USA
Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad was found guilty on two capital counts of murder by a jury in Virginia Beach, Va., following six hours of deliberations. Muhammad was convicted of killing Dean Meyers and terrorizing the Washington area in a bid to extort $10 million from the government. Jurors will now decide whether he should receive the death penalty or life in prison for the shooting spree that left 10 people dead and three others wounded. The verdict came after three weeks of testimony and 130 witnesses, and on the day testimony began in nearby Chesapeake in the trial of alleged accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo.
"We're not leaving. We're staying until we get the job done," President Bush said in an interview with the British newspaper The Sun in advance of his arrival Tuesday in London for a four-day state visit. Bush said he plans to keep American troops in Iraq, even as his administration speeds up plans to turn over power to Iraqis and end the Coalition occupation. Bush's visit has led to unprecedented security plans in anticipation of mass antiwar protests and heightened fears of a possible Al Qaeda strike in Britain.
Arguments began in a federal appeals court in the case of Jose Padilla, a US citizen challenging the government's anti-terror authority to jail him indefinitely and deny him access to a lawyer. Padilla (right, in an undated photo) was designated an enemy combatant by Bush in June 2002 after being detained for allegedly plotting with Al Qaeda operatives to detonate a radioactive "dirty" bomb inside the US. The arguments came on the same day that Germany extradited two Yemeni nationals to the New York to face charges that they supported the terrorist network, prosecutors in Frankfurt said.
Republicans working to overhaul the Medicare program reached a tentative agreement Sunday on a new prescription-drug plan. The bill would give millions of seniors prescription drug coverage for a monthly premium of $35 and would also establish a new role for private insurers in health care for 40 million older and disabled Americans. GOP leaders began selling the agreement Monday and hope to pass the bill by the week's end, but face criticism from Democrats and from some Republicans. Congressional negotiators were also scheduled to vote Monday on a bill that would update US energy policy.
Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton (D) settled ethics charges against him Sunday, acknowledging two instances in which he used his power and influence to benefit a woman with whom he'd had an affair. Patton, who was barred by law from seeking a third term and leaves office next month, said he settled the charges not because he was guilty, but because he would have been found guilty by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
Police in Burbank, Calif., searched around the clock for a man suspected in the killing of rookie officer, Matthew Pavelka, the first law enforcement official slain in the 82-year history of the Burbank police department. Pavelka was killed Saturday when two men opened fire after being stopped by fellow officer Gregory Campbell.
