PROSECUTORS: SUSPECT TERRORIZED BOY WITH GUN

Prosecutors: Suspectterrorized boy with gun
POTOSI, Mo. -- A man arrested after two missing boys were found in his apartment terrorized one of them with a handgun to get him to cooperate, prosecutors allege in new charges filed Wednesday. Pizzeria worker Michael Devlin was charged with kidnapping Shawn Hornbeck, 15, who had been missing more than four years when he was found Friday. Devlin already had been charged with kidnapping Ben Ownby, a 13-year-old who had been missing four days when he was found with Shawn. Devlin also is under investigation in the 1991 disappearance of another Missouri boy who still has not been found, The Associated Press has learned. Michael Devlin is the "most viable lead" in the case of Charles Arlin Henderson, who was 11 when he disappeared in 1991 and has never been found, Lincoln County deputy sheriffs said. Washington County, Mo., prosecutor John Rupp said in a statement that Devlin, 41, was charged with kidnapping and armed criminal action.
Airline: Pilots violatedrule on conversation
WASHINGTON -- In the minutes before the crash of a commuter jet that took off from the wrong runway, the pilots discussed their families, their dogs and other job opportunities, and the airline said Wednesday that part of the conversation violated a federal rule against extraneous cockpit chatter. The National Transportation Safety Board released a transcript Wednesday of the cockpit recording aboard Comair Flight 5191. The recording also showed that one of the pilots noted something was amiss when he looked down the Lexington, Ky., airstrip and said it looked "weird" because it had no lights. The transcript was the first public disclosure of the pilots' conversations during the ill-fated flight, which killed 49 people in the deadliest American aviation disaster in five years.
Bush administrationcritics kept in jury pool
WASHINGTON -- Seven critics of the Bush administration and the Iraq war were approved Wednesday as potential jurors in the perjury trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby after they said they could set those feelings aside. But two other women were dismissed from the jury pool when they said their strong opposition to the administration might color their deliberations in the CIA leak trial. One said she couldn't believe any statement by an administration official; the other said President Bush's policies would be a strike against witnesses from the administration. Two others had been sent home Tuesday over negative views of the administration. By day's end Wednesday, 24 potential jurors had been qualified to serve at the trial that will delve into the political scandal that followed the public disclosure of CIA official Valerie Plame's name in 2003. Libby, a former aide to Bush and chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, is charged with obstruction of justice and lying to investigators about his conversations with reporters regarding Plame. He says he didn't lie but his memory was faulty.
Pressure increaseson two Israeli officials
JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz faced new calls to resign Wednesday after Israel's army chief stepped down, succumbing to widespread outrage over the handling of last summer's inconclusive war in Lebanon. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz became the first Israeli chief of staff to resign since the 1973 war, but the government's political troubles may not end with his departure. With a government probe into the war looming, and a criminal investigation into Olmert's role in a banking deal, the prime minister's troubles appear likely to grow. The Israeli public has largely blamed Halutz -- along with Olmert and Peretz -- for failing to crush Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and halt Katyusha rocket attacks against civilians. "Halutz's resignation is a positive and unavoidable move," said Ophir Pines-Paz, a member of Peretz's Labor Party.
U.N. suspends aid to Iran
VIENNA, Austria -- The U.N. nuclear agency has suspended some aid to Iran in line with Security Council sanctions calling for an end to assistance for programs that could be misused to make an atomic weapon, diplomats said Wednesday. The diplomats emphasized that the freeze was temporary for now and subject to review and approval by the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Agency officials are looking at the full list of technical aid programs to Iran and will propose culling those that could serve nonpeaceful nuclear aims when the board next meets in March. It is up to board members to make the final decision. A U.N. official and a diplomat accredited to the IAEA said the suspension was imposed in recent days. Both spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the issue to the press.
Associated Press