The World
By Alex Altman, Harriet Barovick, Gilbert Cruz, Andrea Ford, Kate Pickert, Frances Romero, M.J. Stephey, Claire Suddath
1 | Washington Court Is in Session
With the presidential election less than a month away, the Supreme Court began its 2008 term on Oct. 6 amid speculation on how the future of the court might be shaped by a John McCain or Barack Obama presidency. Although neither candidate has said much about court appointments, the ages of several justices--John Paul Stevens is 88, and four others are in their 70s--indicate some might retire during the next Administration. Meanwhile, the current court under John Roberts will hear testimony in coming weeks regarding everything from labeling on tobacco products to on-air vulgarity. A look at three upcoming cases:
Wyeth v. Levine The court will decide whether state lawsuits against drug companies regarding possibly misleading labels are valid if the labels were previously approved by the FDA
Ashcroft v. Iqbal A Pakistani man will argue that former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other government officials are responsible for discrimination and abuse he received while under arrest
Fox Television v. FCC The case will look at whether federal regulators had the right to change long-standing policies by attempting to prohibit one-time utterances of on-air profanities
2 | Sudan Pirates' Cargo Sudan-Bound?
A freight manifest, obtained by the BBC, appeared to show that the Ukrainian ship seized by pirates last month carried weapons destined for once war-ravaged southern Sudan. The document also listed Kenya as a co-signee, countering Kenyan claims that the weapons were meant for its own army. South Sudan's government denies the claim.
3 | Cuba From Gitmo To the U.S.
In a landmark ruling, a federal judge ordered the Bush Administration to immediately release 17 Muslims from Guantanamo Bay and bring them to the U.S. The captives, members of China's Uighur ethnic minority, haven't been considered enemy combatants since 2004 but remained at Gitmo because no country except China would take them. (The detainees' lawyers insist the captives would be tortured in their homeland.) The ruling, which faces appeal, could pave the way for more detainee releases.
4 | Barcelona Species on the Brink
Hunting and habitat loss threaten more than 20% of the world's mammals with extinction, according to a new report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The survey, which culled data gathered by more than 1,700 scientists over five years, also warned that further study could reveal the proportion of imperiled mammals to be as high as 36%. Of the 1,141 mammal species at risk, nearly 200 are listed as critically endangered.
Threatened or Extinct
(SOURCE: 2008 IUCN RED LIST)
AMPHIBIANS 1 in 3
BIRDS 1 in 7
MAMMALS 1 in 5
5 | Thailand Bangkok Protests Escalate
Confrontations between police and anti-government protesters turned violent on Oct. 7, leaving at least two people dead and hundreds injured. The riots started when police used tear gas to clear a path through a crowd of about 5,000 people blockading the Thai parliament, where new Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was attempting to give his first policy address.
6 | Georgia
RUSSIA PULLS OUT Russian troops dismantled their checkpoints and camps in Georgia, preparing to withdraw from buffer zones near the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. A deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and monitored by E.U. peacekeepers set an Oct. 10 deadline for Russia to return the zones to Georgia. Despite a bomb in South Ossetia's capital that threatened to disrupt the withdrawal, Russian forces continued as planned.
7 | California A New Weapon Against SIDS
A new study says running a fan in a baby's room can lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 72%. By circulating air, fans may prevent infants from breathing in exhaled carbon dioxide, a possible cause of SIDS. Infants still need to be placed on their backs when being put to sleep: that practice has helped cut in half the number of SIDS deaths since 1992.
8 | Turkey Turkey to Pursue Kurds in Iraq
An attack by Iraq-based Kurdish rebels killed 17 Turkish soldiers and reignited the long-simmering feud between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish government. The nation retaliated with air strikes against PKK targets, and on Oct. 8 Turkey's parliament voted for a one-year extension of its mandate to launch cross-border military operations against Kurdish rebels in Iraq.
9 | Pittsburgh A Church Divided
Members of the conservative Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pa., voted to break from the Episcopal Church amid controversy over same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay bishops that has divided the 77-million-member Anglican Communion--to which the Episcopal Church belongs--since 2003. Roughly two-thirds of Pittsburgh-area congregations are expected to join the diocese, which has aligned itself with Anglican churches in South America.
10 | Washington The Bailout Bill's Extras
Mental-health advocates, led by Senator Pete Domenici, scored a major victory with a provision in the Wall Street bailout bill that requires insurers to provide the same coverage for mental illnesses as for physical ones. Domenici, whose daughter suffers from schizophrenia, had pushed for more than a decade to bar insurers from limiting coverage of mental illnesses. The new rule could affect policies for 113 million people. But not all riders in the $700 billion package will have such widespread appeal:
$758 MILLION Tax breaks for those who buy plug-in electric cars
$478 MILLION Tax breaks for film and television production in depressed areas
$192 MILLION Tax rebates for rum from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
$148 MILLION Tariff relief for wool importers
$100 MILLION Tax breaks for motor-sport-racing facilities, including NASCAR
o | What They're Eating in Japan:
Supermarkets are struggling to meet consumer demand for bananas as a fad diet sweeps the country. The popularity of the scheme, which prescribes a banana and a glass of warm water every morning, has been fed by online social networks, a best-selling book called Morning Banana Diet and celebrity testimonials. Leading banana importer Dole Japan reported that sales of the fruit are up 25% since the same period last year. Yet despite the empty shelves and rising prices, nutrition experts have been skeptical, saying bananas do not directly trigger weight loss.