The insurance industry is one of the largest in the U.S. economy, so it is essential for insurance companies to be regulated, says Steven Goldman, Commissioner of Banking and Insurance in New Jersey. (1:28)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Dr. Dennis Culhane from the University of Pennsylvania says the typical homeless family consists of a mother and two children. He says the children are likely to be under six, saying this speaks to a woman’s opportunity in the labor market due to day care. He also says a disproportionate number of families are African-American. (0:40)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mark Johnston from the Office of Community Planning and Development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development says HUD’s 2007 homeless assessment showed a 30 percent drop in chronic homelessness. He says a reduction of homelessness in the hardest to reach population in the United States is stunning. (0:51)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) says US cropland has the potential to reduce projections of world increases in carbon by seven percent and could create over half of the reduction needed under US carbon caps. (0:21)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Seth Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation says that his study has found that in some ways Al Qaeda has strengthened in recent years. He says that since September 2001, the average number of terrorist attacks attributed to core Al Qaeda members has increased, along with the geographic range of the attacks (:27).

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

During a press briefing Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says that any perception that the DoD or Army contractors are as “negligent” or “callous” as to allow the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq due to electrocution is flat-out wrong. Morrell says that the DoD is concerned with the safety of U.S> soldiers. Sixteen U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq due to electrical accidents.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

During a press breifing at the Pentagon, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the situation in Afghanistan is “not precarious, not urgent; the sky is not falling in Afghanistan,” and says that the strategic combat reserves will not be deployed to supplement troops in Afghanistan. (0:37)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The problem in Afghanistan is urgent, said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, but not so urgent that the U.S. combat reserves in Kuwait are being considered for deployment there.
“Yes there are problems in Afghanistan, there are pockets of problems that we are concerned about and we are determined to get the commanders the troops they need to address them. But the situation is not precarious, it is not urgent, the sky is not falling in Afghanistan,” he said speaking to the Pentagon press corps. He added that Central Command has decided to hold the strategic combat reserve in the event of other contingencies in the region should they arise. Morrell declined to specify, but the U.S. faces many potential conflicts in the region, including Iran, which Morrell described as “hell bent” on obtaining nuclear weapons and capabilities.
Additionally Pakistan has recently been highlighted by the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates as having a porous border with Afghanistan. Gates discussed the issue of foreign militants crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, after a U.S. outpost was attacked near the border region earlier this month. The new government of Pakistan is struggling to provide internal defense from terrorist groups, while at the same time bolster a failing economy and control lawless northern territories. Morrell spoke about the slow progress of reimbursement measures, which repay the Pakistani military for actions taken against mutual threats on behalf of the coalition. “Those reimbursements are taking an awful long time to get back to the Pakistani government,” he said.
In advance of a congressional hearing scheduled for July 30, investigating electrocution deaths of U.S. soldiers on Iraq in relation to work done by military contractors, Morrell explained the Defense Department’s position.
“There seems to be a misperception out there that our facilities in that theater are replete with electrical hazards, that have caused hundreds of fires and multiple fatalities. What’s more, some seem to believe that this department and one of the Army’s lead logistical support contractors are so negligent and callous that we have failed to address these dangers. I am here to tell you that is flat out wrong.” He went on to explain that while 16 soldiers have died in Iraq in electrical accidents, more than half have died from loose electrical wiring outside of bases and improperly grounded generators.

“Fusion centers” set up to share information and intelligence, offer common dangers for information sharing centers with no controls, no oversight and no structure, which then offers no protection on people’s first amendment rights said the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) during a teleconference today on the growing role of local law enforcement in federal surveillance.
The ACLU, which released a report on state and local “fusion centers, ” where intelligence and surveillance is shared with other jurisdictions and the federal government last year, released an update showing that the U.S. is constructing a de facto domestic intelligence system, even though Congress has never voted for the change in security agencies.
Jay Stanley, public education director with the ACLU, said that “fusion centers” are part of a much larger trent towards justification of keeping tabs on the everyday lives of everyday Americans. The ACLU is recommending an end to the “cloak of secrecy” surrounding “fusion centers” and for Congressional action.
Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, called on Congress to have more oversight over “fusion centers.” She said that Congress needs to step up and enact regulations and controls over centers in order to fix problems and protect citizens rights.

“The gavel allows you to push issues” according to Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and he added that he missed being the one holding the gavel.
At The Heritage Foundation discussion on “Attorney-Client Privilege: Repairing the Damage,” Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) focused on the Department of Justice’s policies regarding the right to counsel and the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Sixth Amendment sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts.
When asked if courts would ever allow cameras into the courtrooms, Specter said that courts today decide all “cutting edge authority.” Specter noted that the print media has accessibility and a shift to electronic media was inevitable. Specter said that, as always, there was the question of security, but it was something that simply needed to be dealt with. Specter said he understood the public’s desire for transparency and accessibility in institutions such as the Supreme Court.
Specter also discussed the case of Kent Wakefield from Virginia. According to Specter, Wakefield had written him a letter detailing his six year ordeal with the courts. Quoting Wakefield, Specter said that his employer at America Online (AOL) demanded to waive his attorney-client privilege. In addition, Specter said that Wakefield’s assets were frozen. Specter said this was an example of a “vendetta being carried out.”
Specter explained the importance of full disclosure between attorneys and their clients. Specter said that if the client did not feel comfortable telling his attorney everything, the attorney would not be able to sufficiently represent his client and the client would not get the full value of his attorney. Specter also emphasized that attorney-client privileges ensure fair trials and the government wins when justice is done.