AP Exclusive: FBI says new al-Qaida leader who is planning attacks on America lived in US
MIAMI (AP) -- A suspected al-Qaida operative who lived for more than 15 years in the U.S. has become chief of the terror network's global operations, the FBI says, marking the first time a leader so intimately familiar with American society has been placed in charge of planning attacks.
Adnan Shukrijumah, 35, has taken over a position once held by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in 2003, Miami-based FBI counterterrorism agent Brian LeBlanc told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. That puts him in regular contact with al-Qaida's senior leadership, including Osama bin Laden, LeBlanc said.
Shukrijumah (SHOOK'-ree joohm-HAH') and two other leaders were part of an "external operations council" that designed and approved terrorism plots and recruits, but his two counterparts were killed in U.S. drone attacks, leaving Shukrijumah as the de facto chief and successor to Mohammed -- his former boss.
"He's making operational decisions is the best way to put it," said LeBlanc, the FBI's lead Shukrijumah investigator. "He's looking at attacking the U.S. and other Western countries. Basically through attrition, he has become his old boss."
The FBI has been searching for Shukrijumah since 2003. He is thought to be the only al-Qaida leader to have once held permanent U.S. resident status, or a green card.
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AP Exclusive: To keep program secret, CIA whisked 9/11 figures from Gitmo before court ruling
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four of the nation's most highly valued terrorist prisoners were secretly moved to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2003, years earlier than has been disclosed, then whisked back into overseas prisons before the Supreme Court could give them access to lawyers, The Associated Press has learned.
The transfer allowed the U.S. to interrogate the detainees in CIA "black sites" for two more years without allowing them to speak with attorneys or human rights observers or challenge their detention in U.S. courts. Had they remained at the Guantanamo Bay prison for just three more months, they would have been afforded those rights.
"This was all just a shell game to hide detainees from the courts," said Jonathan Hafetz, a Seton Hall University law professor who has represented several detainees.
Removing them from Guantanamo Bay underscores how worried President George W. Bush's administration was that the Supreme Court might lift the veil of secrecy on the detention program. It also shows how insistent the Bush administration was that terrorists must be held outside the U.S. court system.
Years later, the program's legacy continues to complicate President Barack Obama's efforts to prosecute the terrorists behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
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Crews wait for cement to dry in final steps to seal blown-out oil well in Gulf of Mexico
ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) -- Crews working to seal a blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico were waiting Friday for fresh cement that was pumped in to dry in one of the final steps of the so-called "static kill."
Engineers pumped the cement down the throat of the well Thursday and planned to wait at least a day for it to dry.
That static kill procedure started Tuesday with engineers pumping enough mud down the top of the well to push the crude back to its underground source for the first time since an oil rig exploded 50 miles off the Louisiana coast on April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the massive spill.
But more than three month's after
Crews are still finding plenty of crude in those interior areas, even as government officials say spotting oil from the air on the Gulf's surface is taking longer on each trip.
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Afghan president considering new oversight of US-backed units probing corruption
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. officials are waiting to see if the Afghan government will attempt to impede corruption probes of high-ranking officials -- concern that comes as a new report issued in Washington questioned the Afghan administration's ability to fight graft and bribery that are undermining the war against the Taliban.
The possibility that Afghan President Hamid Karzai will place restraints on the operations of two anti-corruption units set up with help from U.S. law enforcement officials heightens already growing tension between the U.S. and the Afghan government, which is seeking more control over the billions of foreign dollars being poured in to foster reconstruction.
Corruption and a weak court system have undermined public trust in Karzai's government and its efforts to win the loyalty of many Afghans away from the Taliban.
Soon after a key Karzai adviser was arrested last week for allegedly taking a bribe, the Afghan president sought more oversight of the work of the two U.S.-backed anti-corruption units, the Major Crimes Task Force and the Sensitive Investigative Unit. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation helps train employees of the two units who conduct corruption probes of high-level Afghan government officials and then feed cases to Afghan prosecutors.
Mohammad Zia Salehi, head of administration for the Afghan National Security Council, is accused of accepting a car in exchange for his help in exerting pressure on Afghan officials to ease off in another corruption case, said Fazel Ahmad Faqiryar, first deputy attorney general. He said the attorney general's office has wiretaps of Salehi discussing the vehicle.
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Confident Republicans say GOP must do more to ensure party captures House, Senate
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- With Democrats on defense, Republicans expressed cautious confidence of big gains in the fall elections -- particularly in governor's races -- though they acknowledged that the GOP must do more to snatch control of Congress from President Barack Obama's party.
Three months before the midterm elections, it was all business and little celebration as the 168-member Republican National Committee met this week to finalize Tampa, Fla., as the 2012 GOP convention city and set the presidential primary calendar.
Unlike in years past, no White House hopefuls showed up. And the tone was sober about the GOP's prospects in November; a single sign said: "Playing to win in 2010."
All that reflected the challenge Republicans have ahead of them as they seek to take advantage of conditions that at first blush seem ripe for a power shift in Democratic-controlled Washington.
No one doubts the GOP will win some Democratic-held congressional seats. The president's party nearly always loses seats during the first midterm elections of the presidency. The GOP rank and file also is energized and independent voters are leaning toward Republicans.
