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NEWS FRIDAY, JULY
25, 2008 NEWS
Girls'
Math Skills Measure Up To Boys'
Sixteen years after Barbie dolls declared, "Math class is tough!" girls
are proving that when it comes to math they are just as tough as boys.
In the largest study of its kind, girls measured up to boys in every grade,
from second through 11th. The research was released yesterday in the journal
Science. Parents and teachers persist in thinking boys are simply better
at math, said Janet Hyde, the University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher
who led the study. And girls who grow up believing it wind up avoiding
harder math classes. Boston
Globe
VOA VIEW: Ability and desire are two different
things.
More
Than 1,000 Died In Painkiller Overdoses
At least 1,013 people died of overdoses in several U.S. cities from
2005 to 2007 after illegally injecting the highly potent painkiller fentanyl,
U.S. officials said on Thursday. The fentanyl, at least some of which came
from Mexico, was sold illegally by drug dealers on U.S. streets, sometimes
mixed with cocaine and heroin, according to a report issued by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Chicago area had the most
deaths with 349, followed by Philadelphia with 269, the Detroit area with
230. Other deaths were reported in St. Louis, Missouri, and the states
of Delaware and New Jersey. Reuters
Government
Tactics In Iowa Immigration Raid Draw Congressional Ire
Lawmakers on Thursday questioned the legality and effectiveness of
the government's tactics in a May raid that led to the arrest of nearly
400 immigrants. The crackdown on a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville,
Iowa — called Agriprocessors — represented the largest single immigration
raid in the nation's history. Most of the workers, who faced charges of
aggravated identity theft for using immigration or Social Security numbers
that did not belong to them, accepted plea agreements on a lesser charge
of Social Security fraud. Most now face five months of jail followed by
deportation. Newsday
VOA VIEW: There should be many more similar
raids.
A
FLOOD OF RELIEF OVER HURRICANE
Residents across south Texas slogged through
knee-deep muddy waters, tiptoed around downed power lines and dug through
debris yesterday, but were thankful that Hurricane Dolly didn't pack the
wallop they had feared. Downed power lines remained the greatest danger,
and South Texas officials urged people to stay home one more day "unless
it's life or death." By yesterday afternoon, with the storm's maximum sustained
winds blowing around 35 mph, forecasters downgraded Dolly to a tropical
depression. The storm was expected to break up by today. NY
Post
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'Sharp
Reversal' For Obama With Latino Voters
A new poll released Thursday shows overwhelming support from Latinos
for Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain. A new poll out Thursday shows
strong support for Sen. Barack Obama among Latinos. Obama's approval
rating with registered Latino voters, the nationwide Pew Hispanic Center
poll found, is at 66 percent versus 23 percent favoring McCain. Obama's
"strong showing in this survey represents a sharp reversal in his fortunes
from the primaries, when Obama lost the Latino vote to Hillary Clinton
by a margin of nearly 2-to-1," according to Pew Hispanic Center associate
director Mark Hugo Lopez. Obama's favorability among Latinos is slightly
up from a Gallup Poll summary of surveys taken in May, which showed Obama
with 62 percent of Latino voters nationwide, compared with 29 percent for
McCain. CNN
McCain
May Act Soon On VP Pick
Anxious to counter the blanket media coverage that has followed Sen.
Barack Obama on his overseas journey, Sen. John McCain is weighing whether
to announce his running mate in the coming weeks before the spotlight shifts
to China and the opening of the Olympic Games next month. Two top aides
to the presumptive Republican nominee said the decision is likely to be
announced after Obama returns from Europe on Sunday and before the Beijing
Olympics begin Aug. 8. Washington
Post
VOA VIEW: The liberal media will continue
to boost Obama's coverage.
