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News in Brief: Raid in Iraq Kills Civilians, Soldiers, and More

Raid in Iraq Kills Civilians, Soldiers

Raid in Iraq Kills Civilians, Soldiers

The AFP reports that a shooting by insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq, killed at least seven civilians, including two women and two children as well as two Iraqi soldiers. A Fallujah home in the Sunni insurgent stronghold was raided by a joint Iraq-US force when the insurgents fired back. “Clashes took place when the terrorists fired at the troops. Civilians were caught in the crossfire,” said a police chief for that district of Fallujah.

While the US declared an end to the war in Iraq, nearly 50,000 soldiers are still in the country “with a mission to train Iraqi soldiers and police, and conduct joint counter-terror operations.” Violence is also the highest it has been since 2008.

Joint Economic Committee Democrats’ Report Blames Bush for Rise in Poverty, Income Inequality

The Huffington Post reports that Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), led by House Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York), released a report blaming the Bush administration for the increase in poverty and wage inequality this past decade. Released in advance of forthcoming Census data on wage inequality and poverty, “the JEC’s report says data suggest that rising income inequality, the result of Republican policies over the past few decades, exacerbated and may have precipitated the Great Recession that started in 2007.” The Census’ annual Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage report is slated for release on Thursday.

Nine Out of Ten LGBT Students Experience Harassment in School, Study Says

A report released by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) reveals that GLBT student victimization in schools has changed very little over the decade. While use of homophobic phrases is down, the rate of victimization stayed the same, the report says.

“In 1999, GLSEN began data collection on the school experiences of LGBT students in order to fill a critical void in our knowledge and understanding of the ways LGBT issues play out in schools,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard of the report The 2009 National School Climate Survey.

Two states, New York recently signed a new anti-bullying provision into law and Massachusetts strengthened theirs.

Reid Will Introduce DREAM Act in Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will add the DREAM Act as an amendment to the upcoming defense authorization bill, ThinkProgress reports. The DREAM Act, a legislative priority for immigration activists for years, qualifies eligible, undocumented, youth immigrants for the opportunity “for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.”

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