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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "continues to make very good progress" in his recovery from coronavirus, a Downing Street spokesman said Saturday. Meanwhile, UK health officials said the death toll from coronavirus has reached 9,875...

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz insisted to CNSNews.com yesterday that “anyone’ can see that the economy is improving and sought to interpret what Pres. Obama really meant when he admitted Monday that Americans were not better off today than four years ago. “Well, what President Obama said was that certainly since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, that Americans are not better off,” Wasserman Schultz told CNSNews.com. “That was specifically the president’s comment. I thought. And I think anyone who looks at the economy knows we have come a long way.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Barack Obama's historic breakthrough as the first African-American president appears to have reduced racial divisions in the United States, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll published Tuesday. As the US leader approaches 100 days in office, the survey found that about two-thirds of Americans -- 66 percent -- said race relations are generally good, compared with 53 percent in July. Twenty-two percent of respondents said US race relations are bad, compared to 37 percent in July. The survey found that Black Americans remain among Obama's staunchest supporters, with 70 percent of US blacks saying the...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2008 – An Army colonel working with Iraqi security forces in the country’s southern provinces said yesterday their proficiency and dedication have been impressive. "I am very impressed with the professionalism and the willingness of the Iraqi army to go out there and fight and go after the insurgents, smugglers or other special groups out there," Army Col. Philip F. Battaglia, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, told bloggers during a teleconference about the brigade’s mission in Iraq since deploying there in mid-June. Battaglia's brigade, based out of Fort Hood, Texas, works with...

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2008 – While some troops will deploy to Afghanistan in the near future, large units must wait until an assessment of needs in Iraq is completed, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news conference that the situation in Iraq has improved. “I personally believe that there is a real possibility of some additional drawdowns as we look forward,” Gates said. Mullen agreed, saying conditions in Iraq have dramatically improved over the past year. In a briefing this morning,...

WASHINGTON - A new classified intelligence assessment on Iraq says there has been significant progress in security since the last assessment was delivered in August, a senior military official said. In most ways the new National Intelligence Estimate hews closely to the one delivered nine months ago. That document spoke of security gains since the increase in troop levels began in January 2007, the continued high rate of violence and uneven progress on the part of Iraqi security forces. "It does not differ significantly from August's NIE," a congressional official said in describing the document. The officials spoke on condition...

Petroleum supply specialist, Sgt. Kelvin Dedrick, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, searches a car with an Iraqi policeman during a recent raid outside Qayarrah. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Bradley Clarks Army: Iraqi Police Skills Improving Daily The capabilities of Iraqi police to work independently of U.S. and coalition forces have grown in the past 10 months, U.S. Army soldiers say. By Pfc. Bradley J. Clark4th Brigade Combat Team,1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs FORWARD OPERATING BASE Q-WEST, Iraq, Sept. 19, 2007 — Iraqi police in southern Ninevah...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2007 – Quality of life in Iraq is getting better thanks to increased security, a chief Iraqi government spokesman said yesterday from Baghdad. Ali Aldabbagh spoke with online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call two days after Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker testified before Congress about the future of a U.S. military presence in Iraq. “It is a positive report,” Aldabbagh said of Petraeus’ and Crocker’s assessments. “The security situation has been improved” but there are still “hot areas” that the government of Iraq must fix by itself,...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2007 – Iraq’s aging infrastructure, which suffered decades of neglect under Saddam Hussein’s rule, is being upgraded sporadically in “fits and starts,” a Joint Staff official said today. Coalition efforts to improve Iraq’s power grid, water and oil systems are hampered by the infrastructure’s deteriorating 1960s technology, Army Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock, an operations specialist on the Joint Staff, said during a conference call. “If Iraq was a used car, Saddam got rid of it at the right time,” Sherlock said. “It was ready to fall apart.” During Saddam’s rule, the amount of electrical output was capped...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2007 – A U.S. task force focused on revitalizing Iraqi businesses is in Iraq again this month, this time bringing several dozen American and international business executives to meet with Iraqi officials and connect with the business community. The group, from the Defense Department’s Office of Business Transformation, includes agricultural and agribusiness representatives from major American universities and international businesses, who will be working to ensure that industry revitalization efforts are synchronized with the agriculture sector, Paul Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business transformation, told reporters in Baghdad today. Representatives from the U.S. Department of...

The Sweet Water Canal was rendered nearly useless from neglect by Saddam Hussein's former administration. Photo courtesy USAID. BAGHDAD -- The United States Agency for International Development, better known around the world as USAID, is making drastic improvements to the Iraqi infrastructure and improving the quality of life for millions. The agency maintains a myriad of projects at any given time, and spends millions of dollars to see them through from start to finish. Whether it’s improving Iraqi canals, ensuring local populations have clean drinking water or restoring city markets, the USAID footprint is prominent and welcome here.One such undertaking...

