The Catholic Crusade Against a Mythical Abortion Bill

The U.S. Catholic Church’s crusade against the Freedom of Choice Act has all the hallmarks of a well-oiled lobbying campaign. A national postcard campaign is flooding the White House and congressional offices with messages opposing FOCA, and the Catholic bishops have made defeating the abortion rights legislation a top priority

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GM Bailout: Billions to Put People Out of Work

GM says it needs more money from the federal government or it will run out of cash next month. It has made some progress with its creditors and the UAW, but neither of those negotiations is final, so some of what GM can do to cut costs and improve its balance sheet will have to be taken on faith. The parts of the GM restructuring the the company can claim are firm are the closing of some brands including Saturn and Hummer, the shutdown of several factories, and the firing of 47,000 people.

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California: One Vote Short of Averting Catastrophe

It’s becoming a cliché: California lawmakers again fail to reach agreement on a budget. As California engages in a budget battle that has left the government of the world’s eighth largest economy slipping toward insolvency, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic legislative majority continue to search for one last Republican vote to pass a budget

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Court: Chinese at Guantanamo can’t be freed in U.S.

A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that 17 native Chinese Muslims in military custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot be released into the United States. The three-judge panel concluded by a 2-1 vote there is no legal or constitutional authority for the detainees to be immediately freed, even though they are unlawfully detained and no country is willing to accept them

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Republicans, analysts question Obama’s foreclosure plan

Even before President Obama unveiled his home foreclosure plan Wednesday afternoon, some Republicans and political commentators questioned how exactly it would work to stave off a crisis plaguing the country. House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, along with Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent a letter Wednesday to the president “seeking clarification on six important questions about [Obama’s] broad housing proposal,” according to a press release from Cantor’s office.

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India: 70,000 trapped in Sri Lanka war zone

India on Wednesday urged Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebels to "release" civilians, who it said numbered about 70,000 in Sri Lanka’s war zone. India is ready to help evacuate them, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Indian parliament. “Estimates on the number of civilians trapped vary, but 70,000 or so are estimated to be there now.

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Sudanese government, rebels in peace talks

The Sudanese government and a rebel faction in the country’s troubled Darfur region have agreed to embark on talks that many hope will eventually end a six-year conflict that has killed about 300,000 people, Qatari media reported Tuesday. The government and representatives of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) will sign an initial agreement Tuesday on confidence-building measures, Qatar’s official news agency, SUNA, quoted the country’s prime minister as saying

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