Pentagon
Agency Faulted For Jeopardizing ID Data
Personal data collected on military, civilian and contractor employees
seeking federal security clearances between 1997 and 2005 could be at risk
due to inaccurate record-keeping by the Pentagon agency that did the investigations,
an audit showed on Thursday. The Defense Security Service (DSS) was initially
unable to account for 501 laptops used by its investigators and loaded
with personal identity data, posing an undue risk to those people's privacy,
the Pentagon's internal watchdog said in the audit. Reuters
Rebels
No Threat To Iraq
The insurgency that bedeviled U.S. forces for years and killed thousands
of Iraqis and Americans has withered to the point where it is "not even
much of a challenge any more" to Iraq's future, Ambassador Ryan Crocker
said Thursday. Crocker, a veteran Mideast envoy who plans to wind up a
nearly two-year tour here in January, would not rule out that Iraq could
again descend into sectarian warfare in a contest for power and resources.
But he expressed optimism that ordinary Iraqis, enjoying a new calm on
their streets, will not allow it. Detroit
News
VOA VIEW: Living in a civilized peaceful
way is difficult for extremist people.
Rice
Says 'Landmark' US-India Nuclear Deal Will Reduce Spread Of pollution,
As Well As Weapons
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that a proposed U.S.-India
nuclear energy deal is good for both countries and for global efforts to
reduce the spread of atomic technology and greenhouse gas emissions. In
her first public comments on the agreement since India's government won
a confidence vote that paves its way forward, Rice said the Bush administration
would press U.S. lawmakers to approve the agreement in the coming months.
Newsday
Survey Finds
Many In La. Reject Evacuation Option For Hurricane
Despite the devastation hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrought on Louisiana
in 2005, a large number of coastal residents still say they would refuse
to evacuate if another hurricane zeroes in on the state, a Harvard University
survey shows. The survey was conducted between May 27 and June 23 when
researchers called 5,055 people who live in a county or parish within 20
miles of the coast in eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
The survey shows that in most areas, Louisiana residents are better
prepared than the residents of the other seven states. At the same time,
the survey shows that Louisiana’s residents are also more worried than
the respondents in the other seven states about problems they might have
during and after another hurricane. Advocate
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New
State Polls Show Good News For McCain
During a week he's struggling to wrestle media attention away from
Barack Obama's trip abroad, new polls out Thursday show John McCain has
narrowed the gap in four crucial battleground states. New surveys conducted
by Quinnipiac, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal suggest
the Arizona senator is in a more favorable position in Colorado, Minnesota,
Michigan, and Wisconsin than he was one month ago. In Colorado, McCain
now holds a 2 point lead over Obama, 46 to 44 percent — a significant reversal
from a similar poll conducted last month that put the Illinois senator
on top there by 5 points. CNN
U.S.
Expands Visa Program For Some Iraqis
The U.S. Embassy on Thursday launched an expanded immigration program
that provides 5,000 more visas each year for Iraqis who have put themselves
at risk by working for the U.S. government. The new guidelines represent
a tenfold increase in the number of visas and extend the applicable categories
beyond an existing program for interpreters to include all Iraqis who have
worked for the U.S. government, the military or related contractors and
subcontractors. Seattle
Times
VOA VIEW: The programs increase the opportunity
for terrorists to enter the U.S.
Air Force Missile
Launch Crew Falls Asleep
Three ballistic missile crew members in North Dakota fell asleep while
holding classified launch code devices this month, triggering an investigation
by military and National Security Agency experts, the Air Force said Thursday.
The probe found that the missile launch codes were outdated and remained
secure at all times. But the July 12 incident comes on the heels of a series
of missteps by the Air Force that had already put the service under intense
scrutiny. MSNBC
Afghan
Government Impeding Anti-Drug War
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government is obstructing efforts to
fight the opium trade and failing to act against drug lords because it
fears losing political support, a former U.S. counter narcotics official
said. Efforts to eradicate opium crops are also being undermined by Afghanistan's
corrupt justice system and the reluctance of NATO and the Pentagon to help,
Thomas Schweich, the State Department's former coordinator for counter
narcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan, wrote in the New York Times.
Bloomberg
VOA VIEW: The U.S. is also guilty of doing
nothing to stop the drug lords.
