THIS WEEK
THIS WEEK
Monday, December 25, 2006; Page A02
The Holiday Bounce
Looking to get all the attention during a quiet week in Washington, former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) is set to announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Speaking from the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans to symbolize his anti-poverty platform, the 2004 vice presidential candidate plans to declare he will run for the White House for a second time. Edwards is making the unusually timed announcement to get ahead of possible declarations early next year by Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who are considered front-runners in the race.
Edwards is slated to make the announcement in New Orleans on Thursday, followed by a trip to Iowa to discuss his campaign. He will then go to Portsmouth, N.H., on Friday to address local Democrats. He will also travel to Nevada and South Carolina, the two other early-primary states, as part of his announcement tour.
Christmas in the capital: Washington will celebrate Christmas today with a recital on the 10,650-pipe organ at the Washington National Cathedral at 5 p.m. The Festival of the Holy Eucharist begins at 9 a.m. and the Holy Eucharist at noon, both in the Nave.
Quiet ponderance: President Bush is at Camp David today for the holiday and then will spend the rest of the week at his ranch in Crawford, Tex. He is expected to meet Thursday with members of the National Security Council as he prepares to announce a new strategy for Iraq in early January. Congress is out of session until Jan. 4.
Mideast peace: Efforts to improve relations between the Palestinians and Israel that most recently began with a meeting Saturday between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continue today when Abbas visits King Abdullah of Jordan to brief him on the talks. Abdullah plays an important role in fostering peaceful relations in the region; he met with Olmert last week in Amman, Jordan.
A new year, a bigger nation: On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau will release projections on what the population will be on Jan. 1. The release will include birth, death and net international migration rates. Last year, the bureau estimated the U.S. population would be nearly 298 million on Jan. 1, 2006, while the current census clock puts the population at 300.5 million.
-- Zachary A. Goldfarb
