Top Items:
Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Obama takes 1st step in presidential bid — WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) said Tuesday he is taking the initial step in a presidential bid that could make him the nation's first black to occupy the White House. — Obama announced on his Web site …
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Lynn Sweet / sweet:
Sweet blog scoop: Obama morning conference call with supporters to announce White House run. — Supporters of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) are being told this morning there will be an 11 a.m. Chicago time conference call. Expected to be discussed is Obama filing papers to officially launch his 2008 White House run.
Associated Press:
Castro Reportedly in Grave Condition — MADRID, Spain (AP) — Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection, a Spanish newspaper said Tuesday. — The newspaper El Pais cited two unnamed sources …
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Sam Roberts / New York Times:
51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse — For what experts say is probably the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York Times analysis of census results. — In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse …
Sameer N. Yacoub / Associated Press:
U.N.: 34,452 Iraq civilians killed in '06 — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Nearly 35,000 civilians were killed last year in Iraq, the United Nations said Tuesday, a sharp increase from the numbers reported previously by the Iraqi government. — Gianni Magazzeni, the chief of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq …
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USA Today:
Poll: Bush's new Iraq strategy fails to rally public support — WASHINGTON — President Bush's address to the nation last week failed to move public opinion in support of his plan to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq and left Americans more pessimistic about the likely outcome of the war.
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Mark Memmott / On Deadline:
USAT Poll: Americans 'more pessimistic' after Bush's Iraq speech
USAT Poll: Americans 'more pessimistic' after Bush's Iraq speech
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jules crittenden, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Talking Points Memo and The Democratic Daily
Glenn Reynolds / New York Times:
A Rifle in Every Pot — IT'S a phenomenon that gives the term "gun control" a whole new meaning: community ordinances that encourage citizens to own guns. — Last month, Greenleaf, Idaho, adopted Ordinance 208, calling for its citizens to own guns and keep them ready in their homes in case of emergency.
Robin Toner / New York Times:
Democrats Seek the Middle on Social Issues — The promise may not outlast their political honeymoon, but Democratic Congressional leaders say they are committed to governing from the center, and not just on bread-and-butter issues like raising the minimum wage or increasing aid for education.
Los Angeles Times:
Iraq edges closer to Iran, with or without the U.S. — BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government is moving to solidify relations with Iran, even as the United States turns up the rhetorical heat and bolsters its military forces to confront Tehran's influence in Iraq.
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PoliBlog (TM)
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Washington Post:
Burden Set to Shift On Balanced Budget — When he takes the House rostrum next week for the State of the Union address, President Bush will list among his goals a balanced federal budget, a shift for a president who has presided over record deficits while aggressively cutting taxes.
Kiyori Ueno / Bloomberg:
Al Gore Says U.S. States May Force Change in Climate Policy — Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said many businesses and state governments ``embrace'' the aims of the Kyoto Protocol, which may force President George W. Bush to alter his opposition to the effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Discussion:
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Washington Post:
What Congress Can (And Can't) Do on Iraq — Congressional Democrats (and Republicans) who oppose President Bush's decision to send additional American troops to Iraq may frustrate his plan, but not — as suggested by Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn — by imposing 21,500 strings on the 21,500 new troops.
Brian Dickerson / Detroit Free Press:
Adultery could mean life, court finds — That's what the law says in sex-drug case Cox appealed — In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct …
fmqb.com:
Kucinich: Congress To Take On FCC — Over the weekend, the National Conference for Media Reform was held in Memphis, TN, with a number of notable speakers on hand for the event. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) made an surprise appearance at the convention to announce that he would be heading …
John F. Burns / New York Times:
Second Iraq Hanging Also Went Awry — Iraq's turbulent effort to reckon with the violence of its past took another macabre turn on Monday when the execution of Saddam Hussein's half brother ended with the hangman's noose decapitating him after he dropped through the gallows trapdoor.
Washington Wire:
Grumbling in the Ranks — Vocal opposition to President's Bush's strategy of sending more than 20,000 additional troops to help secure Iraq has grown to include some of the troops themselves. — A group of more than 50 active-duty military officers will deliver a petition to Congress …