Archive - Apr 7, 2009

• ICE detains student after he’s acquitted on federal charges
• Obama visits Turkey, resists using “genocide” in connection to mass killing of Armenians
• Thousands of civilians in Sri Lanka trapped in no-fire zone
• Some in Chicago cautious of 2016 Olympic bid
• Bloggers say new proposal could hurt small farmers

• Vermont legislature overrides Governor and legalizes gay marriage
• DC City Council recognizes gay marriages from states
• Fujimori guilty – sentenced to 25 years
• Strong aftershocks in Abruzzo – search and rescue continued today
• Palestinian killed at Jerusalem roadblock while Israel demolishes another home

The Council on American Islamic Relations and local human rights activists are calling for the release of Youssef Megahed today in Tampa. Megahead was arrested yesterday on immigration charges – just 3 days after he was acquitted in a federal trial of carrying explosives.  Mitch Perry reports from Tampa.

President Obama made a surprise stop in Baghdad today, where he spoke with military leaders and greeted excited service members, but the President didn’t leave the International Airport in Baghdad, citing bad visibility due to sandstorms. Obama heads back to the states now after an eight-day international visit, which included Turkey. Political commentators debated whether President Obama would use the word “genocide” when referring to the mass killing of Armenians during World War 1 – and he didn’t. Aura Bogado spoke with Congress member Adam Schiff, who has re-introduced a resolution in the House that recognizes the Ottoman Empire’s killing of one and a half million Armenians starting in 1915 as genocide, and with musician and Axis of Justice co-founder Serj Tankian about Obama, Turkey, and the Armenian Genocide.

Click here to the full newscast for Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A U.N. human rights official is calling for a pause in Sri Lanka's civil war, and is urging the Tamil Tiger rebels to allow tens of thousands of trapped civilians to flee the fighting. The call comes two days after the military pushed the rebels and civilians into a tiny pocket of a government designated no-fire zone. FSRN’s Ponniah Manikavasagam reports from Sri Lanka.

Members of the International Olympic Committee are winding down their weeklong visit to Chicago to evaluate the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. But as Chris Geovanis reports, not everyone thinks the Olympics will be good for Chicago.

Pistachios from the second largest provider have been recalled in the past week, due to positive tests of salmonella at Setton Pistachio in California. The development has given public interest advocates greater ammunition to push for stricter food safety protocols. Several bills are in the works in Congress, but as FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports, some food and farm bloggers are up in arms about the proposals.