Seven women since January 2006 have fallen victim to a suspected serial killer. The women were all prostitutes, making the investigation in their deaths rather difficult with little ability to track their last known whereabouts. All bodies were found nude near churches in the neighborhood of Acres Homes in Houston, TX. At one time there were ten full-time police officers working on the cases, yet the number has dwindled down to three as the leads begin to disappear. Investigators are zeroing in on some leads for the most recent victim, but the other cases are left with nothing but dead ends.

Through the US

Child obesity in America has reached alarming rates, and now Congress is attempting to do their part to reduce it. They are considering a national ban on selling candy and other sugary, salty, or fatty foods in schools. This would affect snack bars, vending machines, and a la carte cafeteria lines. This new piece of legislation would be an amendment to the $286 billion farm bill already in affect. If it gets passed, it will set newer and higher standards of what will be allowed in schools. Under consideration is serving only water and eight-ounce bottles of low-fat milk in elementary and middle schools, and adding the choices of diet soda and sports drinks for high school.

Around the Globe

An election held this week to change the Venezuelan constitution resulted in opposition to the proposal. If passed, the constitution would allow Hugo Chávez to run for re-election indefinitely, which would be the first step towards dictatorship, opponents fear. The margin was narrow in the election however, with 49% of the votes in Chávez’s favor. Forty-five people involved with the polling were arrested, most of them for ballot-related crimes. It was not reported which positions these individuals held. This defeat marks the end of a year that included forcing opposing television networks off the air by Chávez.