Newscast for Monday, August 24, 2009

Democrats could pass health reform without Republican support
President Obama is on vacation this week at Martha’s Vineyard. He has no public events, but the debate on health care reform continues, with Democrats saying they could move forward without the support of Republicans.  FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Following DOJ report, Attorney General Holder reopens CIA torture cases
New information is coming out about Bush-era detainee interrogation practices. And it changed Attorney General Eric Holder’s mind about prosecuting torturers. Today he appointed a special prosecutor to reopen some cases of prisoner abuse. FSRN´s Tanya Snyder reports.

Mexico decriminalizes possession of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs
In a controversial decision, Mexico recently legalized the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs. The new law allows people to carry up to five grams of marijuana, about three to five joints, and half a gram of cocaine. Mexicans will also be allowed to carry small amounts of LSD, Heroin and Methamphetamine.

The law also offers medical treatment for those who are caught with small amounts of drugs. And it requires obligatory treatment for people who are caught with drug possession for the third time.   Trafficking large amounts of drugs and producing them is still illegal in Mexico.  And local authorities say that by decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs, police will be able to focus on fighting Mexico´s powerful drug cartels.

FSRN spoke to Ethan Nadelmann the executive director and founder of the drug policy alliance, a group that seeks alternatives to the war on drugs.  For more information on this issue and alternative drug policies see:  www.drugpolicy.org.

Amidst court battles same sex couples exercise new status in Wisconsin
Today is the first day that same sex couples in Nevada can sign up for a domestic partner registry. They´ll begin to get certificates after October 1st, when a new law legalizing those partnerships goes into effect.

Nevada, along with Wisconsin, are two states in which voters approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but now the state legislatures have approved domestic partnerships as an alternative that grants couples some of the rights that are
given to married couples.

Wisconsin’s domestic partners registry went into effect earlier this month and as couples begin to exercise their newly recognized status, both the registry and that state´s 2006 gay marriage ban are being challenged in court.  FSRN´s Andrew Stelzer has the story.