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Shuttle Atlantis lands in Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The shuttle Atlantis landed Friday at Florida's Kennedy Space Center after three space walks and more than six days at the International Space Station.

The shuttle and its seven astronauts landed under clear skies with five more shuttle missions ahead before the fleet's scheduled retirement next year.

The mission just completed equipped the space station with nearly 30,000 pounds of parts, including pump modules, gas tanks, two gyroscopes and components for the space station's robotic arm.

The Atlantis astronauts also prepared power and airway connections on the space station for the arrival of the final U.S. space station module, Tranquility, scheduled for delivery on a shuttle mission in February, NASA officials said.

Atlantis returned home with a broken piece of the space station's water-recycling unit, which converts the astronauts' urine into drinking water. The part is to be repaired and returned on another shuttle flight.

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100 more masscre suspects may be arrested

MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- One hundred suspects, including police officers, could face arrest in the massacre on the southern Mindanao Island, a government official said Friday.

After collecting more sworn statements from witnesses, justice officials said they expect to file more charges as the investigation into incident unfolds, CNN reported.

At least 57 civilians were killed Monday in Maguindanao when about 100 gunmen confronted gubernatorial candidate Ismael Mangudadatu's wife, two sisters and others as they traveled to file his election papers. Media accounts indicate the gunmen abducted the victims and eventually killed all or most of them, including lawyers and journalists.

Facing seven counts of murder is Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay and son of the provincial governor of Maguindanao. Ampatuan has denied any involvement in the violence.

Witnesses implicated dozens of people in the election-related killings, Philippine Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno told CNN.

"There are an estimated 100 people that will brought to account for this incident," Puno said. "We are in the process of preparing cases against them and ultimately filing similar charges. These people are actually members of the police in the province and civilian volunteers in the province."

Ampatuan went to the police voluntarily for questioning Thursday, and then was charged.

In a later televised interview, he named Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander Umbra Kato as the possible mastermind of the massacre, which Puno discarded.

"At the moment, there is no evidence that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front had anything to do with this," he said.

Separately, Mangudadatu filed papers to run for governor of Maguindanao province, where the attacks occurred, GMA News reported.

The province is on southern Mindanao Island, scene of years of political and separatist violence.

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Insurgents kill two anti-Taliban elders

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Pakistan said Friday two anti-Taliban leaders have been killed in separate attacks by militants.

Shahpoor Khan, a key ally of authorities in the Bajaur district, died in a roadside bomb attack in Badan that wounded three others, Pakistan's English-language newspaper Dawn reported.

"The tribal leader was killed on the spot and his colleagues were seriously wounded in the blast," said Jamil Khan, a local administrator.

Police in northwestern Pakistan said the bullet-riddled body of Ameer Saiyed, an anti-Taliban tribal elder, was found Friday morning near his home in the village of Wali Kor, the BBC reported.

Pakistan's government-supported news agency said Saiyed was taken from his home Thursday by Taliban militants.

Government troops backed by helicopter gunships killed at least 15 insurgents and destroyed an ammunition dump in Khyber Friday as part of a new anti-Taliban operation that began three days ago, Dawn reported.

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State moving on possible Ill. prison sale

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- An Illinois lawmaker says he wants to fast-track hearings on the possible sale of an underused prison to federal officials.

The Thomson Correctional Center has surfaced as a leading site for a U.S. detention facility for terror suspect now housed at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's Department of Corrections filed paperwork Wednesday with a legislative oversight panel in charge of reviewing closures of all major state facilities, including the northwestern Illinois prison, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

"Our goal is to have this public hearing by the end of December," said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, co-chairman the bipartisan review panel.

"I support the idea of closing the Thomson facility and negotiating a fair price with the federal government for them to acquire the facility," Schoenberg said. "The area's desperate for jobs and this would appear to be a responsible way to boost the local economy."

The prison has been used sparely for several years, the Tribune said. The maximum security portion of the prison has not been used since construction in 2001, while the minimum security area of the prison had 186 inmates as of last week.

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White House crashers reality show hopefuls

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The couple who crashed U.S. President Obama's first state dinner were, in reality, reality television wannabes, production personnel said.

Northern Virginia socialites Tareq and Michaele Salahi are hoping to land roles in the Bravo cable network's forthcoming show, "The Real Housewives of D.C.," The Washington Post reported Friday. The "Housewives" series -- with shows filmed in Orange County, Calif., Atlanta and New Jersey -- is a popular reality show franchise for the network.

The Secret Service said the Salahis crashed the event honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and that the agency is investigating the security breach.

The agents charged with protecting the president "did not follow proper procedures," Secret Service agent Edwin Donovan said in a statement after the incident, but said the gatecrashers went through metal detectors "and other levels of security."

The Salahis' attorney, Paul W. Gardner, posted a statement on the couple's Facebook page saying the Salahis attendance Tuesday at the White House affair was on the up-and-up.

"My clients were cleared, by the White House, to be there. More information is forthcoming," the attorney's post read.

Bravo said in a statement Thursday, "Michaele Salahi is under consideration as a cast member, as such (series producer) Half Yard Productions were filming the Salahis on that day. Half Yard was only aware that per the Salahis they had been invited (to the state dinner) as guests."

The Virginia couple also are named in at least 16 civil suits in Fauquier County, including Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation for the family wine business, CNN reported.

If the Salahis lied to federal agents to gain entry, they could be guilty of a federal crime, a homeland security expert told CNN.