USA
In Texas, flood warnings remained in effect for areas near bayous that run through the east and south portions of Harris County after a torrential downpour deluged Houston with up to 11 inches of rain Monday. A flood watch was in effect until Tuesday morning for about a dozen counties in the southeastern part of the state.
The Army charged three US soldiers with premeditated murder of three male detainees in Iraq last month. The soldiers, also charged with obstructing justice for allegedly threatening to kill another soldier who was a witness in the case, are accused of fatally shooting the detainees as they were attempting to flee. The soldiers are in pretrial confinement in Kuwait, awaiting a hearing to determine if sufficient evidence exists for the case to be referred to court-martial, according to a US Army announcement Monday.
In NHL action, the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 Monday night to capture their first-ever Stanley Cup. While most of the world was focused on soccer, Canadians had rallied behind the underdog Oilers in hopes of reclaiming hockey's coveted prize for the first time since 1993.
In the first trial to emerge from the scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff, a jury found former White House aide David Safavian guilty Tuesday of covering up his dealings with the lobbyist. Mr. Safavian, who resigned from his White House post last year as the federal government's chief procurement officer, was convicted on four of five felony counts of lying and obstruction. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 12.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is set to become the nation's first airline hub to screen all passenger aircraft cargo for explosives. The Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration, and airport officials signed an agreement Monday to launch a $30-million pilot program this summer, and then expand it to two other unnamed airports. Several national labs will help determine how best to apply existing screening procedures to cargo without delaying flights. Only a small portion of the 235,000 metric tons of cargo shipped out of SFO last year was screened, officials said.
