• Golden Deal. McDonald’s will sell fair trade coffee in more than 650 of its restaurants in the northeastern United States. Participating locations will switch 100 percent of their coffee products over to Newman’s Own Organics, which gives away all of its post-tax profits.
• True Conversion. The First Christian Church of Keokuk, Iowa, turned a former Wal-Mart store into an 88,000-square-foot church for its 300-plus members and the local community. Habitat for Humanity uses the former store’s loading dock as a place for building low-income houses.
• Madam President. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia in November, making her the first female president of an African state. She has held two cabinet-level positions, served as U.N. development director for Africa, and founded the International Institute for Women in Political Leadership.
• Can’t Hide. In November, former Salvadoran Army Col. Nicolas Carranza was found guilty by a jury in Memphis, Tenn., of “failing to stop crimes against humanity” during El Salvador’s civil war. He was ordered to pay $6 million to four Salvadorans who were tortured or had family killed by soldiers under his command.
• No Peace. Nineteen thousand people protested at Fort Benning, Georgia, in November to demand the closing of the U.S. Army’s School of the Americas and an end to the Iraq war. The 40 people arrested for crossing onto federal property face six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
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