Mexico nabs gas thieves They bleed the fuel lines just about anywhere, drug cartel members and other criminals, sucking millions of dollars of Mexican petroleum from makeshift taps hidden in sheds or on remote desert stretches, with thousands of gallons ending up in U.S. refineries

Mexico decriminalizes small-scale drug possession Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday — a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers.

Glaxo used ghostwriting program to promote Paxil British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline used a sophisticated ghostwriting program to promote its antidepressant Paxil, allowing doctors to take credit for medical journal articles mainly written by company consultants, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press

Woman to be caned for drinking beer A Muslim part-time model will be caned next week, becoming the first woman in Malaysia to be given the punishment under Islamic law, after she pleaded guilty to drinking beer, a prosecutor said.

Organ harvest claims disputed by Israel Israel and the Swedish Embassy responded furiously Wednesday to a Swedish newspaper article that suggested Israeli troops killed Palestinians and harvested their organs. The article published Monday in Aftonbladet, Sweden's largest-circulation daily, implies a link between those charges and the recent arrest in the U.S. of an American Jew for illicit organ trafficking. Later, the reporter told Israel Radio he did not know whether the allegations were true. Headlined "Our sons are plundered for their organs," the story made news in Israel, where some commentators compared it to medieval libels that Jews killed Christian children for their blood.

Iraqis find Iranian rockets near attack on U.S. U.S.-backed Iraqi troops seized a launcher loaded with more than a dozen Iranian-made rockets and detained three suspected militants after an attack against the American base outside Basra.

Iraq bank robbery: 5 members of presidential guard to be tried in deadly heist

Iraq abandons nationwide census Iraq postpones indefinitely its nationwide census over fears that it could stoke ethnic and political tensions.

Wave of Blasts in Iraqi Capital Kills at Least 95 Explosions rock Baghdad near parliament in Green Zone, kill at least 11.

U.S. Eyes Troops for Kurdish Iraq The U.S. is pressing to deploy American troops alongside Iraqi forces and Kurdish militia in the north amid a flare of violence

Nigeria raids Islamic sect, detains hundreds Police in the western Nigerian state of Niger have raided an Islamic community and detained hundreds of men, weeks after an uprising by a radical sect killed almost 800 in the remote northeast.

Bombing Kills 20 in Russian Caucasus  Ingushetia's construction minister, responsible for Moscow's vast infrastructure projects in the republic, was shot to death in his office last week. The current president, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, a decorated war hero, was wounded in June when a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into his motorcade. Mr. Yevkurov, still recuperating in Moscow, denounced Monday's bombing through a spokesman, calling it "an attempt to destabilize the situation and sow panic."FACTBOX-Key facts about Russia's region of Ingushetia

Seven women shot dead in Russian sauna Seven women were shot dead in a sauna in Dagestan and, in separate attacks, eight policemen and two separatists were also killed in Russia's northern Caucasus region late Thursday.

U.S. to send military trainers to Georgia The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it is sending a team of trainers to Georgia to instruct a Georgian battalion which will be deployed to Afghanistan next year.

U.S. wary of Karzai’s warlord strategy Much to the chagrin of the U.S., Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday recruited a notorious Afghan militia leader to back his re-election bid.

Election violence leads to low voter turnout in Afghanistan Taliban launches 20 rockets in the capital, one lands near a line of voters, killing a child.

Karzai and Abdullah both claimed victory in Afghanistan's elections  Headquarters of both main rival presidential candidate leading in Afghanistan claims are the competition.

Eight Years After Orchestrating Massacre at Dasht-e-Leili, Afghan Warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum Returns to Afghanistan to Campaign for Karzai One of Afghanistan’s most feared warlords has returned to Afghanistan just days before its presidential election. General Abdul Rashid Dostum is one of several warlords who have allied with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is seeking a new term. Karzai is hoping Dostum’s return will help attract ethnic Uzbek voters. Dostum’s return to prominence in Afghanistan comes despite his role overseeing a 2001 massacre at Dasht-e-Leili that left at least 2,000 Taliban POWs dead. He’s also had extensive ties with the US and was formerly on the CIA payroll. We speak with international human rights lawyer, Andrew McEntee.

