Van der Sloot to fight US extradition

Van der Sloot to fight US extradition

LIMA, Peru

Confessed murderer Joran van der Sloot told a judge Tuesday that he will fight extradition from Peru to the United States, where he faces extortion and wire-fraud charges in the disappearance of American Natalee Holloway, his lawyer said.

Van der Sloot remains the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of Holloway in Aruba. He faces an indictment in the U.S. for reportedly accepting $25,000 in 2010 in exchange for an unfulfilled promise to lead her mother’s lawyer to the body.

Judge Zenaida Vilca informed Van der Sloot of the U.S. extradition request during a meeting at Piedras Gordas prison. The 24-year-old Dutchman told the judge he would fight extradition, his lawyer, Maximo Altez, said.

Calif. may ban disputed therapy

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

A first-of-its-kind ban on a controversial form of psychotherapy aimed at making gay people straight is speeding through the California statehouse.

Supporters say the legislation, which passed its final Senate committee Tuesday, is necessary because such treatments are ineffective and harmful.

“This therapy can be dangerous,” said the bill’s author, Sen. Ted Lieu. The Torrance Democrat added the treatments can “cause extreme depression and guilt” that sometimes lead to suicide.

Conservative religious groups emphatically reject that view and say the ban would interfere with parents’ rights to seek appropriate psychological care for their children.

Gun parts in stuffed animals at airport

WARWICK, R.I.

Federal transportation officials said Tuesday they found gun components and ammunition hidden inside stuffed animals carried by a passenger at Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport on Monday and that the incident was related to a domestic disagreement.

Authorities later allowed the man and his 4-year-old son to continue their travel to Detroit, according to airport police. The man told police he didn’t know the parts were inside the stuffed toys.

Testimony: Edwards knew of cover-up

GREENSBORO, N.C.

A former speechwriter for John Edwards testified Tuesday that the onetime presidential candidate acknowledged knowing that a wealthy donor was secretly supporting his pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.

Wendy Button testified at Edwards’ corruption trial that she helped him in the summer of 2009 to draft a public statement admitting he had lied repeatedly about fathering a baby girl with his mistress, Rielle Hunter. The testimony came after a donor and policy adviser testified that he warned Barack Obama’s presidential campaign about Edwards’ infidelity during the summer of 2008.

Border Patrol aims at repeat crossers

SAN DIEGO

With border crossings at a 40-year low, the U.S. Border Patrol announced a new strategy Tuesday that targets repeat crossers and tries to find out why they keeping coming.

For nearly two decades, the Border Patrol has relied on a strategy that blanketed heavily trafficked corridors for illegal immigrants with agents, pushing migrants to more remote areas where they presumably would be easier to capture and discouraged from trying again.

The new approach is more nuanced. Outlined in a 32-page document that took more than two years to develop, agents will draw on intelligence to identify repeat crossers and others perceived as security threats, said Chief Mike Fisher.

Associated Press