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 News Around the Americas
Puppy Smugglers Profiting at the U.S. Border
 Associated Press
Smugglers are buying puppies at rock-bottom prices in Mexico and selling them in the United States for up to $1,000, often to owners who later discover the canines are too sick or too young to survive on their own, authorities said.more »»»
Did Bush Commit an Impeachable Offense?
 Senator Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today asked four presidential scholars for their opinion on former White House Counsel John Dean's statement that President Bush admitted to an "impeachable offense" when he said he authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without getting a warrant from a judge.more »»»
Evo Morales: US, Respect Sovereignty
 Prensa Latina
Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales publicly demanded Tuesday that the US respect the people´s decision, and made it clear that the time of submission diplomacy and subordination had ended.more »»»
Report: The Constitution in Crisis
 US House Judiciary Committee Minority Staff
This Minority Report has been produced at the request of Representative John Conyers, Jr. in the wake of the President's failure to respond to a letter submitted by 122 Members of Congress and more than 500,000 Americans in July of this year asking him whether the assertions set forth in the Downing Street Minutes were accurate.more »»»
Bush's Support Jumps After a Long Decline
 Dan Balz & Richard Morin
President Bush's approval rating has surged in recent weeks, reversing what had been an extended period of decline, with Americans now expressing renewed optimism about the future of democracy in Iraq, the campaign against terrorism and the U.S. economy, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll.more »»»
Judge Rules Against 'Intelligent Design'
 Martha Raffaele
The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include "intelligent design," the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled Tuesday.more »»»
For Bolivian Victor, A Powerful Mandate
 Pamela Constable
The sweeping if unofficial victory of Evo Morales in Bolivia's presidential election Sunday has made the former coca farmer and grass-roots activist the nation's strongest elected leader since the end of the last military dictatorship in 1982 and has given him an unprecedented opportunity to transform the impoverished Andean country.more »»»
Small Bus Companies Give Mexican Immigrants a Ride Home for Christmas
 Daniel Connolly
This month, many Mexican immigrants make a traditional journey home in time for Christmas. In the South, some choose to travel with numerous small bus companies that have sprung up as the region's Hispanic population has grown. Customers can expect relatively low prices, service in Spanish and a long ride - in some cases more than 24 hours.more »»»
US Pentagon Spying on Americans in US and Abroad
 Walter Pincus
The Pentagon's newest counterterrorism agency, charged with protecting military facilities and personnel wherever they are, is carrying out intelligence collection, analysis and operations within the United States and abroad, according to a Pentagon fact sheet.more »»»
Chile: Bachelet Leads Second Electoral Round
 Prensa Latina
Government candidate Michelle Bachelet has a five-point lead over right-wing opposition businessman Sebastian Piñera in the campaign for the second electoral round in Chile, according to the latest poll.more »»»
Cheney Roars Back on Spying, Torture, Iraq
 ABC News
What does Vice President Dick Cheney really think about what's going on in Iraq, the latest revelations about domestic spying and the anti-torture amendment? The usually media-shy Cheney made a surprise trip Sunday to Iraq, where he talked with ABC News' Terry Moran, co-anchor of "Nightline" - here are excerpts from the interview.more »»»
Evo Morales Wins Election for President in Bolivia
 Juan Forero
Evo Morales, a candidate for president who has pledged to reverse a campaign financed by the United States to wipe out coca growing, scored a decisive victory in general elections in Bolivia on Sunday.more »»»
In New Orleans, No Easy Work for Willing Latinos
 Manuel Roig-Franzia
For countless Latinos, many of them also in the country illegally, flooded-out New Orleans has not turned out to be a modern-day El Dorado. Instead, they have often been abandoned without transportation or shelter by the contractors who brought them to the city.more »»»
Cuba Avoids Friction with US Over Guantanamo
 Anthony Boadle
American anti-torture activists who marched through southeastern Cuba to protest the detention of terror suspects at the United States naval base at Guantanamo Bay had to settle last week for a prayer vigil five miles away.more »»»
Poll: Majority Oppose Immediate Iraq Exit
 Will Lester
A solid majority of Americans oppose immediately pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, citing as a main reason the desire to finish the job of stabilizing the country, an AP-Ipsos poll found.more »»»
Can Bolivia Vote Bring Stability?
