POLITICS-US: “No Surrender” for Hardline Abortion Foes

While the "March for Life - held annually on Jan. 22, memorialising the United States Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision - has always been one of the high points of the year for anti-abortion organisations and activists, next month's 36th annual gathering may be a much more somber affair.

BOOKS-US: Cloak-and-Dagger, Inc.

When Barack Obama visits the Virginia headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in the not-too-distant future, he might want to scan the room to see how many of them sport green badges, the telltale sign that they are contractors and not federal employees.

Q&A: Unions Are Key to Healthy Auto Industry

For the last six years, Ron Gettelfinger has been president of the 640,000-member United Auto Workers (UAW), the union that has been the face of the working men and women manufacturing cars in U.S. factories for decades.

CANADA: Native Rights Concerns Cloud 2010 Games

A coalition of indigenous elders, social justice activists and community organisers is voicing opposition to the upcoming Winter Olympics, promising to continue their protests up to and throughout the 2010 games.

ENVIRONMENT-US: Bush Quietly Passes Dozens of New Rules

As the world community meets in Poland this week to find solutions to the climate crisis, the George W. Bush White House is chaining the United States' tiller to prevent a change of course by President-elect Barack Obama by passing new anti-environmental rules and regulations at a furious pace.

ECONOMY-US: Past Crises Could Inform or Haunt Team Obama

Faced with the worst crisis since the Great Depression, President-elect Barack Obama ditched tradition this week, naming his economic team before anointing a secretary of state - by custom the first and senior-most cabinet appointment.

RIGHTS-US: No Amnesty for Cheney et al, Say Torture Opponents

Judging by the rare leaks from President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, investigations and prosecutions of high-level George W. Bush administration officials for torture and war crimes are a distant prospect. But likely or not, that won't stop pundits from debating the question of whether those officials responsible should be held accountable.

RIGHTS-US: Lawmakers Urged to Stem Wave of Hate Crimes

Leading civil rights groups Monday denounced the rise in hate crimes taking place in the United States, especially against Hispanics, and called for passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act (LLEHCP) to ensure federal jurisdiction when local officials fail to act.

RIGHTS-US: Natives Hope Obama Will Be Their President, Too

During his election campaign, Barack Obama repeatedly said that he cared about the issues facing Native American communities and insisted that they could trust him - pledges that Native leaders are now watching closely as the president-elect appoints a new cabinet and fills other key federal posts.

POLITICS-US: The Second Coming of Newt Gingrich

Ten years ago, Newt Gingrich was forced to resign as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, in a desperate search for leadership, Republican National Committee members are debating whether to turn back to the past and tap the ever-ready Gingrich.

ECONOMY-US: Congress Deaf to Pleas of Panicky Auto Execs

The vote on a 25-billion-dollar loan for cash-strapped General Motors, Chrysler and Ford Motor Company - known as the "Big Three" U.S. automakers - has been put on hold by the Senate, after Congressional leaders chastised industry executives for failing to heed early warnings of crisis and for flying to Capitol Hill on private jets to beg for tax dollars.

ECONOMY-US: Congress Blames Treasury as Foreclosures Mount

A congressional banking leader Tuesday blew hot air and blame at the U.S. treasury secretary about the ongoing home foreclosure crisis, but neither made a commitment to help stressed homeowners.

POLITICS-US: Vets See Hope for a Broken System

Thirty-three-year-old Walter Williams was among the thousands of revelers who flooded into the streets of Oakland on Nov. 4 to celebrate Barack Obama's election as the 44th president of the United States.

RIGHTS-US: Activists Seek Executive Order Banning Torture

Shutting down the infamous detention centre at Guantanamo Bay is just one of a series of measures to reform U.S. counterterrorism practices being urged by the watchdog organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW).

ECONOMY-US: Weeks After Bank Bailout, No Help for Homeowners

Nearly five weeks after Congress gave the nod to a 700-billion-dollar bailout fund, and as the economy sinks deep into a recession, no definite plan is in sight for struggling U.S. homeowners.

POLITICS-US: The Day Character Finally Eclipsed Colour

Last Tuesday's ascension of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States - the first African American in history to command the White House - sent a shock wave around the world that a political change of such magnitude could happen in a nation often traumatised by racism.

POLITICS-US: Election Day in a Colorado Steel Town

Interstate 70 in western Colorado heads east towards Denver along the upper reaches of the Colorado River.

US: Don't Be Afraid to Spend, Economists Tell Obama

President-elect Barack Obama will inherit an ailing economy and the way to help right it is to spend - and spend some more, independent economists say.

POLITICS-US: Obama Rode the Crest of a New Coalition

Ahead of Tuesday's presidential election in the U.S., many critics were questioning the Democratic strategy. Spending money outside of the usual battleground states and relying heavily on new voters whose appearance at polling places is usually unreliable were bold ideas with unproven results, much like the Democratic candidate himself.

POLITICS-US: Religious Right Down but Not Out

The election of Sen. Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States will not mark the end of the religious right.

POLITICS-US: Nevada Exemplifies New Electoral Map

To drive from the City of Angels to Sin City, you take Interstate 15, two thin strips of asphalt across the Mojave Desert.