Nation/world roundup
House OK's bill capping nonprofits' gifts
WASHINGTON -- The House on Wednesday voted to limit the multimillion-dollar donations to nonprofit groups that changed the face of American politics in the 2004 presidential election. Majority Republicans said they were closing what they contended was a gaping loophole. Democrats portrayed the vote as an effort to undercut their supporters.
Defense asks for halt to Gitmo hearing
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- A defense attorney for a Canadian teenager accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan asked the judge on Wednesday to halt proceedings because of a lack of established rules for the military trials. "Sir, you should halt these proceedings ... until the government gets the rules together," said Army Capt. John Merriam, an attorney for Omar Khadr, 19.
Moussaoui judge allows playing airplane tapes
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The cockpit recording from the hijacked jetliner that passengers tried to retake on Sept. 11 will be played in public for the first time at the sentencing trial of al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui the judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said the jury considering whether to execute Moussaoui could hear the recording from United Airlines Flight 93 and see a transcript of it.
Saddam admits approving death sentences
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Hussein dodged questions from prosecutors cross-examining him for the first time Wednesday over a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980s. But he acknowledged approving death sentences for 148 Shiites, saying he was convinced they tried to assassinate him. At times sharp and combative but often relaxed or even smiling, the former Iraqi leader declined to confirm his signature on documents. When prosecutors presented identity cards of children whose death sentences they said he signed, he maintained they were forged.
Homeland Security press aid arrested in sting operation
WASHINGTON -- A Homeland Security Department spokesman was held Wednesday on felony charges of sexually preying on a detective posing as a 14-year-old girl through explicit online conversations. He was quickly suspended without pay from one of the nation's top crime-fighting agencies.
The arrest of Brian J. Doyle, 55, raised doubts about the ability of an agency responsible for safeguarding the country to ensure the security credentials of its own people.
Doyle is accused of 23 felony charges related to sexually graphic conversations with what he thought was a teenage girl, who was in fact an undercover Florida detective. The charges, lodged Tuesday night by the Polk County, Fla., Sheriff's Department, included 16 counts of sending pornographic movie clips to a minor.
From wire reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.