Daily News Digest

The latest news on Democratic nomination, McCain-Obama, Obama-Israel, Immigrants, Gas prices- Ohio, Food summit, Iran, Iraq, Darfur, Religious tolerance, and Robert F. Kennedy.

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Democratic nomination. Clinton to shelve her presidential campaign "Less than 24 hours after a defiant-sounding speech about her candidacy, Sen. Hillary Clinton has decided to drop or suspend her own historic presidential bid and endorse Sen. Barack Obama," Clinton to end campaign Saturday and endorse Obama "Clinton's decision followed a day of private consultation with donors, members of Congress and union supporters, who urged her to back Obama for the sake of party unity -- a sentiment that was voiced throughout the day by Democratic Party leaders." Clinton Pullout Likely Saturday "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is likely to suspend her presidential campaign on Saturday and endorse Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee,"

Obama's historic nomination grips U.S., world "Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, there was no escaping the sense Wednesday that a barrier had been overcome." World welcomes Obama win " Excitement about Barack Obama emerged as a global phenomenon as commentators and citizens around the world welcomed the news that he had sealed the Democratic presidential nomination." Run for the Ages? "Already, the adjective "historic" seems permanently attached to news media descriptions of Barack Obama's emergence as the Democratic nominee for president. But what do actual historians think?"

McCain-Obama. McCain proposes a series of debates with Obama "With the bruising Democratic contest over, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain said that he had proposed a series of town hall meetings with Barack Obama to be held across the country." McCain Proposes 10 Joint Forums "Republican Sen. John McCain challenged his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, to a series of 10 joint town hall meetings, starting next week in New York, saying voters deserve "a new tenor" in presidential campaigns." Obama, McCain are a study in contrasts in an unusual year "The John McCain-Barack Obama election looks like one of the clearest choices in years, but history also shows that presidential contests rarely unfold along logical paths." McCain and Obama: a stark matchup "But just as striking as their differences is a key similarity. Neither was the first choice of their party establishment for the nomination, and both have promised "a different kind of politics" from the highly partisan, divisive wrangling that has come to mark Washington for the past 20 years."

Obama-Israel. Obama Offers Assurances at Pro-Israel Meeting "Senator Barack Obama, in his first day as the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee, plunged into the thicket of Middle East politics with comments on the status of Jerusalem and deterrence of Iran's nuclear ambitions." Obama vows to support Israel "Obama gave a full-throated defense of his plan to engage Iran more directly, arguing that the Bush administration's policies have destabilized the Middle East and jeopardized U.S. and Israeli security." Obama to AIPAC: Committed to defending Israel from any threat "In his first foreign policy speech since he clinched the nomination of the Democratic Party for U.S. president, Barack Obama made a powerful address before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), assuring Jewish voters that he would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear arms, and that Jerusalem would remain the undivided capital of Israel."

Immigrants. Latino unemployment rate hits 7.3% "Unemployment among Latinos -- particularly immigrants -- jumped in the last year, wiping out many of their economic gains, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center." Domestic workers demanding labor rights "many domestic workers are finding their voices. They are suing employers who abuse them, organizing cooperatives to demand fair wages and lobbying politicians to change laws that exclude household workers from labor protections most employees take for granted."

Gas prices-Ohio. Meals on Wheels choking on gas prices "Fuel prices are forcing Meals on Wheels programs in Hocking and Athens counties to reduce the daily delivery of some hot meals, as well as what is the only contact some elderly clients have with the outside."

Food summit. U.S. food policy under fire at summit "Delegates clashed during the second day of the three-day meeting over how much blame can be assigned to biofuels for the meteoric rise in food prices." Food Is Gold, and Investors Pour Billions Into Farming "a few big private investors are starting to make bolder and longer-term bets that the world's need for food will greatly increase - by buying farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators and shipping equipment."

Iran. Bush reassures Olmert on Iran at W. House "U.S. President George W. Bush tried to reassure Israelis worried about the U.S. commitment to keeping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons." Nuclear report: parsing Iran's intent "Iran's nuclear intentions are under increasing scrutiny as diplomats and technical experts of the United Nation's atomic watchdog agency meet in Vienna this week."

Iraq . Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control "The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country."

Darfur . 'Whole state' behind Darfur crime "The "whole state apparatus" of Sudan is implicated in crimes against humanity in Darfur, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has said." Sudan ignores ICC extradition call "Sudan will not surrender any individuals accused of war crimes in the country's Darfur region to the International Criminal Court, Sudan's UN ambassador has said."

Zimbabwe . Zimbabwean Opposition Leaders Held by Police "Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader who placed first in Zimbabwe's March elections and now faces a runoff with President Robert Mugabe, was detained by the police for nine hours on Wednesday and charged with drawing a big crowd, his party said. He was released late in the evening." Mugabe accused of manipulating aid "Robert Mugabe's assault on the opposition ahead of this month's run-off presidential election has widened, with accusations he is using food as a weapon against a hungry population, and with the detention of the opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai,"

South Americaalliance. Brazil proposes Latin American alliance "Regional giant Brazil is the driving force behind a proposed new South American defense grouping that threatens to exclude the United States from regional military planning at a time of growing tensions between Washington and leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez."

Religious tolerance. Mecca talks stress religious tolerance "More than 500 delegates from around the world gathered in the Islamic holy city of Mecca with the aim of fostering better relations between Muslims and followers of other faiths."

Robert F. Kennedy.

Troubles that US faces today were on RFK's mind in '68 "Time has separated Robert Kennedy from the narratives he helped write - his brother's presidency, the fight for civil rights, opposition to the Vietnam War. And what remains is, simply, a person who matured and grew larger on the national stage, and used his fame to cast a spotlight on the least powerful people."

Remembering Our Father (Kerry Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy II And Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, New York Times) "Forty years ago, as he was celebrating his victory in California's Democratic presidential primary, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. To mark the occasion, the Op-Ed page invited his children to share their memories of him."