The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We feel very comfortable with each other, and this isn’t something we’re going to wait until the last day of December to get it done.”

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, after congressional leaders emerged from their first budget meeting with President Barack Obama Article, 1A

Man gets life in ’09 NYC terrorism plot

NEW YORK - A New York City man was sentenced Friday to life in prison in a foiled 2009 terrorism plot that authorities labeled one of the closest calls since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.

Adis Medunjanin, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen from Bosnia, had faced a mandatory life term over his conviction of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and several other terrorism charges.

Appearing in federal court in Brooklyn, Medunjanin read from the Koran in Arabic for several minutes before U.S.

District Judge John Gleeson interrupted and asked him if he intended to say anything in English.

The defendant politely asked for more time to finish one verse, then shifted into a critique of American society and foreign policy.

He closed by saying, “I had nothing to do with any subway plot or bombing plot whatsoever. I ask Allah to release me from prison.”

At a trial earlier this year, two of Medunjanin’s former high-school classmates, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay, testified that the three men sought terror training after falling under the influence of inflammatory recordings of U.S.-born extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

Zazi and Ahmedzay, who testified as part of a plea deal, told jurors that the scheme unfolded after the trio traveled to Pakistan in 2008 to avenge the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan by joining the Taliban.

Back in New York, the three men decided to strap on bombs and blow themselves up at rush hour on Manhattan subway lines, because the transit system is “the heart of everything in New York City,” Zazi said.

Deportation waived for 53,273 aliens

WASHINGTON - Tens of thousands of young illegal aliens have taken advantage of President Barack Obama’s offer to let them stay and work in the United States.

The government said Friday that it has approved 53,273 applications under the program that began in August to waive deportations of qualifying illegal aliens who came into the country as children.

Altogether, more than 300,000 have applied; requests have been coming in at a rate of 4,827 a day. Most are still under review.

Obama announced in June that he would delay deportation of many illegal aliens under the temporary program.

Mexico is the main country of origin for the program’s applicants. California is their top state of residence, then Texas and New York.

Police: Student taped child molestation

MILWAUKEE - A Wisconsin college student is accused of molesting six young children and videotaping the assaults under such titles as “Monster Unleashed,” and police said Friday they think there are more victims.

Alexander R. Richter, who attended Gateway Technical College, was arrested last week on 49 felony charges, including first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13, sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography.

Richter, 28, remained in jail Friday after a judge set his bond at $1.5 million in cash a day earlier. His public defender, Margaret Johnson, did not immediately return a message for comment.

Authorities say he volunteered to baby-sit his classmates’ children and then repeatedly had sex with the boys and girls on camera as they cried and begged him to stop.

Police said they have identified six children in videos and photographs recovered from Richter’s home in Racine, about 30 miles south of Milwaukee.

Texas chemical fire forces evacuations

GARLAND, Texas - A blaze at a chemical plant near Dallas sent flames 50 feet into the sky.

Authorities said the fire broke out about 3:30 p.m. Friday in an industrial district in Garland.

The city’s emergency management coordinator said there were no immediate reports of injuries, but evacuations have been ordered within a quarter-mile of the plant.

Fire Capt. Merrill Balanciere said it’s unclear what sparked the blaze. He said firefighters were delayed in approaching it because of nearby chemical storage tanks.

A spokesman for Ashland Chemical, whose logos are prominently displayed at the plant, said the plant was sold to Nexeo Solutions about 18 months ago. A phone message left at Nexeo, based in The Woodlands, wasn’t immediately returned.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 11/17/2012

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