USA on bomb terror alert over stadiums and hotels 23 Sep 2009 America went on heightened terror alert last night as it emerged up to 12 suspects are being probed over a New York bomb plot. Anti-terror chiefs have warned police across the US that stadiums, entertainment venues and hotels could be targeted. It follows earlier alerts that transport networks could be attacked. New York transport bosses have increased police patrols and officers in helmets and bulletproof vests were yesterday out in force at major depots such as Manhattan’s Grand Central station.
Local Police Advised on Terror --NY Transportation Authority, JTTF increase police presence in 'key locations' 22 Sep 2009 The FBI and Homeland Security officials in a series of advisories are cautioning local police to be on the lookout for suspicious activity at places like self storage facilities, entertainment complexes, luxury hotels and transportation hubs. At least one agency is responding to the FBI and Homeland Security advisories. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority which is a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force has increased police presence at what an official called "key locations."
Officials Worry NY Terror Plot 'Still Alive' as Case Broadens --Surveillance Teams "Stretched Thin" with More Than 24 Possible Suspects 22 Sep 2009 Law enforcement officials say the alleged terror plot against New York City may be "still alive" despite the arrest of its alleged ringleader, 24-year-old Najibullah Zazi of Denver, Colorado. "I have never been so worried," said one senior law enforcement official with more than a dozen years of experience in counter-terrorism investigations.
The Hunt for a Hidden Bomb Factory --Have authorities really shut down an alleged New York terror plot? 22 Sep 2009 Days after local police and federal agents busted an alleged terror plot targeting public transportation in the New York area, law enforcement and counterterrorism officials still aren't sure if they have captured all of the suspects who might have been in on the plan. Contacted by NEWSWEEK, some officials say they believe U.S. agencies "successfully disrupted" the plot with the arrests last weekend of two men in Denver and one in Queens, New York. But other officials say that more suspects are being sought, and that urgent efforts are continuing to locate what investigators fear could be a bomb factory or an explosives stockpile.
Terrorist probe expands to include friends, associates of Zazi --Between 16 and 20 men are under surveillance 22 Sep 2009 Counter-terror agents raided several city apartments on Tuesday searching for evidence that could link a half-dozen suspected terrorists to a recently uncovered plot to bomb in New York. The men are friends and associates of the three Afghan immigrants arrested over the weekend after police raided several Queens apartments. "We've got new bodies - eight more people we're looking at," a source close to the investigation told The Daily News. Between 16 and 20 men are under surveillance - as are their haunts in the city, sources said.
FBI: Informant imam Afzali worked both sides and tipped off suspects 21 Sep 2009 The Queens imam arrested in the Denver terrorism probe is an FBI informant the feds say became a double agent - tipping suspects that they were in the government's crosshairs. Ahmad Afzali insisted he's been loyally helping the government root out extremists since 9/11. His lawyer, Ron Kuby, calls him a fall guy. "I think the FBI is angry that they blew this case, and they want to blame poor Imam Afzali for blowing the investigation," Kuby said. Afzali told the News just hours before he was arrested Saturday night for lying to the feds that "someone is trying to set me up."
Terror suspects and torture: former CIA inspector general confirms Panorama findings 21 Sep 2009 The former CIA inspector general, John Helgerson, has confirmed that the Bush administration authorised the CIA to use a harsh interrogation method torture on terror suspect Abu Zubaydah before written legal clearance was given. This is politically explosive, because the Bush administration has always claimed that it used harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding only after government lawyers had determined they did not amount to torture.
Former KBR employee: I know I was drugged and raped in Iraq --Jones’ day in court could still be months or years away. 22 Sep 2009 (TX) Conroe native Jamie Leigh Jones made national news when she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by several co-workers at KBR. At the time KBR, was a subsidiary of Halliburton. Jones has talked openly about what she says happened in Iraq while she was working for the Houston-based company... . Jones was 20 years old in 2005 when she claims she was raped by KBR co-workers after someone put a drug in her drink.
