Gallup: 72% Of Americans Think The Country’s Moral Values Are ‘Getting Worse’
A large majority of Americans hold a bleak outlook on the state of morality in the United States, as 72% said the nation’s moral values are “getting worse,” and only 20% said that moral values are “getting better,” according to a recent Gallup survey. The poll specifically showed that Americans who attend church weekly, are married, or are Republican, were the most negative about the country’s moral direction. But even Democrats, people who attend church infrequently, and the unmarried had high negative outlooks about the nation’s moral values. CNS News
VOA VIEW: It shows that 28% of Americans havae no morals.

Los Angeles Voters Approve Limiting Medical Marijuana Shops
Los Angeles, which has more storefront medical marijuana shops than any other U.S. city, will close hundreds of the dispensaries and hike taxes on those that will be allowed to remain under a ballot measure approved by a wide margin of voters. Nearly 63 percent of voters supported Proposition D, which will cap the number of medical pot dispensaries at 135, compared with 37 percent opposed, according to preliminary results released on Wednesday, the day after the vote. Two rival measures that also would have placed new restrictions on the city's medical marijuana industry were defeated by wide margins. Reuters

Voters Say US Should Not Intervene In Syria
Most Americans do not want the United States to get more involved in Syria. A new Fox News poll finds that nearly a quarter of voters (23 percent) thinks the U.S. should get more involved because it’s a humanitarian crisis and Syria is a strategically important country.  However, nearly three times as many, 68 percent, say the U.S. should stay out because it’s a civil war and the U.S. could actually end up helping anti-American extremist groups. Syria is a rare instance of agreement across the political spectrum: majorities of independents (65 percent), Democrats (69 percent) and Republicans (70 percent) agree the United States should stay out of Syria. Fox News

Holder: Drone Strikes Have Killed 4 Americans Since 2009
Counterterrorism drone strikes have killed four Americans overseas since 2009, the U.S. government acknowledged on Wednesday, one day before President Barack Obama delivers a major speech on his administration's counterterrorism policy. In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States specifically targeted and killed one U.S. citizen, al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, in 2011 in Yemen. He also said the Obama administration was aware of three other Americans who had been killed in counterterrorism operations overseas. Samir Kahn, Abdul Rahman Anwar Awlaki and Jude Kenan were not targeted by the United States, Holder said. Awlaki was the 16-year-old son of the al Qaeda cleric and was killed about two weeks after his father's death. CNN

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Dem Congressman Sees Silver Lining: IRS Scandal Has United Dems, GOP
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said Wednesday that the silver lining in the IRS scandal targeting conservative groups was that it has done more to unite both sides of the aisle than anything he’s seen during his first five months in office. “The inept, inexcusable actions of the IRS have done more to unify Democrats and Republicans than I’ve seen in my five months here so far, so that’s what I’m going with. I’m going to try to work off of that,” Pocan said at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. CNS News

Mass. Senate Bill Would Protect First Responders
The Massachusetts Senate has passed a bill to ensure that off-duty first responders who provide emergency care are not subject to lawsuits. Senate President Therese Murray said the so-called ‘‘Good Samaritan Bill’’ will provide legal protections for off-duty firefighters and emergency medical technicians who race to help in the event of a disaster like the Boston Marathon bombings. She said existing ‘‘Good Samaritan’’ laws don’t currently apply to off-duty first responders whose professional responsibilities include providing emergency medical care. The bill’s lead sponsor, Walpole state Sen. James Timilty, said the bill would also apply during everyday occurrences, like a traffic accident or a child injured on a ball field. Boston Globe

NJ: Bars Put Cheap Booze In Premium Liquor Bottles
State prosecutors will have more to say about an investigation dubbed "Operation Swill," in which 29 bars and restaurants in New Jersey are accused of putting cheap booze in premium brand liquor bottles and selling it. Thirteen of the restaurants cited are TGI Fridays located in central and northern New Jersey. Those TGI Fridays restaurants are owned by the Livingston-based Briad Group. TGI Fridays Inc. said in a statement it's working with the franchisee and owner of the TGI Fridays restaurants to investigate the allegations, which it called serious. Houston Chronicle

Oil Falls Below $93 As China Manufacturing Weakens
The price of oil fell below $93 per barrel Thursday after a survey showed manufacturing activity in China falling to its lowest level in seven months, a sign that the recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is fading. Benchmark oil for July delivery was down $1.37 to $92.91 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract declined $1.90 to close at $94.28 a barrel on Wednesday. HSBC Corp. said a preliminary version of its monthly purchasing managers' index fell to 49.6 for May from 50.4 in April. Numbers below 50 indicate contraction. Oil prices fell because a downturn in energy-hungry China would likely lead to a decline in crude demand. Atlanta Journal

