To the Point

Mexico has three major political parties, but all the attention in this year's presidential campaign has been on two candidates. One is a populist who appeals to the poor. The other a conservative free-marketeer preferred by the business elite or, as American-style negative ads would have it, a dangerous leftist against a corrupt administrator whose family got rich on government money. Andr--s Manuel L--pez Obrador of the left-leaning PRD, the Party of Democratic Revolution, and Felipe Calder--n of the PAN, the conservative National Action Party of current President Vicente Fox. Roberto Madrazo of the PRI--the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico for 70 years--appears to be out of the running. We hear about security, trade and immigration, and why Americans north of the border should care about an election that's just over two weeks away but still too close to call. Making News: Senate Rejects Dems' Calls for Troop Pullout from IraqAs expected, the Senate today defeated two Democratic proposals to establish timelines for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Much on the minds of both parties: elections this November and in 2008. Jim Kuhnhenn covers Congress for the Knight-Ridder newspapers.Reporter's Notebook: Ghana Moves Up at the World Cup, US Is OutFour years ago, America's team made the quarter finals of the World Cup in the best showing since 1930. This year's team had high hopes and a high ranking, but it's all over. The Black Stars of Ghana, which has never been in a World Cup before, have advanced to the second round after defeating the US team 2-to-1 today in Nuremberg, Germany. We hear more from Frank Dell'Apa, who writes for the Boston Globe and ESPN.com, and Maurice Quansah of Ghana's Graphic Sports.

In Vienna today, where he is meeting with leaders of the European Union, a few hundreds demonstrators carried signs calling President Bush the "Number One Terrorist in the World." At a heated press conference, the President dismissed as "absurd" polls showing that Europeans think the US is more dangerous than Iran. The President also said he wants to close the Guant--namo Bay prison, and the Chancellor of Austria signaled possible help in re-locating prisoners. What about Iran, Iraq and Europe's own problems with radical Islam? We hear more from political scientists and journalists in the US and Austria on the latest attempt to mend fences with America's most important allies. Making News: Seven Marines, One Sailor to Be Charged in Murder of IraqiAs the Senate debated timetables for troop withdrawal today, the Pentagon announced that 21,000 soldiers will be sent to replace those who are coming home. Meantime, the Marine Corps plans to charge seven Marines and a sailor with murder. They're being held at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in Southern California, where Tony Perry is reporting for the Los Angeles Times.Reporter's Notebook: Embryonic Stem Cells Found to Reverse Paralysis in RatsResearchers at Johns Hopkins University have found a way to use stem cells to re-grow the circuitry needed to move a muscle. The result has been that partially paralyzed rats are able to walk. The breakthrough is being called a "first step...a proof of principle," though application to human beings might be a long way off. James Battey heads the Stem Cell Task Force at the National Institutes of Health.

On September 10, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress that waste in the Pentagon is "a matter of life and death." He said some estimates show "we cannot trace $2.3 trillion." Then came September 11. Though Pentagon waste is hardly news, a new study has business leaders dropping their jaws. They say the Defense Department's financial management would put any civilian company out of business. "No one is accountable"... and nobody cares. The US spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined, but nobody knows if GI's in Iraq receive the equipment they need or whether it's ever been paid for. Has the War on Terror replaced the war on waste? We hear from experts in international relations, a former national security advisor and two members of the House Government Reform Committee. Making News: Bodies of Two Abducted American Soldiers RecoveredThe remains of two kidnapped American soldiers are being returned to the United States after Iraqi authorities said they showed signs of "barbaric" torture. Major General William Caldwell told reporters the area where they were found was booby-trapped. Rod Nordland, Newsweek magazine's chief foreign correspondent, joins us from Baghdad.Reporter's Notebook: Why Would North Korea Launch a Long-Range Missile?Satellite photos reportedly show that, for the first time since 1998, North Korea has fueled a ballistic missile system in the eastern part of North Korea. There's disagreement about whether it will have to be fired within a day or two or up to a month from now. The Taepodong-2 is thought to have the capability of reaching American shores. Daniel Pinkston directs the East Asia Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute in California.

