Archive - Jul 24, 2009

• Deadline to close Gitmo approaches without a concrete plan for detainees
• Administration figures tout stimulus before congressional scrutiny
• Minimum wage increase for some, but not all
• Arizona tribes push back against uranium mining on native land
• Oversight of BART police in the wake of Oscar Grant shooting

• Zelaya supporters attempt to flood the Honduras/Nicaragua border in preparation for his return
• UN accuses Hezbollah of impeding investigation in to alleged treaty violations
• H1N1 world update: Swine flu surges in the UK
• Maricopa County sheriff defies feds in new immigration sweep

As the 6 month deadline for the closure of Guantanamo Bay nears, lawmakers are still debating how they will deal with current and future detained enemy combatants.  FSRN’s Sam Greenspan reports from Washington.

Three Cabinet officials testified before Congress today in favor of the stimulus. They trumpeted the projects and programs the stimulus is funding – but they didn’t talk much about jobs. Some Republicans say the spending package hasn’t created jobs fast enough. Tanya Snyder reports.

The US federal minimum wage goes up to $7.25 an hour today. The increase is welcome news to minimum wage earners, but not all low-wage workers will benefit. On the line is Raj Nayak of the National Employment Law Project.

Native tribes and environmental groups are gathering near the Grand Canyon in Arizona this weekend, calling for protections from proposed uranium mining in the area. Earlier this week the department of interior ordered a 2 year ban on new mining and exploration. Tribal groups say the ban should include some 10 thousand existing mining proposals as well. Christina Aanestad files this report from Arizona.

In California, the defense attorney of a former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer involved in the fatal shooting of 22 year-old Oscar Grant is seeking the dismissal of murder charges. The attorney claims the death was accidental arguing that his client intended to fire his taser, but pulled the trigger of his handgun by mistake. Meanwhile, BART governance has been slowly working towards a promise it made after the shooting — to create a civilian body to oversee the BART police. As Andrew Stelzer reports, its unclear whether Bay Area citizens will end up with any real power when that oversight body is finally passed into law.