Fighters associated with Al Qaeda are reportedly pouring into southern Yemen, in hopes of making the nation an Islamic state. The US is intensifying its efforts there, in an attempt to keep that from happening. Our partner, The New York Times, reports that fighter jets are hitting militant targets, in an effort to keep them from consolidating. Meanwhile, Yemen’s President, Ali Saleh, is out of intensive care after a successful surgery in Saudi Arabia.  

In watching the developments across the Middle East region, there seem to be one of two paths that nations experiencing the Arab Spring can take. Although 800 Egyptians died in revolts leading up to the removal of Hosni Mubarak’s long-standing regime, the country is now on a path toward more democratic rule. The same can’t be said for Libya, Syria or Yemen where entrenched regimes—or a solitary figure, in the case of Muammar Gadaffi—refuse to cede power.

While some call Egypt and Tunisia the shining model for the Arab Spring’s revolutions — isn’t it more accurate to see it as an exception to the rule of civil war? 

Thousands of Mexicans have gathered for a 900-mile march to protest against the drug cartels and the violence that has gripped the country. Their caravan started last weekend in Cuernavaca, a resort and industrial city south of Mexico City. Mexican poet Javier Sicilia—whose son was killed by members of the Mexican drug cartel two months ago—is leading the march. It will conclude when the marchers cross the border from Ciadad-Juarez into El Paso, Texas.

For millions of working Americans, calling in sick isn’t an option. That’s because 40 million employees in the United States do not have paid sick leave. This will no longer be the case for food service or day care workers in Connecticut by May 2012, because of a newly passed law requiring businesses with 50 or more employees to give their workers one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked.

About a thousand Syrians crossed the northern border of the country into Turkey overnight. They are fleeing a possible assault from the Syrian Army, which is believed to be led by Syrian President Bashar Assad's younger brother. The troops have surrounded the town of Jisr al-Shughour, close to the Turkish border, with heavy forces and tanks. The Turkish government has already built one camp to house the Syrian refugees, and is currently building another. 

It’s hard to imagine it now, but in the mid-1920s, the U.S. only had 250 routes for cars. Today, there are more than 55,000 auto bridges, close to 4 million miles of road, and an intricate system of high speed super highways that connect every major city in the country.

These superhighways — which allowed drivers to travel long distances at high speeds — redefined American cities and culture.

A massive wildfire continues to ravage eastern Arizona, and officials say there's no end in sight. Two towns have been evacuated, and the fire is headed toward power lines that supply electricity to hundreds of thousands of people, in areas as far east as Texas. 

As the unrest in Yemen continues, several different parties are vying to fill a potential power vacuum in the country, including the US. Over the past month, Washington has expanded the number of air and drone attacks in Yemen in an attempt to prevent Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants from establishing a foothold in the country. Meanwhile, American and Saudi spies are reportedly ramping up intelligence collection efforts inside Yemen. Both countries have a strategic interest in preventing Yemen from becoming a failed state.

It’s been more than a year since the explosion aboard the Deep Water Horizon oil rig that led to the deaths of 11 workers and millions of barrels of oil being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the widows of those killed on the Horizon are pushing for a new law that would allow them to sue for pain and suffering. 

The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill on Wednesday. It would change long-standing Maritime laws that limit the liability in the case of death on the high seas.

In December 2007, A.J. Larson, 20, was behind the wheel of his car, texting his girlfriend, when he accidentally drove through a stop sign and was struck by a garbage truck. Larson was killed in the accident.

The head of China's General Staff of the notoriously secretive People's Liberation Army, General Chen Bingde, has confirmed that the country is building an aircraft carrier. The vessel, a remodeled Soviet-era warship, is expected to be ready for trials at sea later this year. The carrier is symbolic of China's expanding naval power, and possibly of pending territorial disputes in the country's surrounding seas. 

Over the past few decades, an incredible amount of time and money has been spent trying to remove populations of "non-native" plants. But according to a panel of ecologists, climate change, urbanization and other changes in land use have largely invalidated the theory that foreign plants are inherently harmful to their newly adopted ecosystems.

American hedge funds are buying massive amounts of land—larger in size than the state of California—in Africa, often without proper contracts, according to the Oakland Institute, an independent policy think tank. The hedge funds say that it's an effort to uplift the economies of African nations, but some critics say it's a "land grab;" an opportunity to buy cheap land to grow food crops that will be exported to richer countries, ultimately depleting Africa's natural resources and raising global food prices. 

Citibank has confirmed that hackers accessed credit card information for over 200,000 US customers (1% of the bank's 21 million account holders). The bank says the hacking occurred over a month ago. It's one more occurrence in what seems like a season of hacking attacks, with Lockheed Martin, Sony's PlayStation network, and Google in China also falling victim to recent hackings.