NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS May 1, 2008

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.


=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-As McCain Targets Center Can He Hold The Right?
Sen. John McCain is aiming for America's political center in the hopes ofhitting a political bulls-eye in the November U.S. presidential election.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-usa-politics-mccain-right.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=GAY&st=nyt&oref=slogin

-Loss and Furor Take Toll on Obama, Poll Finds
Senator Barack Obama's aura of inevitability in the battle for theDemocratic presidential nomination has diminished after his loss in thePennsylvania primary and amid the furor over his former pastor, according tothe latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/us/politics/01poll.html?hp

-As Euro Nears 10, Cracks Emerge in Fiscal Union
The euro turns 10 next January, a milestone that will be marked withcelebratory speeches, inch-thick scholarly papers and a commemorative 2-eurocoin, designed by a Greek sculptor. It was chosen from five candidates in anonline poll of European residents
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/world/europe/01euro.html?hp

-China Says Abusive Child Labor Ring Is Exposed
China said Wednesday that it had broken up a child labor ring that forcedchildren from poor, inland areas to work in booming coastal cities,acknowledging that severe labor abuses extended into the heart of its exporteconomy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/world/asia/01china.html?hp

-While Clinton Focuses, Obama Is Distracted
Pumped up and focused, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is putting in 16-hourdays in Indiana this week as if she - and not her embattled rival, SenatorBarack Obama - needs a campaign-changing moment in Tuesday's primary here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/us/politics/01clinton.html

-The Gas-Guzzler Gambit
Senators John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton have hit on a new way topander to American voters: a temporary suspension of the federal gasolinetax between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The proposal may draw applause andvotes from Americans feeling the pain of nearly $4-a-gallon gasoline. But itis an expensive and environmentally unsound policy that would do nothing tohelp American drivers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/opinion/01thu1.html?ref=opinion

-Even Less Help in Hard Times
The troubled economy could soon create a major fiscal crisis for thestate-run Medicaid and children's health programs that would only beexacerbated by the Bush administration's efforts to cut these programs back.
Congress must provide temporary aid to the most beleaguered states and finda permanent way to protect Medicaid and children's health programs fromwrenching cuts every time a recession hits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/opinion/01thu2.html?ref=opinion

-Six Votes, Then and Now
When the Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, only six Republicansvoted with obstructionist Southern Democrats against the historic measure,which outlawed discrimination across a broad swath of American life.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/opinion/01thu3.html?ref=opinion


=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-A Pastor's Influence
In his achingly slow steps toward repudiating the repugnant words of hisformer pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama has run the risk ofserious political damage by leaving vague what it was that attracted him tothis outspoken critic of American society.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003252.html

-Gas Tax Gotcha
Sen. Obama's courageous stand in favor of fuel conservation
IF THE United States had a sensible energy policy, a higher federal excisetax on motor fuels would definitely be a part of it. Few measures would moreefficiently accomplish more worthy goals -- strategic, social andenvironmental. The Congressional Budget Office has calculated that a50-cents-per-gallon increase in gasoline taxes would contribute more than$300 billion to deficit reduction over five years, while reducing trafficcongestion, dependence on Middle Eastern oil and greenhouse gases. Actually,the federal gas tax has been stuck at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993,which means that, considering inflation, it has been shrinking for the past15 years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003286.html

-Clinton Gas-Tax Proposal Criticized
Economists Share Obama's View
A growing chorus -- including a top congressional Democrat -- labeled Sen.Hillary Rodham Clinton's proposal for suspending the federal gasoline taxineffective and shortsighted yesterday, even as she continued to paint Sen.Barack Obama as insensitive to drivers' woes for not endorsing the plan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003575.html?hpid=topnews

-Farrow Enters Hong Kong to Protest China-Sudan Ties
Actress and high profile activist Mia Farrow was allowed into Hong Kong onThursday, a day before the Olympic torch winds through a territory wheremost citizens support the Beijing Olympics and where officials have deniedentry to protesters against the controversial torch relay.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050100935.html?hpid=topnews

-Exxon Mobil 1Q profit up 17 pct, Wall Street expected more
Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, saidThursday record crude prices helped its net income grow 17 percent in thefirst quarter, but the results came in below Wall Street forecasts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050100908.html?hpid=moreheadlines

-White House Blocked Rule Issued to Shield Whales
White House officials for more than a year have blocked a rule aimed atprotecting endangered North Atlantic right whales by challenging thefindings of government scientists, according to documents obtained by theUnion of Concerned Scientists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003189.html?hpid=moreheadlines


=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Clinton's unusual political bedfellows
Hillary Clinton apparently doesn't hold grudges, at least not with herpresidential hopes in the balance.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/04/clintons_unusua.html

-Tension Mounts Over U.S. Bench Vacancies
A total of 28 nominees await approval; some deals are being madeRepublican senators are anxious about 28 judicial nominees awaitingconfirmation, the 46 total vacancies and the dwindling time left inPresident Bush's term to get more of his candidates on the federal bench.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1209459930161

-Dean has long-range vision for the Democrats
"We've basically gotten people to believe that they can be Democrats in Utahagain," Howard Dean says. "That matters enormously."The party chairman isstill an outsider inside the Beltway. He's standing by his 50-statestrategy, which is criticized there, but lauded elsewhere.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-dean1-2008may01,0,4281644.story

-Voters say Wright has hurt Obama -- but question how much
Black and white voters in next week's primary states agreed on one thingWednesday: Barack Obama's preacher had hurt the Democratic presidentialcandidate at a crucial time. The question was how much.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/01/voters_say_wright_has_hurt_obama____but_question_how_much/


=

[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####