November 15, 2007 3:49

Iraq - House Headed for Iraq Showdown with White House

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed an Iraq funding bill yesterday with "strings attached" - it demands President Bush "begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 30 days of passage, with a goal of having American combat troops out of Iraq by December 15, 2008," writes CNN. Bush has his veto locked and loaded.

The U.S. Military has identified its no. 1 enemy in Iraq and it's no longer Sunni extremists or Al Qaeda or Iran. Nope, military commanders "portray the intransigence of Iraq's Shiite-dominated government as the key threat facing the U.S. effort," writes the Washington Post.

Forty-two women were killed between July and September in Basra - part of a coordinated campaign of violence against women waged by religious extremists reports the BBC.

Politics - Mukasey Sworn In

Michael Mukasey was sworn in as President Bush's third Attorney General yesterday. While Bush praised both Mukasey and his predecessor, "a fine man and a fine American, Al Gonzales,” sources tell the NYT that the in-coming AG is "fully aware the department lost much of its credibility, both in legal circles and with the public, during Mr. Gonzales’s tenure".

Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty

Mukasey is also prepared to scupper Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy's challenge to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) update that would offer immunity to telecom companies involved in the Bush Administration's no-warrant surveillance program.

Having spotted what they perceive to be Hillary Clinton's soft underbelly, her Democratic rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards are sharpening their partisan rhetoric and seeking to claim the true mantle of the Democratic Party. Still, they're unlikely to beat her in Nevada's primary but one of them will certainly succeed in South Carolina - she isn't actively running there.

Just when the Rudy Giuliani - Bernard Kerik saga looked like it couldn't get any juicier, along comes former publisher Judith Regan with accusations in a lawsuit that News Corporation executives urged her to lie to investigators about her ex-lover Kerik in order to protect Rudy's presidential ambitions.

World - Chile Quake

Northern Chile is reeling from the aftermath of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake today. Two people have died, hundreds are injured and thousands left homeless after the quake struck Tocopilla, north of Santiago.

Scenes from a quake - Jose Munoz / AFP / Getty

Pakistan's opposition heads to that country's Supreme Court today to try and overturn emergency rule. The challenge comes as Imran Khan, a prominent opposition leader who was arrested yesterday after 11 days in hiding, sent messages to the UK government saying he believed his life to be in danger.

The Bush administration is no long so sure General Pervez Musharraf can maintain power in his fast-fragmenting nation and is looking anxiously to see who might emerge
if Musharraf falls. Which is exactly what might happen if he does step down from his position as head of the military as opposition leaders are demanding says the LA Times.

Congratulations Australia. You are the "world's worst polluters per capita, producing five times as much carbon from generating power as China," the BBC reports. No wonder the Howard government is so Kyoto-shy.

Finally in world news, the price of bananas might be going up soon now that Chiquita Brands International faces a $7.86 billion lawsuit filed in New York state on behalf of hundreds of Colombian families who say the company collaborated with right wing paramilitary groups that tortured and murdered their loved ones.

National - Airport Security Woes

From the department of what we long suspected. Airport security is pretty much useless aside from being a repository for bad attitude. "Undercover investigators carried all the bomb components needed to cause 'severe damage' to airliners and passengers through U.S. airport screening checkpoints several times this year," reports the Washington Post.

All those lines and still the bombs get through? - Tim Boyle / Getty

The San Francisco Bay oil spill fallout grows with the news that the Coast Guard had replaced its Bay Area disaster commander amid an investigation into how the agency handled the response to disaster.

Still in San Francisco, leaders have given the okay for the city to issue identification cards to anyone who requests one and proves residence, regardless of legal status.

Staying out west, the governors of California, Montana and Utah will appear in a set of national TV ads that aim to rally public and political support for climate change legislation now in the Senate. The approach by Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brian Schweitzer and Jon Huntsman demonstrate regional political frustration with the Bush administration's climate change policies.

Finally, Quebec firefighters want to know why a U.S. customs official blocked them from helping put out a fire in New York State, breaking a long-standing tradition of cross-border help. “I've been crossing this border for 30 years, and the only question we were ever asked was: ‘Where's the fire?'” Lacolle fire chief Jean-Pierre Hébert tells the Globe and Mail.

Celebrity - O.J. Headed for Trial

"If the gloves don't fit, you must acquit". Remember that Johnny Cochran gem from the O.J. Simpson murder trial? Well Cochran isn't around to defend him anymore but O.J. is headed back to court to stand trial for kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges in his Las Vegas sports memorabilia case.

"Oh not again" - Isaac Brekken, / Pool / AP

Kanye West won't be appearing at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Ellen DeGeneres won't be taping her sure-to-be-protested TV show in New York after all.

Matt Damon is People's Sexiest Man alive.

Quote of the day: "My mom and I stopped at a church during a road trip we were making from our home in Mexico," says Salma Hayek. "When we went inside, I prayed for the miracle I wanted to happen. I put my hands in holy water and said: 'Please God, give me some breasts'". And they said prayer doesn't work.