Issue of uninsured back on radar, Bush proposal revives interest, skepticism of issue

DAILY MAIL WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - President Bush has resuscitated an issue that hasreceived little political oxygen in recent years, the lack ofinsurance coverage for more than 43 million Americans.

In his State of the Union address, the president proposedproviding a refundable tax credit to families who purchase their ownhealth insurance coverage and allowing individuals who buycatastrophic health coverage as part of new health savings accounts,which were part of last year's Medicare legislation, to deduct 100percent of their premiums from their income taxes.

Is raising the thorny issue of health care an election yeargambit, or can lawmakers break a …

Chad investigating 74 Chadian children flown to France, says senior official

Chad will investigate reports at least 74 Chadian children were flown to France more than a month and a half ago without their parents' knowledge, a senior judicial official said Thursday.

A network of local human rights groups wrote to the public prosecutor's department with details about the 74 children said to have been flown from Chad to a military airport outside Paris on Sept. 17, said Masngarel Kagah of the public prosecutor's department.

French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani dismissed the report as an unfounded rumor, and the French military said there was no record of a flight landing at the airport mentioned in the human rights …

Stewart opens Chase with 1st victory of season

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Tony Stewart has snapped a 32-race losing streak by winning the opening race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

It is Stewart's first win since California last October and pushes the two-time champion into contention for another title after a mediocre season by his standards.

Most of the field tried to stretch its gas to the finish Monday, but as Stewart …

The light is getting in

"Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in."

These words by Canadian poet/songwriter Leonard Cohen remind me of the "cracks" that Mennonite Women Canada experienced with the folding of Women in Mission organizations in British Columbia and Manitoba in 2008 and 2009. Without representation from those provinces, we realized we were missing key partners in our unique contributions to the national and international church, so we knew it was time to discern the next steps in how to encourage the "light" to keep coming in.

To that end, a task force of eight women was established …

Bush Says New Video a Reminder of Danger

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Osama bin Laden's mention of the Iraq war in his video message is a reminder of al-Qaida's long-term objectives in Iraq and of the "dangerous world in which we live."

"Iraq is part of this war against extremists," Bush said, responding to the terrorist leader's message but never using his name. "If al-Qaida bothers to mention Iraq, it's because they want to achieve their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive us out."

Bin Laden's video, part of which was broadcast by Al-Jazeera television, emerged just days before the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

In a 30-minute speech addressed to Americans, bin Laden mocks the …

Providence mayor wants to tax college students

The mayor of Providence wants to slap a $150-per-semester tax on the 25,000 full-time students at Brown University and three other private colleges in the city, saying they use resources and should help ease the burden on struggling taxpayers.

Mayor David Cicilline (sis-ah-LEEN-ee) said the fee would raise between $6 million and $8 million a year for the city, which is facing a $17 million deficit.

If enacted, it would apparently be the first time a U.S. city has directly taxed students just for being enrolled.

The proposal is still in its early stages. But it has riled some students, who say it would unfairly saddle them with the city's financial …

Grubs, sweat and fears from the Chicago Flood

Notes from Day 3 of the Great Underground Flood:

Even though it's "darker than the darkest night you've everseen," and they wouldn't be able to see their hands in front of theirfaces, the divers keep their eyes closed while they're down under.It's a natural reaction when you're working by touch.

"Time after time, I'd come up from a dive - and only thenrealize that my eyes had been closed all along," says John Lawton, aveteran diver who is now a vice president with The Brand Companies,Inc., one of two firms sending brave men into the Chicago River tohelp seal the most famous black hole on Earth.

The idea of being deep under water and totally in the dark …