* GOP Forces New House Vote on Healthcare Bill * Dems Face Threats over Healthcare Bill * Media Barred from Signing of Anti-Abortion Order * US, Russia Reach Arms Pact * US, Israel at Impasse in Settlement Dispute * Report: US Eases Iran Sanctions to Win Russia, China Backing * Afghan Militant Group Submits Peace Offer * US Hosts Pakistani Officials, Pledges Increased Cooperation * El Salvador Offers Apology on 30th Anniversary of Romero Murder * Argentina Marks 34th Anniversary of Military Coup * Island in Bay of Bengal Disappears Under Rising Sea * Pentagon to Announce Curbs on Gay Military Ban * Report: Pope Ignored Molestation of 200 Boys by US Priest * Indonesian Media Reports Nairn Faces Arrest
With the main healthcare reform bill signed into law, Democrats say congressional efforts to reform Wall Street and the nation’s financial regulatory system will soon top the Obama administration’s agenda. A measure put forward by Sen. Christopher Dodd is being described as the biggest overhaul of financial rules since the 1930s, but critics have faulted the proposal for giving additional power to the Federal Reserve while gutting the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency and housing it inside the Fed. [includes rush transcript]
Students Rally for Aid Overhaul, DREAM Act
Hundreds of students rallied on Capitol Hill Tuesday to support a massive overhaul of student loan programs. The measure would end the role of private banks in federally backed student loans and make the government the primary lender. Student protesters have also converged in Washington to call for passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. The DREAM Act would grant permanent citizenship to undocumented workers’ children if they completed two years of college, trade school or military service. [includes rush transcript]
International Uproar over Uganda Anti-Gay Bill, Study Finds American Evangelicals Encouraging Homophobia
Proposed anti-gay legislation in Uganda has sparked international uproar. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the new bill would impose much harsher punishments including life imprisonment and even the death penalty for some homosexual acts. We speak with a leading Ugandan gay rights organizer and a Zambian priest who has documented the role of American evangelicals in fostering homophobia in Uganda. [includes rush transcript]