Morning Brief: Candidates fight over energy
Top Story Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Barack Obama and John McCain are trading shots over energy policy this week. As Obama introduced a new “comprehensive energy plan (pdf)” and reversed his position on releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, his rival called for Congress to come back from its August recess and vote to allow ...
Top Story
Top Story
Barack Obama and John McCain are trading shots over energy policy this week. As Obama introduced a new “comprehensive energy plan (pdf)” and reversed his position on releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, his rival called for Congress to come back from its August recess and vote to allow more offshore drilling. Republicans, meanwhile, are mocking Obama for suggesting that Americans fill their tires to get better gas mileage.
While the politicians bicker, crude oil has fallen to $118 a barrel. Cheap!
Rumors are now swirling that Obama will choose Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh as his vice president. What happened to Tim Kaine?
Global Economy
Rupert Murdoch, the new owner of Dow Jones, plans to create a global stock index.
Writing in the Financial Times, Alan Greenspan expresses his fear that government efforts to address the credit will do more harm than good.
Is China’s post-Olympic slowdown already happening?
Rising costs may force McDonald’s to cut back on the cheese in double cheeseburgers.
Americas
In his new book, author Ron Suskind accuses the Bush administration of forging a letter to show links between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. The White House vehemently denies the charge.
More evidence in the anthrax case?
Freddie Mac’s chief executive was warned about problems at the mortgage giant in 2004.
Asia
U.S. marines in Afghanistan saw their tours extended by 30 days.
A strong earthquake struck central China. No word yet on damage.
U.S. President George W. Bush stressed the importance of “engaging” China.
Middle East and Africa
Moqtada al-Sadr is trying to remake his Mahdi Army militia as a “social services organization.”
A Syrian general who oversaw weapons shipments to Hezbollah was assassinated in Lebanon.
A new survey found more gorillas in Congo than previously thought.
Europe
European tourists are flocking to New York to snap up bargains.
Some Bosnian Serbs still see indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic as a hero.
Today’s Agenda
President Bush arrived in South Korea, where he faces large anti-U.S. demonstrations.
Analysts expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to hang tight on interest rates at today’s meeting, but the pressure to raise them is mounting.
Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
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Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.
Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.
The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.
The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.
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