WORLD DIGEST || Federal grand jury indicts Loughner

Federal grand jury indicts Loughner

PHOENIX

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted the suspect in the deadly Arizona shootings that wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The indictment against Jared Loughner, 22, accuses him of attempting to assassinate Giffords and trying to kill two of her aides.

It does not include two murder charges listed in an earlier criminal complaint for the deaths of Giffords’ aide, Gabe Zimmerman, 30, and U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63.

Those are potential death-penalty charges. A statement from the U.S. attorney for Arizona, Dennis Burke, said those require a more painstaking process under Justice Department rules.

Burke said the initial indictment issued by a grand jury in Tucson was just the beginning of federal legal action against the 22-year-old Tucson resident.

Los Angeles schools step up security

LOS ANGELES

Security officers wielding metal detecting wands meticulously searched students Wednesday as they waited in a long line outside a Los Angeles high school where two 15-year-olds were shot in a classroom a day earlier.

The stepped-up security measures come after a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun being carried in a backpack by a 10th-grader discharged Tuesday when he put the bag down on a desk at Gardena High School, authorities said.

A bullet pierced a boy in the neck, exited, and hit a girl in the head. The boy was doing well Wednesday, while the girl remained in serious condition with a skull fracture.

The 17-year-old suspect, who already was on probation for a fight at school, was arrested.

Lieberman to retire

STAMFORD, Conn.

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut announced Wednesday that he will not seek a fifth term, ending a political career spanning four decades in which he evolved from a reliably Democratic state legislator into an independent U.S. senator who backed the war in Iraq and the Republican candidate for president.

While Lieberman’s supporters lamented his decision not to run in 2012, many constituents, especially Democrats, said they were pleased because the “Joe” they knew as a state lawmaker and activist state attorney general is already long-gone.

Governor apologizes

MONTGOMERY, Ala.

Two days after being sworn in as Alabama governor, Robert Bentley apologized Wednesday for proclaiming to a Baptist church audience that only Christians were his brothers and sisters and vowed to work for people of all faiths and colors.

His comments Monday shocked and offended some believers of other faiths, but the backlash didn’t seem to be a serious political wound for the retired dermatologist and Southern Baptist deacon.

Bomb attacks in Iraq

BAGHDAD

A car bomb leveled the headquarters of a local security force in Iraq’s Diyala province on Wednesday, killing as many as 14 people. In a separate attack, a bomber wounded the deputy head of Diyala’s provincial council and killed three others.

It was the third straight day of attacks around the country, most targeting places where Iraq’s minority Sunnis, once a bedrock of the country’s insurgency, have decided to participate in government. On Tuesday, a bomber killed 60 people seeking jobs with the police in Tikrit, the hometown of the late leader Saddam Hussein. The day before, the Sunni governor of western Anbar province survived a bomb attack on his convoy.

Vindicator wire services