Nine American Soldiers Died Yesterday

ThinkFast: July 14, 2008

Nine American soldiers died yesterday, in “the worst against Americans in Afghanistan in three years.” The killings “illustrated the growing threat of Taliban militants and their associates, who in recent months have made Afghanistan a far deadlier war zone for American-led forces than Iraq.”

As a result of eroding confidence in the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the administration “asked Congress to approve a sweeping rescue package that would give officials the power to inject billions of federal dollars into the beleaguered companies.” Paul Krugman writes that the storm of concern over these lenders “is overblown.”

$4.109: The average price of a gallon of gasoline today, setting a new record. According to AAA, gas prices have risen 40 percent in the last year.

“U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of U.S troops in Iraq before the end of the Bush presidency.” Instead, the two governments are now working on a “bridge” document that would “allow basic U.S. military operations to continue beyond the expiration of a U.N. mandate at the end of the year.”

On the trail today: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will start in Michigan at an event with Mitt Romney and will then travel to San Diego to deliver a speech to the National Council of La Raza conference. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will deliver remarks at the NAACP’s 99th annual convention in Cincinnati