Daily News Digest

The latest news on War funding & GI Bill, US Military-Iraq, Farm bill, McCain rejects pastors, Sect children, Legal aid, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Burma, China, Darfur, and Op-Ed.

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War funding & GI Bill. Senate Passes $165 Billion Measure to Pay for Wars "The Senate yesterday approved $165 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan well into the next presidency, but in a break with President Bush and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, it also approved billions of dollars in domestic spending that includes a generous expansion of veterans' education benefits." War-funding bill with new GI benefits "In a resounding break from President Bush, a majority of Senate Republicans joined Democrats in approving a war-funding bill that would provide for a major expansion of the World War II-era GI Bill." Veterans' Benefits Bill Wins Approval in Senate "The proposal, adopted by a vote of 75 to 22, also provides money for extended unemployment insurance benefits and other domestic programs to which Mr. Bush has objected."

US Military-Iraq. Progress in Iraq is 'undeniable,' Bush tells troops "Using a military ceremony to promote the war in Iraq, President Bush said that progress there was "undeniable" and that the United States was "on our way to victory." Gen. David Petraeus says new Iraq troop cuts likely this fall "Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, gave Congress a markedly more upbeat assessment of the war than he did six weeks ago, saying violence has hit a four-year low and further troop reductions are likely in the fall." Petraeus Expects to Recommend Troop Cuts in Iraq This Fall "Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he expects to recommend additional cuts in U.S. troop levels there this fall. Petraeus said he would assess conditions before his departure in September," In Iraq, a Surge in U.S. Airstrikes "The military says the tactic has saved the lives of ground troops and prevented attacks, but the strikes have also killed and wounded civilians, provoking criticism from Iraqis. "

Farm bill. House takes mulligan, passes farm bill again - just in case "Congress bungled its big farm bill finale, forcing embarrassed lawmakers to pass the whole thing all over again less than a day after the House overrode President Bush's veto." Farm-Bill Veto Overridden Despite Glitch "With an overwhelming 82 to 13 vote, the Senate completed the override of President Bush's veto of a comprehensive farm bill, shrugging off Republican concerns about an embarrassing legislative glitch to make the $307 billion bill the law of the land." Farm Bill, in Part and in Full, Wins Passage "Thursday's vote in the House was on all 673 pages, which also embrace subsidies for farmers, food stamps, land conservation and various other items too attractive for most lawmakers to shun."

McCain rejects pastors. McCain Cuts Ties to Pastors Whose Talks Drew Fire "Senator John McCain rejected the endorsements of two prominent evangelical ministers whose backing he had sought to shore up his credentials with religious conservatives." McCain rejects pastors' endorsements "Sen. John McCain yesterday renounced the endorsements of two influential televangelists - the Rev. John Hagee and Rod Parsley - who both had made inflammatory statements that liberals have been using to tar Mr. McCain."

Sect children. Court Says Texas Illegally Seized Sect's Children"A Texas appeals court ruled that the state had illegally seized up to 468 children from their homes at a polygamist ranch in West Texas. The decision abruptly threw the largest custody case in recent American history into turmoil." Sect parents cheer court ruling, await next step "Members of a polygamist sect whose children were placed into foster care said they were thrilled by an appellate court decision that upended the custody case and eagerly waiting to find out if and when their children will return home."

Legal aid. Legal aid groups struggle to meet low-income need "Legal aid representatives described to the Senate yesterday their struggle to represent low-income Americans as a housing crisis and slow economy leave a growing number of people with more legal problems than they can handle."

South Africa. SA violence spreads to Cape Town "Violence against foreigners in South Africa spread to Cape Town overnight with people assaulted and shops looted." Racist violence in South Africa spreads "The wave of violence against foreigners in South Africa, which began 12 days ago in Johannesburg, has spread to Cape Town where Somalis and Zimbabweans have been attacked by mobs who have looted their homes and shops overnight, according to police." Military patrols Johannesburg as threatened immigrants flee "Hundreds of immigrants boarded crowded buses for Mozambique and other African nations Thursday, passing bags and even babies through the windows in a rush to flee violent attacks against outsiders that have left 42 dead."

Zimbabwe. The not-so-diplomatic ambassador to Zimbabwe "[James] McGee, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe for the last six months, has eschewed the tactful, almost invisible role that envoys often take. With foreign journalists largely blocked from covering events in the African nation, McGee and other Western diplomats have adopted an outspoken posture, exposing political violence and ratcheting up international pressure on the regime."

Burma. Burma 'to let in all aid workers' "Burma's top leader has agreed to let all foreign aid workers into the country for relief work in cyclone-hit areas, UN head Ban Ki-moon has said." Can a cyclone open the iron fist of Myanmar's generals? "Than Shwe's shuffling, bulldog appearance belies a formidable tactician canny enough to court regional powers as a balance to the perceived threats of the West, astute enough to sign cease-fires with 17 insurgent groups to prevent a common front, and cruel enough to brutally crack down on Buddhist monks leading peaceful protests last year." Suspicion trumps aid in Myanmar "The effort to break up the relief camps so soon reflects the deep suspicion in which Myanmar's military rulers, who have been in power for 46 years, hold their own people, even sick and hungry victims of a natural catastrophe." Junta Offers Showcase Camps, but Most Burmese Lack Aid "Mr. Ban received guided tours of apparently well-run government camps like this one for survivors, presenting one vision of the junta's response to its people and the outside world. But interviews with survivors and Burmese breaking rules to help them suggest a different story:"

China. China quake death toll tops 55,000 "Thousands of survivors in Sichuan are being evacuated amid fears that aftershocks could unblock dammed rivers and unleash flooding. About 5 million people have been left homeless in the province." Landslides Cause Fear Of Floods in Quake Zone "Landslides caused by last week's earthquake in central China have backed up rivers into more than 30 new lakes, threatening to flood downstream communities if the mud gives way under building pressure,"

Darfur. Armed men ambush, disarm, peacekeepers in Darfur "Up to 60 heavily armed men on horseback ambushed a patrol of peacekeepers in Darfur, in a new attack on international forces in Sudan's strife-torn west,"

Op-Ed.

Biden comes out punching (Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe) "JOE BIDEN is mad as - well, mad as a compulsively collegial US senator, one who is on a first-name basis with seemingly everyone in Washington, can be."I am so goddarn sick and tired of Democrats being portrayed as being weak on terror, weak on national defense, weak on foreign policy," the Delaware Democrat tells me. "I ain't taking it no more."