Obesity expands south of the border
McClatchy Newspapers Mar 24, 08 11:23 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Mexico is the second-fattest nation after the US, and it could top the list within 10 years if waistlines continue to expand at the current rate. Nearly three-quarters of Mexican women and two-thirds of men are overweight, and diabetes is now the main cause of death. Health officials are launching anti-junk-food campaigns, but industry lobbyists aren't about to throw in the towel.
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57 million foreign visitors traveled to US
Reuters Mar 11, 08 3:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Nearly 57 million foreign tourists visited the US last year, pumping more than $123 billion into the economy, Reuters reports. It's the first time a tourism record has been broken since the 9/11 attacks staggered the industry. Some 17.7 million visitors traveled from Canada and 15 million from Mexico. Some of the increase is fueled by the weak dollar.
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Reports of gun violence, drug cartels in Mexican border towns keep students away
Associated Press Mar 10, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
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More spring breakers are sipping their Coronas domestically this year, the AP reports. Mexico is a staple hotspot, but widespread reports of drug wars in border towns and tightened security at US entry points have convinced many college vacationers to remain stateside. In places like Texas's South Padre Island, students are skipping the usual excursions to nearby Matamoros.
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But Central American stores may ruin them first, critics say
Los Angeles Times Mar 9, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Wal-Mart is helping Central American farmers even as the chain threatens to render their mom-and-pop ways outdated, the Los Angeles Times reports. Thousands of small farmers are financially at risk, unable to grow produce that fits the US giant's supply chain—so Wal-Mart, Washington, and a Portland, Ore., relief group have kicked in more than $2 million to help.
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New law allows only 10-year-old jalopies across the border
Associated Press Mar 3, 08 9:00 AM CST
(Newser)
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For used-car shoppers in Mexico, 1998 is about to become a very popular year. Starting today, only 10-year-old cars—nothing newer, nothing older—can be imported in Mexico, a move designed to curtail the flood of “vehiculos chatarra,” or jalopies, clogging the streets. Before the change, imports needed to be 10-15 years old, to lessen competition with Mexican car dealers.
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Many resist federal efforts, but judges order them to give up
Washington Post Feb 16, 08 7:30 PM CST
(Newser)
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Americans on the southern US border are fuming over a federal fence that threatens to cut their properties in two, the Washington Post reports. The feds have erected about 165 miles of fence in the West and southwest, but some families, protecting land they have held for generations, are turning back surveyors. "This is the land that gave me my life and my spirit," one landowner said. "I will fight this all the way."
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New find reveals crested duckbill hunted by cousin of T. rex
Reuters Feb 13, 08 12:08 PM CST
(Newser)
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A newly discovered duck-billed dinosaur lived on a "very Mediterranean-like" Mexican beach 72 million years ago, paleontologists say. A fossilized skeleton of Velafrons coahuilensis was found in the north-central state of Coahuila—the most complete dinosaur ever found in Mexico, Reuters reports. "Velafrons was probably a beach bum," says one paleontologist. The dino would have been about 30 feet long.
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No injuries reported despite 6.4 magnitude
Bloomberg Feb 12, 08 1:40 PM CST
(Newser)
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A powerful earthquake that hit Mexico today caused no injuries, Bloomberg reports. The earthquake hit the country’s south Pacific coast, near the Chiapas-Oaxaca border. It measured 6.4 on the Richter scale, the strongest quake of the 40 that have hit Chiapas this year. The government oil company shut down its west coast refinery as a precaution.
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Foresees better times
for immigrants under new administration
Los Angeles Times Feb 8, 08 3:03 AM CST
(Newser)
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Mexican President Felipe Calderon expects the next US administration to bring a “broader and more comprehensive view” to immigration, providing immigrants a path to legalization, he told the Los Angeles Times . For Calderon, Super Tuesday was heartening. “The most radical and anti-immigrant candidates have been left behind,” he said. They’ve been “put in their place by their own electorate.”
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Ambassador: 'Finger im Po, Mexiko' has 'aroused great outrage'
Der Spiegel Jan 31, 08 3:46 PM CST
(Newser)
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Mexico's ambassador to Germany isn't gonna take it: he's written to music label EMI to complain about the German hit "Finger in the Butt, Mexico," reports Der Spiegel. “The lyric has aroused great outrage among the Mexican community living in Germany,” he wrote, adding that the song used Mexico’s name in a “disrespectful and disgusting” way.
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Prosecutor won't seek death penalty if Laurean found in native Mexico
CNN Jan 24, 08 2:30 PM CST
(Newser)
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The fugitive wanted for the death of pregnant Marine Maria Lauterbach was indicted today by a North Carolina grand jury, CNN reports. In addition to first-degree murder, fellow Marine Cesar Laurean was indicted on charges of ATM card theft, fraud, and robbery. A second autopsy’s preliminary findings suggest that Lauterbach’s child was unborn at the time of death.
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Mexican archaeologist brings up surprising new evidence
Reuters Jan 23, 08 11:16 AM CST
(Newser)
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The human sacrifices offered up to the Mayan gods in Pre-Columbian Mexico were likely boys and young men, not virgin girls, Reuters reports. A Mexican archaeologist has ventured into the sacred sinkholes of Chichen Itza to recover bones from 127 bodies, and discovered that more than 80% of them came from pre-adolescent males between the ages of 3 and 11. The sacrificed children were hurled into the water-filled caverns, scientists believe.
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DA seeks extradition, must forgo
death penalty to gain cooperation
CNN Jan 22, 08 4:53 PM CST
(Newser)
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A Marine wanted for murder was spotted by his cousin near Guadalajara, Mexico, a week ago, CNN reports. Cpl. Cesar Laurean visited his cousin's liquor store and said he was "just passing by." The cousin says he didn't know about Laurean's legal troubles. Meanwhile, a North Carolina district attorney pressing for extradition had to agree to forgo the death penalty in accordance with Mexican law.
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