Immigration Bill Gets Senate Boost; House Effort Teetering
Supporters of U.S. immigration reform are hoping that the smooth and drama-free passage of their legislation through a Senate committee - a departure from almost everything that has happened in Congress over the past four years - will boost the likelihood of the bill winning full Senate approval. Even Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee who voted against the immigration bill on Tuesday, told Reuters TV that the "very fair" debate by the panel "does improve its chances." But a tentative deal on a companion bill in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives was in danger of unraveling on Wednesday. Partisanship raged behind closed doors in the House, where a group of eight Republicans and Democrats were trying to save a tentative deal they announced last Thursday. Reuters
VOA VIEW: Republicans must hold thight against any form of amnesty.

Man With Ties To Boston Bombing Suspect admits Role In 2011 Murders
Dead Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and another man — who was killed by the FBI on Wednesday — murdered three people in Massachusetts after a drug deal went wrong in 2011, law enforcement sources tell NBC News. Sources say that what began as a drug ripoff ended in a triple homicide when Tsarnaev and friend Ibragim Todashev realized their victims would later be able to identify them. Todashev was killed by a federal agent while giving a statement on his role on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla. MSNBC

Experts Debate If Its OK To Let Wunderkinds Quit School
It's one thing to say tech geniuses don't need degrees. After all, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college. But now we've got David Karp, who doesn't even have a high school diploma. Karp, 26, founded Tumblr, the online blogging forum, and sold it to Yahoo for $1.1 billion. Which raises the question: When is it OK for a wunderkind to drop out of school? Detroit News

Birth Control Coverage Up For Federal Appeal
In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill. The Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts chain argues that businesses , not just the currently exempted religious groups , should be allowed to seek exception from that part of the health law if it violates their religious beliefs.  "They ought to be able , just like a church, just like a charity , to have the right to opt out of a provision that infringes on their religious beliefs," said Kyle Duncan, who will argue before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the Green family, the founders of Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. and a sister company, Christian booksellers Mardel Inc. Philadelphia Inquirer

Japan Gyrations Underline Economy's Vulnerability
Japan's financial markets gyrated wildly Thursday, underscoring the vulnerability of its economy to a loss of investor confidence as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attempts shock monetary easing to end two decades of stagnation. Interest rates, or yields, on 10-year Japanese government bonds briefly topped 1 percent for the first time in a year on Thursday, following news that some U.S. Federal Reserve officials are willing to scale back the American central bank's stimulus efforts soon as June if the economy perks up. Tampa Tribune

S. Fla. Home Prices Jump By More Than 20 Percent In April
South Florida's housing market is bordering on bedlam. Robust demand and a shortage of inventory sent Palm Beach County's median home price soaring by more than 20 percent in April for a fifth consecutive month. The median for existing single-family homes hit $265,000, a 26 percent increase from a year ago, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches said Wednesday. The median price for condominiums rose 20 percent to $108,000. Sales also were strong across the area. Real estate agents sold 1,403 homes and 1,559 condos, the busiest month since at least 2007, the local Realtor board said. Sun Sentinel

Stock Futures Fall, Japan's Nikkei Dives 7.3%
U.S. stocks, which fell sharply Wednesday, were poised for more declines Thursday. Dow Jones industrial average futures were 1% lower while the broader Standard &Poor's 500 futures fell 1.2%. Those declines though are dwarfed by the scale of the reverse in Japan's Nikkei 225 index, which plunged 7.3% Thursday. Some sort of decline in global indexes had been anticipated following a run that's seen many post historic highs. Financial markets around the world were roiled after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the country was hit by a devastating tsunami more than two years ago. USA Today

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Reid Appears To Back Away From 'Nuclear Option' On Filibusters
With one of President Barack Obama’s key nominees on the verge of being confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appeared to edge away Wednesday from an idea that some Democrats are calling for: enacting a change in Senate rules to stop filibusters which delay votes on Obama appointees. During a debate on the Senate floor with Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, Reid said, "I'm not saying we're going to change the rules" regarding the filibuster, but argued that the Senate must move faster to confirm Obama nominees. He accused Republicans of “slow-walking” nominees and bogging them down by submitting hundreds and, in one case, a thousand written questions to the nominee before the confirmation vote could occur. MSNBC