Black
Residents Allege Unequal Treatment In Prosecution Of Atlantic City Corruption
Case
As one notorious Atlantic City corruption case
nears its end, another is heating up. Former mayor Robert Levy was scheduled
to be sentenced Friday in Camden for lying about his Vietnam War service
to obtain additional veterans benefits. Meanwhile, an alleged blackmail
scheme involving city councilmen was roiling along the Jersey shore. In
the latest scandal, some claim that a white councilman is being treated
more leniently than his black co-defendants in a case of attempted blackmail
involving a videotaped sex romp. Sun-Sentinel
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Obama
Cancels Visit To U.S. Troops In Germany
Barack Obama’s campaign said Thursday that the Illinois senator opted
not to visit U.S. troops at military facilities in Germany because it would
be “inappropriate” to make such a stop on the campaign-funded leg of his
trip. The German magazine Der Spiegel reported earlier that Obama canceled
a visit to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a military hospital in
Germany, and the Ramstein Air Base. The report came as Obama prepared to
speak to thousands at a high-profile address in Berlin. Obama spokesman
Robert Gibbs released a statement saying Obama originally wanted to visit
troops at Landstuhl to “express his gratitude for their service and sacrifice,”
and noted that he already visited troops in Iraq while he was part of an
official congressional delegation. Fox
News
Senators
Plan Laws Yo Target Offshore Tax Evasion
Senate Finance Committee leaders announced plans for new laws against
offshore tax evasion Thursday after a new federal report found American
ties to thousands of firms registered in the Cayman Islands. Sens. Max
Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the IRS needs a longer
statute of limitations to prosecute those who fail to report foreign accounts,
clearer authority to enforce the filing requirement and stricter identity-disclosure
rules for those who profit from offshore transactions. "We also need to
reform our tax code to make moving business offshore less attractive,"
said Baucus. "That's a tall order." USA
Today
VOA VIEW: The Cayman Islands will tighten
secrecy.
President Supports
::Bill That Will Triple Current Funding Levels
The House voted Thursday to triple money to fight AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis around the world, giving new life and new punch to a program
credited with saving or prolonging millions of lives in Africa alone. The
303-115 vote sends the global AIDS bill to President Bush for his signature.
Bush, who first floated the idea of a campaign against the scourge of AIDS
in his 2003 State of the Union speech, supports the five-year, $48 billion
plan. MSNBC
States
Divided Over Voting Rights Of The Dead
If you vote by mail, but die before Election Day, does your vote count?
It depends on where you lived. Oregon counts ballots no matter what happens
to the voter. So does Florida. But in South Dakota, if you die before the
election, so does your vote. Increasingly popular mail-in ballots mean
voters can now choose candidates up to 60 days before an election, raising
new questions about an age-old phenomenon normally associated with chicanery
in places like Chicago: What should be done with the ballots of the recently
dead? Laws in at least a dozen states are evenly split between tallying
and dumping the votes. No one keeps records on how often such deaths occur.
Washington
Times
VOA VIEW: More concern should be for ballots
cast from those dead long before an election.
Settlers
Clash With IDF, Palestinians
A settlement activist held a knife to a soldier's neck and another
stole a gun and fired it into the air in Samaria on Thursday, in the aftermath
of the evacuation of a structure at the unauthorized Adei Ad outpost. Slideshow:
Pictures of the week It was the most serious clash between security forces
and activists since the evacuation of nine empty homes at the Amona outpost
on February 1, 2006. Senior sources in the IDF Central Command said the
chain of events that included an attack on a soldier, arson and stonings
of Palestinians in nearby villages in response to the evacuation was a
"display of power" by settlers intended to deter security forces from future
evacuations. Jerusalem
Post
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Secret
Service Requests More Money For Protecting Candidates
The Secret Service has asked for an extra $9.5 million to cover unexpected
costs of protecting the presidential candidates during what has turned
into an historic year for the agency’s campaign security job. Among other
things, the extra money would be used for the added costs for the candidates’
international travel and a late-in-the-game decision by Barack Obama to
accept the Democratic nomination at Denver’s Invesco Field at Mile High
— an open-air, 76,000-seat stadium — instead of the 20,000-seat Pepsi Center,
which is the site of the party’s national convention. Presidential candidates
are traveling overseas with Secret Service protection more than ever before.
