NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS May 2, 2008

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

-Obama Leaves the Stage to Mix With His Skeptics
There was no music, no sea of screaming admirers and only a light dabble ofapplause when Senator Barack Obama walked across the green carpet of the OakPointe retirement center here on Thursday at his first campaign stop of theday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/politics/02obama.html?partner=MOREOVERNEWS

-Notes From the War on Terror
For more than a year, President Bush has refused to honor legitimaterequests from the Democratic majority in Congress for legal documents thathe used to justify ordering the abuse, humiliation and torture of prisoners.
This week, the Justice Department finally agreed to show some papers tomembers of the House and Senate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/opinion/02fri1.html?ref=opinion

-The Cognitive Age
If you go into a good library, you will find thousands of books onglobalization. Some will laud it. Some will warn about its dangers. But they'llagree that globalization is the chief process driving our age. Our lives arebeing transformed by the increasing movement of goods, people and capitalacross borders.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/opinion/02brooks.html?ref=opinion

-Op-Ed Columnist: Party of Denial
During Barack Obama's Sunday appearance on Fox News, the interviewer askedhim for an example of "a hot-button issue where you would be willing to buckthe Democratic Party line" and say that Republicans have the better idea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/opinion/02krugman.html?ref=opinion

-The Lurita Doan Story
It has been 11 months since investigators found that Lurita Doan, chief ofthe General Services Administration, violated the Hatch Act's ban onpoliticking on the job, asking her staff how they could "help ourcandidates." This week, the White House finally got around to ousting Ms.Doan from the government's principal agency for awarding rich contracts ingoods and services.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/opinion/02fri3.html?ref=opinion

-Labor Suffers Losses in British Local Elections
Britain's ruling Labor Party headed for a crushing defeat at the hands ofthe opposition Conservatives on Friday in local elections depicted as afurther dent in the political fortunes of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/world/europe/03britain.html?hp

-Tibetan Envoys Head to China
A week after the Chinese government offered to meet with representatives ofthe Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government in exile in India announced Fridaythat two envoys were on their way to an undisclosed location in China for"informal" discussions. But in a signal of low expectations, theannouncement predicted that the visit would be "brief."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/world/asia/03tibet.html?hp

-Louisiana Democrat Holds His Party at Bay for a Chance at Victory
A Democrat stands a serious chance of taking a seat in the House ofRepresentatives from Republicans in a special election here on Saturday. Butto achieve that chance of victory in this Republican fortress, the candidatehas labored to dissociate himself from the Democratic Party's nationalleaders.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/02louisiana.html

-An Initiative on Reading Is Rated Ineffective
President Bush's $1 billion a year initiative to teach reading to low-incomechildren has not helped improve their reading comprehension, according to aDepartment of Education report released on Thursday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/education/02reading.html


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

-Obama-Wright Rift Reveals Divided Loyalties in Black Church
Sen. Barack Obama's break with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is putting blackpastors and their congregations in a difficult position, their loyaltiesdivided between a politician who could be the first black president and acelebrated preacher who many believe has been vilified.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102320.html?hpid=sec-religion

-McCain's Birth Abroad Stirs Legal Debate
His Eligibility for Presidency Is Questioned
The Senate has unanimously declared John McCain a natural-born citizen,eligible to be president of the United States.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103224.html?hpid=artslot

-McCain slowly but surely distancing self from Bush
Slowly but surely, Republican presidential candidate John McCain is puttingsome distance between himself and unpopular President George W. Bush.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050201183.html

-Fair Play for False Prophets
Do white right-wing preachers have it easier than black left-wing preachers?
Is there a double standard? The political explosion around the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was inevitable, given Wright's personal closeness to Barack Obama and the outrageous rubbish the pastor has offered about AIDS, Sept. 11 and Louis Farrakhan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102903.html

-The Campaign Nonsense Du Jour
There's something maddening about this presidential campaign. It has becomeirrelevant whether anything the candidates say actually makes sense. Allthat matters is how their words will "play" with voters who are presumed tobe too stupid to realize that they're the ones being played.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102858.html

-Ideology's Rude Return
Ideology matters again. The big development of recent years is the rise notonly of great powers but also of the great-power autocracies of Russia andChina. True realism about the international scene begins with understandinghow this unanticipated shift will shape our world.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102899.html

