USA
An American who allegedly plotted to set off a "dirty" radiological bomb for Al Qaeda terrorists is in US military custody, Attorney General Ashcroft said. Ashcroft spoke in Moscow, where he is holding talks with Russian officials on counterterrorism cooperation. He said Abdullah al Mujahir, a Chicago native who changed his name from Jose Padilla, was detained May 8 at that city's O'Hare Airport on a flight from Pakistan. News reports cited US officials as saying Mujahir probably intended to target Washington. (Story, page 1; related opinion, page 9.)
Iraq "has had an active program" to develop nuclear and biological weapons and already has chemical ones, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said. His comments, at an airport press conference in Kuwait before his departure for Bahrain and then south Asia, follow the Iraqi Foreign Ministry's claim that Baghdad hasn't had or tried to acquire weapons of mass destruction for the past decade. "They're lying," Rumsfeld said, calling the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "a destabilizing factor" in the region.
Former Abu Sayyaf guerrilla hostage Gracia Burnham was en route to rejoin her family in Rose Hill, Kan., after more than a year in captivity in the southern Philippines. "We needed every single prayer you said for us during our ordeal in the jungle," Burnham (l.), told reporters before boarding a Northwest Airlines flight. The Christian missionary was wounded by gunfire and her husband, Martin, and a Filipina hostage were killed during Friday's rescue operation. The Islamic extremist Abu Sayyaf is suspected of having ties to the Al Qaeda network.
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not give workers the right to jobs considered a health risk, the Supreme Court ruled. The decision came in a case involving Mario Echazabal, who was fired by a Chevron oil refinery in California due to concerns that fumes might aggravate a medical condition. The high court's unanimous decision is considered a victory for employers, who argued they might be sued if people diagnosed with a serious illness sustained further harm at dangerous tasks. (Story, page 2.)
In a separate 5-to-4 decision, the high court ruled that states may limit the privileges of convicted sex offenders who don't admit to their crimes as part of therapy. The case involves an inmate rehabilitation program in Kansas.
"All of Colorado is burning today," Gov. Bill Owens (R) observed, after visits to the scene of wildfires near Glenwood Springs and Pike National Forest. Another fire, near Denver, prompted attendees to wear face masks at the unveiling of a civil rights memorial honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. More than a half-dozen blazes are burning in the state.
An estimated 500 supporters attended a candlelight vigil for Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City Sunday night. The teenage girl was kidnapped at gunpoint from her home early last Wednesday. Police said none of the hundreds of tips they've received so far have brought them closer to identifying the kidnapper.
The suspect in a weekend shooting spree had complained of taunting by his coworkers, relatives and friends said. Carlos Pacheco allegedly shot and killed two fellow employees at the production facility for Rhode Island's Providence Journal newspaper Saturday. A third person was wounded. Remains believed to Pacheco's were found later in his burned-out car.
