Unemployed workers are seeking jobs in fruit orchards and vegetable fields, easing farm labor shortages in the process. Farmers who struggled in recent years to find laborers report that former workers who left for higher-paying jobs in industries such as construction are coming back because of layoffs.” Detroit's Food Banks Strain to Serve Middle Class “Battered by massive layoffs, home foreclosures and nearly a decade of economic decline, more residents of Detroit's middle-class suburbs are having a tough time putting food on the table.” Growing numbers of poor people swamp legal aid offices “After years of funding shortfalls, legal aid societies across the country are being overwhelmed by growing numbers of poor and unemployed Americans who face eviction, foreclosure, bankruptcy and other legal problems tied to the recession.”
Immigration. Illegal immigrants again in the budget spotlight “As California lawmakers struggle with a budget gap that has now grown to $26.3 billion, one of the hottest topics for many taxpayers is the cost to the state of illegal immigrants.” Senate Resists Changes on Immigration “A series of Senate floor votes this week seeking to toughen immigration enforcement is giving the Obama administration its first real taste of the chilly climate for overhauling immigration laws.”
Obama & Pope. U.S. Bishops and Vatican View Obama Differently “Both the pope and the president recognize that despite their differences, they have an opportunity to join forces on international issues that are mutual priorities: Israel and the Palestinians, climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, increased aid to poor nations and immigration reform.”
Nuclear weapons. Obama plans nuclear talks to lift threat of proliferation “The U.S. President told G8 leaders at their meeting in Italy yesterday that between 20 and 30 nations would be invited to the non-proliferation summit in Washington next spring.” Trident added to G8 Summit deal by Brown “Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent could be thrown into a world disarmament deal after President Obama called yesterday for the biggest summit to stop the spread of atomic weapons.”
G8. G8 pledges to boost food supplies “Leaders of the G8 developed nations have pledged $20bn (£12bn) for efforts to boost food supplies to the hungry, on the final day of a summit in Italy.” G-8 to pledge billions for food initiative “President Obama hopes to win billions of dollars in agricultural assistance for developing nations today as he leaves an international summit that failed to make major progress on climate change.” Despite Obama's pledge, G-8 makes little headway on global warming “Leaders of the most developed nations again declined to commit themselves to any specific actions now or in the immediate future to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming -- actions that would require increasing energy prices, raising taxes or imposing other unpopular economic measures on their people.”
Mexico recession. With USA in a recession, rural Mexico feels the pain “Across Mexico, desperation is increasing among the millions of families who depend on money sent home by relatives in the United States. Those money transfers suffered an unprecedented drop in May, falling 20% — to $1.9 billion — compared with the previous year, according to the Bank of Mexico.”
Iran. Iran Protesters Take to Streets Despite Threats “Thousands of Iranians poured into the streets of Tehran on Thursday, clapping, chanting, almost mocking the authorities as they once again turned out in large numbers in defiance of the government’s threat to crush their protests with violence.” Iran protests draw thousands but are quickly quelled “Violent clashes erupted Thursday in downtown Tehran between thousands of defiant protesters chanting 'Death to the dictator' and security forces wielding truncheons, as the political crisis over Iran's disputed presidential election stretched into its fourth week.”
Afghanistan. Karzai victory may trigger violence, U.S. commander warns “The expected victory of Hamid Karzai in next month's presidential elections in Afghanistan will trigger a violent backlash from ordinary Afghans, a top U.S. commander in the country has warned.”
Iraq. Kurds Defy Baghdad, Laying Claim to Land and Oil “With little notice and almost no public debate, Iraq’s Kurdish leaders are pushing ahead with a new constitution for their semiautonomous region, a step that has alarmed Iraqi and American officials who fear that the move poses a new threat to the country’s unity.” Scores killed in Iraqi bombings “At least 50 people have been killed in Iraq in what is being described as the bloodiest day in the country since U.S. troops pulled back from cities and towns.”
Al Qaeda. Qaeda Branch Steps Up Raids in North Africa “Al Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa has carried out a string of killings, bombings and other lethal attacks against Westerners and African security forces in recent weeks that have raised fears that the terrorist group may be taking a deadlier turn.”
Opinion. Rebranding Africa (Bono, New York Times) “Africa is not just Barack Obama’s homeland. It’s ours, too. The birthplace of humanity. Wherever our journeys have taken us, they all began there. The word Desmond Tutu uses is 'ubuntu': I am because we are. As he says, until we accept and appreciate this we cannot be fully whole.” Whip Inflation Now(David Brooks, New York Times) “Over the past few decades, health care inflation has exceeded the general rise in prices by about 2.5 percent a year. These inexorably rising costs are bankrupting the nation, walloping businesses and squeezing middle-class salaries.”
