Tuesday News Roundup

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

Senate approves Michigan judicial nominees

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Monday confirmed three federal judicial nominees from western Michigan, ending a yearlong impasse amid concerns over Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Janet Neff's views on gay marriage.

The Senate approved the three nominees - Neff, Grand Rapids attorney Robert Jonker and Berrien County Circuit Judge Paul Maloney - to serve on the U.S. District Court for Michigan's Western District, which has seen its caseload grow because of the vacancies.

Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican seeking the GOP presidential nomination, blocked the nomination and questioned Neff's views on same-sex marriage after learning that she participated in a same-sex ceremony in 2002. Neff's nomination was approved on a vote of 83-4 while Jonker and Maloney's nominations were approved unanimously on a voice vote.

Poll: Bush approval drops to low of 29%

WASHINGTON — Opposition to the Iraq war has reached a record high, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a development likely to complicate President Bush's efforts to hold together Republican support as the Senate begins debate this week on Pentagon priorities.

Bush's approval rating has reached a new low: 29%.

In the survey, taken Friday through Sunday, one in five Americans says the increase in U.S. forces in Iraq since January has made the situation there better. Half say it hasn't made a difference. More than seven in 10 favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by April.

Army Misses Its June Goal for New Recruits

WASHINGTON, July 9 — The Army missed its recruiting goals in June for the second straight month, as rising casualties in Iraq and a strong economy at home kept the service from enlisting enough new soldiers, Pentagon officials said.

The Army fell more than 1,000 active duty recruits short of its June goal of 8,400, said a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the figures had not yet been formally released.

Iraqis grapple with high unemployment

BAGHDAD --Ali Ahmed is living "the garden life," as a new bit of Iraqi slang puts it. Two years after earning his engineering degree, the 27-year-old is among Iraq's teeming numbers of jobless with nothing to do but hang out in Baghdad's parks.

BAGHDAD --Ali Ahmed is living "the garden life," as a new bit of Iraqi slang puts it. Two years after earning his engineering degree, the 27-year-old is among Iraq's teeming numbers of jobless with nothing to do but hang out in Baghdad's parks.