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> Thu., Oct. 7 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Tom Delay's Corruption Criticized
New Tax Cuts for Corporations
Texas Man Freed After 17 Years of Wrongful Conviction
Election Countdown Part 4: Homeless Vote
Kurdish Autonomy Within Iraq?
FSRN Headlines
Baghdad Burning
The Baghdad Sheraton Hotel came under heavy attack in the
evening local time. The hotel is the temporary home of many
U.S. contractors, soldiers, international journalists, and
others. Two rockets slammed into the building causing a fire
nearby, but so far no reported casualties. U.S. and Iraqi
security forces opened fire in the dark towards the direction
of where it is believed the rockets were launched. Elsewhere
in Baghdad, U.S. forces fired into Sadr City’s narrow
and densely populated streets, according to a report by Captain
Brian O’Malley of the 1st Cavalry Division. He said
they are trying to “root out” fighters loyal to
the charismatic cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. We'll have more from
Salam Talib in Baghdad.
WalMart to Overshadow Mexican Treasure
A new Wal-Mart superstore in Mexico will overshadow a local
architectural and cultural wonder. Tim Russo reports from
Mexico City.
EEOC to Stop Counting
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has decided to
stop monitoring the racial and gender breakdown of government
staff. Emily Freifeld (FRY-feld)
reports from D.C.
Oil Prices Hit New High
Oil prices hit an unexpected $53 dollars a barrel today. Experts
say they are being driven up by a strike in Nigeria, an expanding
Chinese economy and pumping delays in the Gulf of Mexico following
the unprecedented hurricane hits. Two weeks ago President
Bush authorized opening up the U.S. oil reserves to make up
for the slower production in the Gulf. Political critics chastised
the move as attempt to bring down gas prices before the election.
Administration officials said the reserves would be replaced
with interest but refused to say how much and from where citing
the information is proprietary.
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Tom Delay's Corruption Criticized (3:55)
Today in Congress, House Democratic leaders condemned House
Majority Leader Tom Delay of Texas, after the release of a
House Ethics Committee report on Delay's pattern of corrupt
behavior, and called for Republicans to "Clean the House."
Dolores M. Bernal has more from Capitol Hill.
[top]
New Tax Cuts for Corporations (4:01)
The Corporate Tax Bill is moving forward in debate in both
houses of Congress, with a vote expected in the House Thursday
evening. The bill settles a dispute with foreign trading partners
and closes tax shelter loopholes, while showering US businesses
with new tax cuts. Jenny Johnson reports.
[top]
Texas Man Freed After 17 Years of Wrongful Conviction
After spending seventeen years on death row, a Texas man
wrongfully convicted of murder was released from prison Wednesday.
From KPFT in Houston, Renee Feltz has more
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Election Countdown Part 4: Homeless Vote
(3:55)
The deadline to register to vote is quickly approaching
in most states if it hasn't already passed. New York's deadline
is tomorrow, last minute voter registration booths are set
up on sidewalks and in the subways across the city. One specific
drive is focusing on the homeless vote. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell
reports from a homeless voter registration booth in part 4
of our One Month Election Countdown Coverage.
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Kurdish Autonomy Within Iraq? (4:32)
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is visiting Iraq, today
telling reporters in Baghdad in response to the Iraq Survey
Group report that "the threat from Saddam Hussein in
terms of his intentions was even starker than we have seen
before". Straw began his trip to Iraq by visiting the
Kurdish areas where he was welcomed by the chairman of the
local government. Straw also met with the Kurdish leaders
in Kirkuk, making it the first high level visit to the region.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Al-Arabia television, Iraq's
Washington-backed President said that demanding referendum
for the right of self-determination in the Kurdish North will
be regarded as an act of national treason of the Kurds against
Iraq and would forcibly be suppressed. This on the heels of
last weeks demonstrations in several cities in Iraqi Kurdistan
organized by the Referendum Movement, which calls for an independent
Southern Kurdistan, with Kirkuk as its capital. Ghazi al-Yawar
told the Arab network: "It is a national betrayal by
the Kurds. There is a freedom of opinion in Iraq but this
does not mean that some people would try to speak about disintegrating
Iraq. This is not something we could accept and we will counter
this with all our power." Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani
and Jalal Talabani, who control Northern Iraq with their guerilla
armies have denied they are seeking an independent Kurdistan,
but have demanded Kurdish autonomy within Iraq. Aaron Glantz
has more.
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