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Bush to announce new details of bank rescue plan- The Bush administration will spend $250 billion this year to purchase stock in banks and take a number of other bold steps in an effort to combat a global credit crisis that is threatening to push the country into a deep recession, industry and government officials say.
World stocks soar after US rally; Nikkei up 14 pct- World markets soared for a second day Tuesday, led by a record 14 percent jump in Tokyo, after Wall Street rallied from its worst week ever on optimism that government rescue efforts will heal the crippled global financial system.
Wildfires force frantic evacuations near LA; 2 die- Two huge wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds burned into neighborhoods near Los Angeles on Monday, forcing frantic evacuations on smoke- and traffic-choked highways, destroying homes and causing at least two deaths.
- Syria's president issued a decree Tuesday establishing diplomatic relations with Lebanon, and a foreign ministry official said the country will have an embassy in Beirut by the end of the year.
North Korea to resume nuclear dismantlement- North Korea planned to resume dismantling its nuclear program Tuesday for the first time in two months, days after the United States removed the communist regime from a terrorism blacklist as a reward under a disarmament pact.
Inmate who says he's too fat to die to be executed- A double murderer who says he's too fat to be executed humanely has passed a pre-execution exam and is cleared to receive a lethal injection Tuesday.
Therapy helps hard-to-transplant get a new kidney- Nearly one in three patients who need a kidney transplant may never get one because their bodies are abnormally primed to attack a donated organ. Now doctors are trying new ways to outwit the immune system and save more of those so-called "highly sensitized" patients - often with kidneys donated by living donors, considered the optimal kind.
Janet Jackson cancels more concerts- The doctor has again ordered Janet Jackson to postpone a return to her "Rock Witchu" tour.
Phillies beat Dodgers 7-5 in Game 4 of NLCS- The Philadelphia Phillies used their favorite staple, the long ball, to move within one win of the World Series.
Rays bash Red Sox 9-1 to take 2-1 series lead- B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays are bashing their way through their first trip to the playoffs. Upton and Longoria homered off a suddenly shaky Jon Lester, and the power-packed Rays cleared the Green Monster four times to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-1 Monday for a 2-1 lead in the AL championship series.
Grassley/Baucus/Obama Amendment Puts Immigration Bill Back on Right Track
WASHINGTON (Map) - A bipartisan amendment put forth by Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is critical to putting immigration reform back on the right track, according to the nation's home builders.
"Everyone has a stake in reforming the nation's immigration laws in a fair and just manner that will enhance our border security and provide a sensible process for people to enter our country legally," said Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "The Grassley/Baucus/Obama amendment would help achieve these aims by improving the bill's employer provisions to allow small business owners to play a constructive role in the enforcement of the new laws."
As the immigration bill now stands, it would punish small business owners by holding them accountable for the hiring decisions made by their subcontractors. In effect, America's home builders -- along with other U.S. employers who rely on subcontractors -- would be required to join a national posse charged with verifying the legal status of millions of workers they never hired in the first place and may have never met, said Howard.
"By ensuring that the responsibility for verifying a worker's immigration status is placed where it really belongs -- with the employer who hires and pays them -- the Grassley/Baucus/Obama amendment offers a sensible solution to the enforcement issue," said Howard. "It also makes it possible for employers to act in good faith and to follow the new rules for determining whether a person is in the country legally."
It is estimated that more than 20 percent of the home building industry's entire workforce is foreign-born, making the immigrant population essential to meeting housing demand and sustaining economic growth in this country.
The Grassley/Baucus/Obama amendment, Howard added, would also simplify the new federal verification system by giving employers the option of calling a national data base to determine a person's legal status at the time they are being hired.
ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington- based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct 80 percent of the more than 1.45 million new housing units projected for 2007.
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