Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Acknowledging widespread security lapses within the nation's immigration system, the Bush administration announced Wednesday it is opening anti-fraud task forces in 10 cities, including Atlanta, to crack down on fake driver's licenses, passports and other methods used to obtain immigration benefits. "Millions have used fraudulent documents" to obtain work permits or to provide cover for criminal or terrorist activities, said Julie Myers, assistant Homeland Security secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who cited "an epidemic" of bogus identification documents generated by highly sophisticated crime networks. The enforcement initiative, which combines Homeland Security immigration agencies, the U.S. Department of...

California is in the midst of a significant outbreak of whooping cough, with the number of cases at the highest point in 30 years, leading to at least seven deaths of babies, according to public health officials. As of the end of November, doctors had reported 2,169 cases statewide — roughly triple last year's level, said Celia Woodfill, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Health Services. The figure is significantly higher than estimates officials made earlier in the year. Seven deaths in babies," she added, is "a lot more than usual." More than three hundred cases had been reported...