The latest news on Health Care, Financial Reform, Nuclear Policy, Clean Water, Campaign Finance, Gun Ownership, Afghanistan, Iran, and Select Op-Eds.

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Quote of the Day. "The positive energy has been incredible. There has been an outpouring of pride [among natives] the likes of which I've never seen before." Tewanee Joseph, CEO of the Four Host First Nations, on the involvement of native peoples in the Vancouver Olympics. (Globe & Mail, Toronto)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

Iraq's Christians demand justice "Iraqis in Baghdad and Mosul have protested a recent wave of attacks on their minority religious communities, following the murder of eight Christians in less than two weeks."

Rashad Hussain, a Muslim and new U.S. envoy, is bridge between two worlds "In his new position, Hussain, who is both a Koran scholar and an ardent North Carolina Tar Heels basketball fan, will be responsible for helping to bridge another cultural divide -- the one in U.S. relations with Muslims inside and outside the nation's borders."

Where have all the Protestants gone? (Oliver Thomas, USA Today) "So-called mainliners led the fight for social causes such as civil rights, equality for women and other key issues of the day. Now that American society has embraced such norms, liberal Protestant groups have become marginalized. Or have they?"

Haiti and God (James Carroll, Boston Globe) "Therefore, let humans do the works of salvation. In addition to sending money to Haiti, and insisting on unflagging US relief aid, the rest of us can at least keep the people in mind. In Lent, Christians retell the story of the abandoned Jesus, for the sake of its consolation, yes. But also to recall its deeper meaning. If a loving God acts in the world, it is through the loving acts of human beings."

NEWS AT HOME

Health Care. Pelosi Says She'll Get Votes Needed for Health Bill "Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is confident she will be able to get the votes needed to pass sweeping health care legislation in the House, even if it threatens the political careers of some members of her party." Democrats will have votes for health bill, Obama aide says "Raising the prospect of a 'simple up-or-down vote' on health-care reform, White House adviser Nancy-Ann DeParle said on Sunday she thinks Democrats will secure enough ayes on the measure and signaled that the administration could be moving toward trying to pass it along party lines." Is healthcare bipartisanship down the drain? "But more and more, it's looking like Democrats will have to go it alone on what has become the most contentious issue in Obama's first year in the White House -- at least if anything comprehensive is to result from the debate." Wary Centrists Posing Challenge in Health Care Vote "The future of President Obama's health care overhaul now rests largely with two blocs of swing Democrats in the House of Representatives -- abortion opponents and fiscal conservatives -- whose indecision signals the difficulties Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces in securing the votes necessary to pass the bill."

Financial Reform. In Senate, a Renewed Effort to Reach a Consensus on Financial Regulation "The most hotly disputed elements -- the creation of a consumer protection agency to watch for deceptive and abusive terms on mortgages, credit cards, payday loans, and other financial products -- are a reminder of how intense lobbying and partisan gridlock threaten to significantly weaken what the Obama administration has called a top priority."

Unemployment. GOP's Kyl vows Senate will pass jobless benefits extension "Congress will pass legislation aimed at keeping certain jobless benefits, highway and transit money, and other government programs funded, Sen. Jon Kyl, the Senate's number 2 Republican, said Sunday. But several programs still expired at midnight and action to reinstate them won't come before Tuesday." Payday lenders giving advances on unemployment checks "The payday loan industry has found a new and lucrative source of business: the unemployed. Payday lenders, which typically provide workers with cash advances on their paychecks, are offering the same service to those covered by unemployment insurance."

Nuclear Policy. White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy "As President Obama begins making final decisions on a broad new nuclear strategy for the United States, senior aides say he will permanently reduce America's arsenal by thousands of weapons. But the administration has rejected proposals that the United States declare it would never be the first to use nuclear weapons, aides said."

Heating Assistance. More U.S. households apply for heat help "A record number of U.S. households are applying for help to pay home heating bills with 17 states fielding application requests that are up more than 20% from last year, the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association says."

Clean Water. Rulings Restrict Clean Water Act, Hampering E.P.A. "Thousands of the nation's largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act's reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators."

