April 28, 2003
Argentina: Menem Wins 25% (3:18)
Former Argentine President Carlos Menem won Sunday’s presidential elections with just 25% of the votes. As none of the candidates were able to secure more than half of the votes, Menem and Nestor Kirchner, who obtained 22% of the votes, will run off in a second round on May 18. Pablo Boido and Tomás Elliaschev report form Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires.
Capitol Hill Back in Session (3:02)
The US Senate returned to work today after a two-week recess, the House is back tomorrow Congress is still hard at work on a scaled-back Bush tax cut package that State leaders say may threaten their ability to cover the uninsured, the IRS is poised to crack down on cheating low-income taxpayers and controversial judicial nominees still have not been confirmed. Josh Chaffin has a roundup of the news from Washington.
Canada to Deport Lakota Man (3:15)
Canadian immigration officials will tomorrow deport Indigenous activist, Charlie Wolf Smoke from Canada to the US. Wolf Smoke has declared himself pre-Canadian and pre-American, and has not claimed citizenship with either country. Therefore, he says, neither the Canadian nor American State has any authority over him or any indigenous people throughout North America. Stefan Christoff reports from Quebec.
Peace March Reached DC (3:01)
This afternoon marchers completed the final 9 mile leg of a three day peace and justice walk from Baltimore to Washington DC. They arrived at the White House to call attention to the victims of war, and the cuts to funding for social programs. Joining the march for day two’s 16 mile stretch was FSRN correspondent, Sarah Turner.
NRA Meets A Million Moms (4:00)
On the heels of the school shooting in Philadelphia last week, the NRA’s rank and file members were all towing the party line on gun control at their annual convention, this past weekend in Orlando, Florida. Anything that limited law abiding persons rights to bear arms was seen as a direct attack on the 2nd Amendment. But the organization Million Mom March, proved to be just as vocal in its opposition to the NRA, as it staged a rally in front of the convention hall. The organization hopes to prevent any more school shootings, keep the assault weapons ban on the books, and thwart legislation moving through Congress that would stop forever any legal action against gun manufacturers. Randi Zimmerman, from Pacifica affiliate WMNF in Tampa attended both events.
Nigerian Election Fraud Exposed (3:45)
A week after Nigerians went to the polls to elect a new president, the EU has strongly criticized the process saying their election monitors have obtained evidence of widespread election fraud in 13 states. President Elect Obasanjo, while lashing out at the EU monitors, has sought to reassure his opponents by saying his cabinet will be chosen on merit. Yet as FSRN correspondent Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos, Nigeria, many social and political groups have protested the final result saying Obasanjo will not meet the basic needs of Nigerians, and that free and fare elections need to be observed.
