To the Point

Man's Best Friend or Worst Enemy?

Just as California's killer-dog trial is winding down, Wisconsin has filed homicide charges against the owners of six Rottweilers in the dog-biting death of a 10-year old girl. More children suffer dog attacks than mumps, measles and whooping cough combined, and thousands of dog bites cost more than a billion dollars in insurance payoffs every year. But breeding aggressive dogs is big business, not just to guard people and property, but for fighting as well. We look at this growing problem of public health and personal safety with a certified animal behaviorist, a breeder-trainer, animal welfare advocate, and an attorney who has represented victims, breeders and owners of dogs and other animals. Newsmaker: Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades US efforts to broker a truce between Israel and the Palestinians have been broken off after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and two others in the heart of Jerusalem. Lee Hockstader, Jerusalem bureau chief for The Washington Post, reports that the attack by an armed component of Chairman Arafat's Fateh movement threatens an anticipated meeting between Arafat and Vice President Dick Cheney. Reporter's Notebook: Bush Attends International Aid Conference in Monterrey, Mexico President Bush begins his South American tour at a UN summit meeting in Monterrey, Mexico. He'll propose new aid to developing countries that pledge to fight corruption, and talk trade and security with Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Mexico's President Vicente Fox. Freelance reporter Sam Quinones has more on UN efforts to include marginalized people in the global economy.