In the Nation
U.S. case to drop Blackwater guard
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents yesterday.The shooting left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. It touched off investigations that ultimately led the State Department to cancel Blackwater's lucrative contract to guard diplomats in Iraq.
Iraqis have said they are watching closely to see how the U.S. judicial system handles the five men, all military veterans, accused of unleashing an unprovoked attack on civilians with machine guns and grenades. A sixth man pleaded guilty.
A one-paragraph notice filed yesterday says only that prosecutors have asked that the case against one of the five, Nicholas Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., be dropped. Slatten's attorney, Thomas Connolly, said that he could not comment on the court documents but that Slatten has said all along that he is innocent. The case against the remaining four guards is set for trial in February. - AP
Border agent's killer makes plea
SAN DIEGO - A 17-year-old pleaded guilty yesterday to killing a Border Patrol agent who was shot eight times while chasing suspected illegal immigrants in the mountains east of San Diego.Christian Daniel Castro Alvarez admitted entering the United States illegally to rob a Border Patrol agent, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Alvarez said he lured Agent Robert Rosas, 30, out of his car on the night of July 23 and struggled over his gun during a robbery try.
Castro Alvarez was charged as an adult after surrendering Aug. 14 at the San Ysidro border crossing connecting San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano thanked Mexico's government for cooperating. Castro Alvarez faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 19. - AP
Levin cites more Hasan messages
WASHINGTON - There may be additional e-mail that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his rampage, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said yesterday.Levin (D., Mich.) said after a briefing from Pentagon and Army officials that his panel would investigate how those messages and other e-mail involving alleged shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan were handled, and why the military was not made aware of them before the Nov. 5 shooting.
The U.S. government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical U.S.-born cleric. They were passed along to two Joint Terrorism Task Force cells led by the FBI, but a senior defense official said no one at the Pentagon knew about the messages until after the shootings. - AP
Elsewhere:
The Army, reversing its position, now says it will open Sarah Palin's book-signing appearance Monday at Fort Bragg to media despite fears the event will turn into political grandstanding against President Obama. Fort Bragg officials said any interested media could now attend. The Army had first said media would be barred, then proposed limited coverage.
South Carolina lawmakers plan next week to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford, the chairman of the panel starting that work said yesterday.
