Terror suspect indicted on six counts
DETROIT, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A Nigerian man suspected of trying to destroy a U.S. plane on Christmas Day was indicted on six counts by a Detroit grand jury Wednesday, officials said.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was named in a six-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury, charging him with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder and other charges.
Prosecutors, who have yet to file terrorism-related charges, say Abdulmutallab hid explosives in his underwear and tried to ignite them as Northwest Airlines Flight 253, which originated in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was preparing to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Authorities said Abdulmutallab's alleged bombing attempt was foiled when passengers and flight crew members restrained him and extinguished a small fire he had started.
"The charges that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab faces could imprison him for life," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "This investigation is fast-paced, global and ongoing, and it has already yielded valuable intelligence that we will follow wherever it leads."
The Detroit Free Press said a detention hearing for Abdulmutallab had been set for Friday, but it quoted officials as saying it's not known when he will be arraigned on the indictment or whether the detention hearing date would now change.
He is being held at a federal prison in Milan, Mich., the newspaper said.
Sen. Chris Dodd announces retirement
EAST HADDAM, Conn., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate Wednesday after five terms.
Speaking at a news conference at his home in East Haddam, Conn., the longest-serving U.S. senator in Connecticut history said, "This is my moment to step aside. There will be time to reflect in more detail on the years I've spent in public service."
Dodd, 65, told reporters that after serving 30 years in the Senate and helping to craft a now-pending landmark overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, he had taken stock and determined it was an opportune moment for him to leave public life.
"I have been a Connecticut Senator for 30 years," he said. "I'm proud of the job I've done and the results delivered. But none of us are irreplaceable. None of us are indispensible. Those who think otherwise are dangerous."
Dodd has gone from a safe bet for re-election to a weak candidate in recent years, The Washington Post reported, but the senator denied that factored into his thinking.
"I am very aware of my present political standing here at home; but it is equally clear that any certain prediction about an election victory or defeat nearly a year from now, would be absurd," he said.
President Barack Obama issued a statement on Dodd's retirement, saying, "Over the years, he has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of our children and families, support good jobs for hard-working Americans, and keep our nation strong and prosperous, building a remarkable record of achievement for the people of Connecticut and our country."
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is considered likely to become the Democratic candidate for Dodd's seat, the Post said. At least two Republicans -- state Rep. Rob Simmons and businesswoman Linda McMahon -- are locked in a difficult battle for the GOP nomination.
Pentagon: Gitmo recidivism likely rising
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Instances of former Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees returning to terror groups after their releases likely remain on the rise, a Pentagon spokesman says.
The issue of recidivism among former Guantanamo detainees has gained a high profile since two ex-prisoners were identified as leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a group that has claimed responsibility for an attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. jetliner, allegedly by a Nigerian man.
Asked for the latest figures on Guantanamo recidivism, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday that while he couldn't share any numbers more recent than a declassified report from May showing an upward trend, he said, "I do not believe that trend has reversed itself."
The May Pentagon report showed a Guantanamo recidivism rate of 14 percent, up from an 11 percent figure noted a month earlier.
"We do try to keep very, very close tabs on those detainees who we have transferred from Guantanamo back to their home country or third countries," Morrell said. "We clearly have been doing our best to keep tabs on anyone who may have returned to the fight, either in a confirmed fashion or in a suspected fashion, since then."
CIA attack linked to top al-Qaida leaders
KHOST, Afghanistan, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Osama bin Laden's inner circle helped plan the Dec. 30 suicide attack in Afghanistan that left seven CIA agents dead, former CIA officials say.
The Times of London reported online Wednesday the attack at the CIA base near Khost required the prior knowledge and assistance of the Haqqani network, a Taliban faction thought to be shielding bin Laden.
The British newspaper said the bombing heightened tensions between the United States and Pakistan because Pakistan has not gone after the Haqqanis, who have free rein in regions on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border where bin Laden is suspected to be hiding.
A source described by The Times as a former CIA bin Laden hunter reportedly said the CIA obtained one electronic intercept of a Pakistani army officer tipping the Haqqanis off to a raid and another in which a member of the Pakistani intelligence service says the "Haqqanis are our guys."
Michael Scheuer, who once led the CIA team looking for bin Laden, said the Haqqanis must have been apprised in advance of the Dec. 30 attack.
"There is no way this operation would have occurred in Khost without the knowledge and active support of Jalaluddin Haqqani and/or his son," Scheuer told The Times.
Likewise, Mahmood Shah, a retired brigadier who was security chief of Pakistan's tribal region, said the attack "may have been planned by al-Qaida, but it could not have been possible without the help of the Haqqani group, which has its stronghold in Khost."
Wiping out seven of the top CIA experts in the hunt for bin Laden was "a huge blow," one unidentified former CIA operative told The Times. "If you are Osama bin Laden, your biggest enemy is the CIA -- and this is a big hit."
Earmarks down in FY 2010 spending bills
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The 2010 spending bills had $10.2 billion in disclosed earmarks added by U.S. congressional members, down by about a third over 2008, an analysis indicates.
The non-partisan Taxpayers for Common Sense reported 9,297 sponsored pet projects were inserted in appropriation bills for 2010, compared to 11,282 reported for fiscal year 2009 ending Sept. 30, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The 2009 earmarks were worth $14.3 billion.
The funding bills also had billions of dollars in other programs not reported as earmarks, said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense. Ellis said his organization found $4.9 billion of undisclosed funding in last year's spending bills, but hasn't finished an analysis of the latest appropriation measures, USA Today said.
"At least in the disclosed earmarks, there has been a haircut," Ellis said. "Although we would like to see a much deeper reduction, it's a small step, a shuffle, in the right direction."
Citizens Against Government Waste, another budget watchdog group, said lawmakers aren't following rules about earmark sponsorship disclosure all of the time, citing a $2.5 billion expenditure in the Pentagon bill for building C-17 cargo planes. The earmark sponsor wasn't disclosed, but Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said in a news release he worked to preserve the funding.
Cold snap fills homeless shelters
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A long-lasting cold spell in the United States' South and East is putting tremendous pressure on homeless shelters, social services providers say.
With overnight temperatures predicted to fall into the 20s in New Orleans and other parts of the Deep South this week, swamped homeless shelters are sending out distress signals, USA Today reported Wednesday.
"It's a pretty horrifying situation," Martha Kegel of UNITY of Greater New Orleans told the newspaper, adding "there's no way to get to all" of the city's homeless people. "I have a sickening feeling we're going to lose people to exposure."
Meanwhile in Nashville, where temperatures fell to 12 degrees Monday, four people reportedly died in the unusual cold outdoors.
Don Worrell, president of the Nashville Rescue Mission, told USA Today his homeless shelter, which has 747 beds, is filled over capacity.
"We're trying to prevent hypothermia," especially among those who drink alcohol and may be unaware of the cold. Worrell his mission sends out a "cold patrol" when the temperature drops below 36 degrees in hopes of find the homeless and bringing them in.
