welcome. i m bob abernethy. it s good to have you with us. president obama has been meeting with congressional leaders this week, continuing negotiations over raising the debt ceiling and reducing the federal deficit. the president says he wants increased tax revenue in addition to budgets cuts, some of which would affect medicare, medicaid and social security. several religious groups meanwhile are lobbying congress. they say any cuts that hurt the poor are immoral. according to a new report from the united nations, global food production must increase by up to a 100% by 2050 to feed the world s growing population. the u.n. also says that more than 900 million people currently suffer from malnutrition. in east africa, severe drought and rising food prices have led to wide-spread famine. 12 million people are affected and tens of thousands have fled somalia alone in search of food. the dalai lama arrived in washington this week for an 11-day peace festival. the even