Daily Democratic Wire 7-16-2009

George Wenschhof

Tonight, President Barack Obama heads to New York to speak at the NAACP 100th anniversary dinner - the first time a African-American President has addressed the organization. he is expected to discuss his plans for health care reform, education and the economy. Time.com has more here.

He will be busy in New York as he will also attend a fundraiser for NJ Governor Corzine and a DNC fundraiser before heading to the NAACP dinner.

Earlier in the day, the president will host Republican Senators Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) at the White House. He will be discussing health care reform with them.

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4th day of Sonia Sotomayor hearings began at 9:30 AM ET today - the supreme court justice nominee continues to perform well in spite of repeated efforts by Republican members of the committee asking "got you" type questions. TheHill.com has more here.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says U.S. still willing to engage in talks with Iran, but the time is waning - Clinton made these remarks yesterday during a speech to the Council on Foreign Affairs. She warned Iran that if they continued with their nuclear program, they would face additional penalties and increased isolation from the rest of the world. MSNBC.com has more here.

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C.I.A. was preparing to activate secret program involving assassination teams abroad - the teams were to be assembled and trained abroad to assassinate al-Queda leaders. When the program moved forward to be activated and CIA director Leon Panetta was informed, he abruptly ended it. The Washington Post report on this story can be read here.

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