House Passes Housing-rescue Bill
The House has passed legislation that aims to help 400,000 strapped homeowners who are facing foreclosure and prevent troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapsing. The 272-152 vote on Wednesday reflected a congressional push to send election-year help to struggling borrowers and to reassure jittery financial markets about the health of two pillars of the mortgage market. The measure is on track to pass the Senate and become law within days. President Bush dropped his opposition earlier in the day. MSNBC
VOA VIEW: An economic fiasco.

Democratic Convention’s Hosts Getting Tax-Free Gas
The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention this August in Denver has been taking advantage of tax-free gas through the city of Denver for the past four months, according to a report by the Rocky Mountain News. The newspaper reports that, once the practice was made public, an aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, issued a statement Tuesday saying that members of the committee would pay full market price for gasoline, including the 40 cents a gallon in state and federal taxes. Committee members apparently have been allowed to fill up their tanks at city pumps. The city doesn’t pay taxes on its gasoline, prompting questions over whether the host committee would be exempt from the taxes as well when they reimburse the city for the gas. Fox News

Chrysler To Cut 1,000 Jobs
Chrysler LLC said on Wednesday it plans to cut 1,000 white-collar jobs by the end of September to slash costs and survive a deep industry downturn. The privately held automaker, controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, also said its liquidity position through June was unchanged from December "as a result of aggressive programs to reduce working capital, the sale of non-core assets, and volume-related manufacturing reductions." Reuters

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McCain Says No Decision Yet As Running Mate Speculation Spreads
John McCain told FOX News on Wednesday that he has not made a decision on a running mate, splashing cold water on speculation that he would announce his No. 2 pick while Barack Obama is traveling overseas. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee told “Hannity & Colmes” that he’s looking for a candidate who shares similar priorities and who he feels is capable of taking over for him. But he said he has not made a final decision. Fox News

Energy Concerns Escalate In U.S.
The economy is the nation's top concern by far, but anxiety about energy has grown more since spring than any other issue while the focus on Iraq continues to fade, according to a poll released Wednesday. The findings by the Associated Press-Ipsos poll provide the latest confirmation of how economic woes -- including job losses, rising inflation and the ailing financial and housing markets -- are dominating voters' worries as this fall's presidential election approaches. Forty-four percent said the economy was the country's most important problem, a small increase from the 39 percent who said so in April. Another 22 percent named energy problems including rising gasoline costs, an enormous boost from the 4 percent who said so last spring. Detroit News
VOA VIEW: Republicans and Democrats have failed to control the price of oil.

Hurricane Dolly Hits South Texas
Hurricane Dolly moved inland after tearing into the South Texas coast on Wednesday with 95 mph (150 kph) winds, pouring torrential rain on the U.S.-Mexico border area and threatening floods. Dolly, the second hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, dropped up to 12 inches of rain in the first few hours after coming ashore at the barrier island of South Padre Island, where it ripped off roofs, bent palm trees in half and left thousands of residents without power. Reuters

McCain Cancels La. trip; Jindal Denies VP Rumors
U.S. Sen. John McCain canceled a visit Wednesday to Louisiana that the national media had been reporting earlier this week as possibly having vice presidential implications. After the announcement, Gov. Bobby Jindal said in an interview that he would not be the presumptive Republican presidential candidate’s running mate. Both Jindal and McCain’s campaign spokesman denied the national media speculation that McCain possibly would choose a GOP vice presidential candidate this week and that the trip to New Orleans could mean that Louisiana’s 37-year-old governor was the choice. Advocate
VOA VIEW: An inexperienced rookie would be a poor VP choice.

Militants Threaten Nigeria's Main Oil Pipelines
Nigeria's main militant group on Wednesday threatened to destroy the nation's major oil pipelines within 30 days to counter allegations it had struck a $12 million deal with the government to protect them. A spokesman for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta denied claims it said had been made by the country's petroleum company that the state-run organization was paying militants to protect pipelines. Officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation could not immediately be reached for comment. ABC News

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Spill Could Close Part Of Mississippi River For Days
The U.S. Coast Guard closed nearly 60 miles of the Mississippi River from New Orleans southward after a fuel barge and a tanker collided early Wednesday, spilling more than 400,000 gallons of fuel oil. Coast Guard personnel try to contain a fuel oil spill in the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Wednesday.  The closure -- on what is a major shipping route between the Midwest and the Gulf of Mexico -- could last days and the cleanup could take weeks, said Capt. Lincoln Stroh, the Coast Guard chief in New Orleans. CNN

Obama Keeps Lead Over McCain
A majority of Americans think Barack Obama is a riskier choice for the presidency, but he maintains a six-point lead over Republican John McCain, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. With slightly more than 100 days until the election, the survey provides a glimpse of the challenges facing both presidential candidates. For McCain, it comes amid a toxic political climate for Republicans. Just three in 10 respondents approve of President Bush’s job. Only one in seven McCain voters say they’re excited to vote for him. And the percentage of Americans who believe the country is on the right track is at its lowest mark ever in the poll. MSNBC
VOA VIEW: McCain will handsomely defeat Obama.

