The left leaning Democratic Party was highly critical of many major points of the right-wing Republican Party's proposals and bills introduced this year. Having secured a thin majority control of the Congress in the November elections, there is pressure for them to show progress on highly visible issues.

The committee, led by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), expects to have a reconciled bill ready for the Senate to consider in March or April, followed by a House vote in the months following. The committee must reach compromise between a Senate bill passed in May that would set millions of illegal immigrants on a path to potential citizenship and would authorize a temporary worker program, with the more restrictive House version passed late last year which makes unlawful presence in the US a felony subject to deportation and could punish humanitarian groups aiding illegals.

The committee may also decide not to provide sufficient funding for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which provides for 700 miles of border fencing to be constructed between the US and Mexico. The border fence bill, signed into law by President Bush in October, was passed by the House and Senate after Republican leadership decided to leave comprehensive immigration reform proposals for the next session of congress.

What might reform look like?

With the new Democratic majority in Congress, Democratic lawmakers and some key center-leaning Republican allies are working on measures that could place millions of illegal immigrants on a more direct path to citizenship. In May, the Senate passed a bill that was much more centrist than the radically right-wing bill passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives at the end of 2005.

The new efforts in both houses of Congress are likely to look more like the Senate bill, and in many cases be much more humane and liberal-leaning.

This is in direct response to public support by Americans that felt some of the measures went too far in punishing immigrants, while giving a free pass to businesses that were in greater violation of existing laws.

Being a nation of immigrants, most Americans want to welcome newcomers to the United States. The trick is to balance between security of the country, stability of the economy and the society, and simple humanity toward other people.

Accordingly, lawmakers are considering abandoning a requirement in the Senate bill that would compel several million illegal immigrants to leave the United States before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship.

The lawmakers are also considering denying financing for 700 miles of fencing along the border with Mexico, a law championed by Republicans. The original $6 billion to $10 billion estimate has increased to a $36 billion estimate, and may take longer than a decade to complete.

Details of the bill, which would be introduced early next year, are being drafted. Key points include tougher border security and a guest worker plan. The lawmakers, who hope for bipartisan support, will almost certainly face pressure to compromise on the issues from some Republicans and conservative Democrats.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the new federal rules for smog reduction on Friday, stating that the Environmental Protection Agency "has failed to heed the restrictions on its discretion set forth in the Act."

The smog standards were introduced in 2004 and required roughly 470 counties designated as "non-attainment" areas to reduce the level of smog within a three to seventeen year period. The court said the time period did not align with the federal Clean Air Act and held that EPA enforcement was not strict enough in states where smog levels have increased.

According to EPA spokeswoman Jennifer Wood, the EPA has not yet determined if it will seek an en banc rehearing of the case, stating that the "EPA is committed to ensuring our nation's ozone air quality standards are implemented to protect public health and the environment." 

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the new federal rules for smog reduction on Friday, stating that the Environmental Protection Agency "has failed to heed the restrictions on its discretion set forth in the Clean Air Act."

The smog standards were introduced in 2004 and required roughly 470 counties designated as "non-attainment" areas to reduce the level of smog within a three to seventeen year period. The court said the time period did not align with the federal Clean Air Act and held that EPA enforcement was not strict enough in states where smog levels have increased.

According to EPA spokeswoman Jennifer Wood, the EPA has not yet determined if it will seek an en banc rehearing of the case, stating that the "EPA is committed to ensuring our nation's ozone air quality standards are implemented to protect public health and the environment."

The sentence “must be implemented within 30 days,” chief judge Aref Shahin. “From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation.”

A spokesperson for the court said Tuesday that the decision still had to be ratified by President Jalal Talabani and Vice Presidents Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Tariq Al-Hashimi before an execution could be carried out, but noted that if the leaders do not ratify the decision "we'll implement the verdict by the power of the law."

The decision of the appeals court must be ratified by President Jalal Talabani and Iraq's two vice-presidents. Mr. Talabani opposes the death penalty but has, in the past, deputized a vice-president to sign an execution order on his behalf, a substitute that has been legally accepted.

Hussein was sentenced to death by the trial court on November 5. He and six co-defendants are currently standing trial on additional genocide charges in connection with attacks against Kurds during the so-called "Anfal" campaigns. Last week, two of Saddam's co-defendants denied using chemical weapons against Kurds, insisting that any action taken was by order of their superiors.

The proposed property law is the most controversial measure to come before parliament in recent years. Earlier versions prompted an outcry by leftists, who complained it would undermine state control of the economy and worsen the growing gap between an elite who have profited from China’s reforms and the poor majority.

The controversial bill has already sparked public debate on whether the law represents a serious departure from Communist values or a realistic modern view of the nation's economic position. The legislation has been in revision since its introduction in 2002 and has had more reviews than any other in the NPC's history. A review of its sixth version was completed in October. In March 2004 the NPC officially enshrined private property protection in the Chinese constitution by approving an amendment declaring "legal private property is not to be encroached upon." The NPC Sunday also considered legislation that would equalize tax rates paid by Chinese and foreign companies, many of which get tax breaks that some say hurt domestic entrepreneurs.

It said that when various tax breaks are taken into account, the average Chinese company pays taxes at a 24 percent rate, while foreign companies pay 14 percent. 

Researchers led by Cheon Jin-woo and Seo Jin-seok said in a paper published on the Internet site of Nature Medicine on Monday that their new technology allowed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to find cancer cells less than 2 millimeters in size. Conventional MRI tests could only distinguish cells of a larger size, which are found only after the cancer is further developed.

A nano-particle is a microscopic particle whose size is measured in nanometers, or one billionth of a meter. Recent scientific research has proved nano-particles to be useful in detecting tumors due to their abilities to act as imaging agents and make cells and tissues more visible in MRI scans.

The nano-particles developed by the Korean researchers could be swallowed like a pill or injected through a catheter into the human body. Their function is to detect cancer and other diseases in their early developmental stages.

Among the commonly used nano-particles in MRI imaging is CLIO, which was developed by scientists at Harvard University. In their paper in Nature Medicine, the Korean scientists claimed that their new nano-device performed better than CLIO in MRI experiments, generating a signal that was about 10 times more intense.

The UN Security Council voted 15-0 Saturday to impose its first sanctions on Iran for continuing to enrich uranium past an August 31 deadline imposed by Security Council Resolution 1696. In unanimously adopting Resolution 1737 the Council cited reports submitted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the August 31 deadline as well as a November 14 update  which showed that Iran had not "established full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities as set out in resolution 1696" or otherwise complied with IAEA instructions.

The resolution calls for the end of all uranium enrichment and heavy-water research, imposes a ban on the import or export of related dangerous materials, and moves to freeze the international assets of individuals and organizations connected to the nuclear programs. The sanctions fall under Chapter VII Article 41 of the UN Charter, making enforcement mandatory but restricted to non-military measures. The IAEA will submit a report on Iran's compliance with the resolution in 60 days, at which point further sanctions will be considered.