Video shows dead children

Video shows dead children

KABUL — Video of the aftermath of a disputed incident involving American forces and the Taliban shows bloodied bodies of children laid out with other corpses, confirming international Red Cross findings at the two remote villages in western Afghanistan.

The U.S. military does not contest that civilians died but called “extremely over-exaggerated” a report by an Afghan official that as many as 147 were killed.

Afghans blame aerial bombing Monday and Tuesday for the deaths and destruction. U.S. officials have suggested that Taliban fighters caused at least some of the deaths, and said investigators on a joint U.S.-Afghan team were still analyzing data collected in the villages of Ganjabad and Gerani in Farah province.

Dead wife’s testimony will be allowed in trial

JOLIET, Ill. — Drew Peterson’s third wife will have a chance to “testify from the grave” under an Illinois law passed amid the media frenzy over his missing fourth wife, but some say prosecutors could be on shaky legal ground if they plan to build their murder case around that testimony.

Peterson appeared in court Friday, the day after he was charged with killing Kathleen Savio, his third wife who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004 with a gash on the back of her head.

Wearing a red jumpsuit, the 55-year-old Peterson showed off his handcuffed hands and told reporters: “Three squares a day and this spiffy outfit. Look at all this bling.” A judge postponed his arraignment until May 18 because no Peterson attorneys were present at the hearing.

Proposal for job training

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants unemployment insurance to become a steppingstone for future work by making it easier to enroll in school or job training. Whether he succeeds will depend on the willingness of states and colleges to change the rules.

People who have been laid off and want to go back to school often have to give up their monthly unemployment checks. And if they decide to return to school, they often don’t qualify for federal aid because eligibility is based upon the previous year’s income.

Under rule changes Obama outlined Friday, the Labor Department will ask states to make exceptions during economic downturns so that the unemployed can keep their benefits if they go to community college or pursue other education or training.

Judge: Cops should be paid for time to dress

LOS ANGELES — Police officers should be paid for the time it takes them to put on and take off their uniforms and safety equipment, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess said in ruling issued this week that time spent dressing for duty is a vital part of the job because uniforms legitimize an officer’s authority, increase the officer’s safety and help deter crime.

Greg Petersen, who sued the city on behalf of three Los Angeles police officers, praised the decision, saying that properly preparing for duty takes time and effort.

But Police Chief William J. lashed out at the officers in the lawsuit and the city’s police union, which has filed a separate lawsuit on the issue.

“We have enough costs to bear without paying officers to take their clothes on and off,” he said.

Polar-bear policy stands

WASHINGTON — The Interior Department on Friday let stand a Bush administration policy barring the federal government from using the precarious state of the U.S. polar bear as a reason to crack down on global warming. The decision upset environmentalists and cheered oil and gas companies.

The action means the government cannot use the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions — even though Interior Secretary Ken Salazar explicitly blames those emissions for the habitat erosion that last year landed the polar bear on the list of threatened species.

Combined dispatches