U.S. Mine-Resistant Truck Vulnerable To Rollovers
The towering trucks that give U.S. troops the best protection against roadside bombs and enemy bullets also make them vulnerable to routine hazards like sharp turns, rutted roads and rickety bridges. Five deaths caused by rollovers and dozens of other accidents in Iraq and Afghanistan have led U.S. military leaders to warn troops to be smart behind the wheel, according to military documents obtained by The Associated Press and accident reports released under the Freedom of Information Act. Houston Chronicle

ADHD Increasingly Common In Older Kids
More older children are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder while the rate is holding steady for children under 12, according to a government report released Wednesday. Some experts called the finding surprising, noting that most childhood diagnoses traditionally occur by age 11. The study didn't investigate why the increase in one age group was so much higher than the other. It found the percentage of older children diagnosed with ADHD has been rising by 4 percent each year. Kansas City Star

Iraqi Presidential Council Rejects Elections Law
Iraq's presidential council on Wednesday rejected a draft provincial elections law and sent it back to parliament for reworking — a major blow to U.S. hopes that the vote can be held this year. The decision was likely to delay the elections until next year because there would not be sufficient time to make the necessary preparations. U.S. officials have pushed hard for the polls, which had been due by Oct. 1, as a key step toward repairing Iraq's sectarian divisions. Newsday
VOA VIEW: Iraq would sing a different tune if the U.S. threatens to cut off funds and military support.

Democrats Ask Labor To Forgo 'Secret Rule'
Congressional leaders demanded yesterday that the Labor Department withdraw an eleventh-hour rule proposal that would make it more difficult to set industry limits on the amount of dangerous chemicals that U.S. workers are exposed to on the job. In a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, the Democratic chairmen of the Senate and House labor committees accused her department of crafting a secret rule in the final months of the Bush administration, with the goal of weakening worker safety and helping businesses avoid regulations. Washington Post

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As Surge In Iraq Succeeded, Embedded Reporters Receded
The number of reporters embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq declined dramatically after the surge in U.S. troop strength went full force last year and violence in the country, including U.S. casualties, started to decline. As a consequence, there have been fewer reporters in the field with U.S. troops in Iraq this year to report on the successes those troops have achieved. In the period since the surge began in January 2007, according to data that the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF) provided to CNSNews.com, the number of embedded reporters in Iraq peaked in September 2007 at 219 and declined to a low of 58 this June. CNS

Financial Aid Limits Can Be Roadblock
Community colleges pride themselves on being the best bargains in higher education, yet affordability remains a barrier for many low- and moderate-income students. Tuition, though it's rising faster than inflation, isn't the main culprit. At $2,361, last year's average community college cost was just 38% of what public four-year universities charged, says the non-profit College Board, which tracks annual tuition increases.  USA Today
 VOA VIEW: The future of any nation is dependent on educating its youth.

McCain Criticizes Obama For Opposing Offshore Drilling
Republican John McCain on Wednesday credited the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President George W. Bush's lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling, an action he has been advocating in his presidential campaign. The cost of oil and gasoline is "on everybody's mind in this room," McCain told a town-hall meeting in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for opposing drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf. MSNBC

Pentagon Auditors Pressured To Favor Contractors
Auditors at a Pentagon oversight agency were pressured by supervisors to skew their reports on major defense contractors to make them look more favorable instead of exposing wrongdoing and charges of overbilling, according to an 80-page report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office. The Defense Contract Audit Agency, which oversees contractors for the Defense Department, "improperly influenced the audit scope, conclusions and opinions" of reviews of contractor performance, the GAO said, creating a "serious independence issue." Washington Post
VOA VIEW: Oversight agencies do little to prevent waste and fraud.

