Newscast for Thursday, July 30, 2009

Progressive and conservative Democrats divided over public option
Attempts to overhaul the health care system are slowly trudging along in Washington. Democrats in the House are struggling to unify the party. Liberal Democrats are outraged by a proposal from conservative Democrats that would weaken the government-run public option.  Meanwhile, proponents of a single-payer system are rallying in Washington and in cities across the country. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Obama administration discusses stimulus plan to curb homelessness
In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is offering one-way plane tickets to homeless people who will return to their home towns or home countries.  The program has been around since 2007, but it's now receiving criticism from advocacy groups that say it fails to address the problems that made people homeless in the first place. Bloomberg defends the relocation scheme, saying it is less expensive than spending up to $36,000 a year to keep a family in a homeless shelter.

The Federal Government along with policy makers and activists are also talking about homeless programs.  The government is allocating more than $1 billion in stimulus money to programs that aim to prevent homelessness in the first place.  The White House has other ideas about how to keep people off the streets. FSRN´s Karen Miller has more.

Opposition forces defeat Communists in Moldova parliamentary elections
Opposition parties won a majority of parliamentary seats in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova. With about 98 percent of the votes counted, the ruling Communist party received only 45 percent of the vote, a drop of about five percent since the April elections that were marred by charges of vote rigging and violent protests.  Miles Ashdown reports from Moldova’s capital, Chisinau.

US envoy Holbrooke concerned about instability in Pakistan
In Pakistan´s Baluchistan province today, the United Nations said it is taking precautions in the wake of threats from a separatist group.  The UN has closed down some offices and others will be scaled back.

Meanwhile in Peshawar Wednesday, Taliban militants killed a pro-government militia leader who previously provided support to groups fighting the Taliban.  The ongoing violence continues as NGOs and the government grapple with a massive humanitarian crisis; some 3 million people were displaced from clashes between militants and the government.

While Pakistan´s government has been publicly optimistic about their campaign against the militants, the US government is less so.  The State Department envoy to Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, spoke to reporters Wednesday after returning from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“We don’t know exactly to what extent the Pakistani army dispersed or destroyed the enemy.  And the test of this operation is, of course, when the refugees return, can they go home? Are they safe? And we’re just going to have to wait and see.  The Pakistanis have moved a very large number of troops from their eastern border to their western border, that’s a historical and significant redeployment.”

The government recently authorized a three-phase program to return IDPs home. According to local sources, many are returning to continued attacks and clashes between the government and militants.

Guantanamo detainee Mohammad Jawad to be released
A US district judge today ruled that a Guantanamo detainee must be released in three weeks time.  Mohammad Jawad was arrested in 2002 in Afghanistan, when he was a teenager, allegedly for throwing a grenade at two US troops and an Afghan interpreter.

Jawad confessed to participating in the attack, but last year a military judge ruled his confessions had been obtained through torture and could not be used in court. The Department of Justice said last week it will no longer hold Jawad as an enemy combatant. But government attorneys say they will continue to conduct a criminal investigation against him, and they claim they have found new evidence from eyewitnesses.

Jawad´s attorneys are saying the US government should stop pressing charges against their client.  FSRN spoke with Jonathan Hafetz, a staff attorney at the ACLU´s National Security Project, who currently represents Mohammad Jawad.