Briefing

KATHMANDU, NEPAL Poll results give former Maoist rebels a significant lead in landmark elections

HALLE, GERMANY Lost organ composition by Johann Sebastian Bach is discovered

BAQ UBAH, IRAQ Exp losions in two cities kill dozens

WASHINGTON Live from the capital: journalism Newseum opens

NEW YORK CITY Yanks nix Red Sox hex

ENVIRONMENT

Waterway Woes

Logging, pollution and overdevelopment are threatening many U.S. tributaries and their ecosystems, according to a new report by the advocacy group American Rivers. Global warming is adding to the mess by increasing the number of both droughts and floods. The 10 most endangered:

1. CATAWBA-WATEREE Outdated water-supply management

2. ROGUE Logging and road construction

3. CACHE LA POUDRE Water diversion and reservoir project

4. ST. LAWRENCE Outdated dam-management plan

5. MINNESOTA Proposed coal-fired power plant

6. ST. JOHNS Unsustainable water appropriations

7. GILA Water-development project

8. ALLAGASH WILDERNESS Loss of wild-and-scenic-river protections

9. PEARL Irresponsible floodplain development

10. NIOBRARA Unsustainable irrigation diversions

MORTGAGE CRISIS

Lending a Hand

U.S. lawmakers disagree on how to aid businesses and homeowners affected by the housing crunch. The three sides:

The Senate On April 10, the Senate passed the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which would give $6 billion in tax breaks to home builders--and to airlines and other struggling businesses. The bill would also increase the maximum mortgage limit that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can insure, to $550,000.

The House The Senate's bill does not cover enough ground, say Democrats, who want more reforms for homeowners. Their version could provide up to $300 billion in federal guarantees to help refinance mortgages, as well as a $7,500 interest-free loan to first-time home buyers.

White House The Bush Administration opposes the Senate's bill, saying it contains extraneous provisions and should not give handouts to lenders. Instead, the Administration wants to provide tax breaks to Americans who "play by the rules," modernize the FHA and improve oversight of lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

HEALTH

Boomers, 65, in Search of Medical Care

America's health-care system won't be able to adequately support the 78 million baby boomers, who will start turning 65 in 2011, according to a new National Academy of Sciences report. The influx of people entering the system will exceed the number of providers who can care for them: there are only 7,100 physicians certified in geriatrics in the U.S., for example--only 1 for every 2,500 older Americans.

LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS Suggested remedies include mandating a minimum level of competence in geriatric medicine for health-care providers and training family members to care for their aging kin.

[This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

Projected U.S. population 65 and older (millions)

TIMELINE

Third Time's the Charm

Dissatisfied with Italy's economic woes, voters on April 14 elected billionaire Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, to lead them once again. Here's a quick look back at the ups and downs of one of the world's most colorful--and persistent--personalities:

MAY 1994 Berlusconi becomes Prime Minister for the first time, with the help of some far-right allies. He resigns after a mere seven months when the coalition that swept him into power dissolves.

APRIL 1996 The conservative sports and media mogul--he controls Italy's most successful soccer club and some of its largest television stations--runs for re-election. He loses.

MAY 2001 Berlusconi whips his allies into shape and wins a second term as Prime Minister.

DECEMBER 2004 About a year after undergoing cosmetic surgery, the 68-year-old admits to hair transplants when pictures surface of him wearing a bandanna to welcome British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Sardinia.

APRIL 2006 He loses re-election after leading Italy's longest-serving postwar government.

APRIL 2008 Berlusconi wins his third term as Prime Minister. He vows to rescue the stalled Italian economy, resolve a garbage crisis and assist the faltering national airline, Alitalia.