QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There are some who suggest that only federal agencies should handle terrorism cases, or that the terrorism threat from radicalized citizens is, perhaps, overstated. I strongly disagree.”
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., after a man accused of building bombs to wage holy war in New York City pleaded guilty to a rare statelevel terrorism charge Article,this page
Border patrol: Shot man threw big rocks
SAN DIEGO - A man who was shot and killed by a U.S.
Border Patrol agent threw large rocks at the agent, including one about the size of a basketball, investigators said Wednesday.
The man, who was suspected of being in the country illegally, began throwing fist-sized rocks at the agent from a hillside perch, the San Diego County sheriff’s office said. The rocks became larger, and one of the bigger pieces hit the agent in the head.
The sheriff’s office said the agent fired his gun at least twice Tuesday, fearing he might be killed or incapacitated if he was hit again in the head. The agent tried to revive the man, who died at the scene. The man’s identity is unknown.
The agent, whose name was not disclosed, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.
Drone strike killed civilians, group says
WASHINGTON - A U.S. drone strike in December that killed at least a dozen people in Yemen failed to comply with rules imposed by President Barack Obama last year to protect civilians, according to an investigation by a human-rights organization to be released today.
The report by Human Rights Watch concluded that the strike targeted a line of vehicles that were part of a wedding procession, and that evidence indicates “some, if not all those killed and wounded were civilians.”
The findings contradict assertions by U.S. officials that only militants were killed in the operation.
Overall, Human Rights Watch “found that the operations did not comply with the targeted killing policies that President Obama outlined” in a speech in May, the report said, citing in particular Obama’s requirement of “near-certainty” that no civilians would be harmed.
Caitlin Hayden, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the United States takes “extraordinary care” to avoid civilian casualties.
Couple who let 2nd child die get prison
PHILADELPHIA - A couple who believed in faith-healing were sentenced Wednesday to 3½ to seven years in prison in the death of a second child who never saw a doctor despite being stricken with pneumonia.
Herbert and Catherine Schaible defied a court order to get medical care for their children after their 2-year-old son, Kent, died in 2009. Instead, they tried to comfort and pray over 8-month-old Brandon last year as he, too, died of treatable pneumonia.
“My religious beliefs are that you should pray, and not have to use medicine. But because it is against the law, then whatever sentence you give me, I will accept,” Catherine Schaible, 44, told the judge. She added that her beliefs have since changed.
The Schaibles are third-generation members of an insular Pentecostal community, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia, where they also taught at the church school. They have seven surviving children.
Judge Benjamin Lerner rejected defense claims that their religious beliefs “clashed” with the 2011 court order to get annual checkups and call a doctor if a child became ill.
Casket photo trouble for 2nd soldier
MILWAUKEE - A second Wisconsin National Guard member has been suspended in an investigation stemming from a photograph showing soldiers clowning around by an empty, flag-draped casket, a Guard spokesman said Wednesday.
Sgt. Luis Jimenez was suspended because of comments he posted on social media defending the photo, which was taken at a Guard training facility in North Little Rock, spokesman Maj. Paul Rickert said.
Jimenez’s comments have since been taken down, but in a screen shot confirmed by Rickert he defended the guardsman who originally posted the photo.
“She isn’t disrespecting anyone,” Jimenez wrote of Spc. Terry Harrison. “… It’s actually a selfless commitment she has made. These practice sessions are very long. It’s good to let loose a little.”
Jimenez was Harrison’s task leader, or supervisor, in the Madison, Wis.-based 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment.
Harrison also was suspended.
The photograph shows soldiers mugging for the camera around the empty casket. It shows 14 men and women posing, some lightheartedly.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/20/2014