According to current election returns, current President Hamid Karzai and main opponent Abdullah Abdullah are about even in the Afghan presidential race. Only 10 percent of votes are in, and there are already 50 complaints of election fraud, but many believe a runoff election will be needed, AP.
More than 4o people have been killed in a car bomb blast in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The city is a stronghold of the Taliban, though no one has yet claimed responsibility. 60 people were injured. Four U.S. soldiers were also killed in the country while patrolling, but a NATO spokesman would not reveal where in the country the troops were located, BBC News.
The White House is predicting that over the next decade, America will rack up a $9 trillion debt – more than the history of American debt combined. The economy is also predicted to shrink 2.5 to 2.8 percent this year. However, President Obama pointed out that there are signs that the U.S. will come out of the recession soon, such as the success of the cash for clunkers program, which ended yesterday, AP.
NASA will attempt to launch the Space Shuttle Discovery early Wednesday morning at 1:10 am. The shuttle attempted to take off today, but thunderstorms prevented the launch. Discovery will take a 13-day journey to link up with the International Space Station, SPACE. You can follow @Astro_Jose, crew member Jose Hernandez, on Twitter for updates.
The Daily Brief 