LONDON (AP) - Both of the suspects accused of butchering a British soldier during broad daylight on a London street had long been on the radar of Britain's domestic spy agency, though investigators say it would have been nearly impossible to predict that the men were on the verge of a brutal killing. Still, counter-terrorism officials said they are reviewing what - if any - lessons can be gleaned from the information they had leading up to the slaying Wednesday.
PHOENIX (AP) - Attorneys say an appeal is planned after a federal judge ruled that the office of America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff systematically racially profiled Latinos in its trademark immigration patrols. The decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Murray Snow marks the first finding by a court that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office racially profiles people.
PHOENIX (AP) - Key figures in a lawsuit that alleges that an Arizona sheriff's office has racially profiled Latinos in its immigration patrols. A judge ruled Friday that Arpaio's office systematically racially profiles Latinos: ARPAIO: Sheriff Joe Arpaio has aggressively pursued local immigration enforcement. The sheriff has been accused of launching some immigration patrols based on letters from people who complained about people with dark skin congregating in a given area or speaking Spanish but never reporting an actual crime. Arpaio denies the racial profiling allegations, remains popular with voters and easily won re-election last year. His opponents are trying to recall him, but have had trouble finding enough signatures.
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) - The trucker was hauling a load of drilling equipment when his load bumped against the steel framework over an Interstate 5 bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror and watched in horror as the span collapsed into the water behind him. Two vehicles fell into the icy Skagit River. Amazingly, nobody was killed. The three people who fell into the water escaped with only minor injuries.
LONDON (AP) - Britain scrambled fighter jets Friday to intercept a commercial airliner carrying more than 300 people from Pakistan, diverting it to an isolated runway at an airport on the outskirts of London and arresting two British passengers who allegedly threatened to destroy the plane. A British security official said the situation involving the Pakistan International Airlines flight did not appear terror-related, though police were still investigating, but the incident further rattled the U.K. just days after a soldier was killed on a London street in a suspected terror attack.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama left plenty of ambiguity in new policy guidelines that he says will restrict how and when the U.S. can launch targeted drone strikes, leaving himself significant power over how and when the weapons can be deployed. National security experts say it's imperative to leave some room in the guidelines, given the evolving fight against terrorism. But civil rights advocates argue too little has been revealed about the program to ensure its legality, even as the president takes steps to remove some of the secrecy.
BEIRUT (AP) - Syria's government has agreed to attend a U.S.-Russian-brokered peace conference, according to Moscow. While this development might seem at first glance to be a step toward ending the civil war, strong skepticism persists on both sides. Doubting that Damascus is serious and may be stalling while government forces make battlefield gains, the Syrian opposition has demanded guarantees that President Bashar Assad's departure top the agenda; Russia questioned whether the fragmented opposition is capable of negotiating with one voice.
The Boy Scouts of America will get no reprieve from controversy after a contentious vote to accept openly gay boys as Scouts. Dismayed conservatives are already looking at alternative youth groups as they predict a mass exodus from the BSA. Gay-rights supporters vowed Friday to maintain pressure on the Scouts to end the still-in-place ban on gay adults serving as leaders.
TORONTO (AP) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied Friday that he smokes crack cocaine and said he is not an addict after a video purported to show him using the drug. The mayor of Canada's largest city did not say whether he has ever used crack. Ford did not take questions from reporters at a news conference at City Hall held after a week of silence and after close allies released a letter urging him to address the video. The video apparently shows Ford smoking crack.
