Newscast for Friday, February 13, 2009

• Who benefits from broadband stimulus?
• Critics say more money needed in stimulus
• Israel attacks Gaza ahead of expected ceasefire
• Cholera gripping Zimbabwe
• The perils of Operation Tijuana

Who benefits from broadband stimulus?
After weeks of wrangling, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are attempting to get the economic stimulus package to President Obama's desk by President's Day. Some $7 billion is slated for broadband expansion in rural and poor communities. As FSRN's Karen Miller reports, critics want to make sure that $7 billion actually builds broadband infrastructure instead of giving the big telecoms more access to government money.

Critics say more money needed in stimulus
So what does the final stimulus version look like? $789 billion sounds like a lot of money – but some economists say it's not nearly enough to deal with the crisis. Dean Baker is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in DC, he spoke with KPFK's Sonali Kolhatkar this morning, and points out some of what might be missing from the stimulus.

Israel attacks Gaza ahead of expected ceasefire
Israeli soldiers shot dead a 14 year-old teen in the West Bank. Soldiers fired at the Palestinian youth during a violent protest in Hebron after identifying him as the leader of a group of teenagers throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers. Meanwhile, an Israeli aerial drone struck Gaza today, claiming one life and wounding at least one other near the border with Egypt, just days ahead of an expected ceasefire. Israel claims the attack targeted militants that were planning to strike first. The fresh pair of Israeli attacks occurs in the backdrop of a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Rami Almeghari has more.

Cholera gripping Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's rainy season will likely compound the country's cholera epidemic. The water-borne disease has claimed more than 3,500 lives in the southern African country in just six months. Water and sanitation services have all but collapsed due to Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis – creating conditions in which this deadly, but entirely treatable disease has spread. Davidson Makanga reports from neighboring South Africa.

The perils of Operation Tijuana
The results of a major Mexican military offensive indicate an unprecedented number of drug and arms seizures, and a record number of high-ranking drug lord detentions. Dubbed Operation Tijuana, the strategy seeks to eliminate the drug trade in Mexico's northern border with the United States. But two years into it, violent murders are at a record high, journalists are being intimidated by authorities and human rights abuses are getting harder and harder to document. FSRN's Victoria Martinez reports from Tijuana.