NH hamlet braces for slaying trial

NH hamlet braces for slaying trial

MONT VERNON, N.H.

“We’re about to do the most evil thing this town has ever seen.”

Murder defendant Steven Spader is said to have uttered those words as he and three other teens allegedly drove to a house they had targeted in this town of 2,000 to burglarize it and kill its occupants for the thrill of it.

Spader’s trial begins today, and jurors were put on notice during selection that they would see graphic photos of the victims and may hear from survivor Jaimie Cates, now 12.

The intruders cut power to the contemporary ranch-style home before dawn Oct. 4, 2009. Once inside, they used an iPod taken from Jaimie Cates’ room to illuminate their path to the master bedroom, where Jaimie and her mother, 42-year-old Kimberly Cates, slept. Jaimie’s father, David Cates, was away on a business trip.

Prosecutors say Spader, then 17, and Christopher Gribble, then 19, hacked mother and daughter with a machete and a knife, killing Kimberly and severely wounding Jaimie. The girl survived by feigning death as her assailants continued to slash and kick her, she told police.

British official: Probe Iraq leak claims

LONDON

Allegations of prisoner abuse and civilian killings in Iraq from a cache of leaked U.S. secret military documents are extremely serious and must be investigated, a top British official said Sunday.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told BBC television that the accounts of violence in Iraq “are distressing to read about, and they are very serious.”

Angry gay voters could sway election

CHICAGO

Kate Coatar is seriously considering voting for Green Party candidates instead of Democrats, whom she normally supports. James Wyatt won’t cast a ballot at all because he no longer trusts anyone to fight for causes important to him.

If Democratic candidates are counting on long-standing support from gay voters to help stave off big losses on Nov. 2, they could be in for a surprise.

Lungs, airways have taste receptors

WASHINGTON

The ability to taste isn’t limited to the mouth, and researchers say that discovery might one day lead to better treatments for diseases such as asthma.

It turns out that receptors for bitter tastes also are found in the smooth muscles of the lungs and airways.

These muscles relax when they’re exposed to bitter tastes, according to a report Sunday from researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

Police station attacked in Nigeria

DAMATURA, Nigeria

Suspected members of a Muslim sect accused of orchestrating targeted killings across northern Nigeria have attacked another police station.

Officials say officers repelled the attack Saturday night targeting the police station, located in rural Yobe state, killing one of the suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.

Police chief Mamman Sule told The Associated Press on Sunday that the men had wanted to set the station ablaze but were foiled in their attack. Suspected sect members recently firebombed another police station in neighboring Borno state.

Followers of Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sacrilege” in Hausa, have emerged recently from hiding after their followers started a July 2009 riot, which led to a subsequent security crackdown that left 700 people dead.

Associated Press