U.S. May Alter Rules To Let More Aid Into Somalia

Efforts to help famine victims in Somalia have been stymied by al-Shabaab, a group on the U.S. terrorism watchlist. But it may get easier in the coming weeks, due to pending U.S. rules changes that will allow aid groups more leeway to deliver food in Shabaab-controlled areas, according to the AP.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/02/138926989/u-s-may-alter-rules-to-let-more-aid-into-somalia?ft=1&f=1004

fox news hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton george w bush

After Tornado, Joplin Creates Makeshift Schools

The Missouri city's high school was devastated by a tornado in May, so the district is converting an old big-box store into classroom space ? with new walls, bright paint and even a mural of the school's mascot. Though starting school on time won't end the struggles of the battered community, it certainly helps.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/02/138931978/after-tornado-joplin-creates-makeshift-schools?ft=1&f=1003

john mccain al gore bill clinton newt gingrich sarah palin

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Leaves Prison

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick walked free from a state prison early Tuesday after serving just over a year for violating probation in a 2008 criminal case.

A relative escorted Kilpatrick from a Southern Michigan Prison facility in Jackson to a sport utility vehicle waiting outside. Kilpatrick smiled but did not address reporters as he climbed into the SUV, which headed toward the Detroit area under police escort.

In a statement issued ahead of his release, Kilpatrick thanked all those who prayed for him and said he would speak openly about his time behind bars after he has reunited with his family. He planned to rejoin his wife and three sons near Dallas, where his parole will be overseen by Texas authorities.

"Detroit, I will return to speak frankly with you about this experience because it has affected all of us," he said in the statement.

Before leaving the prison, Kilpatrick changed into his own clothing: jeans and a peach-colored shirt, state Corrections Department spokesman John Cordell said. Kilpatrick's brother-in-law, Daniel Ferguson, and a lawyer greeted the former mayor and walked him outside, Cordell said.

Cordell said Kilpatrick told them: "It's good to be out. I'm on my way."

The 41-year-old Kilpatrick was released on parole but still faces a federal corruption trial that could send him back to prison.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and resigned from office as part of a plea deal in 2008. A judge found he had lied at a civil trial to cover up an extramarital affair with his chief of staff in a lawsuit that cost Detroit $8.4 million.

The former mayor was imprisoned in May 2010 for failing to disclose assets and surrender sufficient funds that could have reduced his $1 million restitution to the city. Kilpatrick still owes Detroit more than $800,000 and a judge recently ordered that all profits from his upcoming book be placed in escrow to help pay off the debt.

The Wayne County prosecutor's office opposed Kilpatrick's release.

His federal trial on fraud, tax crimes and a racketeering conspiracy is scheduled to start in September 2012. In an 89-page indictment filed in December, the government described a pay-to-play scheme in which Kilpatrick and his father, Bernard, took kickbacks and bribes to steer city business to certain contractors.

Both men have pleaded not guilty. Bernard Kilpatrick is not in custody.

People charged with felonies typically aren't granted parole but the U.S. attorney's office did not object to Kilpatrick's release.

The Democrat served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1996 to 2001 and was minority floor leader from 1998 to 2000. He was elected mayor of his hometown in 2001 and served from 2002 through his September 2008 resignation.

Kilpatrick spent 99 days in the Wayne County Jail and in early 2009 joined his family in a Dallas suburb where he worked as a salesman for Covisint, a subsidiary of Detroit-based software company Compuware Corp.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/02/138918917/ex-detroit-mayor-kwame-kilpatrick-leaves-prison?ft=1&f=1014

bill clinton newt gingrich sarah palin al sharpton bill oreilly

House Passes Debt Ceiling Bill

The House passes the bill to raise the debt ceiling. The final vote was 269 to 161. During the vote, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made an appearance on the House floor for the first time since she was severely wounded by a gunman in January. She voted in favor for the bill. Melissa Block talks to NPR's Andrea Seabrook for more.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/01/138909065/house-passes-debt-ceiling-bill?ft=1&f=1014

hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi

House Approves Bill To Raise Federal Debt Limit

The House of Representatives has approved legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling and prevent a possible U.S. default, as the nation moves toward ending a bitter standoff.

