• Environmentalists Cautious About "New Era" of Energy Reform
• Two Bills Make Way to President's Desk
• DHS Search And Seizure of Laptops Could Hurt Businesses
• Hate Crimes on the Rise in LA County
• Nepal's Row over Language
• NEW Feature Series: Rewind with the Pacifica Radio Archives

Click here for Headlines Package
Click here for 13 Meg Version
Click here for Dial-Up Version

Environmentalists Cautious About "New Era" of Energy Reform

As the Senate leaves on a five week recess, a bipartisan group of ten
senators came forward Friday morning with a proposal to both decrease
foreign dependence on oil and create new incentives for renewable
energy.  Evenly divided between parties, the group includes mainly
rural states, including the Dakotas as well as Georgia, Arkansas and
South Carolina. But environmental groups are hesitant to jump to
offshore drilling as a part of a plan for a "new era" in energy
reform.  Katharine Jarmul has more.

Two Bills Make Way to President's Desk

Although Congress failed to agree on energy proposals as they left town
for five weeks, they are sending some bills to the President's desk for
signature. One bill will double the amount of money given to Pell Grant
recipients from $4,000 to $8,000 by 2014. It will also simplify college
loan applications from more than 100 questions to a more simplified,
easy to read, two page questionnaire. The other piece of legislation
will increase money, oversight and regulatory authority to the federal
agency in charge of testing and recalling toys and consumer products.

DHS Search And Seizure of Laptops Could Hurt Businesses

US Customs & Border Protection agents can confiscate anyone's
laptop computers or other electronic devices, search them out of the
owner's sight and share the device's contents with other federal
agencies and even with private groups who would assist with language
translation and data decryption. That's according to the Department of
Homeland Security, which released a copy of these policies, which the
agency says have already been in place for some time. The searches of
electronic devices including hard drives, cell phones, iPods, and audio
tapes, can apply to anyone entering the country, including US citizens.
And agents can search books, pamphlets and other written materials. DHS
says it's an effort to prevent terrorism. Senator Russ Feingold called
the policy "alarming" and digital privacy and civil liberties groups
are also raising concerns. There's also opposition from business
groups. Ken Myer is the CEO of the Washington Technology Industry
Association, which represents some 1,000 businesses in Washington
State. He says the policy could have a chilling affect on companies
that conduct business abroad.

Hate Crimes on the Rise in LA County

Hate crimes in LA County rose by 28 % last year, according to the local
Human Relations Commission – and it's not just the number of crimes
going up, but the incidents themselves are becoming more violent. Dan
Fritz has more on what some are saying is a national trend towards
rising hate crimes.

Nepal's Row over Language

For the past week, there's been a raging row over language has
disturbed public life in Nepal. The controversy started when its newly
elected vice president took his oath of office in Hindi, its neighbor
India's official language. The protests that began last week brought up
centuries old tensions between the people of the hill regions and the
southern plains of Nepal. FSRN's PC Dubey reports.

NEW Feature Series: Rewind with the Pacifica Radio Archives

This week, we start a new series on FSRN, featuring historic audio
preserved by the Pacifica Radio Archives. Once a week, we will rewind
some 40 years – and hear from the voices that shaped a movement for
change. We'll hear from anti-war protests, raising the black fist at
the Olympics, the Chicago DNC, the assassinations of Martin Luther King
and Robert F. Kennedy, and a lot more… We kick off by hearing a portion
of a momentous interview between Congressman William F. Ryan and
General David M. Shoup – a decorated Marine Commander who served in
Vietnam, and returned to become one of the most vocal critics against
the war. For more information, go to www.pacificaradioarchives.org