January 12, 2005
Headlines (4:45)
Washington Governor Inaugurated Despite Controversy
Mark Taylor Canfield reports.
Pentagon Slashes Chemical Weapons Disposal Budget
Stephanie Edgerly reports.
UN Debates Haiti
Haider Risvi reports.
IL Passes Gay Rights Measure
Rita Sand reports.
Features
Attacks on Iraqi Army Continue: Report from Baghdad (2:45)
U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) today joined 12 Members of Congress in sending a letter to President Bush requesting that U.S. soldiers be brought home. Woolsey stated in the letter, “It has become clear that the existence of more than 130,000 American troops stationed on Iraqi soil is infuriating to the Iraqi people – especially because Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction and did not have a connection to the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 or to the al Qaeda terrorist organization.” Meanwhile, in Iraq today, three Iraqi army soldiers traveling with U-S troops were killed when gunmen ambushed their convoy near Mosul, two hours north of Baghdad. As the war continues, the newly-reconstituted Iraqi army has fared far worse than its US counterparts, and as Iraqi leaders struggle to boost the numbers of the army in time for elections, other rifts may be exacerbated. David Enders has this report from the Iraqi capital.
Bush Nominee Chertoff Has Alarming Record (3:40)
Immigrant rights activists are alarmed over the nomination of federal judge Michael Chertoff to head the Homeland Security Department. As an assistant attorney general in the months after the 9/11 attacks, Chertoff helped oversee the detention of over 700 immigrants who were never charged with anything related to terrorism. And as Mitch Jeserich reports, Chertoff has recently called for a national debate over whether suspected terrorists who are US citizens could also be detained for non-terrorism crimes.
Debt Relief for Tsunami Countries? (2:31)
In the aftermath of one of the world’s worst natural disaster, many of the very poor countries affected by the December 26 tsunami are finding it impossible to channel aid dollars to its victims because of crippling debt payments to wealthy nations. However as Jenny Johnson reports, today it seems that debt relief has come to these countries from a group of nations called the Paris Club.
UN Meets to Discuss Tsunami Relief (2:09)
According to yesterday’s UN ministerial meeting on humanitarian aid to the victims of the tsunami, international aid has so far averted the second wave of death and destruction due to hunger and disease. But as Julia Steinberger reports from Geneva, the UN is worried that some regions are not receiving aid and that donor countries may be slow in making good on their pledges.
African Nations not Receiving Needed Aid (2:34)
As the world’s attention focuses on the Asian nations that have been so devastated by the tsunami, there are grave concerns that affected African nations wont get the aid that they so desparately need. Sam Olokoye reports from Nigeria.
Israeli Occupation Continues Despite Abbas Election (2:28)
Israeli troops began a new incursion into the West Bank town of Ramallah today using troops, tanks and helicopters and so far two Palestinians have been killed. These are the first reported deaths since Mahmoud Abbas was elected president. As our correspondent in Gaza, Mohamed Omar reports, during and after Sunday’s presidential election, the Israeli occupation has shown little sign of abating.
Can a Connecticut Execution be Stopped? (3:04)
The State of Connecticut is moving toward its first execution in almost half a century — in fact, the first execution in more than 40 years in all of New England. Michael Ross, who admits killing 8 young women in the early 1980s, after raping several of them, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on January 26. It seems unlikely that anything can stop the wheels of the machinery of state-sponsored death, but the very imminence of the execution date has encouraged a rush of activity in the judicial, legislative and public arenas by death penalty opponents. Melinda Tuhus reports from New Haven, Connecticut.
