A Sincere Effort

House votes to ensure troops' home time - 2 Aug 2007 at 7:58pm - WASHINGTON -- The House voted Thursday to give U.S. troops guaranteed time at home between deployments to Iraq, the latest but assuredly not the last challenge to President Bush from Democrats determined to end an unpopular war.... Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon, R-Calif., said the legislation was "a backhanded attempt to force a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq." He noted the requirement for time at home did not apply to troops deployed to the war in Afghanistan. "If this were a sincere effort ... it would apply to all deployments," he said.

White House accused of meddling with EPA - 2 Aug 2007 at 7:35pm - WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released an analysis of its new proposal to reduce smog levels that shows higher economic costs - but potentially more lives saved - the more stringent the regulation is. The document angered environmentalists because in addition to analyzing three relatively stringent smog levels, EPA decided to study a fourth less-stringent smog level after intervention by the White House Office of Management and Budget, according to public documents in an EPA docket.

British troops 'are stressed out' - 2 Aug 2007 at 8:14pm - Long periods of deployment are putting the at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, research suggests.

Gonzales issue snarls surveillance law - 2 Aug 2007 at 7:35pm - WASHINGTON -- Congress struggled Thursday over giving the government more power to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists, bogged down by concerns about the man who would oversee the plan - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Senate approves children's health bill - 2 Aug 2007 at 10:32pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday agreed to legislation that would raise tobacco taxes to pay for expanding a children's health program, shrugging off a veto threat from President George W. Bush who wants a more limited program.