Contributions from Carin Zissis
Deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya made a dramatic return September 21, taking refuge in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa. Hemispheric leaders pressed for a solution to a three-month-old political impasse, but tensions run high in the Central American country.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Oval Office this week to talk security, trade, energy, and hockey. Ottawa's discomfort with "Buy American" provisions also caused Harper to make a rare trip to Capitol Hill, where he met with U.S. congressional leaders.
Venezuela's new plan to make a $2.2 billion arms purchase from Russia stoked U.S. fears that the deal could lead to an arms race in the Americas. While Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez took a whirlwind tour including the Moscow stop, France and Brazil signed their own multi-billion-dollar arms pact.