Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama To Deliver Middle East Speech - at the State Department at 11:40 AM ET. Dramatic changes are taking place in the region so all eyes will be on President Obama as he addresses issues in the Middle East. The NY Times has a good read here.

Perhaps, Obama will announce who he has chosen to replace Middle East Envoy George Mitchell who resigned after unsuccessful peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

Meanwhile, three bombs targeting Iraqi security forces exploded in the town of Kirkut, killing at least 25. You can read more here.

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Netanyahu To Address U.S. Congress Tomorrow - Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak to a joint session of Congress after meeting with President Obama. Israel has continued to build in the controversial West Bank, ending peace negotiations with Palestine. U.S. Middle East Envoy George Mitchell has resigned and his replacement has yet to be announced. Reuters.com has more here.

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IMF Head Resigns - after being arrested for sexual molestation of a NY City Hotel maid. Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced his resignation from prison. John Lipsky has been named acting director of the International Monetary Fund.

Kemal Dervis, Finance Minister of Turkey is the current favorite to replace Kahn. Time.com has more here.

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Osama Bin Laden Audio Released - supposedly taped within a month prior to his death. On the tape, Bin Laden encourages Muslims to fight corrupt rulers and western hegemony. CNN.com has the audio and more here.

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Huntsman Drumming Up Support in New Hampshire - the former Republican Governor of Utah and U.S. Ambassador to China has a lot of ground to make up in his bid for the Republican Party presidential nomination. Chris Cillizza has more here.

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Is Newt Done Just As He Gets Started? - his negative comments directed toward Republican Representative Paul Ryan (Wis.) and subsequent retractions have likely dealt a fatal blow to Newt Gingrich's run for president. TPM.com has a look at the disastrous first seven days since his official announcement, here.

Gingrich is considering a visit to the Sunday morning "Talking Heads" in an effort to rehabilitate himself - Just no visit to NBC "Meet The Press" where David Gregory nailed him last week. TheHill.com has more here.

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Why Senate "Gang of Six" Budget Deficit Reduction Talks Failed - seems Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tom Coburn (R-Ok.) reached an impasse when it came to reductions in Medicare leading to a heated exchange, followed by Coburn dropping out of the talks. Politico.com has more here.

Keep an eye on the budget deficit negotiations taking place by Vice President Joe Biden.

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