May 22, 2003
UN Overturn Iraq Sanctions (4:32)
In a nearly unanimous vote, the United Nations security council today approved a US-drafted resolution that recognizes the US and Britain as occupying powers in Iraq and lifts the nearly 13 year old economic sanctions, paving the way for resumed oil exports under their control. Passage of the resolution seemed assured after France, Russia and Germany announced last night they would vote for it. These countries, which opposed the US led invasion, had said that they wanted a lead role for the UN in rebuilding Iraq, but, as Susan Wood reports from the UN, a combination of pressure and incentives appears to have won out for now.
Corporate Crime Pays for MCI (3:13)
Today one of the nations largest accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges of improper professional conduct relating to an audit of a now-bankrupt company. In other corporate crime news, the embattled telecom giant WorldCom is looking less and less so every day. As punishment for defrauding investors to the tune of eleven billion dollars, the company has agreed to pay a fine that’s worth about a week’s worth of its revenue. The company has a new name–MCI, a new DC-area headquarters, and a 45 million dollar no-bid contract from the Pentagon in Iraq. And as Josh Chaffin reports, corporate crime watchers say MCI WorldCom is a symbol of what’s wrong with Wall Street.
Trying the US for Iraqi War Crimes? (4:14)
British newspapers are reporting this week that a British army officer is being investigated for war crimes against Iraqi soldiers and civilians. Back in the US, a New Mexico resident, Martha Dominguez is heading an ad hoc committee filing suit against the US in international court for its crimes against Iraqi citizens. The UN has received the complaint and others like it. And, as KUNM’s Leslie Clark reports, the group is hopeful their voices will be heard:
Standardized Tests Under Fire (3:41)
As the school year draws to an end, attention is being focused on the controversial standardized testing mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. The Texas Board of Education recently voted to reduce the number of questions that students must answer correctly to pass the tests while the Maryland Board of Education has not yet decided whether senior high school students will need to pass the tests to graduate. And today, in Florida, over 12,000 senior high school students protested in front of the offices of Governor Jeb Bush in Miami to stop high stakes testing in Florida, because High School Seniors, many of them Black and Latino are in danger of not graduating next month, as they failed to pass a battery of tests that critics say is ruining Florida public education. Mitch Perry reports from Tampa.
FCC Atlanta Hearing (3:45)
According to a study released today some FCC commissioners including the FCC’s current chair, Michael Powell have received financial compensation for travel from numerous broadcast and other media entities over the last 8 years totaling a cumulative 2.8 million dollars. Meanwhile last night in Atlanta the last in a series of public hearings on the FCC’s proposed new round of media deregulation took place in Atlanta. Evan Davis reports.
