Morning Briefing: June 23, 2011

This morning, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai called Obama’s drawdown the “right decision for the interest of both countries” as the “preservation of this land is the job of Afghans.” However, local Afghan leaders expressed “fears of civil war” and “Taliban encroachments” because, according to one Parliament member, “our national forces are not well trained and not well equipped.”

An annual wealth report prepared by Merril Lynch and Capgemini finds that the world’s wealthiest are now actually richer than they were before the recession. The report also finds that there are actually 11 million more people worldwide who have at least $1 million in free cash than before the credit crunch.

For the first time, minorities make up a majority of babies born in the U.S., a new Census review finds. Non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of all babies — in 1990, more than 60 percent of children in that age group were white.

A spokesperson for Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) indicated that she will sign the recently approved South Carolina immigration law that was modeled after the one passed in Arizona last year. A coalition of civil rights groups says it will file a lawsuit against it.

Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Barney Frank (D-MA) plan to introduce legislation today that would legalize marijuana and allow state governments to tax and regulate the drug. The Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group, is touting the proposal as “the first bill ever introduced in Congress to end federal marijuana prohibition.”

According to a new poll, Americans rank House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan as the third most disliked Republican behind Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. The poll showed that 57 percent of Americans “believe they would be worse off under his plan,” 40 percent believe President Obama has “a better vision” for the economy, and 51 percent said “we should see” how the health care law works rather than repeal it.

It is unlikely Defense Secretary Robert Gates will certify the repeal of Don’t As, Don’t Tell before his retirement next week, according to senior officials. Training and the necessary reports from military leaders likely won’t be completed by June 30, Gates’ final day, leaving the task to incoming Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The far-right Islamophobic Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders “was acquitted on Thursday of hate speech charges by an Amsterdam court.” The court found that Wilders, who has in the past suggested that Europeans deport all of its Muslim population, used speech that was protected “by rules governing discourse in a free society.”

And finally: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and actor Matt Damon joined about 80,000 at a U2 concert in Baltimore last night, but according to at least one photo published in Politico, Bono and the former speaker seem to had a more intimate meeting. Astronaut Mark Kelly also sent a taped message from space to introduce “Beautiful Day,” a song the band dedicated to his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

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