The world at a glance . . . the Americas

Detroit

Little girl saves mom: A 7-year-old Detroit girl with learning disabilities was critically wounded when she took six bullets intended for her mother. Alexis Groggins was with her mother, Selietha Parker, in an SUV when Parker’s ex-boyfriend, Calvin Tillie, allegedly jumped into the vehicle and started firing a 9 mm pistol. Crying, “Don’t hurt my mother,” Alexis threw herself in front of her mother and was hit by six shots. One bullet pierced her right eye, and other shots hit her chin and jaw. Her mother was struck by two bullets but sustained less serious wounds. Groggins’ classmates at Campbell Elementary School have placed a teddy bear at her desk, awaiting her return. They have named the bear Hero.

Washington, D.C.

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Iraq investigator investigated: The U.S. agency that investigates fraud and corruption in the $22 billion U.S. effort to rebuild Iraq is now under scrutiny itself, The Washington Post reported last week. The FBI and other federal agencies are reportedly investigating charges of padded payroll records and other irregularities inside the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. One agency employee has alleged that office head Stuart Bowen improperly spied on employees’ e-mails. Others have complained about retaliation against employees who raised concerns about accounting practices. Bowen denied any wrongdoing and blamed the controversy on “disgruntled former employees.”

Washington, D.C.

CIA tape fallout: White House lawyers, including then–White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, participated in deliberations over destroying tapes of CIA interrogations of terror suspects, The New York Times reported this week. Previously, the White House had distanced itself from the tape controversy by saying there was little White House input in the matter. The destruction of the tapes, which show waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques, is now under investigation by the Justice Department. Attorney General Michael Mukasey last week refused a congressional request that he appoint a special prosecutor. Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered a hearing into whether the tapes’ destruction violated an order to preserve evidence in a lawsuit brought by 16 prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Havana

Castro hints at farewell: Cuban President Fidel Castro, who has ruled Cuba since 1959, publicly raised the prospect of his retirement for the first time this week. “My basic duty is not to cling to power, and even less, to obstruct the path of younger people,” the ailing Castro, 81, said in a letter read aloud on state TV. Analysts interpreted his comments as a hint that he will step down after parliamentary elections in January. There was also intense speculation that Castro may not transfer power to his 76-year-old brother, Raul, who was named acting president after Fidel underwent emergency surgery in July 2006. “This gives us hope that our society can start moving again,” said dissident journalist Miriam Leiva.

Princeton, N.J.

Hate-crime hoax: The leader of a conservative organization at Princeton University staged his own beating, Princeton, N.J., police said this week. Francisco Nava, a 23-year-old junior and head of the conservative Anscombe Society, told police last week that two assailants had beaten him up and told him to “shut the f--- up” because of his views. Conservative news outlets, including Fox News, devoted extensive coverage to the incident. But after police questioned Nava about inconsistencies in his story, he admitted it was a hoax and that he had inflicted his own wounds by scraping his face against a brick wall and breaking a bottle over his head. Police are considering charging him with filing a false police report, and he is likely to be expelled from Princeton.

Buenos Aires

A bribe from Chavez?

Venezuela sent a businessman to Buenos Aires with $800,000 in cash to influence Argentina’s recent presidential election, U.S. prosecutors alleged last week. Businessman Guido Antonini Wilson, who holds dual American and Venezuelan citizenship, was carrying the $800,000 in a suitcase when Argentine customs authorities detained him last August. The money was allegedly intended for the campaign of Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, who was elected Argentina’s president in October. FBI agents subsequently recorded a meeting in Miami that included Wilson, three Venezuelans, and a Uruguayan, during which Wilson was offered $2 million for his silence. U.S. prosecutors have charged the four with acting as undeclared agents of the Venezuelan government, a violation of federal law. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denied any involvement in the matter and said the U.S. was trying to tarnish Venezuela’s image.