Daily Democratic Wire 6-8-2009

George Wenschhof

Today, President Barack Obama will meet with his full Cabinet at the White House - late morning the president is expected to announce the Stimulus Bill will create 6000,000 jobs this summer. Unemployment has now reached 9.4% in the U.S. - Time.com has more here.

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Virginia primary tomorrow to decide Democratic candidate for Governor - the winner will face Republican Bob McDonnell. Terry McAuliffe has received a lot of the media attention as he was the former chair of the Democratic National Committee and a national chair of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. He is however labeled as an interloper who has brought lots of outside contributions to the race. The Washington Post recently endorsed Creigh Deeds, a state senator who has been gaining in the recent polls. The other Democratic candidate for Governor is Brian Moran a former House democratic Chair. CNN.com has more here.

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Remember the case of the elected official caught with money in his freezer? - finally, after two years of legalese, the corruption trial against former Representative William Jefferson (D-La.) will begin tomorrow. Jefferson lost his bid for reelection last year. TheHill.com has more here.

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On the foreign policy front, a pro-Western Bloc wins majority of seats in parliament in Lebanon election - Supporters of Saad al-Hariri won 71 of the 128 seats in parliament. The Iranian backed Hezbollah won 57 seats in parliament. The Washington Post has more here.

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Middle East envoy George Mitchell says President Obama wants immediate talks with Israel and Palestine - Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will detail his intentions to move forward in peace talks later this month. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinian statehood remains a integral and necessary part of any negotiations. Reuters.com has more here.

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Hillary Clinton speaks directly to N. Korea in appeal for release of Journalists - the two American journalists were recently sentenced to 12 years in prison. This comes at the same time the secretary of State is saying the U.S. may have to put North Korea back on the terrorist list of nations due to their continued ballistic missile tests and a recent nuclear weapon test. Reportedly New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former Vice-President Al Gore have also been enlisted to aid in the negotiations for the release of the journalists. ABCNews.com has more here.

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