The latest news on Presidential campaigns, Evangelicals, Democratic campaign, Stimulus, Waterboarding, Veterans, New Army doctrine, Immigration, Biofuel, Hungry in Ohio, National Prayer Breakfast, Islamic law in UK, Iraq, Gaza, Iran, Pakistan, Chad and Opinion.

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

Presidential campaigns. Romney out; McCain seeks unity "Sen. John McCain yesterday told conservatives to overcome past disagreements and trust him to carry their banner on national security and cutting spending," Romney Out, McCain Looks Ahead "Sen. John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination yesterday when former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney abruptly left the race." Romney quits GOP race, stunning conservatives "Sen. John McCain moved significantly closer to the Republican presidential nomination Thursday when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney unexpectedly announced he was ending his campaign for president," Romney failed the 'authentic' test " the collapse of Romney's campaign contains an important reminder that what impresses in political backrooms does not always impress voters. A long list of political assets, and the support of party leaders, is not enough to make up for a failure to connect with voters and to deliver a clear, consistent message."

Evangelicals. Evangelical Leader Endorses Huckabee "James Dobson, one of the nation's most prominent evangelical Christian leaders, backed Mike Huckabee's presidential bid, giving the former Arkansas governor a long-sought endorsement as the Republican field narrowed to a two-man race." Huckabee on track to play the spoiler "Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is a tremendous long shot for winning the Republican presidential nomination, but he has the potential to undermine Sen. John McCain's general election prospects," Evangelicals divided "A lack of enthusiasm for McCain among some evangelicals could lead to a lower voter turnout, which may tilt the election in favor of the Democrats."

Democratic campaign. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama go head-to-head in fundraising "Raising money at a furious pace, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama kicked off the next phase of their neck-and-neck fight to secure the Democratic presidential nomination as several contests loom immediately ahead."

Stimulus. Congress Approves Stimulus Package "Congress gave overwhelming final approval to legislation that would send government payments to most American households and grant tax incentives for business investment," Congress OKs $168-billion stimulus package "In a rare bipartisan compromise, Congress approved a two-year, $168-billion economic stimulus package that will send rebate checks to millions of low- and middle-income Americans, including senior citizens and disabled veterans." Long recession seen "The U.S. economy has entered a recession that will be more painful and drawn out than the usual downturn, … Inflation pressures will linger despite the retrenchment in consumer spending, complicating the task of policy-makers,"

Waterboarding. Justice Dept. 'Cannot' Probe Waterboarding, Mukasey Says "The attorney general yesterday rejected growing congressional calls for a criminal investigation of the CIA's use of simulated drownings to extract information from its detainees, as Vice President Cheney called it a "good thing" that the CIA was able to learn what it did from those subjected to the practice." C.I.A. Chief Doubts Tactic to Interrogate Is Still LegalGen. Michael V. Hayden, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, told a Congressional committee that waterboarding may be illegal under current law, despite assertions this week from the director of national intelligence and the White House that the harsh interrogation method may be used in the future."

Veterans. Study: New War Veterans Face Job Woes "Strained by war, recently discharged veterans are having a harder time finding civilian jobs and are more likely to earn lower wages for years due partly to employer concerns about their mental health and overall skills, a government study says."

New Army doctrine. Revised Army Doctrine Looks to Win Peace, Not Just Battles "The Army has drafted a new operations manual that elevates the mission of stabilizing war-torn nations, making it equal in importance to defeating adversaries on the battlefield."

Immigration. Judge upholds Arizona hiring law "U.S. District Judge Neil Wake rejected the arguments of business and immigrant-rights groups, which sued saying the law was an unconstitutional usurping of the federal government's right to regulate immigration."

Biofuel. Biofuel crops increase carbon emissions "The conversion of forests and grasslands into fields for the plants offsets the benefit of using the fuel, researchers find. Greenhouse-gas output overall would rise instead of fall." Studies Say Clearing Land for Biofuels Will Aid Warming "Clearing land to produce biofuels such as ethanol will do more to exacerbate global warming than using gasoline or other fossil fuels, two scientific studies show." Studies Deem Biofuels a Greenhouse Threat"These studies for the first time take a detailed, comprehensive look at the emissions effects of the huge amount of natural land that is being converted to cropland globally to support biofuels development."

Hungry in Ohio. State urged to act on child hunger, obesity "About one in six Ohio children goes to bed hungry or unsure where his or her next meal will come from, a grim statistic that is essentially unchanged from a year ago,"

National Prayer Breakfast. Bush: Rely on God for 'freer world' "Mr. Bush also told the D.C. gathering, which was focused on helping the poor and sick in Africa, that he has felt the "power of prayer" in his own life."

Islamic law in UK? Top Anglican Seeks a Role for Islamic Law in Britain "The archbishop of Canterbury called Thursday for Britain to adopt aspects of Islamic Shariah law alongside the existing legal system. His speech set off a storm of opposition among politicians, lawyers and others, including some Muslims." Archbishop in sharia law claim "Rowan Williams, the most senior figure in the Church of England, said that giving Islamic law official status in the UK would help to achieve social cohesion because some Muslims did not relate to the British legal system."

Iraq. Shift in Tactics Aims to Revive Struggling Insurgency "The Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq is telling its followers to soften their tactics in order to regain popular support in the western province of Anbar, where Sunni tribes have turned against the organization and begun working with U.S. forces," Ruling partners pressure Iraq premier "Key partners in Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government may seek the ouster of the Shiite Muslim leader if he fails to move quickly on stalled benchmark reforms and on sharing in decision making."

Gaza. Israeli power rationing fails to subdue Palestinian fighters "Palestinian fighters launched 20 rockets into Israel in defiance of threats to progressively cut off electricity to Gaza until attacks cease." Gaza operation is back on the agenda "The rocket barrages against communities inside Israel and the Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip that have left at least 16 Palestinians dead over the past three days all point in one direction: Following many weeks of being kept on ice, the likelihood of a major military operation in the Gaza Strip is once more at the forefront."

Iran. Syria develops new missile with Iranian support "Syria has successfully developed a new surface-to-surface missile that would enable it to target with greater accuracy Israeli installations - such as airports, ports and factories - according briefings recently presented to senior ministers. According to the information, Syria developed the new missile with Iranian support," Iran Is Reported to Test New Centrifuges to Make Atomic Fuel "Iran has reportedly begun to deploy a new generation of machinery to produce nuclear fuel, a development bound to intensify a debate in Washington about whether a recent National Intelligence Estimate accurately portrayed Tehran's progress toward the ability to build a nuclear weapon."

Pakistan. Scotland Yard: Blow to head, not gunshot, killed Bhutto "Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto died when a suicide bomb blast drove her head into the escape hatch in the roof of her armored vehicle, causing a massive injury, a report by Scotland Yard investigators said Friday." Bhutto died from head injury in blast, Scotland Yard says "The former Pakistani opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, died of a head injury caused by a suicide bomb blast and not bullets fired by the lone attacker, a British police report said today."

Chad . Aid Groups Work to Avert Disaster Among Chadians in Cameroon "The United Nations and aid groups raced Thursday to head off mass hunger and an outbreak of disease among tens of thousands of refugees from Chad who have pushed west across the border into Cameroon."

Opinion.

Damage That Must Be Undone (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post) "This is a moral outrage, people. At least, it should be. There simply cannot be any kind of pro-and-con debate over the use of torture -- whatever anodyne phrase you hide it behind -- by agents of the United States government on persons in custody. Torture is not debatable. It is forbidden by U.S. and international law. It is a vile implement used by tinhorn despots, not by the elected leaders of great democracies."