The world at a glance . . . Americas

New York City

Big Mafia bust: In the largest mob sweep in years, federal and New York state authorities last week rounded up more than 80 alleged organized-crime figures, charging them with murder, loan-sharking, extortion, and other crimes. Those arrested, prosecutors said, included the entire leadership of the Gambino crime family, prominent members of the Bonanno and Genovese families, and several construction industry and union officials. One reputed Gambino family soldier, Charles Carneglia, was accused of carrying out five murders. The arrests were coordinated with an operation that also netted 23 accused Mafia members in Palermo, Sicily—part of a new American-Italian strategy aimed at severing the relationship between New York crime families and the Sicilian mob. “The message today is clear: Organized crime still exists in the city and state of New York,” said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. “It is as unrelenting as weeds that continue to sprout in the cracks of society.”

Washington, D.C.

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Clemens’ stormy outing: Appearing before a skeptical congressional panel, baseball pitching great Roger Clemens this week vehemently denied taking performance-enhancing drugs—the first time he had done so under oath. In sometimes-rambling testimony, Clemens accused his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, of lying about injecting him with steroids and human growth hormone. He also said that longtime Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte had “misheard” him in a conversation that Pettitte claims included Clemens’ admission of taking HGH. Rep. Henry Waxman, who chairs the oversight panel, challenged “conflicts and inconsistencies” in Clemens’ public statements on the steroids controversy. But Clemens remained adamant. “If I am guilty of anything,” he said, “it is of being too trusting.” McNamee, who also testified, repeated his claim that he had injected Clemens with performance enhancers numerous times, “at his direction.”

Kirkwood, Mo.

Rampage at council meeting: A gunman with a grudge stormed a City Council meeting in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, killing five people before being killed by police. Charles “Cookie” Thornton, 50, had feuded with Kirkwood authorities over tickets issued to trucks owned by his demolition business. After leaving a note at his home saying, “The truth will come out in the end,” Thornton drove to City Hall, where he killed two police officers before bursting into the meeting room and opening fire, killing two council members and the town’s public works director. Kirkwood’s mayor, Mike Swoboda, was also shot and critically wounded. “It’s a tragedy of untold magnitude,” Deputy Mayor Tim Griffin said. “We will recover, but we will never be the same.”

Washington, D.C.

9/11 plotters charged: Prosecutors this week said they would seek the death penalty against six alleged 9/11 conspirators, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, said to be the mastermind of the terrorist assault. The six were charged with training or assisting participants in the 9/11 plot. The accused—all being held at the U.S. military camp in Guantánamo, Cuba—will be tried as prisoners of war, which would give them the same rights as U.S. soldiers accused of crimes. Some of the evidence against the men was obtained through harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding—which legal observers said might hamper the prosecution. It’s unlikely that the case will be tried before the end of President Bush’s term.

Toronto

Kiddie porn sweep: More than 20 people were arrested this week in the largest child-pornography bust in Ontario history. The arrests capped a monthlong investigation that tracked child pornographers scattered throughout the province. Most of those arrested were charged with possessing child pornography and making it available to others; a 29-year-old man was charged with soliciting sex from a child and exposing himself. Canadian police have made 588 child pornography arrests since 2007, after the government launched a nationwide crackdown. “Every image of child pornography,” said Ontario police Commissioner Julian Fantino, “represents the irrefutable evidence of a child being brutalized.”

La Paz, Bolivia

Flooding emergency: Bolivian President Evo Morales this week declared a national emergency, after weeks of heavy rain left much of the country’s eastern lowlands under water. At least 51 people died in the flooding, and more than 40,000 people have been left homeless. Morales promised to send more emergency funds and personnel after governors in the eastern provinces accused him of reacting too slowly to the crisis. Morales blamed global warming for rains that have caused rivers to overflow and threaten to wash out the main road to the provincial capital of Trinidad, home to 300,000 people.