Fox
News
NAACP's
Fairness Questioned On Confederate Flag Issue
The NAACP's call for stepped-up sanctions against South Carolina over
the Confederate flag is raising charges of unfairness against the national
civil rights organization. The NAACP and the National Collegiate Athletic
Association, the governing body of college sports, have sanctions in place
against South Carolina because it flies the Confederate flag. The NCAA
also has sanctions against Mississippi. Neither organization, however,
penalizes Alabama, which also flies the flag. And that's unfair, some S.C.
officials say. Four Confederate flags — three national flags and a battle
flag — fly at the 82-foot-high Confederate Monument, located at the Alabama
state Capitol in Montgomery. Atlanta
Journal
VOA VIEW: The NAACP should spend more
energy in helping blacks out of poverty and obtaining better education.
Fake
Businesses Certified As Eligible For Federal Contracts
Government investigators created four bogus companies and within weeks,
each of the fictional businesses was able to obtain certification from
the Small Business Administration as vendors qualified to obtain federal
contracts under the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)
program, the Government Accountability Office reported on July 17.
The HUBZone program, created in 1997 and managed by the Small Business
Administration (SBA), encourages federal contracting opportunities for
small business firms in economically distressed areas. To qualify for HUBZone
certification, the firms must be owned and controlled by at least one U.S.
citizen, must employ 35 percent of its full-time employees from a HUBZone,
and must have a principal office located in a designated HUBZone area.
CNS
Radioactive
Material Enters U.S. Poorly Inspected
Confusion and miscommunication at border crossings allowed large amounts
of potentially dangerous materials to enter the United States without adequate
checks, a government investigation has revealed. In a report released last
week, the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm,
called on Border Patrol officers and nuclear regulators to do a better
job of tracking and detecting radioactive materials. Such materials, which
have many legitimate uses in scientific research, medical treatments and
industry, are licensed by 35 states as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
the federal nuclear watchdog. When they are brought into the country, the
border patrol is supposed to check those licenses. Washington
Times
VOA VIEW: Have a good sleep feeling safe.
Republicans
Defeat Gas Price Relief Bill
House Republicans on Thursday scuttled a bill that Democrats hoped
would help lower gasoline prices by forcing the Energy Department to release
70 million barrels of oil - about a three-day supply - from the national
stockpile. Democrats promised that the action would have produced immediate
relief at the pump, as was the case with similar releases in 1991, 2000
and 2005. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve now holds about 700 million barrels.
Despite winning a clear 268-157 majority, the measure still lost. Democratic
leaders had brought the proposal up for debate under rules requiring a
two-thirds vote to pass. CBS
News
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E.P.A.
To Ban Use Of A Pesticide
The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it intended to ban
the use of the pesticide carbofuran, citing its harmful effects on children
and the environment. The agency said the risks associated with exposure
to carbofuran in food and water exceed levels established by the federal
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. In 1991, Congress banned the granular form
of the pesticide, which was blamed for the deaths of more than a million
birds. In humans, the pesticide can cause long-term damage to the body’s
neurological and reproductive systems. The chemical is used to combat pests
that feed on rice, cotton, corn, soybean and sugar cane crops, particularly
in China; the agency says it is not widely used in the United States. NY
Times
Top-ranking
Senator Files Legislation To Aid Victims Of Polygamist Sects
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — comparing polygamists to organized
crime bosses — Thursday introduced a bill that would help Texas and other
states crack down on crimes against women and children. Reid said the legislation
would provide $2 million in victim assistance and create a federal task
force to aid state investigations into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints and its compounds in Texas, Nevada, Arizona
and Utah. Houston
Chronicle
VOA VIEW: Next, a moral enforcement agency.
Home
Sales Fall 2.6 Percent In June
Realtors group says sales of existing homes fell more sharply than
expected in June as the housing industry continued to be bruised by the
worst slump in more than two decades. The National Association of Realtors
reported Thursday that sales dropped by 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units. That's more than double the
expected decline. It leaves sales 15.5 percent below where they were a
year ago. The downward slide in sales is depressing prices, too. The median
price for a home sold in June has dropped to $215,100, down by 6.1 percent
from a year ago. That was the fifth largest year-over-year price drop on
record.
