- Making News: June 30 to Mark Political, Not Military, Transition in Iraq
As violence and confusion increase in Iraq, American commanders are making contingency plans to send in more troops. Meantime, the June 30 deadline for the transfer of power is questioned on Capitol Hill. John Hendren, who covers the Pentagon for the Los Angeles Times, says Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today emphasized the distinction between the political transition and the military reality. - Reporter's Notebook: WalMart Bypasses City Officials, Takes Case to Voters
Today, Inglewood voters are being asked to bypass their city council--as well as all traffic studies, economic reports and environmental reviews-to approve a WalMart super-center the size of 17 football fields. Nancy Cleeland, who just shared a Pulitzer Prize for her Los Angeles Times series on the giant retailer, says although the world-s biggest retailer has gone to the voters before, today-s issues represent something new.
Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's news conference
Hendren's article on US consideration of troop increase in Iraq
Muqtada al-Sadr (Council on Foreign Relations profile)
Ayatollah Ali Sistani (BBC profile)
Inglewood's Home Stretch at Hollywood Park Voter Initiative (Measure 4-A)