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May 16, 2008 at 13:19 PM
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Friday said the foundation of Republican John McCain's presidential candidacy, a well-chronicled biography and admiral-branched military family tree, is, in actuality, a danger for the nation, and not the seemingly unassailable asset it has widely been viewed to be.
May 16, 2008 at 08:00 AM

Couple in ShadowsBrown eyes dart first up the downtown Waterloo street and then down toward the river before turning skyward to glisten in the midday sun. When they close against the glare, the 19-year-old woman sways slightly and wraps her arms around her thin waist.

"I don't know if I should be doing this -- talking to you," she said, eyes still closed. "There is so much confusion even now, and I'm not sure who can be trusted. I don't want to do something stupid that will cost me what little I have left."

For several moments the group stands silent, then the woman's eyes open and she squints before continuing. "I want you to call me Lidia Castillo," she said and then turned to the 20-something Hispanic man beside her to speak in a Mayan dialect that is similar to Spanish. When he speaks it is only two words: "Luis Morales." She nods and takes the notebook and pen to write down the names, explaining that she doesn't trust those who cannot speak the language to spell the names correctly. Her smile is open and all hesitation is gone when she looks up and asks, "What do you want to know?"

May 14, 2008 at 14:22 PM

The setting is different, but the process remains basically the same.

The scene outside the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo.

Initial court appearances for the individuals who stand criminally charged following the immigration raids on Agriprocessors in Postville began Tuesday night in Waterloo and continued today.

May 17, 2008 at 13:08 PM
Sen. Barack Obama will claim a majority of Democratic pledged delegates in Iowa Tuesday evening, a source familiar with the plans confirms to Iowa Independent.
May 16, 2008 at 12:32 PM

U.S. Congressman Bruce Braley wants to know if federal agencies communicated prior to the May 12 immigration raid on Agriprocessors in Postville and if investigations previously launched by the Iowa Department of Labor Services are continuing.

May 16, 2008 at 15:48 PM
Ten months after the state Board of Regents filed a lawsuit against the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS) at the University of Iowa last July, a judge found the regents and the UI had bargained in bad faith prior to the lawsuit.

"The presiding judge called the UI's actions `a reckless disregard for contract law,'" Gwen Gruber, who was president of COGS during the 2007-2008 academic school year, told the Iowa Independent during a phone interview. "We were pretty confident PERB [Public Employee Relations Board] rule in our favor. We had pretty strong evidence, namely a memo from Kevin Ward [UI Executive Director of Human Resources] stating the UI wasn't going to follow that portion of the contract. The memo was dated four days before the contract-signing date, and they signed the contract anyway." The Public Employee Relations Board is an Iowa state agency that handles bargaining rights and duties of public employers and employees.

May 16, 2008 at 07:57 AM
"The next disaster we need to fix is Congress," Peter Teahen says on the stump. The Cedar Rapids funeral home owner and Red Cross disaster relief expert is one of three Republicans facing off in the 2nd Congressional District primary for the right to challenge first-term Democrat Dave Loebsack in the fall.

Teahen faces Ottumwa physician Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Hillsboro minister Lee Harder on June 3.

May 15, 2008 at 12:19 PM
The U.S. Senate sent the new farm bill to President Bush Thursday, passing it by a veto-proof vote of 81-15.

The bill was passed by the House Wednesday by a margin of 318-106. The overwhelming vote of support in both houses of Congress virtually ensures that the bill will soon become law, despite the Bush administration's veto threats.

May 16, 2008 at 07:38 AM
House leaders found a way to appease members of the Blue Dog Democrats and overwhelmingly passed the new GI Bill yesterday by a vote of 256-166, as an attachment to the Iraq war emergency supplemental bill.


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