Wash Post Nation

States Seek Less Costly Substitutes for Prison

Keith B. Richburg — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

NEW YORK Cash-strapped states are increasingly turning to alternative sentencing methods and to streamlined probation and parole as a way to keep low-level offenders out of prison and in their communities.

Deal Sought in Swiss Bank Suit

David S. Hilzenrath — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The U.S. government said yesterday that it is trying to settle its demand that Switzerland's largest bank turn over information about thousands of Americans suspected of using secret Swiss accounts to evade taxes.

Partisans Likely to Use Sotomayor Hearings as a Platform and a Barometer

Michael D. Shear — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

When Sonia Sotomayor takes her seat today in front of the 19 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she will finally add her own voice to those that have been arguing publicly for confirmation of the first Latina Supreme Court justice.

Administration Reluctantly Moves Toward Revisiting Bush Anti-Terror Policies

Carrie Johnson and Joby Warrick — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

After trying for months to shake off the legacy of their predecessors and focus on their own priorities, Obama administration officials have begun to concede that they cannot leave the fight against terrorism unexhumed and are reluctantly moving to examine some of the most controversial and...

In Supreme Court Pick Sotomayor, an Insider's Rise Meets an Outsider's Doubts

Amy Goldstein — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Within weeks of arriving in New Haven as a law student in the fall of 1976, Sonia Sotomayor fell in with a few first-year classmates whose ascent to Yale Law School was as improbable as her own: a half-Mohawk from Chicago's South Side who had graduated from high school while sleeping on his socia...

More Families Are Becoming Homeless, Study Finds

Alexi Mostrous — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Louis Gill doesn't like to turn anyone away. The director of the Bakersfield Homeless Center in California has taken to laying out cots and mattresses between the shelter's 174 registered beds to cope with the rush of homeless families brought to his doors by the financial crisis.

Probe of Alleged Torture Weighed

Carrie Johnson — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is leaning toward appointing a criminal prosecutor to investigate whether CIA personnel tortured terrorism suspects after Sept. 11, 2001, setting the stage for a conflict with administration officials who would prefer the issues remain in the past, according to...

100 Years Old, NAACP Debates Its Current Role

Krissah Thompson — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

NEW YORK -- In the beginning, the purpose of the nation's oldest civil rights organization was well defined: to achieve equal justice under the law for black Americans.

Obama Calls for Patience on Impact of Economic Stimulus

Michael D. Shear — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

President Obama, still traveling abroad, responded to increasing criticism that the stimulus package that he pushed through Congress is not working to prevent job losses in a still-struggling economy.

Obama's Message: 'Africa's Future Is Up to Africans'

Michael A. Fletcher and Karin Brulliard — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

ACCRA, Ghana, July 11 -- President Obama, making his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, called on people of the oft-troubled continent Saturday to seize control of their future by building strong, democratic institutions and eliminating corruption.

Warren Brown's On Wheels Review: 2009 Nissan Cube

Warren Brown — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

We laughed and scratched our heads. The 2009 Nissan Cube was another case of ugly chasing cute. It was hard to tell which one was winning.

Jackson's Other Legacy: A Savvy Estate Plan

Jane Bennett Clark — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

For a guy who squandered millions, Michael Jackson did something surprisingly sensible before his death: He set up a smart estate plan.

Everyday Life Can Be an Economic Indicator

Candice Lee Jones — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Everyone is scrambling to get their fingers on the pulse of the economy. When will it turn around? Have we seen the worst? The answers may not be as elusive as you might think. You'll find clues in everyday life to help determine where the economy really stands:

Stimulus Funds and a New Tax Benefit Help Smooth the Bike Ride to Work

Louis Jones — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The federal government just made it easier for you to ride your bike to work.

McChrystal Sees Afghan Army, Police Insufficient: Obama Strategy Requires More Funds, U.S. Troops

Greg Jaffe and Karen DeYoung — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the newly arrived top commander in Afghanistan, has concluded that the Afghan security forces will have to be far larger than currently planned if President Obama's strategy for winning the war is to succeed, according to senior military officials.

It's a Very Good Summer for Lightning Bugs in the Washington Area

David A. Fahrenthold — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

This is that strange, sweet part of summer when life stops for a beetle's behind.

Swim Club Faces Backlash, Investigation Over Discrimination Allegations

Ann Gerhart — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The Valley Club, one of those archetypal suburban summer preserves on a leafy hillside outside Philadelphia, became a target of national opprobrium yesterday over allegations that it may have discriminated against a group of minority youngsters.

Inspectors General Report Faults Secrecy of Surveillance Program

Carrie Johnson and Ellen Nakashima — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

"Extraordinary and inappropriate" secrecy about a warrantless eavesdropping program undermined its effectiveness as a terrorism-fighting tool, government watchdogs have concluded in the first examination of one of the most contentious episodes of the Bush administration.

Even Before Slump, Number of Children Living in Poverty Was Rising, Report Says

Annie Gowen — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

A growing number of American children are living in poverty and with unemployed parents, and are facing the threat of hunger, according to a federal report released yesterday.

Homeland Security Adjusts Priorities for Identifying Illegal Immigrants

Spencer S. Hsu — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The Department of Homeland Security will rein in a controversial program that deputizes state and local police agencies to enforce federal immigration laws by targeting illegal immigrants who commit major drug or violent crimes, Secretary Janet Napolitano said yesterday.

G-8 Nations Promise $20 Billion in Food Aid for Poor Countries

Michael A. Fletcher — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 -- Wrapping up a three-day summit, leaders of the world's major economies pledged Friday to raise $20 billion to fund food and agricultural aid for the world's poorest countries over the next three years, and President Obama said that despite steps forward on economic,...

Death Toll Debated In China's Rioting

Ariana Eunjung Cha — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

URUMQI, China -- The Yu siblings could hardly bear to look at the police snapshots of the dead -- the images so full of anger and cruelty. So they took turns sifting through them in search of their brother, who had been missing since ethnically charged riots shook this city in far western China on...

House Seeks More Funding for Food Standards Probe

Kimberly Kindy — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:59:57 EDT

A House agriculture appropriations bill has approved $500,000 for the USDA's inspector general to investigate the department's National Organic Program, to determine whether federal standards are being properly observed before farmers and food producers are allowed to use the certified organic label...

GM Emerges From Bankruptcy After Landmark Government Bailout

Peter Whoriskey — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:06:00 EDT

General Motors emerged from bankruptcy this morning, with chief executive Fritz Henderson promising that the fallen corporate giant will be reformed and that "business as usual is over."

In Shift, Secretary Clinton Calls for 'Amnesty' for Jailed U.S. Journalists

Glenn Kessler — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:51:59 EDT

In a shift, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today called for the North Korean government to grant "amnesty" to two jailed American reporters, dropping previous demands that they be freed on humanitarian grounds.