Daily Briefing: Certain Protections
Americans fighting terrorism may be protected from "prosecution for past violations of the War Crimes Act of 1996...That law criminalizes violations of the Geneva Conventions governing conduct in war and threatens the death penalty if U.S.-held detainees die in custody from abusive treatment." [ WP ]
No significant troop withdrawal in sight this year. [ LAT ]
"Unable to agree on major lobbying and ethics legislation, Senate and House leaders have made plans to adopt vastly scaled-back versions of the measures as part of their rules so that lawmakers can claim that they responded to recent congressional scandals." [ WP ]
Pro-immigrant rights groups divided by Senate immigration measure, some say it contains "loopholes that could criminalize individuals, including legal immigrants, for helping family members or friends who are in the country illegally." [ WP ]
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) has a wife and close friend inside consulting firm ICG Government, "a consulting company for technology firms seeking government contracts." [ WP ]
Minimum wage may increase to $7.15, House votes today. [ NYT ]