Daily Headlines: December 1, 2009

* Bolivia: Days before Bolivia’s federal elections a nationwide poll showed that President Evo Morales will easily win reelection.

* Mexico: "We should focus on what we have in common," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa regarding immigration during his visit to Mexico City.

* Latin America: According to the mayor of a Colombian border town over 600 Brazilians Colombians and Ecuadorianswere expelled from Venezuela after being accused of illegal mining.

* Argentina: Star striker Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or as Europe’s top soccer player of the year.

Image – CNN
Online Sources- LAHT, Reuters, BBC Sport, San Jose Mercury News

Notable Quotable: Who’s the real star?

"I'm not going to let him pimp my popularity!"

---Basketball star Kobe Bryant reportedly had some harsh words to say about Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during the Lakers’ victory parade last month.

As reported by HispanicBusiness.com, Bryant didn’t want to appear on the same parade vehicle as the mayor though they eventually did. In addition, “Kobe purportedly refused to shake Villaraigosa's hand.”

Villaraigosa took the oath of office Wednesday for a second term. Interestingly, one of Bryant’s teammates- point guard Derek Fisher- acted as master of ceremonies for the inauguration.

Image- fox4kc.com (“Kobe Bryant and family, along with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, wave to fans along South Figueroa Street atop a double-decker bus during the Lakers victory parade en route to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.”)
Online Sources- HispanicBusiness.com, Los Angeles Times

Daily Headlines: June 23, 2009

* Mexico: Police have arrested seven local officials and charged them with negligent homicide in the deadly day care fire that killed 47 children.

* U.S.: Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa decided that he will not run for California governor in 2010.

* Latin America: Is President Barack Obama’s apparent change of heart over free trade pacts with Panama and Colombia a sensible move or an ugly flip-flop?

* Chile: Chilean U.N. ambassador Heraldo Muñoz will head a commission to examine the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- UPI, Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg, MSNBC

Daily Headlines: June 4, 2009

* Dominican Republic: Sammy Sosa said that he will soon officially retire from baseball and denied that allegations of steroid use will scar his legacy.

* U.S.: Another day, another relationship between Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a newscaster.

* Venezuela: A Miami-based food company is suing Venezuela’s state-run oil firm after claiming that contracts were canceled since they stopped paying bribes.

* Costa Rica: Los Ticos outplayed and dominated the U.S. by beating them 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier Wednesday night.

Image- UPI (Sammy Sosa played with four different MLB teams between 1989 and 2007).
Online Sources- ESPN, Los Angeles Times, LAHT, AP

Daily Headlines: April 11, 2008

* Paraguay: A recent poll showed that ex-bishop Fernando Lugo is in the lead with nearly two weeks to go before presidential elections.

* Los Angeles: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has requested that immigration officials focus more “on deporting criminal gang members rather than targeting legitimate businesses.”

* Chile: Citizens will get a “one-time bonus” via a government initiate to combat inflation.

* Cuba: Fidel Castro predicted that the U.S. dollar would lose value, according to an alleged conversation he had with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Image- USA TODAY

Sources- Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, Guardian UK, Angus Reid Consultants

Daily Headlines: August 3, 2007

* Two months suspension without pay was the punishment handed down by the employer of a Spanish-language news anchor implicated in an extramarital affair with the mayor of Los Angeles.

* Did party-going and drunkenness cost Brazil its shot at winning last year’s soccer World Cup?

* Automakers are looking at Latin America as the next burgeoning car market.

* Jose Miguel Insulza- Secretary General of the Organization of American States- praised Latin America’s economy as well as the “good leaders in the region."

* It’s a small wonder Colombians get work done when their country leads the world with the most federal holidays at 18 each year.

Image- globeandmail.com (According to the caption “Newscaster Mirthala Salinas, left, walks with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in June, 2006”)

Sources- ABC News, Canada.com, People’s Daily Online, Washington Post, AHN

Daily Headlines: July 04, 2007

* Follow-up: Remember the incredibly shrinking Chilean lake? Scientists believe that global warming is to blame for its disappearance.

* Mexico’s Carlos Slim: world’s wealthiest man.

* Colombian guerilla group FARC released a video showing several hostages.

* The pitfalls of the U.S. asylum system have hurt the Haitian community, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

* Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is caught in a bit of a problem after confessing to being in a relationship with a reporter while divorcing his wife.

* Osvaldo Romo died in jail earlier today; he was one of the main members of Chile’s intelligence/torture operations during Augusto Pinochet’s rule.

Sources- BBC News, The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK, Christian Science Monitor, Yahoo! News

Image- International Herald Tribune (According to the caption “Large pieces of ice and some areas with water at the bottom of a lake in southern Chile that was discovered dried up in late May. Experts believe water flowed to a nearby fiord through a hole in a glacier at the northern end of the lake.”)

The tie that binds – L.A. mayor profiled in New Yorker

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was profiled in the latest issue of the New Yorker. The lengthy article emphasizes how he is trying to unite the city despite racial and social differences:

“In the Villaraigosa administration, governing looks a lot like campaigning. The Mayor spends a great deal of time away from his office, appearing at half a dozen events most days, and holding multiple press conferences, in both English and Spanish. In times of crisis, his talent for connecting with people is a boon, but at other times it can appear contrived.”

The article goes on to note that Villaraigosa’s Latino background serves as a double-edged sword, especially regarding the immigration debate:

“Being Latino obviously accounts for a large part of his appeal and his political success, but the subject of immigration is one of the country’s most polarizing issues, and if he appears “too Latino” he risks losing support among all his constituent groups. When he spoke at the National Press Club, in January, he was annoyed that many questions concerned immigration. He now seems to avoid the subject when he can”.

The article also describes Villaraigosa’s history including how he entered into politics as well as his policies as he enters his third year as mayor. It is a must-read piece for those interested in someone who may become a major player in U.S. politics.

Related- Immigration rally ends in violence earlier this month in Los Angeles.

Links- New Yorker, The Latin Americanist, Wikipedia

Image- MSNBC (Antonio Villaraigosa after wining the race for Los Angeles mayor in 2005)