Next month in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin will host the G-8 Summit, a gathering of the world's most highly-industrialized nations. Russia's inclusion originally was promoted as a means of "integration" into the western world after the Cold War. As the US prepares the summit, relations between the two countries are going sour. Presidents Bush and Putin are friendly, but Vice President Cheney has been publicly critical of Russia's democracy and its power plays with gas and oil. Has Russia given up on its effort to integrate with the West? Has European dependence on Russian resources given Putin extraordinary new power despite his country's military decline? We talk to experts in Moscow and the US about what to expect when it comes to Iran and other contentious issues. Making News: Prosecutor Urges Death Penalty for SaddamAt the trial of Saddam Hussein today, the chief prosecutor called for the death penalty. Scott Peterson is in Baghdad, covering the story for the Christian Science Monitor. He offers both an update on the trial and on the search for three missing America servicemen.Reporter's Notebook: Global Crop Seeds to Be Locked in Arctic VaultMany food crops around the world already are in danger of becoming extinct. Climate change or an asteroid strike could bring an end to them all. So, the "doomsday vault" is being built to safeguard enough seeds to resurrect the world's vegetation. Today, the prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland laid the cornerstone near Longearbyen, Norway, inside the Arctic Circle. Cary Fowler is Executive Secretary of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which will run the vault.

The Antiquities Act of 1906 allows presidents to designate national monuments. Carter, Clinton and Theodore Roosevelt used it more than 15 times. Nixon and Bush, Sr. never used it. Until yesterday, George W. Bush had used it just once, to protect an 18th century cemetery for emancipated slaves and blacks. Now, he's created the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, an area almost as large as California and bigger than all the national parks combined. Today, the United Nation's Environment Program says 60% of the world's oceans are at risk, while some fishing interests are saying the President acted too hastily after viewing a PBS documentary. Is there a change of heart for an administration condemned by environmentalists as one of the worst ever? What about parks, monuments and private interests in the continental US? Making News: House Passes Iraq ResolutionWhat's been labeled "Iraq Week" began with the President's surprise visit to Baghdad. It wrapped up today with fierce partisanship on Capitol Hill, where the House approved a nonbinding resolution to support American troops and not set a timetable for pulling out of Iraq. Maura Reynolds is reporting the story for the Los Angeles Times.Reporter's Notebook: Southern Baptists Take a Populist TurnThe Southern Baptist Convention is America's largest Protestant denomination. Since theological conservatives took over in 1979, the leadership has been unchallenged at annual meetings. This year, instead of the establishment's presidential candidate, delegates chose Frank Page, who promised some changes. After his election, the reverend told reporters he's not planning to undo the "conservative resurgence." Robert Parham is Executive Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics in Nashville, Tennessee.

FBI statistics released this week show the first increase in violent crime in the past four years. Meantime, a bipartisan panel says Americans are getting a dismal return on the $60 billion they spend every year on prisons. Get-tough laws have led to massive over-crowding that allows gangs to take over; ex-convicts are returned to society without the resources to cope. What happens inside the prisons has a lot to do with what happens outside. Is it time for another look at rehabilitation? We hear from journalists, prison authorities, corrections authorities, social-justice advocates and a member of the prison commission, who says, "If these were public schools or publicly traded corporations, we'd shut them down."Making News: Iraq Declares the "Beginning of the End" of al-QaedaAs the death toll of American troops reached 2500 today, Congress staged a debate on Iraq, with Republicans using 74-pages of arguments prepared by the Pentagon. In Iraq itself, the new government claimed the "beginning of the end" to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Scott Peterson is in Baghdad for the Christian Science Monitor.Reporter's Notebook: President Bush Establishes National Monument around HawaiiEnvironmentalists are among the most outspoken critics of the Bush Administration, but today they're saying he's done something right. Today, President Bush created the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, the world's largest marine protected area. One environmentalist calls it "as important as the establishment of Yellowstone." Paul Rogers is reporting the story for the San Jose Mercury News.