Anthrax suspect recalled at service

FREDERICK - The Army scientist suspected in the anthrax attacks was remembered for his humor, intelligence, and compassion at a memorial service yesterday. Bruce Ivins, 62, died of an apparent suicide late last month after being informed by the FBI that charges were probably going to be brought against him in connection with the 2001 attacks. Colleagues recalled a talented scientist with a probing mind who loved to debate a wide variety of subjects. "Bruce was many a thing," said one of his brothers, Charles Ivins, who added that he took some solace in knowing that Bruce's "torment" had ended. More than 250 people attended the hourlong service. Some people who knew Ivins have said they cannot believe the scientist who liked to work in his garden and volunteer for the American Red Cross was capable of bioterrorism that killed five people, sickened 17, and scared the nation a month after the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP)

FBI Director Robert Mueller has apologized to the editors of The Washington Post and The New York Times for improperly obtaining phone records of the newspapers' reporters while investigating terrorism four years ago. Mueller called Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. and Times Executive Editor Bill Keller on Friday to express regret that agents did not follow proper procedures in 2004 when they obtained the phone records of a Post reporter and a researcher and two Times reporters. All four were working in Indonesia and writing about Islamic terrorism at the time. The incident came to light through a review by the Justice Department's inspector general of bureau procedures that enabled the FBI to obtain thousands of records from phone companies after the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP)

TICONDEROGA - Fort Ticonderoga, one of the nation's oldest and most significant historic sites, is so financially strapped that its trustees are considering selling off some of the fort's vast collection of artifacts, including artwork believed to be worth millions. The move comes after the fort lost the support of billionaire Forrest E. Mars Jr. amid disagreements with Fort Ticonderoga's longtime executive director, Nicholas Westbrook. Fort Ticonderoga, a National Historic Landmark, played a key role in North American history from its construction by the French in 1755 through the American Revolution, when it changed hands three times. (AP)