Daily Democratic Wire 9-27-2009

George Wenschhof

Yesterday afternoon, President Barack Obama attended his daughter Malia's soccer game - in the evening the First Couple attended the Congressional Black Caucus annual dinner. You can read more here.

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Iran test fires short range missiles - tweaking those who accuse it of having secret nuclear facilities, the military test fired some short range missiles yesterday, with additional tests planned for Monday. Iran has publicly stated the UN is welcome to inspect their nuclear facilities. You can read more here.

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Doubtful Gitmo Prison will close by January - the prison, located in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was home for terrorists captured during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. A little over 200 prisoners remain and sources say the U.S. is nearing announcing a site in the U.S. to relocate many of the prisoners. Reuters.com has more here.

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Obama weighs Afghanistan advise - Admiral Mike Mullen met with General McChrsytal yesterday and officially received his request for additional troops. The President has also met with former Secretary of State Colin Powell who has expressed his reservations and reiterated the need for the U.S. to have a clearly defined mission. In addition, Vice President Joe Biden has also stated his preference for more special ops forces instead of a troop build up of strength. The NY Times has more here.

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Tonight, PBS will air first part of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" - make sure you tune in to this six part series directed by Ken Burns. It promises to be a fantastic review of the history of the national parks and the important decisions made by influential Americans over the years. The first episode airs tonight on PBS beginning at 8:00 PM ET. PBS.org has more here.

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