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Quote of the day. “Compared to any other time in the last 30 or 40 years, there's a better chance of success than ever before. But this is going to be like an Indiana Jones movie, where we kind of slip through a lot of narrow escapes.” Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster, on the prospects for health care reform. (Washington Post)
Health care. Democrats Nearing Consensus on Health Plan “A broad consensus on the contours of legislation to remake the nation’s health care system appeared to be developing among Democratic leaders on Tuesday as three House committee chairmen outlined a bill generally similar to one being written in the Senate.” On Health Care, Congress Must Navigate Tricky Political Terrain “The great unknown of the health-care debate as it unfolds in the months ahead is whether the current political landscape will prove more hospitable to mandates, cost controls and tax increases -- all measures now on the table that helped doom the Clinton plan.” Health-Care Bills Begin to Crystallize “House leaders outlined a health-care overhaul plan that would create a national health-insurance 'exchange' for consumers and include a government-run plan as one option, while Sen. Edward Kennedy introduced a similar bill in the Senate.” Kennedy's healthcare plan meets resistance “Congressional Democrats' bid to overhaul the nation's healthcare system got off to a rocky start Tuesday when Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced his long-awaited plan -- only to face furious criticism from even moderate Republicans.” Blue Dog Democrats could have major role in shaping health bill “President Barack Obama is moving quickly to head off opposition to major health care legislation from fiscal conservatives in Congress by vowing to follow strict rules for paying for it without further driving up the already huge deficit.”
War funding. Left and Right Press President Obama on War Funding Bill “A bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has turned into a major legislative challenge on Capitol Hill, as members press President Obama from the left and the right on a number of fronts.” War bill tally could top $105B “The White House’s ever-expanding wartime spending bill could soon exceed $105 billion even as President Barack Obama remains stymied by divisions in Congress and a set of terrorism-related issues that have strained relations in his own party.”
Supreme Court. Hearings on Sotomayor Are Set to Begin on July 13 “After consulting closely with the White House, Senate Democrats announced Tuesday that hearings on Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court would begin on July 13, infuriating Republicans who said that they had been blind-sided and that the timetable would recklessly short-circuit the review process.” White House gets its wish on Sotomayor hearings “The Senate Judiciary Committee is to begin hearings on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court on July 13, a victory for the White House, which has been pushing for early consideration of President Obama's nominee.”
D.C. voting. D.C. voting rights bid put on hold “House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer admitted party leaders are stymied by an amendment to the measure that guts the District's strict gun laws.”
Budget deficits. Analysis: America’s Sea of Red Ink Was Years in the Making “The New York Times analyzed Congressional Budget Office reports going back almost a decade, with the aim of understanding how the federal government came to be far deeper in debt than it has been since the years just after World War II.”
Donations fall. Charitable Donations Fell in 2008, Report Finds “Charitable giving in the United States fell by 2 percent last year, the largest year-over-year drop and only the second decline since the Giving USA Foundation began tracking American philanthropy 53 years ago, according to a report being released today.” Charitable Giving Declines, a New Report Finds “Some experts said they were surprised the drop was not even bigger, given that endowments fell by as much as 40 percent, the stock market declined by a similar margin, corporations posted unheard-of losses and unemployment was rising at a fast clip.”
Abortion clinic stays closed. Family of Slain Doctor George Tiller Shutters Abortion Clinic “The family of slain abortion provider George R. Tiller announced Tuesday that it will not reopen his Kansas clinic, eliminating one of the few medical practices in the country that performed abortions late in pregnancies.” 'Abortion fatigue' on both sides as Kansas clinic closes “Shortly after the family of slain physician George Tiller announced Tuesday that his abortion clinic would be shuttered forever, the police cruiser that had been a fixture in the clinic's driveway was gone.”
Mideast. U.S. envoy says ties with Israel 'unshakable' “Seeking to calm a public spat with Israel, U.S. envoy George J. Mitchell assured its leaders Tuesday that American support for the Jewish state was 'unshakable.' But he said the Obama administration stood by a goal the new Israeli government has yet to embrace: an independent Palestinian state.” U.S. envoy meets Palestinian leader “Mitchell met Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, after telling Israeli leaders that peace talks must resume urgently.”
Iran. Iran campaign enters final day “The four candidates in Iran's presidential election are making last-ditch attempts to woo voters on the final day of campaigning.” Iran election row fires up rivals “A war of words between political rivals in Iran intensifies, two days before the country votes in presidential elections.” Iran's election becomes a referendum on Ahmadinejad “With a vote watched around the world set for Friday, Iran's presidential campaign has suddenly morphed into a bitter referendum on Ahmadinejad. Unprecedented personal attacks have erupted, the first-ever televised debates have been held and political rumors abound.”
Pakistan. Police scour bombed Pakistani hotel “Police investigators and search teams have been sifting through the rubble of a five-star hotel in northwest Pakistan after a suicide attack killed at least 15 people.” Several killed as suicide bomb rips through luxury hotel in Pakistan “At least 11 people were killed last night and 70 wounded, including one Briton, when a vehicle bomb exploded at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, police said.”
Iraq. Deadly blast hits southern Iraq “A deadly car bomb has exploded in a crowded market in the southern Iraqi town of Bathaa, killing at least 28 people, say officials.” Iraq Moves Ahead With Vote on U.S. Security Pact “The Iraqi government is pressing ahead with plans to hold a national referendum on the Iraqi-American security agreement — a measure likely to lose if put to a popular vote with the outcome that American troops could be forced to leave as early as next summer, nearly a year and half ahead of schedule.”
North Korea. N Korea draft resolution 'agreed' “Key Security Council members have agreed on the wording of a draft U.N. resolution to expand sanctions against North Korea, diplomatic sources say.”
Opinion. California can't afford the death penalty (John Van de Kamp, Los Angeles Times) “With California facing its most severe fiscal crisis in recent memory -- with draconian cuts about to be imposed from Sacramento that will affect every resident of the state -- it would be crazy not to consider the fact that it will add as much as $1 billion over the next five years simply to keep the death penalty on the books.” Ballots Over Bullets (Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times) “I confess. I’m a sucker for free and fair elections. It warms my heart to watch people drop ballots in a box to express their will, especially in a region where that so rarely happens. So I came to Lebanon on Sunday to watch the Lebanese hold their national election.”
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