US soldier charged with murder in Iraq base death 22 Sep 2009 A U.S. soldier has been charged with murder in the slaying of a civilian contractor on an American base in Iraq, the military said Tuesday. Spc. Beyshee Velez of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, was charged Monday in the Sept. 13 shooting death of a contractor who worked for Houston-based KBR at Camp Speicher in the city of Tikrit, a military statement said. The 31-year-old suspect faces dishonorable discharge and a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty.
US ships arrive in Israel ahead of joint drill --Officials say US may leave some systems in Israel after planned drill 21 Sep 2009 US Navy missile ships started arriving in Israel on Sunday ahead of next month's joint missile defense exercise between the IDF and the American military's European Command. Called Juniper Cobra, the exercise will include the Arrow missile defense system as well as three American systems - the THAAD, Aegis and PAC3 - that will all be deployed in Israel for the duration of the exercise.
US 'likely behind' Chavez coup 21 Sep 2009 Jimmy Carter, a former US president, has said that Washington knew about an abortive coup against Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, in 2002, and that it may even have taken part. "I think there is no doubt that in 2002, the United States had at the very least full knowledge about the coup, and could even have been directly involved," Carter said in an interview with Colombian El Tiempo newspaper published on Sunday. Carter said it was understandable that Chavez continues to blame the US for the failed attempt to overthrow him.
White House considers more drones over Pakistan 22 Sep 2009 The White House has said covert operations in Pakistan might be increased as it expands counter-terror operations in the area. Administration officials have said there might be more missile attacks on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border by unmanned US spy planes.
Australia: No US request for more troops 22 Sep 2009 Australia says it has not been asked to send more troops to Afghanistan and does not expect Washington to make any quick decisions on a top-level warning that the war there could be lost without more multinational forces. Australia has about 1,550 troops in Afghanistan -- the largest contribution of any country outside NATO -- after boosting its contingent by almost 500 in April at Washington's request.
Obama seems to lay ground to retreat on settlements 22 Sep 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama may be laying the groundwork to abandon his quest for an immediate Israeli settlement freeze and instead try to get Israel and the Palestinians directly into peace negotiations. Obama emerged from talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials on Tuesday without the orchestrated set of steps that he had hoped would allow him to announce a resumption of peace negotiations, which have been on ice since December.
Capitol alert for H1N1 outbreak; senators and staff to get masks 21 Sep 2009 Senate officials are holding internal planning exercises this week to prepare for a swine flu outbreak that could hobble congressional offices. The office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms (SAA) has been talking with Senate offices and attending Senate luncheons since the disease first began to spread in the spring. The U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) and the Office of the Attending Physician are planning to attend this week’s meeting with the SAA in which they will discuss a variety of different scenarios for how an H1N1 outbreak could affect Congress.
Pre-registration advised on flu shots 22 Sep 2009 The State Department of Health is urging health-care providers who plan to offer swine flu vaccines to their patients to pre-register online to speed up the process. The DOH [aka DUH] will coordinate the distribution of novel H1N1 flu vaccine with the assistance of county health departments. The vaccine is expected to begin shipping from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in about two weeks. Providers must be set up properly to reach high-priority patients first.
Sanofi Unit: Additional Type A Flu Vaccine Order From US Govt 21 Sep 2009 Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine unit of French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis, said Monday that it has received an additional order from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Sanofi has now committed to produce 75.3 million doses of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine for the U.S. government.
US tests fast border patrol boat on Detroit River 21 Sep 2009 The Department of Homeland Security is showing off a $900,000 prototype of a speed boat designed to patrol the nation's border waters. The agency's National Marine Center demonstrated the 43-foot, 10-ton boat Monday on the Detroit River. The Advanced Concept Demonstrator Vessel has four 350-horsepower engines.
ACORN Worker In Video Reported Couple --Juan Carlos Vera Called Detective After Recorded Meeting 21 Sep 2009 Police say a worker with the activist group ACORN who was caught on video giving advice about human smuggling to a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute had reported the incident to authorities. National City police said Monday that Juan Carlos Vera contacted his cousin, a police detective, to get advice on what to with information on possible human smuggling. Vera was secretly filmed on Aug. 18 as part of a young [Reichwing] couple's high-profile expose.
