1. Environmental crimes, such as illegal mining and logging, would carry harsher penalties in Brazil under a new bill proposed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The bill would also increase jail time from three years to six for people accused of purposefully starting wildfires.
Wildfires, stoked by drought, have been raging in several different regions this year. Authorities say some were started by ranchers or miners looking to make space for cattle or by miners looking to take over land.
2. Genaro García Luna, a former minister of security in Mexico and the country's highest ranking official to be on trial in the U.S., yesterday was sentenced in New York to 38 years in prison.
García Luna was found guilty last year of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel when he was in the ministry that is supposed to fight organized crime.
There are also pending criminal cases against García Luna in Mexico, though it's not yet clear if the country would ask for his extradition from the U.S.
