US illegal migrants up almost 500,000 a year
• By Edward Alden in Washington - FT.comThe population of unauthorised migrants reached between 11.5m and 12m last year, accounting for nearly a third of the foreign-born population in the US.
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Retirement Fund Tapped to Avoid National Debt Limit
• By Stephen Barr - Washington PostThe Treasury Department has started drawing from the civil service pension fund to avoid hitting the $8.2 trillion national debt limit. The move to tap the pension fund follows last month's decision to suspend investments in a retirement savings
Ariz. Governor Orders Troops to Border
• By JACQUES BILLEAUD - APNapolitano did not say how many additional troops would be stationed at the border and referred questions to the National Guard, which did not immediately return a call.
Woodruff recovering, able to speak
• APFive weeks after ABC anchorman Bob Woodruff was seriously injured in an Iraqi explosion, he remains hospitalized but is able to say a few words and is starting to walk, his brother said Tuesday.
Israel will have to act on Iran
• By Louis CharbonneauBERLIN (Reuters) - If the U.N. Security Council is incapable of taking action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself, Israel's defense minister said on Wednesday.
Iran Threatens U.S. Over Nuclear Program
• By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press WriterVIENNA, Austria - Iran threatened the United States with "harm and pain" Wednesday if the U.S. tries to use the U.N. Security Council — which has the power to impose sanctions — as a lever to punish Tehran for its suspect nuclear program.
Abramoff talks to Vanity Fair
• Raw StoryVanity Fair is set to publish a tell-all interview with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, noting that his plea-bargain sentence can be "substantially reduced" by co-operating with investigators.
Afghan—Pakistan border relations breaking down to war
• Associated pressA dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan over intelligence in the war on terror worsened, with Kabul saying it has provided "very strong and accurate" information on Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives, which Islamabad has dismissed as outdate
Iraqi women murdered for not wearing head scarf
• Reuters"Women are being killed because they don't wear headscarves and veils," said a WRA spokeswoman. "A life is being taken because of a simple piece of cloth, and someone should prevent more women from being killed by these ignorant p
Iran offers to suspend uranium enrichment for 2 years
• ABC NewsIran is offering to suspend full-scale uranium enrichment for up to 2 years, a diplomat said. The proposal reflected Tehran's attempts to escape UN Security Council action over the activity, which can be used to make nuclear arms.
Study on prescription drug prices comes as revelation to some
• ReutersDrug companies cannot blame long product testing times for the rising prices of medicines, researchers said. "Drug companies will price new drugs at the highest price that the market will bear, not based on drug development times."
US productivity down for first time since Bush took office
• Agence France PresseUS workers' productivity slipped by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, the Labor Department said in a revised report that marked the first fall in the data since early 2001. Productivity is an essential factor in long-term economic health, allowing compani
UN: Arbitrarily detaining thousands of people might be illegal
• Associated PressUS-led coalition forces and Iraq's authorities may be violating international law by arbitrarily detaining thousands of people, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. Iraq's prison system remains a major concern and investigation into torture
New function of US embassies: Overtly commit acts of War
• New York TimesThe military is placing small teams of Special Operations troops in a growing number of American embassies to gather intelligence on terrorists in unstable parts of the world and to prepare for potential missions to disrupt, capture or kill them.
Those surveillance cameras will only be used to catch speeders ... well, ....
• The GuardianDrivers talking on mobile phones or failing to wear seatbelts could find themselves tracked down through a widened use of road surveillance cameras. A expansion of surveillance which is transforming Britain into the most watched country in the world.
Bush's Iraqi Civil War continues with 23 found hanged
• Associated PressAt least 23 bodies — many of them hanged — were found dumped in parts of Baghdad, while a string of explosions killed at least four people in the Iraqi capital, police said. Found 18 bodies in an abandoned minibus in west Baghdad, the victims — all m
US Ambassador to Iraq says war a mistake
• Los Angeles TimesUS Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said the invasion of Iraq had opened a "Pandora's box" of ethnic and sectarian tensions that could engulf the region. The US had little choice but to maintain a strong presence in Iraq, or
Just like voting machines, thousands of SAT scores wrong
• Associated PressAbout 4,000 students who took the main SAT college entrance exam last October received incorrectly low scores because of problems with the scanning of their answer sheets. The College Board, which owns the exam, notified college admissions offices of
Vermont Towns begin to endorse Bush impeachment
• Associated PressIn five Vermont communities, a centuries-old tradition of residents gathering in town halls to conduct local business became a vehicle to send a message to Washington: Impeach the president.
New York Stock Exchange goes public
• ReutersThe New York Stock Exchange will ring the opening bell in honor of itself on Wednesday as it goes public, ending a 213-year history as a member-owned club and eyeing further growth in the booming exchange sector.
Rep. Delay wins Republican Primary in Texas
• Associated PressDeLay campaigned at carefully orchestrated events, avoided direct interviews with reporters and largely focused on his hometown of Sugar Land. It paid off with a 2-to-1 victory margin over lawyer Tom Campbell, who had ties to the first President Bush
US still opposes Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline
• Associated pressThe White House said it still opposes a proposed natural gas pipeline linking energy-rich Iran with India, clarifying remarks by President Bush that seemed to soften US opposition to the project. Bush said, "our beef with Iran is not the pipelin
Bush Administration making friends with the Russians
• ReutersThe top diplomats from Russia and the United States exposed their countries' widening rift on Tuesday, publicly airing disagreements over how to curb Iran's nuclear programs and other issues, such as trade and democracy.
High gas prices a result of too little government oversight
• Associated PressToo little oversight of financial markets — not supply and demand problems — are to blame for skyrocketing natural gas prices, top law enforcement officials in four Midwestern states said Tuesday.
US opposes ANY compromise with Iran
• Agence France PresseStiff US opposition and a refusal by Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment appeared to doom a Russian compromise designed to head off UN Security Council action against Tehran's atomic program.
CIA says providing Libby with documents would shut them down
• ReutersThe CIA would have a hard time advising President Bush on security threats if a judge forced it to provide material sought by a former vice presidential aide accused of perjury, the agency said. "The job would divert their precious time and effo
New Patriot Act Passes House to be signed by Bush
• Washington PostThe 280-138 vote followed Senate approval last week of the bill and a related House-passed measure to renew the 2001 Patriot Act, a centerpiece in President Bush's war on terrorism.
Senate will not have promised domestic spying hearing
• Reuters"The committee, to put it bluntly, is basically under the control of the White House through its chairman," said a visibly frustrated Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV). Republicans rejected that the intelligence panel was retreating from its ove
Gasoline prices continue to climb
• ReutersU.S. drivers saw gasoline prices soar an average 7.7 cents a gallon over the last week. The national price for regular unleaded gasoline jumped to $2.33 a gallon, up 33 cents from a year ago and the highest level in a month.
Whistleblowers allege untoward influence in Mexico wastewater plant deal
• Raw StoryThe National Security Whistleblower's Coalition accused senior Republicans of undue influence in a Mexico wasterwater treatment plant. Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) was formerly a lobbyist for the company who is looking to seal the deal.
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