The latest news on North Korea–Reporters Freed, Health Care, Sotomayor Nomination, Elkhart County, Faith, California Prisons, Palestine, Iran, India, South Africa, Honduras, Feature–Reporter in Iraq, and Select Op-eds. | Sojourners

The latest news on North Korea–Reporters Freed, Health Care, Sotomayor Nomination, Elkhart County, Faith, California Prisons, Palestine, Iran, India, South Africa, Honduras, Feature–Reporter in Iraq, and Select Op-eds.

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Quote of the day. "In the USAID budget, every dollar has three purposes: help build an Air Force base, support the University of Mississippi, get some country to vote our way." Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, describing the confusion and political goals around U.S. foreign assistance programs. (Washington Post)

North Korea–reporters freed. Freed reporters arrive home in U.S. “Two U.S. reporters freed from detention in North Korea have been reunited with their families in Los Angeles.” In Release of Journalists, Both Clintons Had Key Roles “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had proposed sending various people to lobby for the release of two journalists before Bill Clinton emerged as the preferred choice, people briefed on the talks said.” During Visit by Bill Clinton, North Korea Releases American Journalists “North Korea pardoned and released two detained American journalists after former president Bill Clinton met in Pyongyang on Tuesday with the country's ailing dictator, a transaction that gives Kim Jong Il a thin slice of the international legitimacy that has long eluded him.”

Health care. $52 Million Has Been Spent So Far on Health-Care Reform Ads in What Could Be Record-Shattering Battle “The increasingly heated fight over health-care legislation is saturating the summer airwaves, with groups on all sides of the debate pouring tens of millions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to push the cause of reform forward, slow it down or stop it in its tracks.” Obama Pushes Democrats for Unity on Health Plan “President Obama urged Democratic senators on Tuesday to persevere in trying to get a bipartisan deal on health care, but left open the possibility that they might have to pass a bill with only Democratic votes if Republicans stood in the way.” Democrats say they won't bow to 'shrill' health-care protests “President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats tried hard to defuse mounting opposition to their health care overhaul effort Tuesday as they huddled at the White House and vowed unity and bipartisan cooperation.” Obama Returns to Grass Roots to Influence Health-Care Debate “As public skepticism mounts about President Obama's plans to overhaul the nation's health-care system, the political team that got him elected is returning to the online world of grass-roots activism in an attempt to reclaim control of the debate.”

Sotomayor nomination. Senate begins floor debate on Sotomayor nomination “Floor debate over Sonia Sotomayor's history-making nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court began late Tuesday -- and though her confirmation seems assured, it will not happen painlessly.” GOP Senators Seem Unconcerned About Hispanic Backlash Over Sotomayor Opposition “Senate Republicans have lined up in staunch opposition to the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, rejecting concerns about alienating the growing Hispanic vote.”

Elkhart County. Obama returning to Elkhart County, Ind., land of recession and rebound “The manufacturing area is struggling more than most in the downturn. As the president pays a fourth visit, people are worried but hopeful that things are turning around.” Economic Statistics Improve, but Hope Is Elusive “Residents of Elkhart County, Ind., suggest that a visiting President Obama will find some who wonder how soon they might begin feeling the effects of any economic recovery.”

Faith. Outdoor baptisms dwindling “Outdoor baptisms are rapidly disappearing in America. Once prevalent in the rivers and deltas of the South, the ritual has been nearly extinguished by indoor pools, megachurches and modernization, researchers and ministers say.” Study: U.S. Jews drift from faith “The rate of religious observance among American Jews has dropped precipitously over the past two decades, to the point where more than one out of every three Jews is thoroughly secularized, according to a new survey.” Fighting postwar stress “As soldiers return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, congregations are discovering how spirituality can help veterans afflicted with postwar stress. But many pastors remain unsure how to help when veterans contend with chronic nightmares, outbursts and panic attacks.”

California prisons. Federal judges order California to release 43,000 inmates “California must shrink the population of its teeming prisons by nearly 43,000 inmates over the next two years to meet constitutional standards, a panel of three federal judges ruled Tuesday, ordering the state to come up with a reduction plan by mid-September.” California Prisons Must Cut Inmate Population “The judges said that reducing prison crowding in California was the only way to change what they called an unconstitutional prison health care system that causes one unnecessary death a week.”

Palestine. At Palestinian congress, Abbas urges nonviolent resistance “Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas opened his Fatah movement's first congress in 20 years Tuesday with a call to step up nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation and to keep faith in peace talks despite years of setbacks to the dream of statehood.” Peace is our choice, resistance our right “Palestinians have a legitimate right to engage in 'resistance' against Israel, but 'we must not stain our legitimate struggle with terror,' Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said at the opening of his Fatah movement's sixth convention yesterday.”

Iran. Defiant Iran president takes oath “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in for a second term as Iran's president, after weeks of post-election unrest.” Ahmadinejad starts new term in Iran “After taking the oath of office before the Iranian parliament in Tehran, the capital, on Wednesday, he said: 'We will resist oppressors and try to correct the global discriminatory mechanisms in order to benefit all the nations of the world.'" UK ambassador attends Ahmadinejad inauguration “The British government sent its ambassador to the inauguration ceremony of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, today despite the strained relations between the two countries.”

India. Hints of Cooperation Put Leaders of Pakistan and India on the Defensive at Home “Instead, the mere suggestion of a thaw in relations has been met with fierce public and political resistance in India, providing a nagging reminder of the enormous internal obstacles that both countries face in overcoming their decades-old rivalry.” India 'police abuses' condemned “India's police force has been accused of extrajudicial killings, torture and carrying out illegal detentions, human rights campaigners have said.”

South Africa. Zuma surprises protest residents “South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has visited an informal housing settlement in eastern Mpumalanga Province, the scene of recent violent protests.”

Honduras. Ousted Honduran leader running out of options “Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Tuesday launched a new international drive to revive his flagging bid to return to power, but Hondurans who'd massed here in support began heading home.”

Feature-Reporter in Iraq. A McClatchy reporter reflects on what war brought to Iraq “Leila Fadel began covering Iraq in 2005 and was McClatchy's bureau chief there for nearly three years until her assignment ended earlier this year. This is how she recalls her time there: 'We called it a good day when only 10 died, but then there were the bad days. The day a friend died. The day when more than 300 lives were taken in minutes. The day a mother wept in my arms about her lost son, who'd been killed by a militia member, and his widow curled up in a corner of the empty room they'd shared.'"

Editorial. Israel must allow evicted Arab families to return home (Haaretz) “The government must immediately return the Palestinian residents to their homes in Sheikh Jarrah and cancel the eviction orders that have been issued against additional houses. And the neighborhood's fate must be determined via diplomatic negotiations.”

Opinion. Working Across the Aisle for Health Reform (Ron Wyden and Robert F. Bennett, Washington Post) “As 12 U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle who have widely varying philosophies, we offer a concrete demonstration that it is possible to find common ground and pass real health reform this year.” A myth that scares seniors to death (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) “Is the White House losing the message war on health care? Like other presidents, President Barack Obama is pestered by myths and conspiracy theorists. He can easily ignore the 'birthers,' who refuse to let facts get in the way of their misguided belief that Obama's birth certificate is a fake. But if there is any rumor that he needs to squelch as soon as possible, it is the truly dangerous myth that he wants to kill seniors.” A Scrap of Decency (Bharati Chaturvedi, New York Times) “Among those suffering from the global recession are millions of workers who are not even included in the official statistics: urban recyclers — the trash pickers, sorters, traders and reprocessors who extricate paper, cardboard and plastics from garbage heaps and prepare them for reuse.”