Pritzker’s Offshore Holdings Cloud Commerce Bid
During his campaign for re-election, President Obama and his team accused Mitt Romney of “betting against America” for investing in offshore accounts that shielded the Republican challenger from paying U.S. taxes. If Mr. Romney “bet against America,” so did the family of Penny Pritzker, Mr. Obama’s nominee for Commerce secretary, whose confirmation hearing will be held Thursday in the Senate Commerce Committee. On financial disclosure forms, Ms. Pritzker revealed that she received $53.6 million in income in 2012 from a trust in the Bahamas. The income is described as being paid for “consulting services.” Washington Times

Democrat Raises Prospect Of Special Prosecutor For IRS
A Democrat on the House’s investigative committee raised the specter of a special prosecutor on Wednesday to investigate political targeting of conservative groups at the IRS from 2010 to 2012. Rep. Stephen Lynch, Massachusetts Democrat, warned IRS and Treasury Department witnesses before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform not to stonewall congressional efforts to get to the bottom of the scandal. Washington Times

Student Loan Defaults Rising Despite A Way Out
Although levels of household debt have steadily receded in the U.S. since the housing bubble burst, Americans are conspicuously falling behind in one area -- student loans. The number of people who are at least 90 days late on student loan payments has jumped 3.2 percent in only two years, rising from 8.5 percent in 2011 to 11.7 percent today, according to a recent study by the New York Federal Reserve. And the true picture for borrowers is even worse. That delinquency rate counts all student loans, including those currently in deferment or in grace periods and therefore temporarily not in the repayment cycle. Excluding those loans, the actual delinquency rate is more than 30 percent, the New York Fed found in a separate study. In 2004 it was under 20 percent. CBS

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Migraines Plus Depression May Equal Smaller Brain
Migraine sufferers are twice as likely to be depressed as people who don't have the painful headaches. Now, a new study finds that people with migraines who also are depressed have smaller brains, a discovery that could provide more clues into treating the conditions. "Our study suggests that people with both migraine and depression may represent a unique group from those with only one of these conditions and may also require different strategies for long-term treatment," study author Dr. Larus S. Gudmundsson, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Md., said in a news release. CBS

Clintons Won’t Endorse Weiner, Or Anyone Else, In NYC Mayoral Race
The New York City mayoral race got much more interesting Wednesday with Anthony Weiner’s entry, asking New Yorkers in a video to give him a second chance and saying that he’s “learned some tough lessons.” His wife, Huma Abedin, is standing next to him with her own pitch: “We love this city. And no one would work harder to make it better than Anthony.” The video makes it clear that the famously press-shy Abedin–a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and friend to the Clinton clan– is on board despite her husband’s fall from grace in 2011 when he resigned from Congress after he was caught tweeting lewd photographs of himself to other women. ABC

IRS’ Lois Lerner Takes Fifth, Shuns Congress
Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service’s director of  Exempt Organizations who is at the center of the controversy after the agency targeted conservative organizations for gratuitous scrutiny, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination today at a congressional hearing examining the scandal. Lerner quietly took her seat at the witness table this morning, standing and raising her right hand as she swore to tell the truth alongside other senior IRS officials testifying at the hearing. When it became her turn to speak, Lerner read a brief statement into the record, declaring her innocence. ABC
VOA VIEW: Guilty as sin.

Bernanke Says Premature Tightening Would Endanger Recovery
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s record stimulus program under questioning from lawmakers, telling them that ending it prematurely would endanger a recovery hampered by high unemployment and government spending cuts. “A premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but would also carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery and causing inflation to fall further,” Bernanke said today in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington. Bloomberg

On IRS Issue, Senior White House Aides Were Focused On Shielding Obama
As soon as White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler heard about an upcoming inspector general’s report on the Internal Revenue Service, she knew she had a problem. The notice Ruemmler saw on April 24 gave her a thumbnail sketch of a disturbing finding: that the IRS had improperly targeted tea party and other conservative groups. She shared the news with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and other senior White House aides, who all recognized the danger of the findings. But they agreed that it would be best not to share it with President Obama until the independent audit was completed and made public, in part to protect him from even the appearance of trying to influence an investigation. Washington Post

