U.S. House seeks to ban misleading census mailings

WASHINGTON

House wants ban on bogus census mail

The House passed legislation Wednesday that would ban misleading mailings designed to appear they're from the Census Bureau, after criticism that Republican groups were sending fundraising letters using the census name. Under the bill, mailings marked "census" will be required to state the name and address of the sender, along with an unambiguous disclaimer that the survey was not affiliated with the federal government. The legislation passed 416-0, after two Republicans who sit on the House panel overseeing the census, Rep. Darrell Issa of California and Jason Chaffetz of Utah, agreed to co-sponsor the measure. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., has said he will move forward with legislation in the Senate.

Early Afghanistan exit is rejected

In a bipartisan endorsement of the Obama administration's policy in Afghanistan, the House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a call to withdraw American troops by the end of the year. After a debate held to allow antiwar Democrats to air their dissent, the House voted 356-65 to reject the withdrawal proposal. Five Republicans joined 60 Democrats in support of pulling out; 189 Democrats and 167 Republicans were opposed.

Bethlehem

Biden meets top Palestinians

Vice President Joe Biden sought Wednesday to reassure Palestinians that the United States intends to push ahead with its Mideast peacemaking effort, despite a diplomatic blowup with Israel this week over its plans to build new housing in Jerusalem. After meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the West Bank, Biden emphasized American determination to act as the intermediary in talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Kabul, Afghanistan

Iranian leader, Gates trade jabs

The Iranian president visited Kabul on Wednesday and shot back at American allegations that Iran was providing support to Afghan insurgents, accusing the United States of playing its own "double game." The visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came on the heels of a trip by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was still in Afghanistan on Wednesday even as Ahmadinejad predicted that U.S. efforts in the country would fail.

Baghdad

U.S. reassesses Iraqi poll violence

The U.S. military has concluded in an internal assessment that at least 37 people were killed in election day violence. U.S. officials had disputed media reports of widespread violence. The Washington Post said a U.S. official provided the information on the condition of anonymity because it is at odds with the public statements of senior military officials.

Elsewhere

Nigeria: Soldiers opened fire on a crowd in Jos after curfew and killed two people, witnesses said Wednesday, just days after more than 200 people were slaughtered in several mostly Christian villages.

Hungary: Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom has signed a law making Holocaust denial punishable by three years in prison. About 550,000 Hungarian Jews and 50,000 Gypsies were killed in the Holocaust.

Times wires