NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - March 11, 2009

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

-Gunman Kills 10 in Alabama, Then Takes His Life
By SHAILA DEWAN
A gunman shot and killed at least 10 people, including several members of his family, on Tuesday afternoon in what officials said was the worst shooting in Alabama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/us/11alabama.html?hp

-At Least 16 Killed in School Shooting in Germany
By CARTER DOUGHERTY and VICTOR HOMOLA
FRANKFURT, Germany - At least 15 people were killed when a teenage gunman clad in black stormed into his former school near Stuttgart on Wednesday morning and opened fire before fleeing to another town where the police fatally shot him.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/europe/12germany.html?hp

-Madoff Will Plead Guilty; Faces Life for Swindle
By DIANA B. HENRIQUES
Correction Appended
Bernard L. Madoff is facing life in prison for operating a vast Ponzi scheme that began at least 20 years ago and consumed billions of dollars of other people's money.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/business/11madoff.html?hp

-Pakistan Police Crack Down on Opposition Before Protest
By SALMAN MASOOD and WAQAR GILLANI
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The elected civilian government banned a multi-pronged national march on the capital due to start Thursday and arrested hundreds of political workers, setting a pattern that many here see as reminiscent of the behavior of the military dictator, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who was forced to resign last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12pstan.html?hp

-Mr. Obama's Trade Agenda
In tough times, there is a strong temptation to turn inward. With so many Americans already out of work, why shouldn't the country raise trade barriers to protect its workers from foreign competition?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/opinion/11wed1.html?ref=opinion

-This Is Not a Test. This Is Not a Test.
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
It's always great to see the stock market come back from the dead. But I am deeply worried that our political system doesn't grasp how much our financial crisis can still undermine everything we want to be as a country. Friends, this is not a test. Economically, this is the big one. This is August 1914. This is the morning after Pearl Harbor. This is 9/12. Yet, in too many ways, we seem to be playing politics as usual.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/opinion/11friedman.html?ref=opinion

-Narrowing the Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the Voting Rights Act this week when
it ruled that it does not require states to create so-called crossover districts. The regrettable 5-to-4 ruling overturns two of the act's central goals: protecting minority voting rights and moving the nation toward a more colorblind future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/opinion/11wed2.html?ref=opinion

-Arrests Draw New Attention to Assisted Suicide
By ROBBIE BROWN
An undercover state investigator told a right-to-die network that he wanted to kill himself. In response, he later testified, officials of the network planned to have him asphyxiate himself with a helium-filled face mask while holding down his arms. After an investigation, four officials of the group, known as the Final Exit Network, were arrested last month on charges of racketeering and assisted suicide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/us/11suicide.html

-5 Years After It Halted Weapons Programs, Libya Sees the U.S. as Ungrateful
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
TRIPOLI, Libya - When Libya gave up its nuclear and chemical weapons programs in late 2003, President George W. Bush pointed to the decision as a victory in Washington's so-called war on terror and as a potential model for pressing Iran and North Korea to give up their weapons programs, too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/world/africa/11libya.html

-Senate Clears Spending After Fractious Debate
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
The Senate on Tuesday cleared a $410 billion spending bill to finance the government through September, after more than a week of fractious debate that raised questions about the ability of Senate Democrats to remain unified as they prepared to tackle far more contentious issues like health care and climate change.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/us/politics/11spend.html


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

-Where Immigrants Come From - Interactive Map
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html?exampleSessionId=1236782178281&exampleUserLabel=nytimes

-Our view on earmarks: Obama sacrifices vows to cut wasteful spending
Budget means a win for members of Congress but a loss for taxpayers. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama and John McCain both railed against congressional "earmarks" and promised to work to cut the wasteful spending they represent. Now, only one of them has followed through. Unfortunately, it's not the guy in the White House.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/03/our-view-on-ear.html?csp=34

-What Left Turn?
Obama Is Doing Pretty Much What He Promised
By Ruth Marcus
The notion that President Obama has lurched to the left since his inauguration and is governing as an unreconstructed liberal is bunk. Obama's presidential agenda mirrors his campaign platform. He has diverged from it in a few areas -- almost entirely to the right.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031002840.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

-Senate Approves $410 Billion Bill to Fund Federal Government
By Shailagh Murray
The Senate gave final approval last night to a $410 billion spending bill to fund most of the federal government for the remainder of the year after overcoming a resilient Republican opposition and several Democratic defections.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031002653.html?hpid=topnews

-15 Percent of Americans Have No Religion
Fewer Call Themselves Christians; Nondenominational Identification Increases
By Michelle Boorstein
The percentage of Americans who call themselves Christians has dropped dramatically over the past two decades, and those who do are increasingly identifying themselves without traditional denomination labels, according to a major study of U.S. religion being released today.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/08/AR2009030801967.html?hpid=sec-religion


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Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Iranian Presidential Race Heats Up as Third Reformist Candidate Joins
By FARNAZ FASSIHI
BEIRUT -- A third reform candidate joined Iran's June 12 presidential race in a tactic aimed at delivering a blow to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chances of re-election, reformists said Tuesday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123673599290190831.html

-Ford Targets $55 in Hourly Pay
By JEFF BENNETT
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it will lower wages and narrow the pay gap with its foreign competitors under a new United Auto Workers agreement. UAW members ratified the wage changes and other cost-cutting initiative Monday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123677910696394787.html


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

-Commentary: GOP becoming a cartoon
By Jack Cafferty
The Republican Party is becoming a cartoon. Where to start? Bobby Jindal: "I'm certainly not nearly as good of a speaker as Obama." Good OF a speaker? How about not as good at eighth-grade grammar either. It's embarrassing.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/cafferty.republicans/index.html

-Here comes socialism
Some kind of bank nationalization is probably inevitable. The Democrats don't want to admit it yet. The Republicans just want you to be scared.
By Mike Madden
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/03/10/banks/

-White House Cheat Sheet: Obama Names Drug Czar
By Chris Cillizza
President Obama will name Gil Kerlikowske as the nation's drug czar today, ending a long search that slowed as details of drug arrests involving Kerlikowske's stepson came to light earlier this year.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2009/03/white_house_cheat_sheet_the_ca.html?wprss=thefix

-Behind the Cell Curve
Why Is the President Ignoring a Scientific Gift?
By Kathleen Parker
As he lifted the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research Monday, President Obama proclaimed that scientific decisions now will be made "on facts, not ideology."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031002842.html?hpid=opinionsbox1


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