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White House Denies Bush Targeted Obama In Speech To Israeli Knesset
The White House denied Thursday that President Bush was focusing on Barack Obama when, during a speech to the Israeli parliament, he criticized politicians who would speak to terrorists and their backers. In his speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, Bush said anyone who claims that talking with terrorists will result in peace is experiencing a “foolish delusion.” Fox News
VOA VIEW: If the shoe fits?

McCain Urges Sudan Divestment After Wife Dumps Her Holdings
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain urged Americans to sell off any investments they have in Sudan, after media reports revealed his wife had millions invested in funds owning stock in firms which reportedly did business with Sudan. Cindy McCain has sold off those holdings, McCain confirmed, and said he and his wife had not known the funds had ties to the Sudanese regime, which has armed and supported militias considered responsible for killing, raping and torturing hundreds of thousands of civilians in the country's Darfur region. ABC News

Uptick Splits Economic Forecasters
A slight improvement in the economy in the past month has touched off a raging debate among titans of the economic world over whether the worst of the housing and mortgage crisis is over. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. started the debate by declaring last week that a month of relative calm in financial markets suggested that the credit crisis has reached its peak and that Americans can look forward to an improving economy for the rest of the year. Other administration officials and many Republicans in Congress echo his assessment, as do many on Wall Street. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Paulson is a fool or a liar, or both.

Polar Bear Population Listed As Threatened
Even though polar bears have more than doubled in number in recent decades, the federal government has decided to list the bears as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said at a press conference. The listing means the government believes the polar bear population is in danger of diminishing to such a small number in the foreseeable future that it could be in danger of extinction. CNS

Obama Warns Republicans About Critical Ads
Perhaps no one took greater comfort in the Republican Party's third straight loss of a long-held House seat this week than Barack Obama, who says the results point to clear limits in the effectiveness of attack ads he expects this fall. The Democratic presidential candidate played a prominent role in all three special elections to fill vacant GOP seats, and he landed on the winning side each time. Sun-Sentinel
VOA VIEW: Obama's deficiencies have just begun to be exposed.

House Rips Pentagon Insurance Contracts
A poorly run Pentagon program for providing workman's compensation for civilian employees in Iraq and Afghanistan has allowed defense contractors and insurance companies to gouge U.S. taxpayers, a House of Representatives oversight committee said. Insurance companies alone have pocketed $600 million in excessive profits over the past five years, says a staff report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but the Defense Department refuses to adjust its approach for managing the program. According to the committee, the Pentagon allows its contractors to negotiate their own insurance contracts. CBS News

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IRS Says Up To 350,000 dDdn't Get Child Credit
Up to 350,000 households aren't getting the $300 per child owed them as part of their economic stimulus rebate payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday. The tax agency says taxpayer human error and computer glitches were responsible for the problem affecting a tiny percentage of the 130 million taxpayers expected to benefit from the refunds the government began sending out last month. IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said the agency was confident it had identified all the people affected by the mistake. Houston Chronicle 

McCain Predicts Iraq War Over By 2013
Sen. John McCain envisions that by 2013, the Iraq War will be won but the threat from the Taliban in Afghanistan won't yet be eliminated, even though Osama bin Laden will have been captured or killed. Sen. John McCain envisions his first-term achievements during a speech in Columbus, Ohio.  The presumptive Republican presidential nominee made both statements in a speech in which he envisions the state of affairs at the end of his first term if he is elected president. McCain's speech was unusual, and somewhat risky, in that it laid out benchmarks on which he could be judged. CNN
VOA VIEW: The war in Iraq will not be over in five years.

Schwarzenegger Gives Up On Balancing Budget
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has now abandoned his goal of fixing the problem that led to his historic election in 2003. With the revised budget proposal he released Wednesday, the governor has effectively conceded that California's era of perpetual budget deficits will not end on his watch. Schwarzenegger long ago began losing his chance to fulfill his administration's original reason for being. The latest wrinkle just makes it official. His trouble started early, when he proposed spending cuts that were politically unpalatable while failing to follow through on a fundamental, top-to-bottom rethinking of the way the state does business. SHNS

Bush Seeking Saudis' Help On Oil Prices
In April 1986, Vice President George H.W. Bush traveled to Saudi Arabia with a stern warning. Record low oil prices of $10 a barrel threatened the U.S. oil industry and U.S. national security. If prices don't rise, he warned, perhaps a U.S. tariff on imported oil would do the job. More than 22 years later, his son George W. Bush is on a similar mission, but with the opposite goal in mind. President Bush meets today with Saudi King Abdullah and will lobby for help in bringing down world oil prices, which have raced past $125 a barrel. Seattle Times
VOA VIEW: Papa Bush sent a message from a strong president.

