2 cousins plead guilty in plot to kill U.S. troops

2 cousins plead guilty in plot to kill U.S. troops

TOLEDO — Two cousins from the Chicago area accused of training to kill American soldiers in Iraq pleaded guilty to terrorism charges Thursday, federal prosecutors said.

The two were part of a plot organized by three men living in Toledo who were convicted last year of recruiting terrorists and raising money to fund their plans to wage a holy war against U.S. troops, prosecutors said.

The two cousins received training in firearms and counter-surveillance so they could join the insurgency, prosecutors said.

Khaleel Ahmed, 28, of Chicago and Zubair Ahmed, 28, of suburban North Chicago both pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Battery charges dropped against autistic girl, 8

SANDPOINT, Idaho — Battery charges have been dropped against an 8-year-old autistic girl who was arrested and handcuffed following an altercation with her teachers that was apparently sparked when they refused to let her attend a school party because she was wearing a sweat shirt with ears sewn on it to resemble an animated cow from a movie.

Bonner County prosecutors dropped the charges against Evelyn Towry on Tuesday.

“We’re definitely going to proceed with a lawsuit,” the girl’s father, Charles Towry, said Thursday.

Towry said his daughter was suspended from Kootenai Elementary School after the episode last week. Evelyn has Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, Towry said.

Ex-officer pleads innocent in transit shooting case

OAKLAND, Calif. — The former transit police officer charged with murder in the shooting of an unarmed black man on New Year’s Day pleaded not guilty Thursday.

The attorney for Johannes Mehserle, 27, entered the plea on his client’s behalf in an Alameda County courtroom, where Mehserle was kept behind a glass partition, out of view to most people during the 10-minute hearing.

Sheriff’s deputies escorted Mehserle’s relatives into the courtroom, which was filled with family members and supporters of the victim, 22-year-old Oscar Grant. The Mehserle family has reported receiving several death threats since the shooting.

Prosecutors say Mehserle was standing over Grant, who was lying facedown and restrained on a train platform, when the Bay Area Rapid Transit officer fired one shot into the man’s back.

SEC chairwoman nominee vows to revamp agency

WASHINGTON — President elect-Barack Obama’s choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission promised Thursday to revitalize the embattled agency’s enforcement efforts and bring other changes to bolster investor protection.

With investors’ confidence shaken in the financial crisis, Mary Schapiro said the SEC must be given the resources it needs to investigate and pursue “those who cut corners, cheat investors and break the law.”

Schapiro also pledged at her Senate confirmation hearing to “re-engage” the SEC with investors, and to deepen the agency’s commitment to investor protection, transparency and accountability. She is chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry’s primary self-policing organization, and also has extensive experience as a government regulator in Washington.

Methane found on Mars

WASHINGTON — Scientists have discovered large plumes of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere, a key marker for biological processes on Earth but not convincing proof that rudimentary life forms exist on Mars.

A team of scientists led by Michael Mumma of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland first detected the gas in 2003, using infrared spectrometers on three ground-based telescopes. At its peak, the plumes contained around 19,000 metric tons of methane, a large amount comparable to the seep at Coal Oil Point offshore of Santa Barbara, Calif.

The source of the methane is still a mystery, the scientists said in a briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. But its existence proves that Mars is not the dead desert planet that many planetary scientists have believed it to be.

Combined dispatches