Top Stories

Reuters India: Extended family household on the rise in US 2010-03-18

More Americans are living in the same household with their extended family because of the poor economy and changing social factors, a research group said on Thursday.

 

Washington Post: Soaring IED attacks in Afghanistan stymie US counteroffensive 2010-03-18

The embrace of a low-tech approach by Taliban-trained bombmakers -- they are building improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, out of fertilizer and diesel fuel -- has stymied a $17 billion U.S. counteroffensive against the devices in Iraq and Afghanistan, military officials say.

 

Austin American-Statesman: Democrats gain 2 more ayes as they aim for weekend vote 2010-03-18

President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation won precious support Wednesday from a longtime liberal holdout in the House and from Austin's retired Catholic Bishop John McCarthy, gaining fresh traction ahead of a climactic weekend vote.

 

Salon: Dennis Kucinich speaks for me 2010-03-18

"We have to be very careful" that "President Obama's presidency not be destroyed by this debate ... Even though I have many differences with him on policy, there's something much bigger at stake here for America."

2010-03-18: Headlines

2010-03-17: Top Stories

The Nation.: Kucinich Will Vote for Reform, Then Fight for More 2010-03-17

"I have doubts about this bill," the congressman acknowledged Wednesday morning. "This is not the bill I wanted to support."  | "However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, my wife Elisabeth and close friends I have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation," said the congressman, who added, "If my vote is to be counted, let it count now."

 

Scotsman: Nato special forces reined in after spate of civilian deaths 2010-03-17

THE commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has issued new rules to "rein in" Special Forces, after a spate of botched operations left scores of civilians dead.  | Speaking days after a Scotsman investigation revealed that two pregnant women and a teenage girl had been killed in a night raid, General Stanley McChrystal said troops under different commands were sometimes working at cross-purposes.

 

Los Angeles Times: Pakistan indicts 5 Americans on terror charges 2010-03-17

The young men from Virginia, arrested in December, deny the charges and claim they were tortured in custody, a lawyer says.

 

Raw Story: ACLU sues to obtain basic data, legal justification for Predator drone program 2010-03-17

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit after federal agencies neglected to answer a Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents pertaining to the legal basis for the military's Predator drone program.

 

Los Angeles Times: Jobs bill headed to Obama's desk 2010-03-17

The Senate today passed by a 68-29 margin a $17.6-billion measure intended to spur hiring nationwide, sending the bill to the White House for the president's expected signature.  | Once the bill becomes law, it would mark the first significant piece of job-creation legislation to pass since President Obama and the Democratic Congress earlier this year declared that they would "pivot" and focus on reversing widespread unemployment.

 

Washington Post: Immigration reform: Stuck in the shadows 2010-03-17

On Sunday, tens of thousands of Americans who supported Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 will gather on the Mall to protest the president's lack of action on a cause to which he had committed himself throughout the campaign: immigration reform.

 

WIBW: US Changing Controversial Rule For Holding Detainees 2010-03-17

A controversial policy that gives U.S. forces in Afghanistan four days to question detainees is being changed to give soldiers more time to interrogate the captives, Gen. David Petraeus said Tuesday.  | Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee that American troops will now be able to hold detainees for up to 14 days before either releasing them or turning them over to the Afghan government. In some cases, longer detention will be an option, he said.

 

truthout: Afghanistan Enacts Law Giving Blanket Immunity to War Criminals 2010-03-17

"This law was passed with a two-thirds majority in our parliament, and according to our constitution, when a law is passed with a two-thirds majority, it does not require the president to sign it," Omer said during a briefing Tuesday, publicly acknowledging for the first time the blanket immunity provision is now law.

2010-03-17: Headlines
2010-03-18T04:42-07:00