A Growing Role For The President: America’s Consoler In Chief
The trip represents another part of the president’s duties: trying to provide comfort to those who need it. When President Obama travels to Oklahoma on Sunday to meet with the survivors of Monday’s tornado, it will mark the third time this year that he has journeyed to a patch of America to console a community on behalf of the country. During his five years in office, this presidential ritual has become as familiar a symbol of sadness as the sea of stuffed animals and flowers that accompany these mournful scenes. Beckley, Joplin, Tucson, Aurora, Tuscaloosa, the Jersey shore, Newtown, Boston, West. And now Moore. The national itinerary of woe has been full and wrenching for this president. The circumstances are always different, but the grief is a constant. And perhaps more than any president before him, Obama has had to take on the role of consoler in chief with increasing regularity, a result of a steady stream of tragedies and an increasing expectation that they all merit a presidential visit and embrace. Washington Post

LGBT Acivists Protest Sen. Marco Rubio's Office After Gay Couples Left Out Of Immigration Plan
Gay activists gathered Wednesday in front of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s Doral office to protest the Senate Judiciary Committee’s failure to include undocumented gay foreign nationals in a bipartisan immigration reform bill the panel approved late Tuesday. While the number of protesters at the corner of Northwest 87th Avenue and 36th Street was relatively small, about 30, their action presaged potential trouble for the controversial bill that would legalize more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. The 13-5 vote in the committee almost didn’t happen after some Republican senators indicated they might withdraw support for the bill if Democrats pressed their bid to attach the gay amendment to the proposal. Charlotte Observer

Between Economy And Trouble, Obama Approval Steady
The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way. Several recent polls show the president sustaining an overall approval rating around 50 percent, with no major uptick from gains in housing, jobs and the stock market, and no downtick from the recent storms over the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS and a leak investigations that has swept up the phone records of Associated Press journalists. San Diego Union
VOA VIEW: A  liberal media lie.

Nearly All US States See Hefty Drop In Teen Births
All states but West Virginia and North Dakota showed significant drops over five years. But the Mountain States of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Utah saw rates fall by 30 percent or more. In 22 states, teen Hispanic birth rates plunged at least 40 percent, which was described as "just amazing," by the report's lead author, Brady Hamilton of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What's driving the declines? No one can say for sure. Experts believe the explanation is complicated and probably varies a bit from state to state. The national figure has been falling since 1991, aside from a brief interruption in 2006 and 2007. Kansas City Star

Cities Erupt In Youthquake: Millennials Swell Populations
The nation's big cities are riding out the first years of the post-downturn era with plenty of company - boosting their population via a youth movement. Census Bureau data released Thursday show that 48 of the 50 most populous U.S. cities have grown since 2010, compared with only 40 of the top 50 in the first two years after the 2000 Census. Of the top 100, 93 have grown since 2010, compared with just 72 a decade ago. Many of the biggest - New York, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and Dallas, among others - are outpacing the nation's 1.7% growth rate since 2010. Indy Star

Suit Filed Over Conn. Gun Law Passed After Newtown
A group of Connecticut organizations that support gun rights, pistol permit holders and gun sellers has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state officials, arguing the state's new gun control law violates their constitutional rights. The plaintiffs are seeking a federal court injunction to stop the law from being enforced. Wednesday's suit comes more than a month after Malloy signed into law a gun control package considered one of the toughest in the country. The package was in response to the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook school shootings in which 20 children and six staffers died. Miami Herald

Nixon Library Hosts 40th Reunion For Vietnam POWs
U.S. Navy Lt. Mike McGrath was just 27 years old, with a wife and two toddler sons in the U.S., when he was shot down and taken prisoner on his 179th bombing mission during the Vietnam War. McGrath spent almost six years in North Vietnamese prisons, enduring torture and beatings before he was released in the spring of 1973 with nearly 600 men whose plight united a nation otherwise bitterly divided by the drawn-out war. On Thursday, McGrath and 200 of those men, almost all of them former pilots, will reunite for a three-day celebration at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum that coincides with the 40th anniversary of a star-studded White House dinner hosted by President Nixon to honor their sacrifice. SF Gate

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Coffee Shop Owner: Getting Shut Down By V.A., Starbucks
There’s a coffee war brewing inside America’s V.A. Medical Centers that threatens to oust long-established mom-and-pop businesses in favor of a Starbucks-affiliated chain. At stake is more than a cup-o’-Joe — for a lot of vendors, it’s their livelihood. Ken Gilmore, who owns and operates Epiphany Coffee and Tea, which for 15 years has been serving up coffee and snacks inside the V.A. Medical Center in Sacramento, California, says the government-run agency has not extended his contract, and instead will open a PatriotsBrew, a chain shop already operating in more than 115 V.A. Medical Centers. Fox News

