National News
CQ - Tight Schedule, Energy Impasse Delay Defense Policy Bill Until September
Senate Democrats are expected to fall short of reaching an agreement this week that would allow them to bring a defense policy bill to the floor, as leaders from both sides acknowledged that the debate has been pushed off until at least September.
CQ - Democrats Dangle Drilling Votes
Senate Republicans who have been maneuvering for weeks to get a new round of votes on legislation that would expand offshore drilling appear close to getting their wish.
The Hill - Burr and McCarthy aim high as they craft GOP platform
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are trying to achieve a goal that many believe is unattainable: getting the Republican Party energized for the 2008 election.
Roll Call - Senate GOP Bid to Overhaul Earmarks Stalls
With his party firmly focused on using gas prices to pump up its flagging electoral hopes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has quietly shelved plans to implement earmark reform proposals before the August recess, raising doubt as to whether the GOP will change the way it funds pet projects.
Roll Call - Road Map: Senate Republicans to Ponder Reid’s Offer
They said they couldn’t leave town without doing something about high gas prices, and Senate Democrats and Republicans are trying to find a way to do just that before heading home for the August recess.
Politico - Strong medicine looms for mortgage giants
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank has put the mortgage industry on notice: Passage of the landmark housing bill doesn’t get it off the hook.
LA Times - EPA silences employees
Agency orders officials not to speak with investigators or press.
LA Times - Bush to leave a record budget deficit of $482 billion
White House officials say the economy and a bipartisan stimulus package caused the worsening picture for 2009, but Democrats blame Bush's tax cuts and fiscal management.
NY Times - Report Faults Aides in Hiring at Justice Dept.
Senior aides to former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales broke Civil Service laws by using politics to guide their hiring decisions, picking less-qualified applicants for important nonpolitical positions, slowing the hiring process at critical times and damaging the department’s credibility, an internal report concluded on Monday.
Washington Post - Bush Approves Execution Of Soldier for Murders
President Bush yesterday approved the execution of an Army private convicted of a string of vicious murders and rapes in North Carolina, marking the first time in half a century that a president has affirmed a military death sentence.
International News
International Herald Tribune - Petraeus-Crocker partnership in Iraq breaking up
One of the defining features of Gen. David Petraeus' tenure as leader of U.S. forces in Iraq is an unusually close partnership with his political counterpart here, Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
Washington Post - Plagued by Terrorism, Indians Voice Frustration
Lalit Mohan Joshi, an Indian businessman, was delivering a batch of jeweled slippers to a merchant one evening when he was approached by a stranger. The stranger asked him to watch a plastic bag, which appeared to hold a pressure cooker.
Washington Post - US, Iraqi forces launch new operation in Diyala
U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a new operation Tuesday aimed at clearing al-Qaida in Iraq from the volatile Diyala province, considered the last major insurgent safe haven near the capital.
LA Times - Pakistan plans a push into its tribal areas
U.S. officials have long sought more action from Islamabad on the troubled region, a haven for militants. But many worry the military isn't prepared for counter-terrorism work.
NY Times - Syrians See an Economic Side to Peace
Like most Syrians, Samer Zayat has no love for Israel. He was a little uneasy when Syria announced in late May that it was holding indirect talks on a peace settlement with its old nemesis.
State News
North County Times - State workers could lose pay, jobs
About 10,000 state employees in San Diego and Riverside counties are in danger of seeing their pay slashed to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour or losing their jobs by week's end as a result of a threat by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger aimed at spurring lawmakers to get off the dime and pass a budget.
San Francisco Chronicle - Less driving forces gas prices down
This year's record-shredding spike in gasoline prices has finally ended, with prices throughout the country falling by more than a penny per day.
San Diego Union Tribune - Border fence project had faced opposition
Crews could begin filling in Smuggler's Gulch as early as this week for the border-fence construction project that environmentalists had opposed for years.
LA Times - GOP suffering from a lack of (ballot) initiative
The strategy of pushing propositions likely to draw conservatives to the polls has faltered as Republicans face mishaps in drafting measures and a more aggressive opposition.
LA Times - Air tanker drops in wildfires are often just for show
The bulky aircraft are reassuring sights to those in harm's way, but their use can be a needless and expensive exercise to appease politicians. Fire officials call them 'CNN drops.'
San Diego Union Tribune - Tribe says it will put millions into roads
The Pauma Indian band in North County has reached a tentative agreement to pay for $38 million in road improvements and take other steps to minimize the effects of a luxury resort it is building.
San Diego Union Tribune - Judge: Anonymous donor can't post bail for Wilkes
A former Poway businessman who was convicted of bribing Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham can't have bail posted by an anonymous donor, a federal judge said yesterday.
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