In Brief - April 17, 2007

Around the Northwest

• The trial for Naveed Haq, the gunman who opened fire at the Jewish Federation offices in Seattle about 2 years ago, is underway.
• A federal judge blocked efforts by the Humane Society to halt Oregon and Washington from killing sea lions to protect salmon.
• In Oregon, being a construction worker might not be the safest occupation. Deaths have hit a 10-year high.
• A federal inmate in Texas has found his way onto Idaho's May 27 primary ballot. Now instead of just Obama and Clinton, Idahoans will also have the option of voting for Judd.

Around the Nation

• Watch for Merrill Lynch, the world's largest brokerage, to be the next beneficiary of a government bailout, after it reported huge losses and 4,000 jobs being cut.
• Not only are students getting hit with higher tuition, but now the credit crisis is affecting student loans as students are seeing their student loan checks bounce when they deposit them.
• Same story, different day: another record high for oil and no relief at the pump for consumers.
  

Around the World

• More pain for Darfur: the UN will cut food rations by 50% for up to 3 million people due to insecurity along the supply routes.
• More corporate corruption as Samsung Chairman Lee Kun Hee was indicted on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust.
• A major drought in Australia is causing a global rice shortage.
  

This Day In History

• 1895 - The Empire of Japan and the Qing Empire of China signed a treaty to end the First Sino-Japanese War.
• 1961 - Bay of Pigs invasion
• 1975 - The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot captured Phnom Penh, ending the Cambodian Civil War and setting up a brutal regime.