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Immigrant-Student Bill Fails Senate Test Vote

By a vote of 52 to 44, a bill that would grant legal status to undocumented high-school graduates was defeated Wednesday in a test vote in the Senate. The bill would have given provisional legal status to undocumented students who completed high school in the United States if they either attended college or served in the military for two years. That the bill failed its test vote demonstrates there is little taste in Congress for amnesty bills for undocumented immigrants. Conservative Republicans voted against the bill on the grounds that it rewarded undocumented lawbreakers, reported The New York Times, but negative votes also came from Republicans and some Democrats who were reluctant to reopen the bitterly divisive debate over immigration for what they called a narrow piece of legislation.

(See also: 'They Die First': Bush's Head of Voting Rights Doesn't Care if Older Latinos Can't Vote and How Would Your Presidential Candidate Vote on Immigration?)

Next on 'Oprah': Gay Around the World

What do a former NBA player, an Indian prince and a Jamaican poet have in common? They're all gay or lesbian and will be featured guests on an episode of Oprah Winfrey's talk show titled "Gay Around the World." Former NBA player John Amaechi, who is from Britain and told the public he was gay after his playing days were done; Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, who came out last year against his royal family's wishes; and feminist spoken-word poet Staceyann Chin, who faced death threats after coming out in Jamaica, will talk about being LGBT in other countries. The show follows Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments last month about the non-existence of gays in his country, reports GayNZ.com.

(See also: Ex-NBA Star Declares 'I Hate Gay People')

Less Foot Traffic at Mexican Border, More Smuggling

Department of Homeland Security research is expected to reveal that the number of undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexican border decreased to less than 1 million for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, the lowest number since 2003. Through the end of August, barely 800,000 apprehensions were recorded along the U.S.-Mexican border, a drop of more than 20 percent from the previous fiscal year, reports The Wall Street Journal. However, U.S. officials report increased violence along the border as small smuggling operations have been replaced by large, professional criminal gangs, often with ties to illegal drug trafficking. Gangs have reportedly hijacked each others' customers en route to U.S. destinations.

Nobel Prize Winner Resigns After Racially Charged Comments

James Watson, 79, who shared a Nobel Prize in 1962 for his role in discovering the structure of DNA, resigned today from New York-based Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he held a leadership position, reports The Wall Street Journal's health blog. Watson's resignation comes less than two weeks after a London-based newspaper quoted him as saying he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours—whereas all the testing says not really." Watson also said, "People who have to deal with black employees find this is not true."

(See also: Nobel Prize Winner Apologizes for Calling Blacks Intellectually Inferior)

Anti-Civil-Rights Judge Gets Senate Thumbs Up

The National Urban League is opposing the U.S. Senate's confirmation of Judge Leslie Southwick to the 5th Circuit Court, which includes Mississippi, Louisiana and east Texas—states with large populations of color. Southwick has been accused of making racist remarks and judgments against black people, and he has been criticized for adverse rulings against LGBT people. Southwick's nomination was ushered through by the "Gang of 14," senators who agreed in 2005 not to stall judicial nominations unless under "extraordinary circumstance," reports CivilRights.org. They joined with Southwick supporters and killed the filibuster that would have blocked a final vote on his nomination.  

From New Orleans to Calif.: What Has FEMA Learned?

"The most significant lesson learned from Katrina is that we don't wait any longer," said Glenn Cannon, assistant administrator for disaster operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), reports The Washington Times. Cannon added that deploying resources immediately is better than waiting, even if they are ultimately unnecessary. Waiting for an official request slows down shipping time. FEMA has provided resources such as beds, food and water; set up a joint field office in Pasadena, Calif.; and is helping run five of the largest shelters in response to the California fires. FEMA also is offsetting some of the state's firefighting costs. The agency deployed 1,900 federal firefighters to California while preparing backup teams in case the fire situation worsens.

(See also: Racial Wounds Fester in New Orleans Two Years After Katrina) 

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