Fed Says All District Banks Report `Price Pressures'
The Federal Reserve said all 12 of its regional bank districts reported ``elevated or increasing'' price pressures during June and July amid slower economic growth. Five of the districts indicated ``a weakening or softening'' in their economies, and consumer spending was ``sluggish or slowing'' in every region, the central bank said today in its economic survey, known as the Beige Book for the color of its cover. Bloomberg

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American Heroism Goes Unreported In Iraq
A U.S. marine watches children play in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. American heroism has been ignored and overlooked by networks at home and overseas for the duration of the Iraq war, while insurgents and terrorists have used willing media outlets to score public relations wins. That bleak assessment comes from U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq during the pre-surge time frame, when the insurgency was its height. A collection of graphs and charts made available through the public affairs office of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq indicates that the media has pulled back on its coverage, now that U.S. casualty figures have declined and Al Qaeda is in retreat. CNS

Iraqi Forces Weakened By Private U.S. Contractors?
Much of the discussion about the rights and wrongs of private military and security contractors in Iraq is framed either as a capabilities question - can U.S. forces operate without them? - or a values question - should private contractors have such a big role? But another way of framing the debate - one we might term the Iraqi outcomes question - is whether Iraq itself is being weakened by their presence. A paper written by a colonel at the U.S. Army War College says exactly that. It found that "the United States and our coalition partners may be unknowingly providing the basis for a future military insurgency, after we depart Iraq, by allowing private military firms (PMF), or private security contractors (PSC), or private security providers (PSP) to provide security in Iraq." Washington Times
VOA VIEW: For some reason Arab forces are deficient.

McCain Denies Misstatement On Iraq Surge
Republican John McCain pushed back on Wednesday against Democratic criticism that he misstated when the troop buildup ordered by President Bush began, saying elements were put in place before Bush announced the strategy in early 2007. He told reporters during an unscheduled stop in a super market that, what the Bush administration calls "the surge" was actually "made up of a number of components," some of which began before the president's order for more troops. It's all a matter of semantics, he suggested. McCain said Army Col. Sean MacFarland started carrying out elements of a new counterinsurgency strategy as early as December 2006. CBS News

House Approves $8 Billion To Shore Up Highway Trust Fund As It Heads Into The Red
The House on Wednesday approved an $8 billion infusion into the highway trust fund, restoring temporary solvency to the federal account essential to keeping the nation's roads and bridges safe, functional and in good repair. By transferring $8 billion from the general Treasury fund in the fiscal year beginning in October, Congress would stave off an anticipated revenue shortfall in the trust fund that could reduce federal highway aid for state infrastructure projects by more than 30 percent, endangering hundreds of thousands of construction jobs. Sun-Sentinel
VOA VIEW: It's nothing but funny money - added debt.

Wealth Of Oil And Gas In Arctic
An estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered but technically recoverable oil — three years of world consumption — lie north of the Arctic Circle, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Wednesday. While the oil, along with vast quantities of natural gas, will be extremely difficult to tap, the promise is enough to make the frozen north the new — and maybe last — frontier for world energy producers. Currently, the five nations that border the Arctic — the United States, Russia, Denmark, Canada and Norway — all have their eyes on what geologists say is about a quarter of the world's undiscovered but technically recoverable oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Seattle Times

Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Urges Limit On Cellphone Use
The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff yesterday: Limit cellphone use because of the possible risk of cancer. The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, conflicts with numerous studies that have not found a link between increased tumors and cellphone use, and a public lack of worry by the US Food and Drug Administration. Herberman is basing his alarm on early, unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science and he believes people should take action now, especially when it comes to children. Boston Globe
VOA VIEW: Yes, no; yes, no - does anyone really know?

MAC ATTACKS DEM'S PLEDGE TO MEET MAHMOUD
John McCain yesterday ripped Barack Obama's willingness to meet with the leader of Iran, who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." The McCain campaign, attacking Obama on a day when he was visiting Israel, held a mock first anniversary of the vow Obama made during a primary debate in Charleston, SC. Obama was asked if he would meet unconditionally with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the leaders of Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. Detroit Free Press

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Bin Laden's Driver Walks Out On Terror Trial
Osama bin Laden's driver walked out of his terror trial Wednesday rather than watch prosecutors show a video of his first U.S. interrogation, in Afghanistan in November 2001. Three guards rushed to their feet and surrounded Salim Hamdan, 37, as he stood at the defense table within a minute of the start of the video. McClatchy

Minimum Wage Hike Kicks In
The federal government is set to boost the nation's minimum wage today in the second of three increases mandated by Congress. The national minimum wage will increase by 70 cents to $6.55 per hour as part of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. Before last year's legislation, the national minimum wage had been left unchanged at $5.15 an hour since 1997. The act calls for a third and final increase, scheduled to take place on July 24, 2009, that will raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. CNN
VOA VIEW: The wage increase will cause further inflation, which will hurt most the very people who gain from the wage increase.

