Washington – A smuggler could easily carry radioactive material or other contraband across the north ern border into the U.S., government investigators have found.
Government Accountability Office investigators tested how easily they could transfer large red duffel bags at unguarded spots along the more than 5,000 miles of U.S.-Canada border.
A 13-page report is to be delivered to Congress today detailing how easily they were able to penetrate the border at several spots. The investigators tested four northern border states, which they did not identify, setting up an exchange of a red duffel bag over the border.
Investigators said that for security reasons they did not conduct similar tests at the southern border, but they also found gaps there.
Additional nation/world news briefs:
TRENTON, N.J.
E. coli in hamburgers linked to illnesses
Twenty-one people in eight states may have fallen ill after eating hamburgers possibly contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell said three cases – two in New York and one in Florida – have been linked to the beef, with the other 18 cases in East Coast states possibly linked.
No one has died, but Russell said she had no additional information on the cases.
Elizabeth, N.J.-based Topps Meat Co. announced a recall Tuesday for boxes of frozen hamburgers it distributed nationwide. A full list of the recalled products is available at .
ZINAT, Morocco
Child in photo isn’t missing British girl
Supporters of missing Madeleine McCann had their hopes dashed again Wednesday when a girl resembling the British toddler who was photographed in Morocco turned out to be the child of an olive farmer.
The photo was taken by a Spanish tourist and widely published on the Internet. Interpol said Wednesday that investigators have been studying the blurry detail of the photo of a woman in Moroccan- style clothing and carrying a fair-haired girl on her back.
An Associated Press reporter reached the girl and her family Wednesday in the mountain village where the photo was taken.
The girl is 3-year-old Bouchra Ahmed Ben Aissa, and in the photo she was being carried by her mother. Her aunt and father were also pictured, relatives said.
Madeleine vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, days before her fourth birthday. Portuguese police have named the girl’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, as official suspects in the disappearance.
MEXICO CITY
Plan to help poor by easing energy costs
President Felipe Calderon said Wednesday that he would suspend a gasoline tax and block any residential gas or electricity price increases for the rest of the year to avoid hurting poor families already affected by inflation.
A 5.5 percent tax on gasoline is part of a broader reform Calderon proposed and Congress approved this month. The tax was to be applied gradually over 18 months.
