Fianceé helped Uribe trim 550 lbs. off record weight of 1,230
Associated Press Oct 2, 08 1:34 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Manuel Uribe, once the world's heaviest man, is being swept away to the chapel—quite literally. The 43-year-old will be towed through the streets to his Oct. 26 wedding in Monterrey, Mexico, on a customized bed, reports the AP.
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City's rampant drug war threatens residents
Los Angeles Times Sep 30, 08 12:07 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A dozen bodies were found piled up near an elementary school in a working-class Tijuana neighborhood yesterday, signaling a rare instance of the city's rampant drug war spilling over into a residential area. Police found a bag full of severed tongues nearby and a message indicating the violence was between rival cartel groups, reports the Los Angeles Times .
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Nationwide initiative a key step in border drug war, authorities say
Los Angeles Times Sep 18, 08 8:31 AM CDT
(Newser)
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US officials arrested 175 suspected Mexican drug traffickers this week in raids in a dozen states, the LA Times reports. Prosecutors believe the suspects are part of the violent Gulf cartel, considered to be a driving force in Mexico’s escalating drug wars. The raids were part of a 15-month DEA investigation that has netted 507 arrests and the seizure of more than $60 million.
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Many producers are privately certified, but enforcement is up to industry
Associated Press Sep 14, 08 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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How strong is food safety regulation after America's worst food-borne outbreak in a decade? A peek at a Mexican packing plant shows that rules are nearly nonexistent, the AP reports. The plant in northern Mexico, suspected of sparking the recent salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,400, washes produce from certified and uncertified growers—but even regulated producers aren't on any government list.
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People alter habits to guard against risk of violence
New York Times Aug 31, 08 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The effects of the wave of violent drug crime in Mexico--one paper puts this year’s related deaths at 2,682--have seeped into everyday life in the once-pacific country, the New York Times reports. “You have to be more careful with everything these days,” says a watchdog. Some are thinking twice about going to local restaurants, while others take measures like bulletproofing their cars.
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Tide of kidnappings and murders linked to drug gangs and corrupt cops
Los Angeles Times Aug 31, 08 6:28 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Thousands of protesters marched in various Mexican cities yesterday, demanding the government crack down on the nation's mounting crime. Mexico has been rocked by kidnappings and murders connected to drug-trafficking gangs and corrupt police, with an estimated 12,000 drug-related deaths so far this year, reports the Los Angeles Times . "We don't want promises—we want security," said a march organizer.
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Los Angeles Times Aug 30, 08 12:38 PM CDT
(Newser)
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As drug violence soars in Mexico, casualties are spreading to the Yucatan peninsula, a major tourist destination and spring break hot spot. Twelve decapitated bodies were found near the popular ruins of Chichen Itza this week, the Los Angeles Times reports. That's because a government crackdown has heightened “a kind of civil war among drug cartels,” said a drug-trafficking expert. And that violence is spilling over from the usual frontlines along the US border.
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Other states expected to follow Mexico
City statute
Christian Science Monitor Aug 29, 08 8:21 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Mexico's Supreme Court has upheld Mexico City's liberal abortion law, saying that to do otherwise would be a "violation of the fundamental rights of women." Abortions in the capital city are legal for any reason during the first three months of pregnancy. Other Mexican states will likely liberalize their laws in the wake of the ruling, reports the Christian Science Monitor .
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Spiritual leader takes rest after months of traveling the globe
Associated Press Aug 27, 08 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Citing "exhaustion," the Dalai Lama has canceled plans to travel, the AP reports. A spokesman said the Tibetan spiritual leader would not go to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and instead would rest and undergo medical tests for the next three weeks. The 73-year-old has had an intense few months since the Lhasa protests in March, and he recently finished an 11-day trip through France.
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Could strike US as Category 3
Associated Press Aug 27, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(AP)
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Thousands fled their homes as Hurricane Gustav triggered flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti before weakening to a tropical storm, but forecasters said today that he still represents a major threat to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. They suggested the storm could head toward the US Gulf Coast as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane next week—with a likely forecast track pointing toward Louisiana.
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Critics say fence design ignores environment
Associated Press Aug 25, 08 3:51 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Environmentalists say the US border-security fence is to blame for water backups in southwestern Arizona and Mexico, where steel-mesh panels meant to keep illegal immigrants out are getting clogged with flood debris, the AP reports. Critics are focusing their attacks on Homeland Defense Secretary Michael Chertoff, who waived environmental laws three times to meet the year-end deadline for the 670-mile fence.
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Associated Press Aug 24, 08 8:56 PM CDT
(AP)
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Hawaii's mini-mashers got a little help from Mexico's miscues to win a fourth straight Little League World Series title for the United States. Tanner Tokunaga smacked two homers and Iolana Akau added a solo blast as the boys from Waipahu, Hawaii, defeated Matamoros, Mexico, 12-3, to take the biggest prize in youth sports.
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He's trimmed down from 1,234 pounds
Associated Press Aug 11, 08 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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With the help of a forklift, a 700-pound Mexican man made his first excursion outdoors in five months yesterday—without getting out of bed, AP reports. The machine lifted Manuel Uribe’s bed onto a platform truck, which transported him to a lake, where he rested near the shore and chatted with a local boatman. Uribe, 45, used to weigh 1,235 pounds and once held the Guinness weight record. He's been dieting for 2 years.
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