the latest news on Iran, Children’s health insurance , Farm bill, New Orleans, Iowa caucus, Israel-Syria, Turkey, California fires, Immigrants, Paul Wellstone, James Dobson, and Selected Op-Eds.

Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »

Iran . U.S. imposes new sanctions on Iran "The Bush administration imposed a series of new sanctions on Iran to punish Tehran for weapons proliferation and supporting terrorism throughout the Middle East." New U.S. sanctions likely to weaken international unity on Iran "For more than two years, the United States has insisted that the key to stopping Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program is maintaining unified international pressure on the Islamic Republic. But on Thursday, the Bush administration signaled in no uncertain terms that it's prepared to go its own way" Iran defiant over US sanctions "Iran has issued a defiant response to the harshest sanctions imposed on it by the United States since the 1979 Islamist revolution, saying the measures are "doomed to failure". Iran Sanctions Are Meant to Prevent War, Bush Aides Say "In approving far-reaching, new unilateral sanctions against Iran, President Bush signaled that he intends to pursue a strategy of gradually escalating financial, diplomatic and political pressure on Tehran." Sanctions reflect U.S. frustration "The tough new sanctions on Iran imposed by the Bush administration come after months of frustration at the reluctance of other nations to crack down on Tehran and reflect the administration's faith in the model of unilateral diplomacy it followed in achieving its recent nuclear deal with North Korea." U.S. Plays Its 'Unilateral' Card on Iran Sanctions "In announcing sweeping new sanctions against an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, Bush administration officials took pains to offer assurances that at least for now, the United States is not going to war with Iran."

Children's health insurance. Democrats fall short on children's health insurance bill "Following a prolonged and contentious debate, House Democrats failed yet again to secure a veto-proof majority victory on legislation to expand health coverage for low-income children." House Passes Revised Children's Health Bill, but Timing Irks GOP "After hours of partisan warfare and delay, the House easily approved a new version of legislation to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, but the vote failed to get any more Republicans to override another promised veto from President Bush." House Defies Bush and Passes Insurance Bill "Once again defying a veto threat from President Bush, the House passed a bill to provide health insurance for 10 million children."

Farm bill. Senate Panel Moves $288 Billion Farm Bill "The Senate Agriculture Committee, under pressure to make changes in decades-old subsidy programs, voted to offer farmers an alternative safety net that lawmakers said will provide better protection against falling incomes and will save as much as $4 billion over the next five years." Panel OKs farm bill that keeps subsidies "Despite higher crop prices and farm incomes, the Senate Agriculture Committee endorsed a farm bill that would continue to reward farmers with a substantial package of subsidies, setting aside the deep cuts that reform groups had sought."

New Orleans. In New Orleans, Rebuilding With Faith "New Orleans's patchy recovery has largely bypassed places where the working class and the poor lived, like Central City and the Lower Ninth Ward. Many former residents lack the means to return. Instead, churches and groups with religious affiliations, citing Scripture's call to help the stranger and the neighbor, have taken on building affordable housing."

Iowa caucus. Democrats set to pick Jan. 3 for caucuses"Iowa Democrats expect to set the party's presidential caucuses for Jan. 3, joining Republicans on the date that would allow Iowa to launch the 2008 nominating season while keeping the contests in the election year."

Israel-Syria. Syria air strike target 'removed' "Newly-released satellite images of the presumed site of an Israeli air raid on Syria last month suggest that a large building has been completely removed." Suspected Location of Syria's Reactor Cleared "Syria has cleared away all traces of a large building that experts say was bombed by Israeli jets last month because it was suspected of housing a partially finished nuclear reactor," Photos Show Cleansing of Suspect Syrian Site "A Syrian site that Israel bombed last month no longer bears any obvious traces of what analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor." GOP asks about N. Korean role in Syria"House Republicans pressed the Bush administration's top North Korea negotiator to explain a reported Israeli airstrike last month on a Syrian nuclear facility under construction, indicating growing congressional concern over the incident."

Turkey . Turkey and Iraq in crisis talks "With tensions running high, a high-powered Iraqi delegation is holding talks in Ankara in a fresh bid to avert any imminent Turkish strike." Iraq meeting 'final chance' for diplomacy, says Turkey "Turkey described a scheduled visit by an Iraqi delegation as "a final chance" for diplomacy amid reports of further clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkish troops."

California fires. President Visits Scene and Promises Help"President Bush toured Southern California on Thursday as investigators got down to the work of determining how one sunny fall day last weekend erupted into a 16-fire storm now in its fifth day." Fire threat to homes diminishes "Stubborn fires continued to rage through wilderness areas of San Diego and Orange counties Thursday, and the toll rose with the grim discovery of six more bodies of people caught in the infernos."

Immigrants. Study: Most Immigrants See Future in US "Most Hispanic immigrants believe their future is in the United States, despite maintaining ties to their native countries, according to a new study by the Pew Hispanic Center." Complexity of Immigrants' National Ties Explored "The majority of Hispanic immigrants maintain ties to their native countries by sending money, calling or traveling to their homelands, but most see their future in the United States despite these long-distance links, a new study has found."

Paul Wellstone. Five years after his death, Wellstone still inspires "Even five years later, it's evident many people still grieve the loss of Paul Wellstone. The green and white lawn signs are gone, but the t-shirts and bumper stickers are still around."

James Dobson. After Dobson, Who? "James Dobson has become synonymous with the empire that is Focus on the Family. … out of public view, a new generation of executives is laying the groundwork for sustaining the conservative Christian group as a cultural and political force once the 71-year-old Dobson has left the scene. And most of their efforts are concentrated not in the political realm, but in finding new ways to deliver marriage and parenting advice to a younger generation of families, many of whom distrust institutions or dislike evangelical engagement in politics."

Editorial.

Sanctions or force (Haaretz) "The position adopted by sanction opponents is liable to achieve the opposite of what they intend: Those who prevent economic pressure on Iran are making the use of military force against it more likely. If there is still any chance for the diplomatic effort to succeed, as Olmert says, it must not be missed because of short-sighted business considerations."

Op-Eds.

The faith gap in flux (Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe) "But you don't have to be a political pathologist to see the real message from the [Values Voters] meeting. There are signs of ideological rigor mortis among the old guard."

Realizing God's dream for the Holy Land (Desmond Tutu, Boston Globe) "God has a dream for all his children. It is about a day when all people enjoy fundamental security and live free of fear. It is about a day when all people have a hospitable land in which to establish a future. More than anything else, God's dream is about a day when all people are accorded equal dignity because they are human beings."