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Morning Buzz: Pope Benedict XVI's Arrival; the Delta-Northwest Airlines Merger; Car Bombs in Iraq
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2008 CommentPresident Bush will be at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington this afternoon to personally welcome Pope Benedict XVI on his papal visit to the United States—the first time Bush has greeted a foreign leader there. En route, the pope said he was "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church and will work to make sure pedophiles don't become priests. He was answering questions submitted in advance by reporters aboard a special Alitalia airliner as he flew from Rome to Washington. "It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission...to these children."
Owing to rising fuel prices and economic pressures, Delta and Northwest airlines have decided to combine forces, a merger that would create the world's biggest airline. The boards of both carriers gave a green light Monday to a stock-swap deal that would fuse the companies together under the surviving Delta name. This move may encourage other airline combinations, the most likely one being between Continental and United. And in Iraq today, lunchtime car bombs in Sunni insurgent strongholds killed more than 50 people. One bomb went off outside a restaurant and near government offices in Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad; the other went off in Ramadi near a kebab restaurant. While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, they bore the hallmarks of the terrorist group Al Qaeda in Iraq.
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The Candidates and the Issues: Married Women Versus Unmarried Women
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 CommentA poll set for release on Tuesday shows a "significant gap" between how married and unmarried women view the presidential candidates, the issues, and "the choices America faces." The survey, by Democratic pollsters Stan and Anna Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, reveals that economic issues are important to both groups of women—but that unmarried women are saying that they are not hearing "their real-life" needs addressed, including pay equity, a higher minimum wage, and paid family leave. The pollsters say that the population of unmarried women is now equal to that of married women (about 53 million and 26 percent of the electorate), but in the past they have been far less likely to vote than their married counterparts. However, this year, the poll shows, unmarried women are likely to close that voting gap. The "Women's Voices" poll is sponsored by the Women's Voices, Women Vote Action Fund.
—Liz Halloran
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Vladimir Putin's Move to Retain Power in Russia
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 Comment (2)Reports from Moscow say it is most likely that Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday will accept the leadership of the dominant United Russia party, putting him in a position to retain power as prime minister once he is succeeded as president by his hand-picked, elected successor, Dmitry Medvedev.
Putin, barred from seeking a third consecutive presidential term, backed Medvedev's election and is set to give up his Kremlin office on May 7. At a two-day party convention that opened Monday in Moscow, according to the Associated Press, United Russia leader Boris Gryzlov said the party would offer Putin the chairmanship Tuesday. His name would very likely be put before more than 550 delegates for a vote.
—Terry Atlas
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Jack Abramoff's Former Law Firm Pays $324,000 Civil Settlement in Guam
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 CommentThe scandal seemed over until the attorney general of Guam indicted the now convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his former law firm last month on charges of theft, deception, and conspiring to unlawfully influence government officials. Today, the court dismissed all charges against the firm, Greenberg Traurig, in exchange for a $324,000 civil settlement covering the fees that the firm earned from Abramoff's improper lobbying contract with the Superior Court of Guam. The firm will also continue to cooperate with prosecutors. "We are pleased to announce that the Superior Court in Guam dismissed all charges against the firm today," the firm said in a statement. "These allegations arose from the conduct of Jack Abramoff, who was asked to leave our firm more than four years ago."
—Emma Schwartz
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Pope Benedict XVI's Visit Begins Tomorrow
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 CommentPope Benedict XVI arrives in Washington Tuesday afternoon on his first trip to the United States as pontiff. The visit to Washington and New York includes a meeting with President Bush—only the second time that a pontiff will have visited the White House. In New York, he will speak at the United Nations and offer a blessing at ground zero.
As U.S. News's Jay Tolson writes, the pope's six-day visit will bring him into direct contact with a nation that has not only the third-largest Roman Catholic population in the world but also the most diverse. Even Benedict's staunchest supporters admit that most American Catholics have, at best, a dim sense of the man who follows in the footsteps of the charismatic and beloved John Paul II.
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Kim Clark Discusses Paying for College
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 Comment (1)At 4 p.m., Senior Writer Kim Clark discusses why paying for college is more difficult than ever on ABC News NOW.
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Morning Buzz: Monday, April 14, 2008
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 CommentBarack Obama scolded rival Hillary Clinton yesterday, saying, "Shame on her," and mocking the former first lady's sudden vocal support for gun rights. Clinton has been criticizing Obama for being "elitist and divisive" following remarks the Illinois senator made about working-class voters. (Obama said voters were bitter over their economic circumstances and thus "cling to guns and religion" when deciding whom to vote for.) "She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She's talking like she's Annie Oakley," Obama told an audience of Pennsylvanians.
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President Bush's Poll Numbers Are Going From Bad to Worse
Tweet Share on Facebook April 11, 2008 Comment (12)President Bush is spending the weekend at his Texas ranch. But there's no escape from bad news in the ratings department.
The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll finds that only 28 percent of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing, a new low. He was at 30 percent last month. The pollsters said one big reason is deepening voter dissatisfaction with the economy, which is in a serious downturn.
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Obama Campaign Plans to Hit At McCain's Age
Tweet Share on Facebook April 11, 2008 CommentAs they map out a strategy against Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Barack Obama and his advisers plan to emphasize big themes and generational contrasts.
First, they will try to bill McCain as "an extension of the Bush administration," which is very unpopular, especially among Democrats and swing voters. Even though Obama has yet to lock up the Democratic nomination, he and his advisers are confident that he will win the nod, so, behind the scenes, they are looking ahead to taking on McCain. "More and more people believe we need to change course," a senior OBama adviser told U.S. News.
Obama plans to emphasize that McCain would unwisely follow Bush's lead in many areas, such as continuing the Iraq war, pushing for more tax cuts for the rich, and taking a go-slow attitude in helping Americans to weather the subprime mortgage crisis.
More broadly, Obama will be using the theme of "yesterday versus tomorrow," with McCain billed as the candidate of the past and Obama as the candidate of the future. This would also bring the age issue into the campaign. McCain would be the oldest person ever sworn in as president, at 72, and many Americans have expressed concern to pollsters that the Arizona senator is past his prime.
—Kenneth T. Walsh
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The FBI Steps Up Efforts to Fix Terrorist Watchlist Errors
Tweet Share on Facebook April 11, 2008 CommentThe FBI is promising new efforts by its Terrorist Screening Center to cut down on problems with the terrorist watch list. The new program is an attempt to address the long-standing criticism from inside and outside the government that the terrorist watch list is riddled with errors.
Until now, the Terrorist Screening Center reviewed records that led to a misidentification of someone on the watchlist only if a formal review was requested. But there have been significant problems with mismatches that have at times barred people from flying. Under the new program, known as the Terrorist Encounter Review Process, the center will automatically review records leading to frequently misidentified individuals in an effort to make certain the information is accurate and whether the individual should remain on the watchlist. In addition, the program will review records of other individuals whose names are frequently accessed or for whom there is an inconclusive identification. The program will also review whether there is any new information to add to a record that would help reduce the possibility of misidentifications. "The Terrorist Watchlist has become a very effective counterterrorism tool and the new TERP program will help ensure we have the best information to appropriately handle known or suspected terrorists while reducing adverse effects on persons misidentified as watchlist subjects," Leonard Boyle, the center's director said in a statement. The changes are consistent with recommendations from the Justice Department's inspector general.
—Emma Schwartz
