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When you get 500 screaming Teamsters waving signs, blaring horns and shouting chants outside a federal courthouse, the media begins to get the hint.

Here is a round up of the coverage:

Associated Press: Court hears lawsuit on program allowing Mexican trucks into U.S.

“The congressional intent is unambiguous,” said Judge Dorothy Nelson, one of three appellate judges who will decide the issue. “The intention was to halt the pilot program.”

The Teamsters and environmentalists argue that the cross-border program will erode highway safety and eliminate U.S. jobs. They also say there are insufficient safeguards to ensure Mexican trucks are as safe as U.S. carriers.

A lawyer for the Sierra Club said not enough Mexican carriers have qualified to enter the United States to provide the necessary data to show the pilot program is safe. He said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had planned to have about 100 carriers certified by now, but only a dozen Mexican companies have been cleared.

“The agency never considered there would be so few carriers,” Sierra Club lawyer Jonathan Weissglass said. “It means the pilot program is a sham.”

Politico.com: Greens, Teamsters collide with Mexican trucks

The program drew harsh criticism from the Teamsters, citizen rights group Public Citizen and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which have aligned to press safety and pollution concerns with lawmakers. The groups say there is no guarantee that the trucks are in compliance with U.S. safety or emissions standards.

“How is it that the administration can simply ignore a law?” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer. “It’s frustrating and shocking that we have such a clear and blatant violation of law by a rogue administration.”

The Teamsters have also gotten support from an unlikely bedfellow: the environmentalist Sierra Club. Greens are concerned that emissions from Mexican trucks could cause El Paso, Texas, and other U.S. cities along the border to violate Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

“We think the increase of potential air pollution could put communities along the border out of Clean Air Act compliance,” said Sierra Club spokesman Oliver Bernstein.

The Union-Tribune, San Diego: Bumpy ride in court for trucking program

Groups opposed to the program traded legal jabs with the U.S. Department of Transportation before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Opponents say the Bush administration has ignored safety standards imposed on the program by Congress, as well as a law passed by Congress in December to end the pilot program altogether.

“And, at the least, there should be an injunction before the end of the year is up and they (federal officials) go ahead and decide to open the border based on the flawed pilot program,” he said.

KCBS AM: Teamsters Protest Mexican Truck Regulations

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KTVU San Francisco: Rowdy Teamsters Rally At NAFTA Mexican Truck Hearing

(Watch the video)