LA Jury Convicts Hollywood Private Eye
A Hollywood private investigator was convicted on charges that he schemed to dig up dirt for his well-heeled clients to use in lawsuits, divorces and contract disputes against the rich and famous. Anthony Pellicano, 64, was accused of wiretapping stars, and running the names of others, through law enforcement databases to help clients in legal and other disputes. Pellicano was convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy counts. Verdicts on dozens of other counts were still being announced in court. Newsday

ID Chips In Credit Cards
Don't take a hammer to your new U.S. passport. And don't drill a hole in that credit card or zap it in the microwave. Experts say these measures -- recommended on some Web sites as ways to safeguard privacy and security -- aren't necessary for people concerned about the growing prevalence of Radio Frequency Identification tags. The tiny silicon chips are embedded in credit cards, passports and other everyday items and can transmit data about where you go, what you buy and who you are. The devices include "smart" car keys, no-swipe credit cards, prescription bottles, even shirts and shoes. The technology -- originally designed to track cattle -- speeds up retail transactions, helps authorities confiscate pirated merchandise, identifies company employees, opens electronic locks and tracks shipments of goods through warehouses and stores. Detroit News
VOA VIEW: There is little, if any, privacy.

House Nixes $163 billion To Fund Wars
The House has rejected a $163 billion to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next year. The 149-141 vote came after Republicans withheld support for the funding measure in protest of Democratic tactics. Some 132 Republicans voted "present." That kills the war funding for now, but it'll be revived next week in the Senate. Funding the bill by adding to it a big increase in education benefits for troops returning from war, additional unemployment insurance for those whose benefits have run out, and a surcharge on wealthy taxpayers. Las Vegas Sun

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Memorial Day Travel Hit By High Fuel Costs
High fuel prices are prompting many Americans to reconsider their Memorial Day travel plans, AAA says. The automobile club released a survey projecting that the number of Americans traveling more than 50 miles from home over the long holiday weekend will fall nearly 1 percent from last year. About 31.7 million Americans plan to travel via car over Memorial Day weekend, a 1 percent decline from 32 million last year. About 4.35 million will travel via plane, a decline of about half a percent from the 4.37 million who flew last year. Another 1.8 million will travel via train, bus or other type of transportation. MSNBC

Manufacturing Weak As Expansion Falters
The slump in U.S. manufacturing deepened while the economy skirted recession, reports today showed. Industrial production declined 0.7 percent in April, the Federal Reserve said in Washington today, more than twice the drop forecast by economists. Separate figures from the New York and Philadelphia branches of the central bank indicated the slide may continue this month. Only exports and consumer spending, the largest part of the economy, are keeping the six-year expansion alive as housing shows no sign of a rebound and factories retrench. Bloomberg
VOA VIEW: The economy did not skirt recession, it's in a recession.

CDC Recommends Shingles Vaccine For Age 60 And Up
U.S. health officials recommended that people 60 and older get Merck & Co Inc's vaccine Zostavax to protect against shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful, blistering rash. The risk of getting shingles, caused by the same varicella-zoster virus responsible for the common childhood illness chicken pox -- rises with age starting at around age 50, and is highest among the elderly. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is recommending a single dose of Zostavax, the only vaccine to prevent shingles, for people age 60 and older, even if they have had a prior episode of shingles. Reuters

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Edwards Endorsement Leads To More Delegates For Obama
Barack Obama collected the support of four of John Edwards’ Democratic National Convention delegates on Thursday, then gained the backing of four superdelegates and a large labor union as he marched steadily toward the party’s presidential nomination. The fresh support brought Obama’s overall delegate total to 1,895, compared to 1,718 for his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. It takes 2,026 to clinch the nomination at the party convention in Denver this summer.
Fox News

PLAYBOY TO LAUNCH 'GAYBOY'
The world's most famous bunny is bouncing both ways. Playboy Enterprises, the parent company behind the famous girlie magazine for men, confirmed they are launching a gay-porn cable station that could start operating as soon as next month. The new station will feature 20 hours of on-demand softcore videos. A spokeswoman with Time Warner Cable said it plans to test the new gay movies in a few markets, including Los Angeles and New York. NY Post
VOA VIEW: A sign of the times.

