USA

Justice Department prosecutors in the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui were considering how to proceed after US District Judge Leonie Brinkema on Tuesday excluded witnesses she said may have been tainted by illegal coaching from Transportation Security Administration attorney Carla Martin. The sentencing trial against the confessed Al Qaeda conspirator will continue on Monday, when prosecutors may request an emergency appeal. They say the excluded witnesses are crucial to proving that Moussaoui lied to FBI investigators before the 9/11 attacks.

The Senate Judiciary Committee reaches its self-imposed deadline Thursday to draft a comprehensive immigration bill. Several senators have acknowledged that an all-encompassing bill on border security, punishments for illegal immigrants and their employers, and legal status of immigrants is unlikely to meet with legislative approval. Lawmakers are having difficulty reconciling security concerns with business interests that rely on low-wage immigrants.

Workers resumed work in the Sago Mine Wednesday morning for the first time since an explosion trapped and killed 12 coal miners 2-1/2 months ago. Their return came a day after officials from the mine's owner, the International Coal Group, blamed lightning for the accident.

DP World announced Wednesday plans to sell its recently acquired US port management operations to an American firm within four to six months. The Dubai-owned company has faced significant pressure from Congress to separate itself from US port operations due to security concerns. The announcement included details on the proposed sale, but did not mention the name of any specific American buyer.

James Wolfensohn announced Wednesday that he may quit his job as envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on behalf of the "quartet" of major international movers: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the UN. Wolfensohn said his job lacks policy direction because the quartet now refuses to recognize the newly elected Hamas government.

Jeff King pulled his dog sled into Nome, Alaska, shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning to win his fourth Iditarod. At 50, King is also the oldest winner of the world's longest dog sled race. Eighty-three "mushers" braved temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees F. during the 1,100-mile competition that began officially on March 1 in Willow, Alaska.