[ti:A Second Term for Karzai; US Jobless Rate at 10.2] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:IN THE NEWS] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS [00:05.32]in VOA Special English. [00:08.85]People in Afghanistan were supposed [00:12.81]to vote again Saturday for president. [00:16.06]But earlier this week [00:18.16]the Independent Election Commission [00:21.16]declared Hamid Karzai [00:23.45]the winner of a second term. [00:26.29]His only remaining opponent [00:29.24]had withdrawn. [00:30.75]Abdullah Abdullah said [00:33.61]he did not believe the second vote [00:36.31]would be any more fair. [00:38.62]International observers [00:41.22]found widespread cheating [00:43.47]in the election in August. [00:45.77]Investigators rejected almost [00:48.30] one-third of the ballots [00:51.02]for President Karzai. [00:52.82]That denied him the majority needed [00:56.46]to avoid a runoff election. [00:59.31]But Abdullah Abdullah withdrew Sunday [01:03.46]after the president rejected his demands [01:06.56]-- including dismissal of the head [01:09.97]of the election commission. [01:12.17]Western leaders called on [01:15.06]President Karzai to improve [01:17.12]governance and security. [01:20.07]He told reporters that [01:23.03]he will "continue to make [01:25.14]every possible effort," in his words, [01:28.25]to end government corruption. [01:31.11]President Obama says the proof [01:34.46]is going to be not in words but in actions. [01:39.25]This week was the first [01:42.01]anniversary of his own election. [01:44.86]And one decision weighing heavily [01:47.65]on him is whether to send thousands [01:50.69]more troops to Afghanistan [01:53.14]to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida. [01:56.20]His top general there has warned [01:59.93]that the eight-year effort [02:02.09]to defeat the insurgency [02:03.74]could fail without more troops. [02:07.07]Sixty-eight thousand Americans [02:10.29]and forty thousand other foreign troops [02:13.85]are already in the war. [02:16.24]Critics have accused the president [02:19.29]of taking too long. [02:20.89]Administration officials say [02:23.63]they expect a decision [02:26.08]in the coming weeks. [02:28.28]This week, two American states, [02:31.29]Virginia and New Jersey, [02:33.84]elected governors. [02:35.33]Republican Party candidates [02:38.24]won both elections. [02:40.20]Barack Obama won both states last year, [02:44.04]and spent time campaigning [02:46.29]for the Democrats in this year's races. [02:49.18]Some people said the results showed [02:52.82]displeasure with his policies. [02:55.33]Others noted that a majority [02:58.57]of voters said they did not [03:00.81]consider him in their decision. [03:03.67]Next November are the midterm elections. [03:07.98]Democrats now control Congress [03:11.17]and the White House. [03:12.96]But historically the party [03:15.59]that controls the White House suffers [03:18.49]losses in elections halfway [03:21.17]through a president's first term. [03:23.58]The economy is starting to improve. [03:27.18]But high unemployment and issues [03:30.72]like reform of the health care system [03:33.31]could influence public opinion. [03:36.20]On Thursday, the president thanked [03:39.74]two groups for giving their support [03:42.34]to a health care bill [03:44.42]in the House of Representatives. [03:46.69]One is a doctors group, [03:49.38]the American Medical Association. [03:52.34]The other is AARP, [03:55.28]representing forty million older Americans. [03:59.68]On Friday President Obama signed [04:03.47]into law a bill that extends payments [04:07.10]for the unemployed and expands [04:09.88]a tax credit for homebuyers. [04:12.83]But also Friday, the government reported [04:16.82]that the unemployment rate was ten [04:19.58]and two-tenths percent in October. [04:22.77]That was higher than expected, [04:25.16]and above ten percent for the first time [04:28.26]in twenty-six years. [04:30.40]But job losses have been slowing. [04:35.00]And that's IN THE NEWS [04:37.46]in VOA Special English, [04:40.20]written by Brianna Blake. [04:42.52]I'm Mario Ritter.