Arrest made in terror plot against malls in the US

Arrest made in terror plot against malls in the US

BOSTON — A pharmacy college graduate made a defiant appearance in federal court Wednesday, hours after being charged with conspiring with two other men in a terror plot to kill two prominent U.S. politicians and carry out a holy war by attacking shoppers in U.S. malls and American troops in Iraq.

Authorities say the men’s plans — in which they used code words like “peanut butter and jelly” for fighting in Somalia and “culinary school” for terrorist camps — were thwarted in part when they could not find training and were unable to buy automatic weapons, authorities said.

Tarek Mehanna, 27, was arrested Wednesday morning at his parents’ home in Sudbury, an upscale suburb 20 miles west of Boston, and appeared for a brief hearing later in the day. When ordered by the judge to stand to hear the charge against him, he refused. He finally did stand — tossing his chair loudly to the floor — only after his father urged him to do so.

Democrats take aim at insurance industry

WASHINGTON — Democrats launched a drive at both ends of the Capitol on Wednesday to strip the insurance industry of its decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws, part of an increasingly bare-knuckled struggle over landmark health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama.

If enacted, the change would put an end to “price-fixing, bid-rigging and market allocation in the health and medical malpractice” insurance areas, said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy said he would seek a vote on the plan when the Senate debates health care legislation in the next few weeks.

Leahy made his comments at virtually the same time the House Judiciary Committee voted 20-9 to end an industry exemption that dates to 1945. Three Republicans supported the move.

Afghan coalition? US won’t rule it out

WASHINGTON — The United States would be receptive to a power-sharing arrangement between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his election challenger if they agreed to it, Obama administration officials said Wednesday.

Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah have settled on a Nov. 7 runoff following weeks of acrimony over Afghanistan’s fraud-ridden national election. But both sides also are considering a coalition government that could either replace the runoff or follow it.

Ohio woman says she lied about torture in W. Va.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An attorney for a black woman who claimed torture by a white group in West Virginia says his client fabricated the story to get back at a boyfriend who had beaten her up.

Megan Williams’ attorney, Byron Potts, said at a news conference Wednesday that Williams came forward because she no longer wants to live a lie. Potts encouraged West Virginia authorities to re-evaluate the case.

Williams told authorities in 2007 that she had been beaten, raped, forced to eat animal feces and taunted with racial slurs for days. She now lives in Columbus.

Seven white men and women were convicted in the case and are serving prison time.

Prosecutors in West Virginia have dismissed Williams’ new claim, and lawyers for the defendants aren’t discussing their plans.

Associated Press

nology. Home sales are rising in parts of the Northeast. But states like Florida, Nevada and California, still suffering from the housing bust, remain depressed.

The economy’s tentative recovery is occurring in pockets around the country, with some states and cities starting to rebound while neighboring areas still struggle, two government reports showed Wednesday.

They showed improving job markets in some Midwestern states, such as Indiana and Ohio. But other states, such as Rhode Island, posted new record-high joblessness.

In the Fed’s latest survey of businesses nationwide, all but two of 12 regions showed at least some signs of improvement. Only the Atlanta and St. Louis regions reported weaker economic activity.

The survey found many parts of the country either stabilized or improved modestly over the past six weeks. The Boston, Cleveland and Richmond, Va., regions reported growing home sales, though the gains came from depressed levels.

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MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer slips up on air, introduces Jesse Jackson as Al Sharpton, apologizes

NEW YORK (AP) — MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer has apologized for mixing up civil rights activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

She made the slip-up Wednesday while introducing Jackson during a segment on homelessness.

After the introduction, Jackson stared at the camera from a studio in Burbank, Calif., and said, “I’m Rev. Jesse Jackson.”

Brewer explained that her script read that she was to introduce “the Rev. Al Sharpton.”

She continued, “We all know who you are, Rev. Jackson. I’m so sorry.”

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ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips admits to affair with assistant at network, takes leave

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips acknowledged having an affair with an assistant at the cable network and has taken a leave of absence during the playoffs.

Phillips said Wednesday in a statement released by ESPN that he requested the leave “to address this with my family and to avoid any unnecessary distractions through the balance of the baseball playoffs.”

ESPN said it took “appropriate disciplinary action” when this happened in August, but would not comment further.

Police say 22-year-old ESPN production assistant Brooke Hundley began calling Phillips’ wife, Marni, on Aug. 5 after he broke off the affair and sent her a letter graphically describing their relationship and Phillips’ birthmarks. She allegedly told Phillips’ wife that “we both can’t have him,” according to a Wilton, Conn., police report.

“I’m a real person in his life and I care deeply about his happiness,” reads the letter police said is from Hundley. “I’m coming out now because I’m sick of hiding and sneaking around behind your back.”