Afghan Surge Is Next President's Problem
It will be left to the next administration to decide on any sizable troop increase for Afghanistan, the Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday. U.S. commanders in the nearly seven-year-old war have been asking for three combat brigades, or roughly 10,000 more troops, to help confront increasing violence in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that officials have been looking for ways to send additional forces as soon as possible - likely in smaller units and fewer than commanders want. CBS News

American Jews Predicted To Vote Democrat by Significant Margin
Guardian, Thursday July 24, 2008 Article historyAmerican Jewish leaders yesterday predicted a big turnout among Jews in November's presidential election in favour of Barack Obama, in spite of suspicions about his views on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, an advocacy group with strong links to the Democratic party, said: "I think Obama will win the Jewish vote by a large margin. The question is how much?"  Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Centre of Reform Judaism, said American Jews' political affinity with African Americans, born of a shared experience of discrimination, could outstrip concerns among some Jewish voters that Obama was not pro-Israel enough. Guardian
VOA VIEW: Democrat's wishful thinking.

Hurricane Dolly Weakens, Fears Turn To Flooding
THurricane Dolly barreled into South Texas on Wednesday, lashing the coast with winds up to 100 mph and dumping heavy rain that flooded some low-lying areas but spared levees along the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley. Authorities had feared the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since last September could produce up to 20 inches of rain in some areas, possibly breaching levees in the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley. But shortly before its center came ashore, the Category 2 storm meandered 35 miles north of the border, veering away from the flood walls. Las Vegas Sun

US Turns Down Syrian Request
The State Department reversed course and turned down a Syrian delegation's request for a meeting with a top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said Wednesday that Assistant Secretary of State David Welch would not meet the delegation. Earlier, the United States had said that Welch would schedule a meeting if requested. Atlanta Journal

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Fidel Castro Praises Brother For Silence On Report That Russian Bombers May Go To Cuba
Ailing Fidel Castro said Wednesday that Cuba's president was right to adopt a "dignified silence" over a Moscow newspaper report that Russia may station nuclear bombers on the island, and said Cuba doesn't owe any explanation to Washington about the story. In a brief, cryptic essay posted on a government Web site Wednesday night, the 81-year-old former president neither confirmed nor denied the Monday report in Izvestia newspaper. Newsday

'US Generals In Israel In Turf Battle'
A report expected to be released by the United States security coordinator to Israel will reveal a turf war going on between two American generals sent by the State Department to the region, Israeli defense officials said Wednesday. Author of the report Gen. (ret.) James Jones was appointed security envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice following the Annapolis Conference in November. While earlier media reports have claimed that the document will slam Israel for its policies in the territories, Israeli defense and diplomatic officials told The Jerusalem Post this week that the report would instead reflect the tension between Jones and another American security envoy operating in the region - Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton. Jerusalem Post

Sudan President Defiant In Darfur
Sudan's president has said he is "not worried" by International Criminal Court (ICC) accusations against him, during a rare visit to Darfur. Omar al-Bashir made the comments at a rally in the northern town of Fasher shortly after the start of his trip. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo sought an arrest warrant against Mr Bashir last week on charges including genocide and war crimes in Darfur. BBC News

Iran Vows No Nuclear Concessions
Iran will not "retreat one iota" in its nuclear activities, its president says, in his first reaction to a new call for Tehran to end uranium enrichment. Envoys from the US, EU and UN asked Iran to give an answer within two weeks or face possible new sanctions. The meeting in Geneva on Saturday was the first time US and Iranian officials have held face-to-face talks about Iran's controversial nuclear programme. BBC News

Radovan Karadzic: Ex-leader Will Defend Himself At The Hague
The then Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic during a press conference in Banja Luka in October 5 1995. Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader whose capture was announced on Monday, plans to defend himself against charges of genocide at war crimes tribunal in The Hague, his lawyer said. The lawyer, Sveta Vujacic, said his client had shaved his white beard and trimmed the long mane of hair that had helped disguise him during his 12 years on the run. He added Karadzic was in good mental and physical condition, and had decided not to talk to investigators. Guardian

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