Friday, June 24, 2011
Feds: Fort Hood inspired terror plot
SEATTLE
The massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, and the ongoing war-crimes prosecutions of Washington state soldiers helped inspire a terror plot in which two men planned to attack a military recruiting station in Seattle with grenades and machine guns, according to a federal complaint filed Thursday.
Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph Anthony Davis, of Seattle, and Walli Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue Jr., of Los Angeles, were arrested Wednesday night.
FBI finds cash, guns in Bulger apartment
SANTA MONICA, Calif.
The FBI says agents found $800,000 in cash during a search of Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger’s Santa Monica apartment after his arrest.
Steven Martinez, FBI Assistant Director in Charge in Los Angeles, said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that agents also found more than 30 firearms, including pistols, rifles and shotguns, several types of knives and several pieces of false identification.
Bulger, the FBI’s most-wanted man, and his live-in companion, Catherine Greig, were arrested without incident Wednesday night at their Santa Monica apartment.
Bulger was ordered returned to Massachusetts to face charges during a federal court hearing in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Obama: Gay couples deserve same rights
NEW YORK
Treading carefully, President Barack Obama praised New York state lawmakers who were debating landmark legislation Thursday to legalize gay marriage, saying that’s what democracy’s all about. But as expected, the president stopped short of embracing same-sex marriage himself, instead asking gay and lesbian donors for patience. “I believe that gay couples deserve the same legal rights as every other couple in this country,” the president said at a Manhattan fundraiser, his first geared specifically to the gay community. Coincidentally, the long-planned event occurred just as lawmakers in Albany were debating legislation that would make New York the sixth and by far the largest state to legalize gay marriage.
Pediatrician guilty of abusing patients
GEORGETOWN, Del.
A former Delaware pediatrician who decorated his office with Disney characters and miniature amusement- park rides was found guilty Thursday of sexually abusing scores of his young patients.
Earl Bradley, 58, recorded homemade videos of the abuse, said prosecutors, who presented the judge with more than 13 hours of videos showing sex crimes against more than 80 victims, most of whom were toddlers.
Bradley was found guilty on 14 counts of first-degree rape and five counts each of second-degree assault and sexual exploitation of a child.
He will be sentenced Aug. 26 and faces up to life in prison on each rape charge.
Bombs kill 40 in Iraqi capital
BAGHDAD
Four bombs ripped through Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad on Thursday evening, killing at least 40 people in the worst violence the capital has seen in months, Iraqi officials said. An American civilian contractor working to improve education in Iraq was killed in a separate attack.
The violence underscored the fragile nature of the security gains in Iraq at a time when American forces are preparing to withdraw by the end of this year and the challenges facing the State Department personnel and American contractors who would continue on after the U.S. military is gone.
Associated Press