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White House Faith office. White House to unveil panel that will guide faith-based programs "The Obama administration is expected today to unveil a council of religious and secular advisors that will guide decisions on faith-based programs for a broad range of domestic and foreign policy issues." Obama to name faith council panel "President Obama on Thursday will roll out the names of a long-anticipated 'faith advisory council' of more than two dozen religious leaders who will advise him on policy issues." Obama plans review of faith-based policies "The most contentious issue surrounding a revamped White House Office on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships - potential restrictions on the hiring practices of religious groups that receive taxpayer dollars - will undergo a thorough legal review before President Barack Obama makes a decision on hiring guidelines." Obama Names 26-Year-Old Director of Faith-Based Office "The White House will announce formally today that Josh DuBois will head the revamped White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, created by an executive order to be signed by President Obama this morning."
Executive pay limit. Obama seeks restrictions on executive pay "In a pointed effort to assuage public anger over sky-high pay for corporate executives of failing companies, President Barack Obama proposes tight limits on compensation for business leaders who accept major infusions of tax dollars during hard times, including a $500,000 pay cap for top execs." For bank execs, $500,000 a year is a big comedown "The chief executives of 10 banks that have gotten at least $161 billion in federal bailout money were doing swell the last year in which their income was publicly disclosed. Together, they earned more than $200 million in 2007. That could come to an end under limitations President Obama announced Wednesday." In Curbing Pay, Obama Seeks to Alter Corporate Culture "In announcing executive pay limits on Wednesday, President Obama is trying to hold the financial industry accountable to taxpayers while aiming to change an entrenched corporate culture that endorses outsize bonuses and perks that often bear little relationship to corporate performance." Wall Street finds ways around executive pay caps "Corporate watchdogs applauded the intent of the new measures, but compensation experts cautioned that abundant loopholes -- and crafty lawyers -- could undermine any lasting effect."
Economic stimulus. Stimulus bill likely to shrink as GOP, Obama trade ideas "This much is clear: Sometime soon, probably this month, President Barack Obama will sign an economic stimulus plan. However, it probably will have at least $50 billion less spending than the Senate's current version does, and it probably will win a handful of Republican votes after lengthy negotiations." Obama puts the heat on Republicans "President Obama abruptly changed tactics Wednesday in his bid to revive the economy, setting aside his bipartisan stance and pointedly blaming Republicans for demanding what he cast as discredited 'piecemeal measures.'" Stimulus Bill Gets Housing Tax Perk "Seeking to jump-start the housing market, the Senate added new tax relief for homebuyers to its $900 billion economic stimulus bill yesterday as the legislation moved toward a final vote." Senate approves homebuyer tax break "The Senate voted last night to give a tax break of as much as $15,000 to homebuyers in hopes of revitalizing the housing industry, a victory for Republicans eager to leave their mark on a mammoth economic stimulus bill at the heart of President Obama's recovery plan."
Unemployment insurance. Deluge Is Holding Up Benefits to Unemployed "Thousands of people in the Washington area and hundreds of thousands more across the country are waiting longer than they should for unemployment benefits at a time when they need the money the most because rising joblessness is overwhelming claims offices, records show."
Children's health insurance. Obama signs expansion of children's health insurance "President Obama signed legislation Wednesday to expand publicly funded health insurance for children, marking a historic shift in Washington's political landscape and providing the White House its biggest victory since Obama took office." Obama signs bill to expand SCHIP "President Obama signed legislation Wednesday to expand a popular health care plan for millions of uninsured children, capping a two-year effort by Democrats that had been blocked repeatedly by Capitol Hill Republicans and President Bush."
Digital TV switch delayed. Congress Delays Troubled Switch To Digital TV "Congress yesterday approved a four-month delay in plans to halt analog television, the latest chapter in a troubled effort by the government to clear airwave space for emergency responders and wireless services by moving millions of households to digital television."
Vatican orders retraction. Vatican Move on Bishop Exposes Fissures of Church "Responding to an extraordinary burst of global outrage, especially in Pope Benedict XVI's native Germany, the Vatican for the first time on Wednesday called on a recently rehabilitated bishop to take back his statements denying the Holocaust." Vatican orders retraction from Holocaust denier "Reacting to two weeks of outrage, the Vatican demanded Wednesday that a bishop retract his public statements denying that the Nazis killed millions of Jews in the Holocaust."
Living without electricity. Kentucky's Amish lend a hand after non-Amish neighbors lose their electricity in ice storm "When the wind died down and the ice storm had passed, Joe Stutzman gathered his spare lanterns and stepped out of his Amish farmhouse to lend them to his modern-living neighbors. 'I feel sorry for my neighbors who were used to electricity and all of a sudden didn't have it,' Stutzman said. 'I know that must be hard for them.'"
Africa economic crisis. Africa, once thought immune, succumbs to global crisis "But as the crisis deepens, it's becoming increasingly clear that Africa's economies will suffer serious damage. Optimistic forecasts are being furiously scaled back, with African leaders now acknowledging that the impact was severely underestimated."
Nuclear weapons. Miliband: time to act on nuclear weapons is now "David Miliband called for a new debate on ridding the world of nuclear weapons yesterday, saying that 40 years after the signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty now was the 'time to show that we're serious.'"
Iraq election. Sunni rivals clash over elections in Iraq's Anbar province "Provincial elections that were meant to strengthen democratic rule in Iraq and distribute power more equally are now threatening to upend almost two years of peace in Anbar province, the vast western desert where Al Qaeda in Iraq once operated freely." Growing furor in Iraq's Anbar province sparks ballot recount "Iraqi officials moved to quell rising tensions between rival Sunni Muslim Arab factions in once-restive Anbar province Wednesday by recounting some of the ballots that were cast in last Saturday's provincial elections, even before the official results are known."
Iran. Russian official: Iran's Bushehr plant to be operational in 2009 "Russia plans to begin operating the nuclear reactor it has been building for Iran before the end of 2009." British Council suspends operations in Iran after local staff 'intimidated' "The cultural and educational centre decided to close its doors in Tehran after its entire local staff of 16 was summoned by security officials to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office at the end of December and ordered to resign." Iranians wary of Obama's approach "But even as Mr. Obama has vowed to extend America's hand in friendship if Iran 'unclenched its fist,' Iranians say other U.S. signals raise doubts that real change is coming."
Darfur. Sudan army takes key Darfur town "Sudan's army says it has captured a strategic Darfur town after three weeks of clashes with rebels that have left 30 people dead and displaced thousands." Obama backs indictment of Sudan leader "President Obama supports implementing the war crimes indictment by the International Criminal Court against Sudanese President Omar Bashir, a strong indication of the tough approach the new administration will take toward Sudan as well as its favorable view of an international body the Bush administration refused to join."
Israel campaign. In Israeli Campaign, Candidates Imitate Obama's Tactics, Invoke His Name "Israelis are still not sure what to make of President Obama. But less than a week before Israel holds national elections, he looms large on the campaign trail, with candidates borrowing his tactics and debating who can best work with him as he seeks a Middle East peace deal." Divisive figure a potent force in Israeli election race "Avigdor Lieberman, a burly, bearded politician who came to Israel from Moldova in 1978, is a divisive figure. To his backers, he is a straight-talker who has clear-cut solutions to Israel's problems. To his critics, he is a thinly-disguised racist and a threat to Israeli democracy."
Opinion. Sneaking in Where Thugs Rule (Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times) "Before entering Myanmar from Thailand, you scrub your bags of any hint that you might be engaged in some pernicious evil, such as espionage, journalism or promotion of human rights."
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