Daily Democratic Wire 6-18-2009

George Wenschhof

Mousavi supporters rally peacefully in Tehran today - wearing black, tens of thousands protested the outcome of the recent election and mourned the loss of those protesters who died. The Iran Guardian Council will meet with the three presidential candidates who lost on Saturday to hear their specific complaints. The official state reported results were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with 64% and Mir Hossein Mousavi with 34%. Reuters.com has more here.

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New Wall Street Journal/NBC Poll show Americans concerned about the deficit - almost 7 in 10 Americans expressed concern about federal intervention into the economy. However, more Americans blame the last republican administration for the current deficit. President Barack Obama's approval rating remained high at 56%. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

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Geithner to present Financial regulatory reforms to Congress today - the Treasury Secretary is scheduled to speak to the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. Expect more details to emerge of the plan presented by President Obama. Time.com has more here.

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Tonight, the President will headline a fundraiser for Senate and House Democrats - in a combined fundraiser held by the Democratic House and Senate Campaign Committees. It is expected to bring in 3 million and will be held at the Mandarin oriental Hotel in Washington. TheHill.com has more here.

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Labor Department releases mixed news unemployment data - while the number of unemployment claims fell by 148,000 to 6.76 million, initial claims were up by 3,000. The NY Times has more here. While some are reporting the drop in claims is signaling a turnaround in the economy, the drop is primarily due to seasonal work which impacts the numbers of claims every year, regardless of the state of the economy.

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Hillary Clinton fractures elbow in fall - yesterday, on the way to the White House, the Secretary of State fell and fractured her elbow. She received treatment at George Washington University hospital and will have surgery next week. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Senate passes bill to prevent release of abuse photos - in a unanimous consent vote, the senate passed the bill co-sponsored by Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The ACLU recent won a circuit court ruling saying the photos of prisoner abuse should be made public. The Obama administration had originally signaled a willingness to release the photos but backtracked on their position after much debate. It is not clear as to how the House will vote on this measure. CNN.com has more here.

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