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Economy. Fed Acts to Rescue Financial Markets "Hoping to avoid a systemic meltdown in financial markets, the Federal Reserve approved a $30 billion credit line to engineer the takeover of Bear Stearns and announced an open-ended lending program for the biggest investment firms on Wall Street."

Homeless in New Orleans. New Orleans' homeless rate swells to one in 25 residents "The homeless population of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina has reached unprecedented levels for a U.S. city: one in 25 residents." Many still feel wrath of storm "Advocates for the homeless and officials said many of the city's homeless are … low-income residents who lost apartments after Katrina because of rising rents. Many also struggle with drug addiction or mental illnesses."

Campaign. For Democrats, Increased Fears of a Long Fight"Lacking a clear route to the selection of a Democratic presidential nominee, the party's uncommitted superdelegates say they are growing increasingly concerned about the risks of a prolonged fight between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and perplexed about how to resolve the conflict."

Immigration. U.S. tries to shut revolving door of illegal reentry "Federal authorities are cracking down on immigrants who were previously deported and then reentered the country illegally -- a crime that now makes up more than one-third of all prosecutions in Los Angeles and surrounding counties," U.S. boosts deportation of illegals "The Department of Homeland Security, continuing to enforce what it calls a "strict policy of arresting, prosecuting and jailing" illegal immigrants, deported a record number of those caught on the nation's borders last year" GOP immigration strategy may hurt McCain "Congressional Republicans continue to push a hard line on illegal immigration, even though that could hinder John McCain's efforts to win over Latino voters in November."

Warrantless surveillance. House Passes a Surveillance Bill Not to Bush's Liking "A deeply divided House approved its latest version of terrorist surveillance legislation yesterday, rebuffing President Bush's demand for a bill that would grant telecommunications firms retroactive immunity for their cooperation in past warrantless wiretapping"

Iraq. Iraq war's cost: Loss of U.S. power, prestige, influence "Thanks in part to the Iraq war, the next U.S. president - Republican or Democrat, black or white, man or woman - will take office with America's power, prestige and popularity in decline," With fewer eyes on Iraq, US deaths near 4,000 mark"Sometime soon, the US military will suffer the 4,000th death of the war in Iraq. … Analysts say the 4,000 dead, while an arbitrary marker, could inject the war debate back into the campaign season,"Brown: Iraq inquiry will take place "Gordon Brown has confirmed that the government will at some point hold an inquiry into the lessons to be learned from the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath." Death, destruction and fear on the streets - Iraq: five years on "Award-winning journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad returns to the city where he was born and lived for 30 years."

NATO. NATO Expansion, and a Bush Legacy, Are in Doubt "President Bush's efforts to cement a trans-Atlantic legacy by adding three nations to NATO appear in disarray as the alliance struggles with internal political divisions, new tensions with Russia and the combat mission in Afghanistan that have exposed disparities of might and will among current members,"

Tibet. China 'holds Tibetan dissidents' "Security forces in Tibet are rounding up dissidents, exiled Tibetans say, as Beijing steps up its rhetoric." Chinese Police Tighten Grip on Tibet's Capital "Chinese police tightened their hold on Tibet's capital and heavily Tibetan areas in neighboring provinces, but sporadic violence in the region continued, according to reports from the affected areas."

Darfur. Food aid 'hard to get to Darfur' "Worsening security in Darfur is making delivery of food aid there very difficult, the World Food Programme says."

North Korea. High-level talks keep North Korea nuclear deal alive "Separate agreements - one open, the other secret - may be critical to bringing the US and North Korea to terms on the disclosure of the North's nuclear program, after two days of what US envoy Christopher Hill says were "substantive" talks in Geneva with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan."

Iran. Allies of Iran's President Heading for a Majority in Parliament "Iranian politicians from the same faction that backed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared set to win a majority of seats in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results released Sunday." Conservatives win Iran election "Conservative candidates in Iran's general election retain control of parliament, while reformists do marginally well."

Beliefs. Resurrection Is Often Misunderstood by Christians and Jews (Peter Steinfels, New York Times) "As Christians in most of the world approach the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection, it is startling to find three distinguished scholars, all known for scrupulous attention to theological tradition and biblical sources, agreeing that the very idea of resurrection is widely and badly misunderstood."

Opinion.

Reflections on the Invasion of Iraq (New York Times) "To mark this week's fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the Op-Ed page asked nine experts on military and foreign affairs to assess their previous and current outlook."

The Monitor's View: Tibet's nonviolent path (Christian Science Monitor) "Police violence against last week's protests in Tibet put a harsh light on China's claim of a "peaceful rise" to global prominence. But then the riots by the Dalai Lama's followers also reveal frustration at his call for nonviolent resistance against Chinese rule. Which way will resolve Tibet's uneasy status at the roof of the world?"