New Raid On Al-Qaeda In Iraq
U.S. and Iraqi troops moved against al-Qaeda in Iraq on two fronts yesterday, with house-to-house searches in Mosul and an operation in the desert to stanch the flow of insurgents and weapons to that northern city. With the new sweep, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is aiming to put down Sunni extremists after launching two other major offensives elsewhere in the last two months targeting Shiite militants. Mosul, a key transport crossroads between Baghdad, Syria and other points, is considered the last major urban base of al-Qaeda in Iraq after the group lost strongholds in western Anbar province. Philadelphia Inquirer

Obama Helped Supporters Get Millions In Illinois State Business
In a speech to the Urban League last July, Sen. Barack Obama, boasted of his efforts in 2001 to help a handful of African American-owned investment firms in Chicago get a larger share of business with Illinois state pension funds. "And in six months, they got about a half-billion dollars' worth of business simply on their excellence," Obama said. What he did not say in his speech was that the owner of one of the investment firms, John Rogers of Ariel Capital, is a principal campaign fundraiser. Nor did he reveal that employees of the firms he helped have since contributed to or helped to raise more than $765,000 for his campaigns, according to campaign documents. Nor did he mention that two of the firms have allowed him to use their private jets. Nor did he mention that two of the firms have since been dismissed by the state pension fund for "underperformance." ABC News
VOA VIEW: The liberal media will not be able to sanitize of keep secret so-called Mr. Clean's dirt.

Clinton Scolds McCain For Opposing Farm Bill
Hillary Rodham Clinton scolded John McCain for his opposition to the farm bill, attempting to maintain the sense that she is already competing against the certain Republican presidential nominee even as her chances for winning the Democratic nomination dim. As she chatted up rural South Dakotans, Clinton largely ignored Democratic rival Barack Obama, who continued to gain ground in delegates needed to clinch the nomination and who picked up a sought-after endorsement from former Sen. John Edwards. Clinton noted that President Bush has said he will veto the farm bill, which Congress passed, and McCain has also said he would veto the bill if he were president. "They're like two sides of the same coin, and it doesn't amount to much change, does it?" the New York senator said. "I believe saying no to the farm bill is saying no to rural America." Newsday

U.S. House Sets Iraq Troop Pullout Goal For End-2009
The U.S. House of Representatives defied President George W. Bush by passing legislation that would set the end of 2009 as the goal for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. By a vote of 227-196, the Democrat-controlled House approved the measure that would start the pullout of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 30 days of enactment. The legislation, likely to be blocked by Republicans in the Senate, has drawn a veto threat from the White House. Reuters
VOA VIEW: Unrealistic and dumb presumption or aspiration.

Bin Laden Releases New Audio File
Osama bin Laden says in a new audio statement that al-Qaeda will continue its holy war against Israel and its allies until it liberates Palestine. Today's message comes as President Bush wraps up his visit to Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state. Bin Laden says the fight for the Palestinian cause is the most important factor driving al-Qaeda's war with the West and fueled the Sept. 11 attacks.The authenticity of the close to 10 minute audio statement could not be verified, but it was posted on a website commonly used by al-Qaeda. USA Today

Alaska Is First State With Average Gasoline Price Above $4
The average price for regular unleaded gasoline in Alaska rose above $4 a gallon Wednesday, making it the first state in the nation to pass that mark. According to the American Automobile Association's Web site, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded rose to $4.022, making Alaska the only state in the nation with an average price above $4. The price had been $3.98 the day before. McClatchy
VOA VIEW: No sign of relief any time soon.

Military Cracks Down On Munitions Scavengers Near Bases
Hundreds of Marines were conducting a combat training mission in the Mojave Desert when an air patrol spotted something kicking up dust: A civilian pickup truck speeding across the barren landscape. Behind the wheel was a suspected scrap metal thief who had been combing the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center for spent brass shell casings. His intrusion onto the base was the 12th time in six months that scavengers had inadvertently halted combat exercises. Bombing ranges have become prime hunting grounds for so-called "scrappers," who are motivated by soaring commodity prices to take greater risks in their quest for brass, copper, and aluminum. Boston Globe

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California Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Struck Down
In a much-anticipated 4-3 ruling issued, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The ruling clears the way for the state to become the second to legalize same-sex marriage. Several gay and lesbian couples, along with the city of San Francisco and gay rights groups had sued, saying they were victims of unlawful discrimination. A lower court ruled San Francisco acted unlawfully in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but Thursday's ruling overturned that decision. CNN

Some Tax Rebates Run Into Obstacles
To help boost the economy, the Bush administration has tried to put tax rebates in consumers' hands as fast as possible. Yet, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who thought they would have their checks by now are still waiting for their money. To date, the IRS has issued nearly 30 million stimulus checks, totaling more than $27 billion. The rebates range from $300 to $600 a person, or $1,200 for a married couple. Parents with dependent children are eligible for an additional $300 per child. USA Today
VOA VIEW: The government can't even play Santa Claus effectively and efficiently.

