The latest news on Pensylvania primary, US military, Veterans, Education, Death penalty, Poverty in Africa, Paraguay, Iraqi Christians, Israel-Hamas, Aramaic in Syria, North Korea, Zimbabwe, and Op-Ed.

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Pensylvania primary. Clinton needs big win today "Senator Hillary Clinton faces the toughest test yet of her struggle to capture the Democratic nomination in today's Pennsylvania primary: Not only must she score an expected win, she must beat her rival, Senator Barack Obama, by a large enough margin to convince party leaders that she would be the stronger nominee in the fall." Clinton, Obama Make Last Pitches To Pennsylvania "Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama offered Pennsylvania voters their closing arguments, winding down a nearly two-month campaign in the state that has done little to bring clarity to the Democratic presidential contest." What to look for in the Pennsylvania primary "Here are some factors that, in addition to who wins the vote, will help decide whether the Pennsylvania primary is one more way station on the road to the final primaries in June, or whether the nomination fight might come to a quicker conclusion:"

US-Canada-Mexico summit. Bush opens summit with leaders of Canada and Mexico "For a summit of three countries doing nearly $1 trillion worth of business with each other every year, President Bush's two-day meeting with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts began as a decidedly low-voltage affair." White House Defends NAFTA as Bush Meets With Heads of Mexico, Canada "With the North American Free Trade Agreement taking a pounding on the campaign trail, President Bush met with the leaders of Mexico and Canada to defend the pact and to seek new ways to cooperate on border, economic and regulatory issues." Bush voices NAFTA support amid Democratic criticism "President George W. Bush used his final Three Amigos summit to offer a morale boost for a North American free-trade agreement facing increased skepticism from Democratic presidential hopefuls."

US military. Waivers for Recruits With Convictions Rise "The Army admitted about one-fourth more recruits last year with a record of legal problems ranging from felony convictions and serious misdemeanors to drug crimes and traffic offenses," Army and Marine Corps Grant More Felony Waivers "Strained by the demands of a long war, the Army and the Marine Corps recruited significantly more felons into their ranks in 2007 than in 2006, including people convicted of armed robbery, arson and burglary," More convicted felons allowed to enlist in Army, Marines 'Under pressure to meet combat needs, the Army and Marine Corps brought in significantly more recruits with felony convictions last year than in 2006, including some with manslaughter and sex crime convictions." General: Army needs 'stop-loss' until late 2009 "It will be more than a year before the Army can end the unpopular practice of forcing soldiers to stay in the service beyond their retirement or re-enlistment dates,"

Veterans. Talking Veterans Down From Despair "The veterans hot line is part of a specialized effort by the Department of Veterans Affairs to reduce suicide by enabling counselors, for the first time, to instantly check a veteran's medical records and then combine emergency response with local follow-up services." Clergy learn together how to help vets "While private charities and government agencies have focused on ways to help returning vets dealing with traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, or major depression, clergy have had little training. And with vets looking to churches for healing, ministers … have not always known how to respond."

Education. No Child Left Behind faces changes "Unable to push education fixes through Congress, the Bush administration is taking its own pen to the No Child Left Behind law."

Death penalty. Court rejects appeals by 11 death row inmates "The Supreme Court followed up on its ruling last week upholding the commonly used lethal injection method of execution and rejected appeals by 11 death row inmates in seven states."

Poverty in Africa. UN chief says anti-poverty efforts are lagging in Africa "The U.N. chief said the world must do more to eradicate poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, where not a single country is on track to meet the goals of a global anti-poverty campaign launched in 2000." UN food chief urges crisis action "The head of the UN World Food Programme has said urgent action is required to stimulate food production and help the poor cope with soaring food prices."

Paraguay . Paraguay moves left with President-elect Fernando Lugo "The election of Fernando Lugo as president of Paraguay signals the latest advance of the left in Latin America and the end of more than six decades of rule by a political party best known for a longtime anti-communist dictatorship." Paraguay's president-elect calls for alliance between business and the state "After his historic presidential win on Sunday, which ended six decades of one-party rule in Paraguay, former Roman Catholic Bishop Fernando Lugo said that he wants to build an alliance between private enterprise and the state."

Iraqi Christians. Iraqi Christians Struggle With Fear After Slayings "Dozens of churches, monasteries and other buildings have been firebombed, looted or occupied by Muslims since June 2004, according to Assyrian church leaders. Christian relief organizations describe the plight of Iraqi Christians as "ethnic cleansing."

Israel-Hamas. Carter Says Hamas and Syria Are Open to Peace "Jimmy Carter said here on Monday that in talks in Damascus, Syria, over the last several days, he obtained a significant concession from the militant group Hamas regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace and found Syrian leaders eager for a full peace treaty with Israel." Hamas ready to accept Gaza truce "Hamas said today it is prepared to accept a partial truce that would cover only the Gaza Strip, in an apparent softening of the Islamist group's position." Israel awaits Hamas cease-fire proposal via Egypt, as Carter wraps up trip "Senior government officials perceive a change in Hamas positions in recent days, at least concerning attempts to achieve a lull in fighting in the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, Israel has not yet committed itself officially to a cease-fire and is waiting for a detailed proposal to be delivered via Egypt."

Aramaic in Syria. In Syrian Villages, the Language of Jesus Lives "Elias Khoury can still remember the days when old people in this cliffside village spoke only Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Back then the village, linked to the capital, Damascus, only by a long and bumpy bus ride over the mountains, was almost entirely Christian,"

North Korea . U.S. Team Headed to Pyongyang in Search of 'Significant Progress' "For the first time since the United States eased demands on North Korea for nuclear disclosure, a U.S. delegation is headed to the communist state to try to verify the extent of its nuclear program."

Zimbabwe . Zuma calls for election mission to Zimbabwe "The president of South Africa's ruling ANC, Jacob Zuma, described the delay in the announcement of Zimbabwe's election result as unacceptable, his strongest comments to date on the crisis." China may recall Zimbabwe weapons "The ship carrying weapons to Zimbabwe may return to China after being prevented from unloading in South Africa, a Chinese official has said."

Op-Ed.

Clueless in America (BOB HERBERT, New York Times) "The nation's future may depend on how well we educate the current and future generations, but (like the renovation of the nation's infrastructure, or a serious search for better sources of energy) that can wait. At the moment, no one seems to have the will to engage any of the most serious challenges facing the U.S."