Pakistan must confront Wahhabism | Adrian Pabst As the Saudi-financed Wahhabi Islam supplants the tolerant indigenous Sufi Islam, its violent creed is inspiring terrorism. Despite the recent offensive by the Pakistani army in the Swat Valley and by Nato in Helmand province, the "Talibanisation" of both Afghanistan and Pakistan proceeds apace. Vast parts of the Afghan south and a large region in western Pakistan are still under de facto control of Taliban militants who enforce a violent form of sharia law.

US Headlines

‘Cash for Clunkers’ to Shut Down Monday Cash for clunkers program will end Monday at 8 p.m. ET, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says.

Who are the "birthers"? 62% are Republicans, 20% are Democrats, and 18% are independents -57% are conservatives, 33% are moderates, and 9% are liberals -56% are men, 44% are women -86% are white, 7% are Hispanic, 4% are black, and 3% are other races

Obama's Science Adviser Targeted By Defamation Campaign Fox News reported that Holdren was bent on adopting a "planetary regime" of population control, while blogger Michelle Malkin called him a "wackjob" who entertains policies that would mandate "forced abortions, mass sterilizations, and poisoning the water supply to control the population."

Obama lashes waste in defense spending  President Barack Obama on Monday lashed special interests and their "exotic projects" that he said drain the defense budget of money needed for U.S. military forces battling everything from nuclear weapons to "18th century style piracy and 21st century cyber threats." Going after lawmakers as well, he said, "If Congress sends me a defense bill loaded with that kind of waste, I will veto it."

Federal Study Shows Mercury In Fish Widespread, Inescapable

ACLU Sues Sheriff Joe Arpaio for Arrest and Detention of U.S. Citizen Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio is already being sued by the federal government for alleged racial profiling and related civil rights violations. Now, he’s being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, which claims he and his deputies abused their authority to enforce federal immigration laws when they illegally arrested and detained a U.S. citizen and legal resident who were just driving down the road in their pickup truck.

Judge OKs chemical weapons incineration The U.S. Army wins a court challenge to its plan to incinerate chemical weapons at storage sites, over objections from a group that says the practice releases toxic pollution.

Expert warns military using mind drugs Powerful painkillers, 'love and cuddle' drugs finding military applications.

US 'criminally investigating' over 150 UBS customers

Economist: Asian Economies Having Astonishing Rebound From Global Recession (This is why gas will go up in price)

States With Highest Levels of Uninsured People Most Likely To Believe In "Death Panels," Other Health Care Lies

The French Lesson In Health Care In France, the sicker you get, the less you pay. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, and critical surgeries, such as a coronary bypass, are reimbursed at 100%. Cancer patients are treated free of charge. Patients suffering from colon cancer, for instance, can receive Genentech Inc.'s (DNA ) Avastin without charge. In the U.S., a patient may pay $48,000 a year.

GOP leader pulls gun on 'delinquent' homeowner

 Jeff Sharlet on "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" A secretive group known as The Fellowship, or “The Family,” is one of the most powerful Christian fundamentalist movements in the United States. The Family’s devoted membership includes congressmen, corporate leaders, generals and foreign heads of state.

Building block of life found in comet Amino acid bolsters theory ingredients of life arrived on Earth from space. 

DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show

Md. police: Black fisherman beaten by 3 white men Three white men shouting racial slurs beat a 76-year-old black man while he was fishing in a river early Tuesday, said Baltimore police, who were investigating the attack as a hate crime.

Is It Okay to Fire People Who Smoke or Are Obese? First the employers came for the smokers. Now they're talking about not hiring obese people. Your personal struggle or lifestyle choice may be next.

Study: 90 percent of US currency is drug money — literally

Cops defend firing 59 shots at one man Alonzo Heyward carried a rifle around his low-rent Chattanooga, Tenn., neighborhood one day last month, ranting about suicide and ignoring the pleas of friends for hours before six city police officers surrounded him on his front porch and decided it had to end.

Poll shows viewers of Fox News are more misinformed about healthcare reform than other networks

1.5 Million More Fell Below Poverty Line In 2008

Connecticut

CT Drug War

Police ID 6 in 4 New Haven shootings Police have released the identities of six people shot during four shootings in New Haven over the weekend.

Budget and Taxes

CT gets $31 mill. for transit projects