CNS
Suicide
Bomber Kills 8 Guards In Baqubah
A suicide bomber blew herself up near U.S.-allied Sunni Arab fighters
walking in a crowded area of Baqubah, killing at least eight of the guards
and wounding 24 people yesterday evening, police said. The attack comes
as the U.S.-backed Iraqi military is promising to launch a major offensive
in Diyala province aimed at taming the last major insurgent belt north
of Baghdad. Baqubah is the province's capital. Philadelphia
Inquirer
VOA VIEW: The insurgency is far from over.
Bloomberg
Bullish On McCain
ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg plans
to reinject himself into the presidential campaign on Friday by talking
up Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in a speech to the Independence Party of
Minnesota. Bloomberg plans to praise McCain's record of bucking his own
party while stopping short of making an endorsement. "I feel confident
that there will be some positive statements about Sen. McCain," said party
chair Craig Swaggert based on indications he began receiving from Bloomberg
aides in "the last week or so." ABC
News
Grand Jury
Investigating Lenders
A federal grand jury is investigating mortgage lenders Countrywide
Financial Corp., New Century Financial Corp. and IndyMac Bancorp Inc.,
a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Subpoenas seeking documents have been issued to all three companies, according
to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case
and requested anonymity. Kansas
City Star
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Iraqi
Teams Banned From Beijing Olympics
The International Olympic Committee has upheld a ban on Iraqi teams
at the Beijing Games, saying Thursday the government missed the deadline
to address accusations of political interference. The IOC decision culminates
a drawn-out internal feud in Iraq that many see as an extension of Shiite
payback to Sunnis who once held a cozy niche in Saddam Hussein's regime.
In May, the government dissolved the National Olympic Committee. Among
the claims was it was illegitimate because it lacked a legal quorum — but
four members of the committee, including its chief, were kidnapped two
years ago and their fates are unknown. CBS
News
Five
Killed In Kashmir Explosion
At least five people have been killed in an attack by suspected militants
in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police say. Police say it is not yet clear
whether it was a bomb or a grenade attack in the summer capital, Srinagar,
which killed the four children and a woman. They said paramilitary troops
were the target - but all the casualties were civilians. At least 21 were
wounded. Violence in Kashmir has reduced markedly since a 2003 ceasefire
between India and Pakistan. BBC
News
UK MPs
Call For Talks With Hamas
A UK parliamentary committee has called for dialogue with Hamas, as
a UN report says poverty has reached an unprecedented high in the Gaza
Strip. Gaza's economy has been hit hard by an Israeli embargo tightened
when the militant group took control last year. Major world powers refuse
to speak to Hamas unless it recognises Israel. The UN agency for Palestinian
refugees, Unrwa, said 52% of Gaza households were living in poverty, and
unemployment there had topped 45%. BBC
News
Economy
Heads For Recession As Growth Slumps
After years of boom, official figures on the economy published today
will show that growth has slumped to nearly zero, leaving the nation already
in, or close to, recession. The Office for National Statistics figures
for growth during the second quarter of this year are forecast to show
a rise of between zero and 0.3 per cent on the first three months of 2008.
That would push the average annual growth in the economy down from 2.3
per cent to about 1.6 per cent – the sharpest deceleration since 1995.
Independent
News
Bush
Uses Anti-terror Funds To Strengthen Pakistan Air Force
The Bush administration faced Congressional criticism yesterday for
diverting funds from Pakistan's faltering fight against the Taliban and
al-Qaida to pay instead for upgrades of its US-built F-16 combat planes.
With increased fighting in Afghanistan, much originating with forces based
in Pakistan's north-west, members of Congress questioned how the switch
to the planes, intended mainly as a counter to the Indian air force, would
contribute to quelling the insurgency. The White House spokeswoman, Dana
Perino, yesterday insisted: "The F-16s are used in counter-terrorism operations.
We made them available to the Pakistanis, and they need to be maintained."
Guardian
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