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Violence Decreases in Iraq, Reconciliation ProgressesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2006 – Violence in Baghdad has decreased over the past five weeks, and the Iraqi government is committed to reconciliation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Iraq's Deputy President Adil al-Mahdi said here today. Following a meeting at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld and al-Mahdi spoke about progress in Iraq with reporters. The secretary praised the work of Iraqi security forces, which he said now number more than 267,000. He said there has been a reduction in the levels of violence and in the numbers of attacks, particularly in areas...

Requests for emergency food and shelter increased in many large U.S. cities this year, but not by as much as in recent years, according to a survey released Tuesday. Requests for food rose by 14 percent, while appeals for shelter increased by 6 percent, said the annual report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, based on surveys of 27 large cities. The numbers have risen every year since the conference began the survey 20 years ago. However, the rate of increase for food requests was the lowest since 1998. The rate of increase for shelter requests was less than half...