The question is whether Republicans have it together enough to gain 40 in the House and 10 in the Senate to take control of Capitol Hill -- with less money than the Democrats, without the White House bully pulpit and as tea party activists expose a fissure between conservatives and moderates in the GOP.
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More jobs needed to drive recovery, but July employment report is likely to be weak
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Faster job growth is needed to accelerate the recovery, but economists worry the government's July employment report won't show strong gains.
Without more jobs, Americans are likely to remain cautious with their spending, restraining the economic rebound. But without more spending, companies will likely be slow to hire.
The report will be released Friday morning.
"To break out of this, we need both employment and consumption to come up together," said Nigel Gault, an economist at IHS Global Insight.
While the economy has grown modestly in the past year, much of the rebound is due to temporary factors. They include government stimulus spending and companies' restocking of warehouses depleted in the recession.
More hiring and rising incomes would put the recovery on a sustainable footing. But Friday's jobs report may not show much of an increase.
Companies are forecast to have added a net total of 90,000 private-sector jobs in July, according to economists surveyed by
Overall, the economy is likely to lose a total of 65,000 jobs because of the end of temporary positions with the U.S. Census Bureau.
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US, nuclear powers join Hiroshima memorial for first time, on 65th anniversary
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) -- A U.S. representative participated for the first time Friday in Japan's annual commemoration of the American atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in a 65th anniversary event that organizers hope will bolster global efforts toward nuclear disarmament.
The site of the world's first A-bomb attack echoed with the choirs of schoolchildren and the solemn ringing of bells Friday as Hiroshima marked its biggest memorial yet. At 8:15 a.m. -- the time the bomb dropped, incinerating most of the city -- a moment of silence was observed.
Hiroshima's mayor welcomed Washington's decision to send U.S. Ambassador John Roos to Friday's commemoration, which began with an offering of water to the 140,000 who died in the first of two nuclear bombings that prompted Japan's surrender in World War II.
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba is also hoping that President Barack Obama will visit Hiroshima, an idea that Obama has said he would like to consider but that would be highly controversial and unprecedented for a sitting U.S. president.
"We need to communicate to every corner of the globe the intense yearning of the survivors for the abolition of nuclear weapons," Akiba told the 55,000 people at the ceremony.
Along with the U.S., Britain and France also made their first official appearance at the memorial, as well as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Altogether, 74 nations were represented.
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20 states to tell federal judge in Fla. why Obama's health care plan should be thrown out
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- Twenty states and the nation's most influential small business lobby plan Friday to file their response to the government's attempt to dismiss their lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
The Justice Department in June asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the U.S. District Court in Pensacola lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over some of the lawsuit's claims. They also said other parts of the lawsuit failed to state claims upon which relief can be granted.
The states, the National Federation of Independent Business and several individual taxpayers will file their response in Pensacola federal court.
A key issue raised by their lawsuit is whether the federal government can require individuals to purchase health care insurance and fine those who don't.
The court must hear the case to preserve individual liberties granted through the Constitution, said Karen Harned, executive director of the Small Business Legal Center of the National Federation of Independent Business.
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AP Interview: Wyclef Jean praises foreign investment in Haiti, defends personal finances in US
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- After the hip-hop party was over, the cheering supporters back in their tents and the speaker trucks parked for the night, newly minted presidential candidate Wyclef Jean sat down to talk business -- promoting Haiti's and defending his own.
The potential front-runner in Haiti's Nov. 28 election told The Associated Press that he supports the U.S. and U.N. vision for rebuilding Haiti's economy after its magnitude 7 earthquake -- a plan that encourages private investment in factories, agriculture and other areas.
He also hit back at critics of his own personal finances, including allegations over his use of post-quake charity funds and the revelation he personally owes $2.1 million in back taxes to the United States.
"We can provide a way to get (Haitians) out of the mess they're in. And the way that that's going to happen (is) education, job creation and investment for Haiti," Jean said in the wide-ranging interview Thursday evening.
The Haitian-born, Brooklyn-raised singer is attempting a difficult and potentially dicey transformation: From multimillionaire international recording artist to leader of one of the world's poorest and most dysfunctional countries -- and doing so through a pivotal and difficult election.
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Ky. woman guilty of extortion after she demanded millions from coach Pitino to keep sex secret
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A Kentucky woman was convicted Thursday of demanding millions of dollars from Rick Pitino to keep secret their one-night stand in a restaurant, then claiming the Louisville basketball coach raped her after he reported the extortion.
Karen Cunagin Sypher, 50, of Louisville, was found guilty of three counts of extortion, two counts of lying to the FBI and one count of retaliating against a witness. She stared at the ceiling as the verdict was read, while one of her sons wept openly.
The case involved a 2003 sexual encounter between Pitino and Sypher, a former model at car shows, at a table inside a restaurant closed for the night. Pitino testified she came on to him and the sex was consensual. After she was charged, Sypher told police it was rape but Pitino was never charged.
Last year, Pitino received three threatening phone calls and two letters demanding cash and gifts for Sypher to keep the tryst secret. One of the letters showed to the jury was a handwritten note from Sypher that asked for cars, tuition for her children and her mortgage to be paid off.
Neither Sypher or her attorney commented as they left federal court following her eight-day trial. But one of her sons, Jacob Wise, confronted prosecutors. "Thanks for taking my mother away, guys," said Wise, 20.
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