In Brief - April 29, 2008

Around the Northwest

• Former presidential candidate and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was in town yesterday to help raise money for Governor Chris Gregoire's re-election.
• Foreclosures are up in the Puget Sound region, but still below national levels.
• Wolf killings/wildlife management is a big issue in the West, especially in Idaho.
• Egyptian shipping company to pay largest fine in the Northwest for illegal dumping in our ocean.
  

Around the Nation

• More bad news for the consumer: United Airlines and U.S. Airways are in merger talks.
• Water wars between Georgia and Tennessee heat up as Georgia plans to try and move the state line.
• Race plays a role in determining who gets the death penalty and who doesn't.
  

Around the World

• U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has set up a task force on the global food crisis.
• The middle class is getting squeezed in Europe.
• Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz goes on trial today for crimes against humanity and faces the death penalty.
  

This Day in History

• 1770 - British explorer Captain James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
  
• 1945 - Dachau is liberated by U.S. troops.
  
• 1992 - The acquittal of 4 Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King sparks riots in Los Angeles.