 James Painter
Sunday's elections in Bolivia were called by President Eduardo Rodriguez in an attempt to pull the country out of deeply-rooted political instability which has seen his two predecessors removed by popular protests. But will they make a difference?more »»»
Protesters Try to Storm WTO Talks
 Sam Cage
Hundreds of protesters wielding bamboo sticks broke through police lines Saturday and tried to storm the convention center hosting global trade talks, but security forces scattered the crowd with tear gas. Police said 41 people were injured and 900 were detained.more »»»
Bush Defends Eavesdropping Order and Patriot Act
 Caren Bohan & Thomas Ferraro
President George W. Bush acknowledged he signed a secret order to allow eavesdropping on people in the United States on Saturday, as he fought for the renewal of the anti-terror USA Patriot Act.more »»»
US House Approves Border Fence
 Suzanne Gamboa
The House continued to struggle Friday over how best to shut down illegal immigration, approving the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border but putting off debate on an explosive proposal to deny citizenship to babies born in this country to illegal immigrants.more »»»
Report of NSA Spying Prompts Call for Probe
 Jennifer Loven
A key Republican committee chairman put the Bush administration on notice Friday that his panel would hold hearings into a report that the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States.more »»»
Senate Blocks Extension of Patriot Act
 Jesse J. Holland
The Senate on Friday rejected attempts to reauthorize several provisions of the USA Patriot Act as infringing too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.more »»»
US House Moves To Tighten Immigration Law
 AP
House Republicans tried to close ranks Thursday on an immigration bill that some complained was not tough enough and others said was inadequate because it failed to include a guest worker program.more »»»
Bolivia Candidate 'US Nightmare'
 BBC News
The leftist front-runner for Sunday's election in Bolivia, Evo Morales, has ended his campaign saying his movement is "a nightmare for the United States." Mr Morales has vowed to end free-market policies and legalise the growing of coca, which has traditional uses but is also used in the production of cocaine.more »»»
Latin America's Year of Election
 BBC News
Latin America's political map could find itself being redrawn as 12 of the region's countries prepare for presidential elections between November 2005 and the end of 2006. One of the key issues - being closely watched by Washington - is whether the recent left-wing trend in the region will continue.more »»»
U.S. Charges Mexican Drug Makers
 Mark Sherman
A U.S. grand jury has indicted eight Mexican drug makers on charges they sold steroids to Americans via the Internet in what the Drug Enforcement Administration said Thursday was its largest operation against suppliers of the banned substances.more »»»
Bush Caves on Torture Policy
 Brian Knowlton
The White House, after weeks of resistance, agreed today to Senator John McCain's call for a law specifically banning cruel or inhuman treatment of terror suspects anywhere in the world.more »»»
Illegal Immigration Could Be a Felony
 Nicole Gaouette
Under immigration legislation being considered in the House, living illegally in the United States would no longer be a violation of civil immigration law. It would be a federal crime.more »»»
Bolivia Gears Up for Early Elections
 Simon Hooper
As the governmental capital of a country supposedly on the brink of chaos, La Paz was surprisingly tranquil this week. In Plaza Murillo crowds enjoyed the morning sunshine, more concerned by melting ice creams than the political meltdown predicted by some observers ahead of Sunday's Bolivian presidential election.more »»»
Columnist Says Bush Knows Who Leaked Name
 Carol D. Leonnig
Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, who has repeatedly declined to discuss his role in disclosing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, said in a speech this week that he is certain President Bush knows who his mystery administration source is.more »»»
House Defies Bush and Backs McCain on Detainee Torture
 Eric Schmitt
In an unusual bipartisan rebuke to the Bush administration, the House on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed Senator John McCain's measure to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners in American custody anywhere in the world.more »»»
God Fearing Americans Put Faith In Angels, Miracles
 AFP
Rock solid majorities of Americans believe in God, angels, heaven and hell, and the survival of the soul after death, according to a new poll. Sizable minorities also think ghosts and UFO's exist, the Harris Interactive poll published Wednesday found.more »»»
Ford to Run Ads Targeted at Gays, Lesbians
 Tom Incantalupo
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it would try to ease tensions between it and human rights groups by running corporate ads for all eight of its brands in publications targeted at gays and lesbians.more »»»
Bush Backs Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove
 Adam Entous
US President George W. Bush offered strong endorsements on Wednesday to two architects of the Iraq war, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, and said he was as close as ever to top political adviser Karl Rove despite his role in the CIA leak case.more »»»
Judge Clears Way for Border Fence
 Elliot Spagat
A federal judge this week lifted the final legal barrier to completing a border fence meant to thwart illegal immigrants in the southwestern corner of the US. The project comprises 14 miles of additional fencing in San Diego.more »»»
Protesters Against Budget Cuts Arrested
 Richard Cowan
More than 100 religious activists protesting proposed cuts to health care and other social welfare programs were arrested on Wednesday after they staged a peaceful sit-in at a government building near the United States Capitol.more »»»
Is the Pentagon Spying on Americans?
