Politics

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed as Japs Pull Back

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in
Explosions as Japs Pull Back
A U.S. soldier was killed and two others were injured in an explosion near the Iraqi flashpoint town of Fallujah, witnesses said Thursday. Elsewhere, a U.S. soldier was killed in a roadside bomb attack in the capital Baghdad Wednesday, according to the U.S. military. "Two soldiers from the 1st Armored Division were injured when an explosive device blew up against their patrol in central Baghdad, on the eastern side of the river, on Wednesday at 09:00 am (0600 GMT)," a military spokesman said on Thursday. Meanwhile, in what seems to be a fresh blow to U.S. efforts in Iraq, Japan pulled back Thursday from sending troops to strengthen international forces in the country, a day after the worst attack yet on U.S.-occupation forces.

Bush Seeks Political Money in Florida
WASHINGTON Nov. — Between raising money for a campaign already estimated to have more than $100 million, President Bush is speaking out on how to help the elderly pay for prescription drugs, a hot political topic in a state important to his re-election.

White House, 9-11 Panel OK Documents Deal
WASHINGTON - The independent commission on the Sept. 11 attacks says it has reached an agreement with the White House that will allow the review of classified intelligence documents previously withheld. The 10-member panel will designate a subcommittee that will examine the most sensitive documents and report back, commissioner Richard Ben-Veniste said Wednesday. Bush said last month that the dispute concerned "the presidential daily brief," a classified written intelligence report he gets each morning.

One Sniper Murder Case May Go to Jury Today
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The murder trial of sniper suspect John Muhammad, accused of being behind a series of deadly shootings that gripped the Washington, D.C., are last year, could go to the jury Thursday, even as opening statements were expected in the trial of his teen-age companion. Lawyers for Muhammad, a 42-year-old Gulf War veteran, took just three hours and five witnesses to present their defense on Wednesday, compared with more than 130 witnesses and three weeks of evidence offered by prosecutors. Closing statements were set for Thursday, with jury deliberations to follow.

Malvo Trial Over Before It Starts?
Anything can happen in a murder trial — ask body hacker Robert Durst and his Galveston jury — but don't expect the unexpected in the trial of young sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo. As his trial begins in earnest, the young man is about as doomed as any capital defendant ever could be going into a trial. Malvo has only two things going for him: his baby face and the sheer implausibility of the notion that a young man would or could be more evil than his mentor.

Gay Sex-Assault Hazing Cases
to Remain in Juvenile Court
BELLMORE, N.Y. -- The families of three boys allegedly sexually assaulted in a high school football hazing incident are shocked and angry after a Pennsylvania judge decided that the three teenagers accused of the assaults will be treated as juveniles, ABCNEWS' New York affiliate WABC reported. The suspects are accused of torturing and sodomizing three junior varsity players several times over a period of days during a preseason training camp at Preston Park, Pa. They will probably not face prison time if convicted.

FTC Settles With Mortgage Loan Firm for $40 Million
The Federal Trade Commission announced today a $40 million settlement with Fairbanks Capital Corp., a major mortgage loan servicing company that the FTC alleged systematically piled fraudulent fees on clients, many of whom were wrongfully forced into foreclosure and bankruptcy. Texas ranks sixth among the states in the percentage of loans under control of the Utah-based company. The company has about 24,000 of its 500,000 loans in the state.

Fortune 500 Firm Accused of Requiring Unpaid Overtime
LOS ANGELES - A lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses a Fortune 500 information technology company of forcing thousands of employees to work unpaid overtime. Past overtime lawsuits have focused on service industry employees and targeted such giants as Wal-Mart and Taco Bell. But plaintiffs' attorney James Finberg said he believes the suit against El Segundo-based Computer Sciences Corporation is the first of its kind in the computer industry. That could not be immediately verified.

Posted by Editor at November 13, 2003 10:24 AM