The United States and Canada recently opened the first joint-operated border crossing, between central Washington state and the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. The crossing is located at a large commercial port facility, and it includes a two-lane highway exclusively for cargo truck traffic. The $31 million facility is co-operated by the U.S. General Services Administration and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents working undercover in Baghdad have arrested a man for allegedly violating the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Regard Yakou, 43, is suspected of brokering the manufacture and export of six armored patrol boats to Saddam Hussein, from November 2000 to July 2003. Yokou was transported to JFK International Airport to appear in the Eastern District New York court. Yakou's father, Sabri Yakou, was also arrested this month in New York for his alleged involvement in the scheme. ICE officials said the case "sends a message to those who thought they could violate the arms embargo, and cynically expected that the evidence would be lost within the borders of Saddam Hussein's terrorist regime. The message is: We can reach you there, too. And will."

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Last week during a subcommittee hearing, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte claimed the Department of Homeland Security was refusing to brief the panel on a border security program that merges personnel from three federal agencies into a single unit. The DHS's "One Face At the Border" initiative was launched in order to cross-trains border agents and simplify the entry process. Goodlatte said the Department's plans may be "insufficient to protect American agriculture against the unintentional introduction of plant an animal pests and disease." The DHS said officers will receive additional training to perform agricultural inspections, but Goodlatte said the agency could not find time to brief the Agriculture Committee when officials appear on Capitol Hill, leaving the Committee in the dark.