Excerpt: Polls show improving news for GOP in Senate The last few days have had some encouraging Senate polls for Republicans, while House polls are still mixed. Zogby has Talent up 3% in Missouri, Allen up 3% in Virginia,and Corker up 7% in Tennessee. He also has Kean up 2% in New Jersey where the New Republic exposes the smell of scandal emanating from Bob Menendez. Zogby has Dewine down 4% in Ohio and Bouchard in Michigan only 4% behind Debbie Stabenow (I would not bet on accuracy of this last one). Rasmussen, generally more reliable, has a new poll...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2006 – Iraqi police forces now are trained and equipped to almost 100 percent of the level promised by the coalition and are improving in quality and capability every day, the U.S. general in charge of training the police said today. About 128,000 of the 135,000 planned Iraqi police have been trained and equipped, and the 135,000th policeman is in school now and will graduate in mid-October, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, commander of the civilian police assistance training team, said in a news conference from Iraq. The coalition will meet and probably exceed the planned...

It's the Media, StupidCommentary: Contrary to what you read, economy is resilient and improving By Richard Yamarone, Argus Research Corp. NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Pick up a newspaper, watch the evening news (with or without Katie Couric), listen to the radio, or read a blog, and you'll inevitably get the same message: the U.S. economy is on the verge of calamity. --snip-- The media has led investors to believe that the Federal Reserve refrained from raising its benchmark interest rate in August amid fears of a widespread, housing-induced economic downturn. Meanwhile, economists have pointed to the slope of the yield...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2006 – Iraq’s military medical system is not equal to its U.S. counterpart, but is improving on a daily basis, the surgeon general of Iraq’s armed forces said here yesterday. “We are in the process of building this system,” Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Samir A. Hassan said. “We have expanded more and more to meet the expansion of the armed forces.” Samir is an orthopedic specialist by training who became surgeon general in June 2004 at the age of 38. His staff of fewer than 80 people serves more than 160,000 Iraqi soldiers, sailors and airmen. Samir...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2006 – Operation Together Forward, the Iraqi-led operation to reduce violence in Baghdad, is progressing well and is improving the security situation around the Iraqi capital, a Joint Staff official said here today. Over the last five weeks, the number of incidents of sectarian violence in Baghdad has decreased steadily, Army Brig. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, deputy director of regional operations for the Joint Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference. This success is a direct result of the efforts and dedication of Iraqis, he said. “I attribute it to an Iraqi government that has committed itself...

U.S. Army Soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, conduct an area reconnaissance mission in Baghdad, Aug. 22. Department of Defense photo by Navy Gunner's Mate 1st Class Martin Anton Edgil. BAGHDAD -- Operation Together Forward, the Iraqi-led operation to reduce violence in Baghdad, is progressing well and improving the security situation around the Iraqi capital, a Joint Staff official said Aug. 23.Over the last five weeks, the number of incidents of sectarian violence in Baghdad has decreased steadily, Army Brig. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, deputy director of regional operations for the Joint Staff, said at a Pentagon...

BAGHDAD — As news here this week centered on bolstering Baghdad security, quality of life projects are still progressing with notable results in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. For nearly two years, the Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant has been undergoing a $22 million upgrade to bring fresh, potable water to Baghdad residents. That facility serves the Rusafa area in northeast Baghdad with markets, businesses, medical facilities, and about 300,000 residents dependent on its output. “Al Wathba is more than 40 years old and the dilapidated, poorly maintained equipment was producing about 1,000 cubic meters (264172.1 gallons) of drinking water...

LAKE TAHOE Lake Tahoe not losing clarity, test shows- Carl T. Hall Wednesday, August 9, 2006 Lake Tahoe's water clarity is nothing like it used to be, but the latest measurements revealed Tuesday that at least the murk doesn't seem to be getting any murkier. UC Davis scientists said the lake was clear to an average depth of 72.4 feet in 2005, based on how far from the surface they could see a white dinner-plate-size measuring tool known as a "Secchi disk." The disk is lowered every seven to 10 days at two locations. The depth at which the plate...

WASHINGTON, August 6, 2006 – The deployment of more than 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S. southwest border met a key objective in the government’s efforts to secure the border, President Bush said here yesterday. Bush visited the Rio Grand Valley Border Patrol sector Aug. 3, and saw firsthand how the National Guard troops are working with Border Patrol agents. “National Guard troops are helping with surveillance, construction and logistics,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “They're building and repairing fences, maintaining vehicles and manning detection equipment on the border and in command centers.” The arrival of National...