-Secular and Antidemocratic
In Turkey, another attempt to reverse the elections won by moderateIslamists IN MANY countries where elections and Islam overlap, religiouspolitical parties are suspected -- often rightly -- of trying to use thedemocratic system to advance an illiberal agenda. Turkey, the most advanceddemocracy in the Muslim world, has the opposite problem. Its mildlyreligious ruling party has led the way in introducing progressive politicaland economic reforms and preparing the country for membership in theEuropean Union. Its secular opposition, meanwhile, has repeatedly resortedto antidemocratic tactics.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103199.html


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-NATIONAL ANTHEM: Hand over your heart
`When did the protocol of putting your hand over your heart during thenational anthem change?"
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/517947.html

-CAMPAIGN 2008: Plan to boot Russia from G-8 `impossible'
John McCain's proposal to kick out Russia from the group of industrialdemocracies would be blocked by other nations.
http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/517927.html

-Obama reveals Top 10 'surprising facts' on Letterman
Barack Obama's critics say it's what you don't know about him that matters.
With a little help from talk-show host David Letterman, the senator isopening up.
http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/tv/story/517579.html


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Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Obama's Lead Over Clinton Disappears; Unfavorables Rise for Both Candidates
Barack Obama's slipping support for the Democratic nomination reflects amodest decline in his personal image rather than improved impressions ofHillary Clinton. Meanwhile, more Democrats see the unresolved contest as aproblem for the party. Both Democratic contenders, however, retain anadvantage over John McCain as the economy tops the public's list ofconcerns. Read more

-Party Pooper
In four separate surveys conducted since March 20, when asked about each ofthe Democratic candidates, between 25% and 31% of the public say theiropinions have recently become less favorable. Read more

-Court OK for Indiana Voter ID May Prompt Other States to Follow Suit
With bills pending in state legislatures across the country, more states maymove to require photo identification for voters in November. Read more

-Who Wants To Be Rich?
Anyone who thinks that Americans worship at the feet of the almighty dollarshould ask the American public. In fact, a new Pew Social Trends surveyfinds only 13% of adults say it's "very important" for them to be wealthy,ranking this personal priority far behind six others measured. Read more

-Gas Pumps Past Politics
Despite filling only 2% of the newshole, rising gas prices topped thecampaign for news interest, a rare occurrence during the presidentialprimary season. Read moreChurch and State

-Courts Not Silent on Moments of Silence
An Illinois statute, now on temporary hold by a U.S. District Court, hasgiven rise to the latest in a long line of constitutional cases involvingrequired moments-of-silence in public schools. Read more

-Daily Number
40% - Republicans Feel More Favorable to John McCain
A relatively large minority of Republicans and Republican-leaningindependents (40%) say they have come to feel more favorably toward GOPpresidential nominee John McCain in recent days. Check back every weekdayfor another number in the news. Read more


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

-Obama wins support on opposition to gas tax holiday
Barack Obama boasts a growing list of experts and newspaper editorial boardsbacking his opposition to a summer gas tax holiday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/02/obama_wins_support_on_opposition_to_gas_tax_holiday/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

-Support for Republicans Falls,
But Race for President Is TightMcCain
Only 27% of voters have positive views of the Republican Party, according tothe latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, the lowest level for eitherparty in the survey's nearly two-decade history
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120959262155757509.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

-Mass. GOP losing ground
Will contest about 58 legislative seats In the two election cycles since 2004, as Massachusetts Republicans lost the governor's office, every congressional race they contested, and a net of five seats in the Legislature, it was tough to imagine that things could get any worse for the chronically beleaguered state GOP
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/02/mass_gop_losing_ground/

-Journalist, senator were an item
Barbara Walters reveals longtime affair with Edward Brooke
He was a prominent Republican senator from Massachusetts, married but afixture on the Washington party circuit. She was a rising star in televisionnews, twice divorced and the co-host of the "Today" show.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/02/journalist_senator_were_an_item/

-Obama wins support on opposition to gas tax holiday
Barack Obama boasts a growing list of experts and newspaper editorial boardsbacking his opposition to a summer gas tax holiday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/02/obama_wins_support_on_opposition_to_gas_tax_holiday/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

-Ron Gettelfinger: Labor Voices
McCain succumbs to special interests
GOP presidential nominee is out of touch with middle America
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/OPINION03/805020303/1031

-Obama narrows superdelegate gap
The Democratic nomination race is murkier than ever. Hillary Rodham Clintonis rising in the polls while Barack Obama is gaining ground amongsuperdelegates who will decide the winner.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-05-01-superdelegates_N.htm


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