The bill passed by a vote of 269 to 161; it required only a simple majority to pass.

A loud round of applause broke out on the House floor as the votes came in — apparently prompted by the sudden appearance of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who voted in favor of the bill.

The House last week approved Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the U.S. government's debt ceiling by a vote of 218 to 210. The Senate rejected that plan. The White House and congressional leaders agreed on a new plan late Sunday.

The bill now moves to the Senate, which isn't likely to vote on the measure until Tuesday, according to reports. Senate party leaders who negotiated the deal with the White House seem to have the votes to approve it, but there are also procedural hurdles that must be taken into account.

Here are the essential details of the plan:

  • Allows the $14.3 trillion borrowing cap to rise by up to $2.4 trillion — enough to keep the government afloat through the 2012 elections.
  • Includes $900 billion in savings from 10-year discretionary spending caps on defense and non-defense programs.
  • Calls for a bipartisan committee of six Republicans and six Democrats to identify $1.5 trillion in additional cuts no later than Nov. 23. The cuts could come from defense spending or entitlement programs such as Social Security. Congress must act on the recommendations by Dec. 23 to avoid triggering $1.2 trillion in automatic, across-the-board reductions over 10 years.
  • If Congress fails to act, the automatic cuts would spare Social Security, Medicaid, veterans and civilian and military pay. But Medicare would not be exempt, according to Boehner.

Moments before the final vote on the bill, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi urged her colleagues to support it, despite admitting that she didn't like the bill's lack of revenue increases.

And Boehner urged his fellow Republicans to vote for the deal as well, saying earlier Monday that the legislation is a way to "solve this debt crisis and help get the American people back to work."

As Eyder wrote in a post earlier today, the Congressional Budget Office has released its "score" of the deal. In summary, the CBO said that the legislation's budget restraints would cut budget deficits by $917 billion between 2012 and 2021. And its spending cuts would reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion.

Nate Silver of the FiveThirtyEight blog has his own analysis of the bill. Silver says it's correct to see the outcome of spending cuts and no tax hikes as a "win" for Republicans. Then he goes a little deeper:

But given that Democrats were willing to accede to the constraints demanded by Republicans, they were able to exert a lot of control over the substance of the cuts. In particular, the first round of cuts will include $350 billion in defense savings, while the second round would include between $500 and $600 billion in defense cuts if no bipartisan agreement is reached.

We'll have more updates as things evolve. And on Tuesday's Morning Edition, you can hear coverage and analysis of the federal debt ceiling debate — and its resolution. In the meantime, you may want to distract yourself by hearing Carl '60 Cent' Kassell rap about the debt crisis. Here's a sample:

The credit rating agencies

Weren't feeling it at all

If we couldn't get a deal

Our rating would fall.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/01/138906476/house-approves-bill-to-raise-federal-debt-limit?ft=1&f=1014

al sharpton bill oreilly fox news hamid karzai barak obama

Libyan Rebel Leader's Death Spurs Opposition Infighting

In eastern Libya, gun battles erupted between rival factions of the rebel movement Sunday, in the wake of the killing of the movement's military leader. The battles in Benghazi are bound to set back the rebel drive to oust Moammar Gadhafi.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/01/138884558/libyan-rebel-leaders-death-spurs-opposition-infighting?ft=1&f=1004

bill oreilly fox news hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton

Debt Deal: The White House's Perspective

President Obama and congressional leaders have settled on a deal to lift the federal debt limit. It involves deep spending cuts but no new taxes. The president said in a statement late Sunday that the compromise did not deliver him the deal he wanted. Congress must still vote on the legislation. Steve Inskeep speaks with David Plouffe, senior adviser to President Obama, on the White House's perspective on the debt deal.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/01/138884566/debt-deal-the-white-houses-perspective?ft=1&f=1014

harry reid john mccain al gore bill clinton newt gingrich