 Lisa Myers, Douglas Pasternak & Rich Gardella
A year ago, a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military.more »»»
McCain, White House Remain at Impasse
 Liz Sidoti
Sen. John McCain and President Bush's national security adviser met Wednesday but failed to reach a compromise on the senator's proposed ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign terrorism suspects. "At this point, discussions are ongoing," national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.more »»»
California Death Penalty Moratorium on the Table
 Jordan Rau
On Jan. 10, an Assembly committee plans to consider legislation that would place a moratorium on executions until a special commission finishes examining whether California's criminal justice system allows innocent people to be convicted.more »»»
Bush Defends Decision to Go to War in Iraq
Nedra Pickler
President Bush accepted responsibility on Wednesday for going to war with faulty intelligence, but firmly defended a decision that has deeply divided the country. "We cannot and will not leave Iraq until victory is achieved," he said.more »»»
Latin America Turns to DNA Tests to Solve War Crimes
 Mica Rosenberg
Boxes of bones from mass graves line the walls of an open-air laboratory, where remains from men, women and children killed during Guatemala's 36-year civil war wait to be identified.more »»»
Protests and Deadlocks Weigh on WTO Talks
 The Financial Times
Thousands of activists marched through Hong Kong on Tuesday and scuffled with anti-riot police in protest against the World Trade Organisation, as ministers from the body's 149 member countries opened talks to break the deadlock in the Doha trade round.more »»»
Chavez Slams Conspiracy Plot
 Prensa Latina
In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez disclosed information gathered by agents infiltrated in extreme rightwing groups, confirming that civilian conspirators, army members and "even people of the Church" and US officials are still holding secretive meetings.more »»»
Elections Could Tilt Latin America Further to the Left
 Juan Forero
Starting yesterday in Chile, voters in 11 countries will participate in a series of presidential elections over the next year that could take Latin America further to the left than it already is.more »»»
Immigration Hits Five-Year High, Report Says
 Stephen Ohlemacher
Immigration - both legal and illegal - continues to boom as Congress grapples with how to better control America's borders. A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies found that 7.9 million people moved to the United States in the past five years, the highest five-year period of immigration on record.more »»»
Court Rejects California Gang Founder's Appeal
 Adam Tanner
The California Supreme Court has rejected a late appeal to reopen the case of condemned Crips gang leader Stanley Tookie Williams, leaving his fate in the hands of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday.more »»»
Spanish at School Translates to Suspension
 T.R. Reid
Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in which the three most common words are "like," "whatever" and "totally." But Zach is also fluent in his dad's native language, Spanish - and that's what got him suspended from school.more »»»
Unlikely Candidate Leads in Chile
 Patrick J. McDonnell
The candidate faced the hard women of this rugged Patagonian town. They were angry about the fate of their sons and husbands, a dozen lost in recent years to drownings, suicides, street crime.more »»»
With Humor and Anger On Race Issues, Comic Inspired a Generation
 Matt Schudel
Richard Pryor, the outrageously raunchy and uproariously funny comedian and actor who defied the boundaries of taste, decency and race to become the comic voice of a generation, died yesterday at a Los Angeles hospital, where he had been taken after a heart attack. Pryor, who was 65, had been in deteriorating health for years because of multiple sclerosis.more »»»
Nobel Laureate Slams Bush, Blair
 CNN News
Nobel literature laureate Harold Pinter has slammed U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a harsh award lecture, saying they should be prosecuted for the invasion of Iraq.more »»»
Cubans Ready to Resist
 Prensa Latina
Thousands of regular members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of Interior joined volunteer militia for drills all over the country early Sunday morning.more »»»
Many Refuse to Pay 'War Tax' on Phone Bill
 M.L. Lyke
For Seattle peace activist Bert Sacks, the monthly act of resistance adds up to only 59 cents. Symbolically, however, refusing to pay the "war tax" on his Qwest phone bill represents a pocketbook protest against what he sees as misuse of US military power.more »»»
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