Fed Rejects Geithner Request for Study of Governance, Structure 22 Sep 2009 The Federal Reserve Board has rejected a request by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for a public review of the central bank’s structure and governance, three people familiar with the matter said. The Obama administration proposed on June 17 a financial- regulatory overhaul including a "comprehensive review" of the Fed’s "ability to accomplish its existing and proposed functions" and the role of its regional banks. The Fed was to lead the study and enlist the Treasury and "a wide range of external experts."
House Votes to Extend Unemployment Pay for 13 Weeks 22 Sep 2009 The U.S. House voted to extend jobless benefits for 13 weeks in states hardest hit by the recession amid the worst surge in long-term unemployment in more than half a century. The chamber today approved, 331-83, a measure that would continue aid to about 300,000 Americans projected to exhaust their benefits by the end of this month. The aid goes to people in 27 states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent.
Bank of America backpedals on overdraft fees 22 Sep 2009 Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday it's capping the fees it charges customers for overdrawing their accounts, backpedaling on the hikes the company imposed just this year. Starting Oct. 19, Bank of America said it will no longer charge overdraft fees when a customer's account is overdrawn by less than $10 in one day. A $35 fee will still be levied if the account isn't brought into balance within five days.
Video: Will Ferrell stands up for the real health care victims By MoveOn.org Political Action 22 Sep 2009
At U.N., Obama Calls Global Warming Threat 'Urgent' 22 Sep 2009 Several world leaders on Tuesday gave the most decisive indication in months that they would make a concerted push to revive floundering negotiations aimed at securing a new international pact on climate change. Both President Obama and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao said at a United Nations summit in New York that they were taking concrete steps to curb their nations' emissions, and were willing to do more to forge an agreement when U.N. negotiators meet in December in Copenhagen.
9 deaths blamed on Southeast storm; flood lingers 22 Sep 2009 Neighborhoods, schools and even roller coasters at Six Flags over Georgia remained awash in several feet of murky, brown water Tuesday, even as an emerging sun shed light on the widespread flood damage. So far, at least nine deaths in Georgia and Alabama were blamed on the torrential downpours in the Southeast.
Previous lead stories: Sources: US eyes more drone hits on terror havens 21 Sep 2009 The White House is considering expanding counterterror operations in Pakistan to refocus on 'eliminating' al-Qaida instead of mounting a major military escalation in Afghanistan. Two senior administration officials said Monday that the renewed fight against the terrorist organization could lead to more missile attacks on Pakistan terrorist havens by unmanned U.S. spy planes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made. ['US eyes more drone hits on terror havens' thus creating many *more* 'terror havens' when those who *weren't* terrorists *become* terrorists after having seen their loved ones blown to kingdom come by a US killer drone. --LRP]
'The brutality was completely unacceptable. It has stained the reputation of the British army.' British army used 'widespread torture of Iraqi civilians' 21 Sep 2009 The British army used widespread torture methods in Iraq, a British government lawyer said on Monday in an acknowledgment on a public inquiry into the 2003 death of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa. The British soldiers responsible for the death of Baha Mousa were "not just a few bad apples," Singh told the inquiry. "There is something rotten in the whole barrel," he said. Baha Mousa, a 26-year old Iraqi, was beaten and killed in the custody of British troops following a raid on his hotel in the southern Iraq city of Basra in September 2003.
VeriChip shares jump after H1N1 patent license win 21 Sep 2009 Shares of VeriChip Corp tripled after the company said it had been granted an exclusive license to two patents, which will help it to develop implantable virus detection systems in humans. The patents, held by VeriChip partner Receptors LLC, relate to biosensors that can detect the H1N1 and other viruses, and biological threats such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, VeriChip said in a statement. The technology will combine with VeriChip's implantable radio frequency identification devices to develop virus triage detection systems. Shares of VeriChip were up 186 percent at $3.28 Monday late afternoon trade on Nasdaq.
