CNN 2008-06-29

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I'm Asieh Namdar at the CNN.com newsroom in Atlanta. Here's a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Presidential rivals: Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, both spoke¹ at a conference of Latino officials in Washington D. C. today. A number of hecklers were removed during McCain's speech. He spoke about immigration and he's proposed town halls with Senator Obama. Obama also spoke about immigration reform. He says the US needs the kind of reform that provides a better path to citizenship².

In Zimbabwe, the country's Election Commission says it's counted all the votes from Friday's one-man presidential run-off. That should allow President Robert Mugabe to be sworn in on Sunday. The opposition³ boycotted⁴ the vote, citing a wave of violence and intimidation⁵. President Bush calls the vote "a sham⁶" and wants new sanctions imposed on that country.

Pakistani forces are pounding Taliban bases in a major offensive along the Afghan border. Among their targets, a Taliban leader's headquarters. The leader has reportedly broken off talks and has threatened to wage new attacks. Government officials say forces have shelled suspected mountain hideaways in the Khyber Pass tribal⁷ region. Police there are imposing⁸ a round-the-clock curfew and hospitals are on alert. It's the first major offensive since Pakistan's new government took power a few months ago.

President Bush has declared a state of emergency in California and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in areas devastated⁹ by fires. Meantime, a twelve-mile stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway is closed as fire crews tried to contain a huge wildfire that's only three percent contained so far. It's burned nearly 42 square miles and 16 homes in a week.

The US Olympic swim trials are expected to begin as scheduled tomorrow at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Huge chunks¹⁰ of the building were ripped off yesterday during a violent storm. Power is still out for thousands of homes.

And those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source online, on TV, or when you're on the go.