Puerto Rico Legislator Targets Parents Of Dropouts
A legislator in Puerto Rico has submitted a bill that would increase fines and jail time for parents whose children skip classes or drop out of school. Angel Munoz Suarez says fines up to $5,000 and a 12-month jail sentence are needed to reduce dropout and absenteeism rates in the U.S. territory. He also says welfare benefits should be cut as punishment. Munoz says in a statement issued Wednesday that current law calling for a $500 fine and a six-month prison sentence is not being enforced. School attendance in Puerto Rico is largely mandatory for all those ages 5 to 18, with a few exceptions. However, a study by the Department of Education estimates about 40 percent of public school students who enter 10th grade drop out. Las Vegas Sun

Home Health Aids Keep Watchful Wait On Obama
One of the defining moments in the history of labor law occurred in 1974 when Congress decided that home health aides were "companions" and excluded them from the Fair Labor Standards Act, which guarantees workers minimum wages and overtime. Now four decades later, almost half of the 2.5 million home health aides--90 percent of them women--are so poorly paid that they rely on food stamps, energy assistance and other public benefits to survive, reports the Department of Labor. That may change if President Barack Obama signs a revision in the labor law that has languished in the Department of Labor and the Office of Management and Budget for two years. UPI

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How Police Can Find Your Deleted Text Messages
Think that a secure password and erasing your phone's memory will protect sensitive information on your smartphone? Think again. Smartphone forensics experts can retrieve just about anything from any phone. Police will often seize and analyze phones for evidence of things such as indecent photos and videos, what calls were placed when and to whom, browser history, calendar events and explanations of a suicide or murder. All of that can be uncovered whether or not a user deleted it from their phone. "It makes it much, much harder, but wiping a phone doesn't always mean you can't get the data," said Courtney Lancaster, forensic analyst with IT consulting company TCS, at the CTIA wireless industry trade show in Las Vegas. CNN

Senate Leaders Millionaires In Financial-Disclosure Data
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both reported their net worth in the millions of dollars as the U.S. Senate today released personal financial disclosure reports for its members. Reid, a Nevada Democrat, reported assets of between $2.8 million and $6.3 million, including mining claims in his hometown of Searchlight valued from $100,000 to $250,000. Kentucky Republican McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, who served as U.S. labor secretary under former President George W. Bush, had assets of between $9.2 million and $36.5 million. Chao’s income included fees from sitting on corporate boards, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (NWSA) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) Bloomberg

WikiLeaks Case File fFght Moves To Federal Court
The WikiLeaks organization and a handful of journalists are asking a federal judge in Baltimore to order greater transparency in the court-martial of an Army private who has acknowledged sending reams of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website. The Center for Constitutional Rights, representing WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court. It seeks an order requiring timely public access to documents in the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning. Manning's 3-year-old espionage case is headed for trial next month. Many records of the pretrial proceedings remain secret because the military contends the First Amendment doesn't require it to provide prompt public access to court-martial documents. Las Vegas Sun

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Expert Says Doctors Must Stop Giving Antibiotics For Colds, Coughs
Britain's chief medical officer says physicians must stop prescribing antibiotics for routine coughs and colds. Sally Davies said in remarks prepared for delivery told the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, this week that without urgent action British healthcare will return to 19th-century levels, with common operations proving potentially lethal as germs become resistant to antibiotics. Britain will be publishing a five-year, cross-government strategy this summer to address the issue, The Daily Telegraph reported. UPI

Jordanian FM Hopeful Kerry Will Relaunch Talks
US Secretary of State John Kerry’s round-the-clock efforts will hopefully create a conducive environment to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian talks, Nasser Judeh, Jordan’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday in Amman on the eve of Kerry’s arrival in Jerusalem Thursday. “We provide our full support for these efforts, and God willing, they will result in crystallizing an inducing environment for launching these negotiations,” said Judeh after meeting with Kerry. The secretary of state is scheduled to meet Thursday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will be in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians, if and when Kerry gets them off the ground. Jerusalem Post

Amid Syria Tensions, IAF Chief Says 'Surprise War' A Threat
The threat of a conflict suddenly erupting between Israel and its enemies is very real, Israel Air Force chief Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel warned on Wednesday. The advanced S-300 Russian air defense system is “on the way to Syria,” he added. The IDF chief of staff, Lt.- Gen. Benny Gantz, echoed Eshel’s message. The chance of a multi-arena conflict breaking out are “substantial,” he said. Eshel, addressing a national security conference held by the Fisher Brothers Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies in Herzliya, said that “the Assad regime has invested much to achieve the best air defenses that it could buy,” including the SA-17, SA-22, SA-24 and the S-300 platforms. “These systems are not only an operational threat. Jerusalem Post

