NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST December 30, 2008

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

-Blagojevich to Name Obama Senate Replacement
By Monica Davey
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois will name Roland Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the United States Senate, someone with knowledge of the governor's plans confirmed on Tuesday. Mr. Blagojevich, who faces federal corruption charges including allegations that he tried to sell Mr. Obama's former senate seat for a high-paying job or money, had not been expected to try to fill the seat. As recently as ten days ago, his lawyer, Edward Genson, said he would not attempt to make an appointment, since Senate leaders had indicated they would not accept anyone whom the beleaguered Mr. Blagojevich had appointed.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/blagojevich-to-name-obama-senate-replacement/?hp

-No End in Sight in Gaza Battle
By ETHAN BRONNER and TAGHREED EL-KHODARY
JERUSALEM - Israel launched airstrikes against Hamas targets in Gaza for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the bombardment "the first of several stages," suggesting that the conflict was far from resolution.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/world/middleeast/31mideast.html?hp

-Secular Party Wins Landslide Victory in Bangladesh
By SOMINI SENGUPTA and JULFIKAR ALI MANIK
NEW DELHI - After two years of army-backed emergency rule, democracy returned to Bangladesh as the secular Awami League party secured an overwhelming victory in election results announced on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/world/asia/31bangladesh.html

-The Doctor's World
Leaving Platform That Elevated AIDS Fight
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, M.D
Dr. Peter Piot, the only head of the United Nations AIDS program in its 13-year history, is retiring on Wednesday. He is credited as the person most responsible for making heads of state understand the political, economic and social ramifications of a pandemic that rivals the worst in history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/health/30docs.html

-Op-Ed Columnist: Add Up the Damage
By BOB HERBERT
Does anyone know where George W. Bush is? You don't hear much from him anymore. The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/opinion/30herbert.html?ref=opinion

-Op-Ed Contributor: Why Israel Feels Threatened
By BENNY MORRIS
Li-On, Israel
MANY Israelis feel that the walls - and history - are closing in on their 60-year-old state, much as they felt in early June 1967, just before Israel launched the Six-Day War and destroyed the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies in Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/opinion/30morris.html?ref=opinion


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

-Group sues to reinstate firearms ban
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sued the Bush administration Tuesday in hopes of stopping a new policy that would allow people to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/AR2008123001373.html?hpid=moreheadlines

-Soldier alleges military pattern of Christian bias
By JOHN HANNA
An atheist soldier suing over prayers at military formations claims a larger pattern of religious discrimination exists in the military, citing attempts to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and an evangelical bias in a suicide prevention manual.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901924.html?hpid=sec-religion

-Has Israel Revived Hamas?
By Daoud Kuttab
JERUSALEM -- In its efforts to stop amateur rockets from nagging the residents of some of its southern cities, Israel appears to have given new life to the fledging Islamic movement in Palestine. For two years, the Islamic Resistance Movement (known by its Arabic acronym, Hamas) has been losing support internally and externally. This wasn't the case in the days after the party came to power democratically in early 2006; despite being unjustly ostracized by the international community for its anti-Israeli stance, Hamas enjoyed the backing of Palestinians and other Arabs. Having won a decisive parliamentary majority on an anti-corruption platform promising change and reform, Hamas worked hard to govern better than had Fatah, its rival and predecessor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901901.html


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Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us

-Franken Leads by 50 Votes With Absentees Left to Count in Minnesota Democratic candidate Al Franken now holds a 50 vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman with almost all of the counting in Minnesota's Senate race done. Mr. Franken's lead grew by a few votes Tuesday when the state Canvassing Board finished allocating thousands of ballots that had been held up due to candidate challenges.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123064841953142469.html


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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Best of 2008: World photography
Some of the stories that made compelling images in 2008: A magnitude 7.9 quake rocked China's Sichuan province. Georgian cities came under attack by Russian troops. The citizens of Nepal cast votes in national elections. The poor residents of Dharavi, the largest slum in India, struggled to hold on to their valuable land.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/yearinreview/la-fg-bestofforeign-pg,0,1380234.photogallery?track=yir-nl-compellingphotos

-Best & Worst 2008: Most shocking headlines
Heath Ledger, Madonna, Britney Spears and Herbie Hancock topped the news this year.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/la-et-headlines08-pg,0,5798506.photogallery?track=yir-nl-shockingheadlines

-What they said: Best quotes of 2008
A Yale lecturer and editor of the Yale Book of Quotations has compiled a list of 2008's most memorable quotations. Fred R. Shapiro said picking the best quotes this year was challenging because the presidential race and financial crisis provided so much material. He relies on suggestions from quote-gatherers and his own choices from songs, the news and movies.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/yearinreview/sfl-2008-best-quotes.pg,0,3469183.photogallery?track=yir-nl-topquotes

-Businesses that failed in 2008
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-failedbiz-pg,0,3949586.photogallery?track=yir-nl-failedbus

-From Orlando Sentinel
Florida lands 28 of top 500 hotels in the world
Travel + Leisure magazine has come out with its annual list of the 500 best hotels in the world and Florida has landed 28 on the list from the Panhandle to Disney to the Keys.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/travel/orl-top-500-hotels-florida-story,0,3634803.story

-Ellen Goodman: Bush leaving a mess with little regret, no remorse
My Bush-bashing was in remission. But then the senior staff of Bush enablers gave two rocking chairs to the man who described himself as "an old sage at 62...headed to retirement."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-30goodmansbdec30,0,6735504.story


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

- Alligator Alley must remain a public asset
BY GINA DOWNS
South Floridians were handed a present last week just in time for Christmas. We get to hold on to our national treasure, Alligator Alley, for a few more months. The proposed sale of our asset has been postponed. Why? Because the economy has come to a screeching halt or, perhaps some would say, has taken a nose dive. In other words, no $25,000 proposal deposit was received by the Florida Department of Transportation on Dec. 22. No bidders. No takers. No deal.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/830744.html


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

-Kucinich criticizes Israel; wants U.N. probe
By Ian Swanson
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is calling for a United Nations investigation into Israel's attacks on Gaza, criticizing Israel for a disproportionate response to Hamas rocket attacks. The criticism stands in stark contrast to the statements of other Democrats, who have offered near-unanimous support for Israel amid the latest violence in the Middle East.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kucinich-criticizes-israel-wants-u.n.-probe-2008-12-29.html

-Study: Black-on-black homicides rising among teens
JAY LINDSAY
Black teenagers are killing each other in rising numbers but the troubling trend has been masked by a falling crime rate in the United States, according to a study released Monday by Northeastern University. FBI crime statistics show overall decreases in murder and other violent crimes. But a report by criminal justice professors James Alan Fox and Marc Swatt uncovers other disturbing trends within that data.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/29/study-blackonblack-homici_n_154077.html


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