Campaign Finance. Decision Could Allow Anonymous Political Contributions by Businesses "Experts say the ruling, along with a pair of earlier Supreme Court cases, makes it possible for corporations and unions to donate anonymously to nonprofit civic leagues and trade associations. The groups can then use the money to finance the types of political advertisements that were at the heart of last month's ruling."

Gun Ownership. Gun rights case likely to be landmark Supreme Court ruling "When the Supreme Court takes up a challenge this week to Chicago's strict ban on handguns, it will hear two contrasting visions of how to make the city safer and to protect its residents from gun violence." Guns at Starbucks? Pushing the right to bear arms in public "Small groups of armed Californians have been turning up at cafes and coffee shops with handguns holstered to their belts to raise awareness about gun rights and what they call unfair limits on concealed weapon permits."

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Chile Earthquake. Rescuers search for Chile quake survivors; death toll jumps to 708 "With more than 700 people reported dead, rescuers smashed through fallen walls and sawed into rubble Sunday in an urgent push to find survivors of the massive earthquake that roared through Chile a day earlier. Some 2 million were said to be displaced, injured, or otherwise impaired by the disaster." Chile reels in aftermath of quake, emergency workers provide aid "After experiencing one of the most powerful earthquakes to strike the earth in more than a century, Chileans accelerated their rescue, aid, and security efforts in damaged regions Sunday but also took pride in the comparatively low death toll, a result widely attributed to the country's meticulous planning and preparation." Chile troops tackle quake looters "The Chilean military is attempting to restore order in the country's second city, Concepcion, amid looting after Saturday's devastating earthquake." Frantic Rescue Efforts in Chile as Troops Seek to Keep Order "With frantic rescue efforts under way, a rising death toll and isolated outbreaks of looting, the Chilean president on Sunday issued an order that will send soldiers into the streets in the worst-affected areas to both keep order and speed the distribution of aid."

Afghanistan. U.S. Marines, Afghan troops to stay in Marja for months "More than 2,000 U.S. Marines and about 1,000 Afghan troops who stormed the town of Marja as part of a major NATO offensive against a resurgent Taliban will stay several months to ensure that insurgents do not return." With Marja Largely Won, Marines Try to Win Trust "After the declaration this weekend that the battle for the Taliban enclave of Marja had been won, for the Marines standing behind sandbags and walking patrols, the more complicated work has begun." Afghan soldiers show improvement in Marja assault "The Afghan troops who supported the U.S. Marines in the battle to end Taliban control of this town in Helmand province showed marked improvement over last summer's performance in a similar fight but still need much more training."

Iran. Iran opposition leader calls crackdown a wasteful exercise "Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi on Saturday accused the government of wasting public resources in a massive show of force against the opposition this month, calling the country's hard-line leadership a 'dictatorship and distortion of the Islamic Revolution.'" Iran 'not co-operating' says IAEA "Iran's insistence its nuclear programme was peaceful could not be confirmed, Yukiya Amano told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna." Iran relations with IAEA turn contentious "Iran has dramatically shifted its public tone toward the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, dropping its previous deference while harshly criticizing the agency's latest report and its new director-general as an incompetent and biased lackey of the West."

OPINION

Learning From the Sin of Sodom (Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times) "For most of the last century, save-the-worlders were primarily Democrats and liberals. In contrast, many Republicans and religious conservatives denounced government aid programs, with Senator Jesse Helms calling them 'money down a rat hole.' Over the last decade, however, that divide has dissolved."

The ill effects of job loss are climbing the socio-economic ladder (Connie Schultz, Cleveland Plain Dealer) "Our country has seen the most job losses in 25 years. This time it's not just factory workers getting laid off, or suffering the health consequences."

Living with partisanship (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) "If we learn nothing else in 2010, can we please finally acknowledge that our partisan divisions are about authentic principles that lead to very different approaches to governing?"

Financial Reform Endgame (Paul Krugman, New York Times) "So here's the situation. We've been through the second-worst financial crisis in the history of the world, and we've barely begun to recover: 29 million Americans either can't find jobs or can't find full-time work. Yet all momentum for serious banking reform has been lost."

Sojourners' Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.