Iran's Ahmadinejad To Contest Poll Bar On Ally Mashaei
Mr Mashaei and ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani have been excluded by the Guardian Council, which vets election candidates. The eight men cleared to stand are all considered conservatives. The Guardian Council is loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "In my opinion there will be no problem with the leader [Khamenei] and I will take up this issue until the last moment with him," Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "I am hopeful the problem will be solved," he added. However, Mr Rafsanjani will not contest his disqualification, his campaign manager was quoted as saying. BBC

Hezbollah 'Perpetuating Assad's Campaign Of Terror'
US Secretary of State John Kerry has said the militant Lebanese Shia Islamist group Hezbollah and Iran are helping perpetuate President Bashar al-Assad's "campaign of terror" in Syria. Mr Kerry said thousands of Hezbollah fighters were contributing significantly to the violence. He added that Iran was actively supporting Hezbollah's involvement. Dozens of Hezbollah militants are said to have been killed fighting alongside Syrian troops in Qusair since Sunday. Government forces have launched an offensive to recapture the strategically important rebel-held town, which is close to both the city of Homs and the Lebanese border. BBC

New Light Shed On US Government's Extraordinary Rendition Programme
A groundbreaking research project has mapped the US government's global kidnap and secret detention programme, shedding unprecedented light on one of the most controversial secret operations of recent years. The interactive online project – by two British universities and a legal charity – has uncovered new details of the way in which the so-called extraordinary rendition programme operated for years in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and the techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to avoid detection in the face of growing public concern. Guardian

North Korea Sends Special Envoy To Patch Up Relations With China
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has dispatched a special envoy to China, its state media announced on Wednesday, as Pyongyang seeks to improve its strained relations with its main ally and lifeline. Choe Ryong-hae, a senior Workers' party official and a vice-chairman of the top military body, arrived in Beijing with a political and military delegation. A close aide of the youthful leader, he is the first senior North Korean to visit China since last summer and the first special envoy since Kim took power in 2011. China provides North Korea with the vast majority of its fuel and trade – reportedly accounting for almost nine-tenths of its imports and exports in 2011 – and its support has become even more important as Pyongyang's relations with Seoul have deteriorated. Guardian

Oklahoma Tornado: Republican Senator Defends Stance On Fema Funding
Mr Coburn and James Inhofe both voted in September 2011 against a bill to provide $7 billion to help finance the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief fund. Mr Coburn had unsuccessfully sought to reduce other federal programmes to pay for it. He and Mr Inhofe also voted against a $60.2 billion aid plan for victim of Superstorm Sandy earlier this year. The day after the storm, Mr Coburn's spokesman, John Hart, said the senator wanted any new disaster-relief aid for Oklahoma to be covered by cuts elsewhere in the federal budget, The stance drew little support from fellow lawmakers. Telegraph

US Immigration Bill Passes Key Hurdle
President Barack Obama, who has made enactment of an immigration bill one of his top priorities for this year, praised the Senate Judiciary Committee's action, saying the bill was consistent with the goals he has expressed. "I encourage the full Senate to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor at the earliest possible opportunity and remain hopeful that the amendment process will lead to further improvements," Mr Obama said in a statement released by the White House. By a vote of 13-5, the Senate panel approved the bill that would put 11 million illegal residents on a 13-year path to citizenship, while further strengthening security along the southwestern border with Mexico, long a sieve for illegal crossings into the United States. Telegraph

Amid Turmoil In Mideast, UN Envoy Urges ‘Concerted Action’ To Resume Israeli-Palestinian Talks
While international attention is understandably on the tragedy that continues to unfold in Syria, it is equally important to ensure the resumption of negotiations aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a senior United Nations envoy stressed to the Security Council today. “Ending the conflict in Syria is a matter of great urgency and must be the top priority of the international community,” said Robert Serry, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. “At the same time, it would be mistaken, and dangerous, to assume that a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is less important. UN News

UN Urges Collective Efforts To Achieve ‘Water Secure World’ On Day For Biological Diversity
Unless greater efforts are made to reverse current trends, the world will run out of freshwater, the United Nations said today marking the International Day for Biological Diversity and urging stronger scientific alliances to understand and protect natural resources. “We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards. Under current trends, future demands for water will not be met,” Mr. Ban said in his message for the Day. “Although seemingly abundant, only a tiny amount of the water on our planet is easily available as freshwater,” he added. UN News

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