CBS To Buy CNet Networks For $1.8B
Media and entertainment company CBS Corp. is buying CNet Networks Inc., an online news and information provider, for $1.8 billion in cash in its latest bid to expand its reach on the Internet, the companies announced. The price of $11.50 per share represents a massive premium of 45 percent over CNet's closing stock price, and appears to get CNet out of a nasty battle with one of its largest shareholders, which had been agitating for a shakeup at the company after its stock slumped. CNet shares jumped $3.48, or 44 percent, to $11.43 in morning trading Thursday. CBS News

Senators Near Housing Deal
Key senators say they're nearing a deal on a homeowner rescue package that could help half a million strapped borrowers get government-backed mortgages. Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd postponed a meeting to vote on the plan in anticipation of reaching a compromise with the panel's senior Republican, Sen. Richard C. Shelby. The measure also would tighten regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that finance mortgages.The House passed similar measures last week, but President Bush has threatened to veto the package. He says it's a burdensome bailout that puts taxpayers at risk. Las Vegas Sun
VOA VIEW: The government should not bailout some at the expense of taxpayers who are struggling to meet their obligations.

Clean-Air Rules Protecting Parks Set To Be Eased
The Bush administration is on the verge of implementing new air quality rules that will make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, according to rank-and-file agency scientists and park managers who oppose the plan. The new regulations, which are likely to be finalized this summer, rewrite a provision of the Clean Air Act that applies to "Class 1 areas," federal lands that currently have the highest level of protection under the law. Opponents predict the changes will worsen visibility at many of the nation's most prized tourist destinations, including Virginia's Shenandoah, Colorado's Mesa Verde and North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt national parks. Washington Post 

Congress Passes Farm Bill, Defying Bush
With veto-proof margins, Congress on Thursday sent President Bush a bill boosting farm subsidies and money for food stamps to help the poor deal with rising grocery prices. Bush has threatened to veto the $290 billion bill, saying it is fiscally irresponsible and too generous to wealthy corporate farmers in a time of record crop prices. But Congress disagreed, with both chambers passing the measure by well more than the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. The Senate voted 81-15, a day after the House approved it with 318 "yes" votes. MSNBC
VOA VIEW: A very bad bill.

Passport Cards Called Security Vulnerability
The State Department will soon begin production of an electronic passport card that security specialists and members of Congress fear will be vulnerable to alteration or counterfeiting. The agency has contracted with L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. to produce electronic-passport cards as a substitute for booklet passports for use by Americans who travel frequently by road or sea to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. About the size of a credit card, the electronic-passport card displays a photo of the user and a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip containing data about the user. Washington Times 

World Economy To Grow By 1.8 Percent In 2008
The world economy is "teetering on the brink" of a severe downturn and is expected to grow only 1.8 percent in 2008, the United Nations said in its mid-year economic projections Thursday. That's down from a global growth rate of 3.8 percent in 2007, and the downturn is expected to continue with only a slightly higher growth of 2.1 percent in 2009, the U.N. report said. The mid-year update of the U.N. World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008 blamed the downturn on further deterioration in the U.S. housing and financial sectors in the first quarter, which is expected to "continue to be a major drag for the world economy extending into 2009." Kansas City Star
VOA VIEW: The financial downturn will continue as long as oil prices continue to rise.

Cheney's Assets Nearly Triple Bush's
The millions of dollars in assets reported by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynn, nearly triple those held by President Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush, according to newly released financial disclosure forms. The reports show that the assets of the president and his wife totaled at least $7.2 million, including the 1,583-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas, valued at $1 million to $5 million. The previous year, the assets of the president and his wife, Laura, were worth at least $7.5 million. Atlanta Journal

Feinstein, Lofgren Push For Immigrant Workers
Two of California's most immigrant-dependent industries - agriculture and Silicon Valley - are pushing narrow measures through Congress in an effort to employ foreign workers at opposite ends of the labor market, people who pick vegetables and the postgraduate engineers and scientists of Silicon Valley. Sen. Dianne Feinstein attached a farm guest-worker program to the giant Iraq spending bill Thursday in a last-ditch effort to remedy a shortage of workers in California's produce fields as the federal government continues to crack down on illegal immigration and the political climate proves hostile to more sweeping measures. SF Gate 
VOA VIEW: They should be pushing to get Americans working.

