Los Angeles Times: Reporting from Beijing — China called Sunday for an emergency international meeting to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula, but the United States and South Korea, engaged in large-scale war games nearby, appeared initially cool to the idea. The proposal followed a rare burst of shuttle diplomacy by the Chinese, who have [...]
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Assailants on motorcycles attached bombs to the cars of two nuclear scientists as they were driving to work in Tehran Monday, killing one and seriously wounding the other, state television reported. The report did not say whether the two university teachers were directly involved in the country’s highly controversial nuclear program. [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The release of more than 250,000 classified State Department documents forced the Obama administration into damage control, trying to contain fallout from unflattering assessments of world leaders and revelations about backstage U.S. diplomacy. The publication of the secret cables on Sunday amplified widespread global alarm about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and unveiled occasional [...]
The Hill: The Senate’s approval of a $1.15 billion settlement for black farmers meant to deal with decades of past discrimination capped a roller-coaster year on the issue for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Vilsack was in the legislative trenches for much of this year pushing for the settlement’s passage, which still must be approved by [...]
YORK, Pa. (AP) – They lived outside society, hidden from the world in a squalid row house with no heat, electricity or running water. They had no birth certificates, no schooling, no immunizations or evidence of medical care – nothing whatsoever to prove their existence. Police in this south-central Pennsylvania city are still piecing together [...]
CORVALLIS, Ore.n (AP) – Muslim leaders called on authorities to step up protection for the region’s Islamic community, days after a Somali-American man was accused of trying to blow up a van full of explosives during Portland’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The plea followed a fire Sunday at the Islamic center where suspect Mohamed Osman [...]
Bloomberg: Ireland is in the final stages of negotiating an international aid package to rescue its financial system before markets open on Monday after investors yesterday dumped the bonds of its largest banks. Euro-area finance ministers may seal an agreement with Ireland tomorrow, with a teleconference slated to begin at 4 p.m. Brussels time, a [...]
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) – Authorities are beefing up security at schools in this border city after graffiti threatening attacks on students and teachers was scrawled on school grounds, state and local officials said Friday. Officials have increased police patrols and are installing security cameras to prevent a repeat of last week’s spate of threats [...]
Los Angeles Times: Reporting from San Diego — Federal authorities have unearthed another cross-border tunnel in a San Diego warehouse district, the second major tunnel discovery and multi-ton seizure of marijuana believed to be from Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel in a month. The tunnel, which started in a residence in Tijuana, stretched nearly half [...]
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) – A 21-year-old university student lies dead from a gunshot to the head. Nearby, paramedics wrap the head of another woman in a blood-soaked shirt while her husband holds their cowering children. They were shopping in a popular downtown promenade when gunmen chasing a security guard opened fire into the crowd. This [...]
Bloomberg: The executive director of the National Football League players union said a player lockout next season is a “near certainty,” and that it would cost the U.S. economy an estimated $5 billion in lost wages, taxes and other revenue if the entire season is canceled. In an interview on “Political Capital With Al Hunt” [...]
Outgoing chief Julian Leyzaola SAN DIEGO (AP) – Tijuana’s mayor-elect said Friday that he will replace the border city’s top cop, who launched an unprecedented campaign to loosen the grip of drug cartels on what has been one of Mexico’s most corrupt police forces. But in a sign of continuity, Julian Leyzaola will be succeeded [...]
George Djura Jakubec Los Angeles Times: Reporting from San Diego — Authorities are slowly trying to piece together how — and why — a 54-year-old Serbian emigre acquired large quantities of explosive ingredients that could be used to make the kind of bombs favored by terrorists, including insurgents trying to kill U.S. troops in Iraq [...]
(Reuters) – The United States needs to be realistic about its efforts to engage Iran, whose leaders are lying about Tehran’s nuclear program and are on a path to building nuclear weapons, the top U.S. military officer said. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in comments released on Friday that [...]
