EPA tightens controls on ground-level ozone; Brazil steps up fight against illegal logging in Amazon...

13 March :: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to tighten standards for ground-level ozone pollution, reducing the maximum allowable from 84 parts-per-billion to 75 ppb over an 8-hour period; critics say "implementation could be decades away", depending on regulatory procedure and court review; last year, an official review suggested maximum allowable ozone levels of 60 to 70 ppb... Illegal logging on rise in Amazon, Lula gov't of Brazil launching efforts to combat illegal logging cartels, contributing ever more to the systematic deforestation of the world's largest rainforest, with agents living deep in the forest in order to track and prevent timber poaching... A study of teenage American girls found that 1 in four carried at least 1 of four common sexually transmitted diseases; of those infected with human papillomavirus, chlamydia, genital herpes or trichomoniasis, 15% had more than one of the microbes in their system; critics attribute the "alarming" figures in part to a federal government emphasis on abstinence as the ideal mode of prevention, and a reduced funding emphasis on education about health and safe-sex... Onetime Democratic vice-presidential candidate (1984), Geraldine Ferraro, has resigned from Sen. Clinton's campaign finance committee and refused to apologize for remarks reducing Sen. Obama's "movement campaign" to race (an issue the candidate himself has never used for political gain); Sen. Clinton had admonished Ferraro for her remarks but had not removed her from the campaign's funding apparatus; Ferraro's insistence that her remarks were not racist have been undermined by press revelations about similar remarks she made about other black candidates (ref.: Jesse Jackson in 1988)...

Democrats propose ex-parte defense right for telecoms, no immunity; CentCom commander resigns amid perceptions of opposition to Bush Iran policy...

12 March :: Democrats propose permitting telecom firms to defend themselves in ex parte communications with judges, away from view of plaintiffs, where evidence includes classified national security information; move is designed to allow court cases to move forward, permit phone companies right to mount defense, but with no offer of retroactive immunity for any potential violations of federal law; move is challenge to White House whose complaint about lawsuits was from concern over release of classified information... Admiral William Fallon, head of US Central Command, which oversees entire Middle East, East Africa, South Asia region, resigns amid growing press reports of rift between admiral, White House over possible war with Iran; recent Esquire magazine article called Fallon "the strongest man standing between the Bush Administration and a war with Iran"; Fallon himself has said there are no actual policy differences, though some observers expresss concern he may have been forced to step down... In effort to stave off further deterioration in credit, banking, real estate markets, "The US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and central banks in the UK, Canada and Switzerland will inject billions of dollars into money markets"; some $200 billion in loans to banks is designed to promote expansion of lending to individuals, small businesses... Scientists achieve direct command-structure between chemical-molecular "brain", mulitple nano-devices, leading to potential direct remote control for nanotech-equipped robotic devices, far more efficient computing capabilities...

House Judiciary committee sues to force 2 Bush aides to testify; human rights group warns Guantánamo trials "tainted by coercion"...

11 March :: NY Times reports "The House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to force the White House chief of staff and the former White House counsel to cooperate with the committee’s investigation into the firing of a group of federal prosecutors"; Bolten, Miers have been protected by Bush-appointed AG Mukasey, who refused to pursue contempt charges against the two White House officials... Watchdog Human Rights First says Guantánamo trials "tainted by coercion", alleges at least 66 inmates have credible claims of abuse, warning that the unprecedented "military commissions" system set up by the White House "makes justice for the victims of 9/11 and other acts of terror less rather than more likely to happen any time soon"; Human Rights Watch also denounced the system as violating Constitutional requirements for due process, calling on the administration to "end this failed experiment with military justice"... A record 56.7 million people visited the US from abroad last year, the first time since Sept. 2001 that the 2000 record figure of 51.2 million was eclipsed; according to Reuters, "Foreign visitors also spent a record $122.7 billion in the United States last year, a rise of more than 50 percent from a low set in 2003 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks"...

Anti-depressants, sex-hormones, anti-biotics, painkillers found in US drinking water; Spain's PSOE wins 2nd consecutive term...

10 March :: Anti-depressants, sex-hormones, painkillers and anti-biotics in significant quantities (though reporting has used term "trace amounts", which does not necessarily speak to quantity) in 24 of 28 US metropolitan areas tested; contaminated drinking water goes to 41 million Americans; health effects unknown, but potentially concerning as "Experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body"... Spain's Socialist party (PSOE) has expanded its representation in Congress and returned Pres. José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero to power for another 4-year term; the opposition Popular party (PP) also gained seats, but remained in the minority; election day speculation counts Catalán nationalist party CiU as a likely coalition partner, as traditional progressive allies ERC and IU-ICV both lost ground and together would not bring enough seats to give Zapatero an absolute majority... NY governor Eliot Spitzer, a popular Democrat, has been reported to be linked to a prostitute as part of a federal investigation; he apologized for violating his obligations to his family, but did not announce his resignation; if Spitzer were to resign, Lieutenant Gov. David Paterson would become New York's first African American governor; it is not yet clear whether Spitzer will face criminal charges...

Sharif, Zardari form Pakistan governing coalition; Obama wins Wyoming, Democrats take Hastert's old seat in special election...

9 March :: Sharif, Zardari form coalition gov't in Pakistan, calling into quesiton the viability of Pres. Pervez Musharraf, politically; Musharraf has lost substantial support for his hardline attempts to reform the nation's government structure in his favor, declaring martial law, throwing out judges who ruled against him, detaining lawyers and muzzling the press; former PM and Musharraf arch-rival Sharif is quoted by VOA saying "The restoration of the deposed judges, as it was on 2nd of November 2007, shall be brought about through a parliamentary resolution to be passed in the National Assembly within 30 days of the formation of the federal government"... Barack Obama wins Wyoming caucus, by margin of 61% to 38% over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, with 7 and 4 delegates going to the candidates, respectively; though the vote has little effect on the overall delegate totals, it is considered important as a show of momentum over the long-term, after Clinton picked up 3 wins last week... Bill Foster, a Democrat, has won the seat of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, in a special election called after Hastert's resignation last year, defeating Bill Oberweis by a margin of 53% to 47%; Republicans have sought to play down the loss, while Democrats say it is a rebuke of presidential candidate John McCain, who supported the local GOP candidate... In move that could inflame already flashpoint tensions, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has approved a plan to build 750 new settlement homes in the West Bank; the US and EU have called for Israel to halt its settlement construction in the Occupied Territories and to phase in a withdrawal in the interests of a peace initiative sponsored by the US pres. George W. Bush; Israel, Palestinians have clashed heavily over last few weeks as Israel launched raids and missile attacks on Gaza in effort to deter Hamas rocket attacks into Israel...