Study Links Rise In Mastectomies To M.R.I. Detection
The study found that at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., the percentage of women opting for mastectomy rather than lumpectomy began rising sharply after 2003, in reversal of a previously downward trend. It is not clear that the experience at the clinic reflects that of the entire nation, though there is some evidence pointing to a wider tendency. And one possible explanation is that magnetic resonance imaging, which is relatively new, detects more possibly cancerous growths than does mammography. That could be causing patients and doctors to conclude that a lumpectomy, which removes just the part of the breast containing the primary tumor, may not be sufficient. NY Times 

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Peace With The Palestinians
The creation of a Palestinian state should bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni with the establishment of the Palestinian state, we want to see an end to the conflict, The Palestinians will be able to celebrate [their own] Independence Day on the same day they delete the word Nakba from their lexicon," she continued, referring to Palestinian demonstrations in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Thursday marking 60 years since the establishment of Israel, which Palestinians call the Nakba or catastrophe. Jerusalem Post

Global Food Prices Fall
World food prices fell in April for the first time in 15 months, according to figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. Its food price index fell to 216.7 from 217.0 in March, having surged from last April's figure of 141.7. The FAO said it was important to be cautious about the figure, but that it was time to be a little bit optimistic. But other analysts warned that many of the factors that have boosted food prices had not gone away. BBC

Alarm As Cracks Appear In Earthquake Dams
The death toll from China's strongest earthquake in more than half a century rose to nearly 20,000 today, as thousands of Chinese troops rushed to shore up "extremely dangerous" cracks in a dam strained to bursting point. Many of the dead are buried beneath what remains of Hanwang in the Mianyang area of Sichuan Province. There are bodies wherever you turn, some wrapped in blue plastic, some carried on the back of tricycles, some lying unclaimed until there is time to deal with them.  Independent News

China Appeals For Heavy Lifting Equipment
The Chinese government made an emergency appeal for cranes and heavy lifting equipment today amid warnings that time is running out to rescue survivors from Monday's huge earthquake. As the state media raised estimates of the final death toll to 50,000, troops, emergency personnel and volunteers continued to find people alive, trapped under collapsed buildings. Guardian

Feuding Lebanese Factions To Hold Talks
The Hizbullah-led opposition and US-backed Lebanese government agreed Thursday to hold political talks that will lead to the election of Lebanon's army chief as the compromise presidential candidate, an Arab mediator said. The feuding factions reached the deal one day after the Cabinet reversed measures aimed at reining in Iranian-backed Hizbullah. In return, the opposition removed a roadblock that had shut down the country's international airport for a week. Jerusalem Post

Lagos Pipeline Blast 'Kills 100'
At least 100 people have been killed in an oil pipeline explosion in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, the local Red Cross says. The explosion tore through the Ijegun suburb, engulfing schools and homes after a bulldozer burst the pipeline. Red Cross officials said many injured people had been taken to hospital and rescue attempts were still on. BBC

UN To Hold Emergency Summit On Burma Aid
The United Nations will hold an emergency summit in Asia to coordinate the global effort to get aid to the cyclone victims in Burma, Gordon Brown said today, as international pressure on the country's ruling junta intensified. The prime minister said the planned meeting represented "great progress", but gave no further details on when it might take place. Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough on aid for the millions left homeless by Cyclone Nargis have floundered in the past 24 hours. Several countries have called on the UN to bypass the junta and deliver aid without approval under its "responsibility to act" resolution. Guardian

Afghan Death Squads 'Acting On Foreign Orders'
Secret Afghan death squads are acting on the orders of foreign spies and killing civilians inside Afghanistan with impunity, a senior UN envoy has claimed. Professor Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on illegal killings, said "foreign intelligence agencies" had used illegal groups of heavily armed Afghans in raids against suspected insurgents. At the end of a 12-day fact-finding mission to there have been a large number of raids for which no state or military appears to take responsibility. Speaking with a large number of people in relation to the operation of foreign intelligence units. These forces operate with what appears to be impunity. Independent News

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