U S Officially Ends Its Mission in Iraq

U. S. Officially Ends Its Mission in Iraq

The United States military officially declared an end to its mission in Iraq. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta thanked the more than one million American service members who have served in Iraq over the past nine years. Although the ceremony marked the end of the war, the military still has two bases in Iraq and roughly 4, 000 troops. At the height of the war in 2007 there were 505 bases and over 150, 000 troops.

In Other News n n The latest census data depict a middle class that is shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families. A record number of Americans, almost 1 in 2, have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income. The United States will hold talks with North Korea in Beijing on Thursday on the possibility of providing food aid to the impoverished country. The Obama administration has been deliberating on the issue for months. The United Nations and U. S. charities say aid is badly needed, but it remains a controversial issue. North Korea has plowed resources into a nuclear weapons program even as its people go hungry. The last U. S. food handouts ended in March 2009, when North Korea expelled U. S. charities who were monitoring the distribution. That occurred shortly before the North conducted long-range rocket and nuclear tests that drew stiff international sanctions. After decades as America's go-to destination for low-cost consumer goods, China is undergoing a profound shift. Rapid economic development and a smaller supply of young migrant workers are pushing up labor costs. Tack on rising raw-materials prices, driven largely by Chinese demand, and a strengthening currency, and Chinamade goods are getting more expensive, which means we are paying more. The number of executions and death sentences nationwide continues a steady decline. Only 78 people have been sentenced to lethal injection so far this year, the first time that number has dropped below 100 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Death sentences last year were at 112, and have declined by nearly 75% from 15 years ago. report also showed only 43 people were executed in 2011, down three from last year, and a 56% decline from 12 years ago, when nearly a hundred people were put to death.