November 30, 2004

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Headlines (5:27)

Recounts Around the Nation
Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb filed official requests for a presidential ballot recount in New Mexico and Nevada. As in Ohio, Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik joined him.  Today a hand recount of New Hampshire ballots wrapped up. In New Hamshire, Avishay Artsy has the story.

Supreme Court to Determine How Far Title IX Reaches
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if someone reporting gender discrimination is as equally protected as those who are being discriminated against. Heather Buckheim reports from D.C.

NLRB Says Temp Workers Not Equal
The National Labor Relations Board ruled that temporary workers are not equal to permanent status workers. Sarah Turner has more from the Worker’s Independent News Service.

UN Says UK Violates Children’s Rights
The United Nations has voiced “grave concern” about the violation of children’s rights in Britain.  Naomi Fowler has more from London.

Ridge Leaves Homeland Security
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge formally announced his resignation this afternoon from the department.  Ridge ended his second term as Pennsylvania governor early so that he could help create the Homeland Security department. In prior interviews, Ridge said that he would likely leave the 6-figure position because of the stress and need to make more money to send his two children through college.  One news magazine reported that Ridge has job opportunities with a few large defense contractors and a politically connected Philadelphia law firm that works on homeland security.

Mfume Leaves NAACP
President of the NAACP, the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States, is leaving. Kweisi Mfume left his U.S. Congressional seat 9 years ago to lead the organization.  He denies any internal troubles with Chairman Julian Bond and says it is just time to move on.

Features

9-11 Bill Raises Concerns for Immigrants  (4:07)
Today the two chairs of the 9/11 Commission and some 9/11 family member groups increased the pressure on Congress to pass the intelligence and national security reform bill when it reconvenes next week.  However, with the increasing pressure, other 9/11 family groups are backing Republican lawmakers who have stalled the bill because it lacks several anti-immigration provisions.  Though the House bill would do more to crack down on illegal immigration, the Senate-House conference committee’s tenuous agreement also raises civil liberties and immigration concerns. Mitch Jeserich reports.

Red Cross and Lawyers Say US Engaged in Torture  (3:55)
Today’s New York Times disclosed a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross charging that the U.S. military participated in acts of torture at Guantanamo prison. The charges come as the Center for Constitutional Rights today filed war crimes charges against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and eight other Bush Administration and military officials for criminal complaints of torture inside Abu Ghraib prison. The DC Radio Co-op’s Selina Musuta reports from Washington, DC.

Texas Woman Awaits Execution  (4:04)
On the eve of the scheduled execution of Frances Newton in Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union has issued a report called “the forgotten population,” which takes a look at death row in America through the eyes of women. From KPFT in Houston, Renee Feltz has more.

Colombian Women Victims of Internal War  (4:05)
Latin American nations last week celebrated the International Day of No Violence Against Women, a date which commemorates the rape, torture and murder of four sisters in the Dominican Republic who were victims of the repressive Trujillo regime.  In Colombia, women and girls have been the hidden victim of the country’s 40-year-old armed conflict. Last year, 220 women were killed for socio-political reasons outside combat – in the street, home or workplace – and 20 were “disappeared”. From Bogotá, Nicole Karsin reports.

Change the Constitution for Arnold or for Immigrant Rights?  (4:10)
A proposed constitutional amendment would allow foreign-born citizens to become president if they have been naturalized Americans for at least twenty years. The inspiration and likely first beneficiary of such an amendment is the Austrian-born California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who came to the United States when he was 21. But, as Kellia Ramares reports, the movement to allow foreign born citizens to become president has more to do with Schwarzenegger himself and his support for war and big business than it does for immigrant rights.

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