Chicago man stores cyanide in subway
CHICAGO, Ill. — Federal authorities Monday charged an unemployed man with possession of chemical weapons for storing more than a pound of powdered cyanide in an underground passage that is part of Chicago’s subway system. Officials said the arrest was not related to any terrorism.
“It’s a serious situation because cyanide is a dangerous chemical,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. “But we don’t want to blow it out of proportion so that people are afraid to ride the subway.”
The charge was filed after Joseph Daniel Konopka, 25, was arrested Saturday by University of Illinois at Chicago police for allegedly breaking into tunnels beneath the UIC Education Building, authorities said Monday.
Crematory operator charged with fraud
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Ray Brent Marsh, the operator of the Tri-State Crematory in northwest Georgia, faces new charges in Tennessee.
Marsh, 28, was charged Monday by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office with six separate counts of abusing a corpse — a felony punishable by one to two years in prison.
The charges involve six bodies discovered on Marsh’s property that were sent to him from funeral homes in Bradley County.
Authorities in Georgia have found 339 discarded bodies on the Tri-State grounds. Of those, 109 have been identified.
He is charged in Georgia with 174 counts of fraud for allegedly taking money for cremations he did not perform and then giving the loved ones fake remains.
Bush enforces war against terrorism
WASHINGTON — Six months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush warned on Monday that “more dangers and sacrifices lie ahead” as America expands the war to the hideouts and supporters of terrorists outside Afghanistan.
“We will face the peril of our moment, and seize the promise of our times,” he said as the flags of more than 170 U.S. allies fluttered in the breeze.
As for countries harboring potential attackers, bush said terrorists must be given “no place to settle or to organize, no place to hide, no governments to hide behind, not even a place to sleep.”
So far, 13 American soldiers have been killed in combat in Afghanistan. The United States has about 5,300 soldiers in the country and about 60,000 military members in the region.
U.N. approves plan for Palestinian state
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Tuesday night endorsing a Palestinian state for the first time, supporting a U.S. measure that also calls for an immediate cease-fire in the escalating 17-month Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The resolution, the first the United States has introduced since the latest bloodshed began in September 2000, was introduced hours after Syria tabled a Palestinian-backed resolution.
“Our intent in doing this was to given an impulse to peace efforts and to decry violence and terror,” U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said after the vote.
Yates found guilty in murder trial
HOUSTON — Andrea Yates, the 37-year-old housewife who admitted she drowned her five children in the bathtub, was convicted of murder Tuesday by a jury that rejected her claim of insanity in just 3 1/2 hours.
Yates was found guilty of two counts of capital murder covering the deaths of three of her children. She could be sentenced to death or to life in prison following the penalty phase that begins today.
“I’m not critiquing or criticizing the verdict,” defense lawyer George Parnham said. “But it seems to me we are still back in the days of the Salem witch trials.”
She was tried for the deaths of Noah, 5-year-old John and 6-month-old Mary, though only two capital murder charges were filed.
U.S. executes British American citizen
JACKSON, Ga. — Ignoring pleas from Great Britain, Georgia executed a dual British-American citizen Tuesday night for raping and murdering a woman 17 years ago.
Before he was given a lethal injection, Tracy Lee Housel apologized and told his friends and family, “Take care of yourselves. May God be with you all.”
Housel, who was born in the British territory of Bermuda, admitted picking up Jean Drew, 46, at a suburban Atlanta truck stop in 1985, then raping her and bashing her head.
Prime Minister Tony Blair had asked Georgia’s parole board to commute Housel’s sentence to life in prison.
The Georgia parole board turned down Housel’s plea for mercy Monday.
INS approved visas belonging to terrorists
MIAMI — Six months after two terrorists died in the World Trade Center attack, the Florida flight school where they trained has received their student visa approval forms from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Huffman Aviation received the paperwork Monday acknowledging the INS approvals for Mohammed Atta, 33, of Egypt, and Marwan Al-Shehhi, 23, of the United Arab Emirates.
Both men were cleared to stay in the United States until Oct. 1, 2001, according to the forms, which were provided to The Associated Press.
“The INS has failed to take basic steps to ensure that visas are not issued to known terrorists,” said John Conyers, member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Priest and woman killed in NY church
LYNBROOK, N.Y. — A man with a rifle walked into a church and opened fire Tuesday, killing the priest who was on the altar saying mass and a 73-year-old worshipper sitting in a pew.
Peter Troy, the suspect, was captured at a nearby apartment house after a daylong standoff with police. The 34-year-old man was apprehended after he attempted to stab an officer with a small folding knife, Inspector Pete Matuza said.
Mayor Eugene Scarpato had earlier said he understood the suspect was a former church employee who was fired several months ago. But police said Tuesday night that the man was never employed by the church on New York’s Long Island.
Troy was charged Tuesday night with two counts of second-degree murder.
Chinese army prepares for military struggle
TAIWAN — Chinese President Jiang Zemin has asked the armed forces to make “solid preparation for military struggle” in order to attain national reunification.
Sources close to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said Jiang was using harsher than usual rhetoric on Taiwan partly in response to recent events between Taiwan and the United States.
“Jiang is facing more pressure particularly from mid-ranking PLA officers to be tougher with Taiwan and the U.S.,” said an army source.
In his speech to the PLA delegates, Jiang stressed the importance of a hi-tech army — and the need to take advantage of China’s entry to the World Trade Organization to learn more about the armies of Western countries.
March 14, 2002