NYC car-bomb suspect to appear in court
NEW YORK, May 4 (UPI) -- The man arrested in the failed New York car-bomb attempt will appear in federal court Tuesday to be formally charged, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Federal agents and New York police detectives arrested Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, around midnight at John F. Kennedy International Airport as the man was preparing to board a flight to Dubai, a statement from the U.S. attorney's office, the FBI and New York police said.
Authorities said they believe Shahzad, 30, bought the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder found loaded with gasoline, propane, fireworks and fertilizer in Times Square Saturday, The New York Times reported.
"This investigation is ongoing, as are our attempts to gather useful intelligence, and we continue to pursue a number of leads," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement issued from Washington. "But it's clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans."
A White House statement said Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan briefed President Barack Obama six times Monday about the investigation and notified the president of Shahzad's arrest.
Authorities focused on Shahzad after they traced the sport utility vehicle to its previously registered owner in Bridgeport, Conn., who advertised it for sale on the Internet and provided some information about the transaction to investigators, the Times said. Unclear was how Joint Terrorist Task Force agents identified Shahzad.
Holder said the investigation is "multifaceted, and it is aggressive. As we move forward, we will focus on not just holding those responsible for it accountable, but also on obtaining any intelligence about terrorist organizations overseas."
Officials cautioned an investigation of possible international contacts did not mean a link to a known terrorist group was established, the Times said.
"It's a prominent lead that they're following, the international association," a senior official told the Times. "But there's still a lot of information being gathered."
In their joint statement, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos and New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly thanked all law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation and pledged to "follow every lead and use every tool to keep the people of New York City safe."
"We will not rest until every terrorist, whether homegrown or foreign-based, is neutralized and held to account," the joint statement said.
Kelly told the Times police still wanted to speak with a man seen on surveillance video walking away from the Pathfinder parked in New York's bustling theater district, even though the man may not be connected to the failed bombing.
U.S. nuke stockpile down 84 pct. from peak
WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- The United States has reduced its nuclear weapons stockpile by 84 percent from 1967 levels, a senior defense official said Monday.
The unnamed official, speaking to reporters on background, said the nation's nuclear arsenal stood at 5,113 warheads as of Sept. 30, down from a peak of 31,255 in fiscal 1967, the Armed Forces Press Service reported.
The information was part of newly declassified details the United States released as a signal of the country's interest in promoting transparency and helping limit nuclear proliferation. The release occurred the same day as representatives of governments around the world gathered at the United Nations in New York to begin a review of progress made under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The defense official said the current total also is 75 percent lower than the 22,217 warheads the United States had in 1989 when the Berlin wall fell. He said 8,748 warheads were dismantled between fiscal 1994 and 2009, with thousands more retired and awaiting dismantlement.
"For those who doubt that the United States will do its part on disarmament, this is our record, these are our commitments," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the U.N. conference. "And they send a clear, unmistakable message."
Teen arrested for driving over girls
ROCKLAND, Mass., May 4 (UPI) -- A Norwell, Mass., teenager was arrested on charges of attempted murder after running over three girls with a van, police alleged.
Nathan Delaplain-Zook, 18, was arrested Monday after allegedly running down the teenage girls in a Rockland, Mass., parking lot and hitting a teenage boy while attempting to flee the scene, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.
The boy suffered minor injuries. The girls, ages 16 and 17, were hospitalized with serious head, leg, hip and abdominal injuries, Rockland Fire Chief Robert Dipoli told the Boston Herald.
Witnesses said the girls were part of a crowd of about 30 youths who had gathered to watched a planned fight between Norwell and Rockland youths.
Witnesses told police a white minivan pulled into the lot and then ran over the girls, who were seated on a curb, and hit the boy, as it sped away.
Delaplain-Zook was to be arraigned Tuesday in District Court on charges of attempted murder, leaving the scene, and assault with a dangerous weapon, police said.
Knife-wielding woman injures four shoppers
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 4 (UPI) -- A woman armed with two knives allegedly attacked shoppers at a West Hollywood, Calif., Target store, leaving one in critical condition, police said.
Before she was apprehended by an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and store security guards, Layla Trawick, 34, of Antioch, Calif., allegedly stabbed four shoppers with a butcher knife and a steak knife, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Among the wounded were a woman carrying a baby; the woman was injured but the baby was unharmed, officials said. The most seriously injured victim was listed in critical condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, officials said.
Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Whitmore said Trawick was jailed on $1 million bond.
Entertainment journalist Allison McNamara told the Times she encountered a woman screaming in one of the aisles. McNamara said she saw Trawick stab a male shopper in the upper back and shoulder.
"She was yelling 'I'm bipolar. There's no witness protection program,'" McNamara said.
Authorities credited Deputy Clay Grant Jr., who was shopping at Target on his day off, with preventing further injuries. Grant drew his service weapon, identified himself to the woman as a sheriff's deputy and demanded she drop the knives, which she apparently had picked up at the store, the Times said.
Grant said the woman ran to another part of the store before she eventually dropped the knives and was subdued.
"The reason why this tragic situation wasn't worse was because of the quick thinking of an armed, off-duty sheriff's deputy who was willing to risk his life to end this situation," sheriff's Capt. Michael Parker said.
2010 primary season begins in earnest
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 4 (UPI) -- Voters in Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina Tuesday opened the floodgates of primary tilts scheduled for nearly every Tuesday from now into the fall.
In Ohio, voters will choose Republican and Democratic nominees to vie to replace Republican U.S. Sen. George Voinovich and determine who will face Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland on Election Day.
Democratic strategists view Voinovich's seat as vulnerable. The candidate who will try to keep the seat in Republican hands is Rob Portman, former congressman, U.S. trade representative and director of the Office of Management and Budget. On the Democratic side, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher are the leading contenders.
In addition, voters will choose Republican and Democratic nominees for the state's representation in the U.S. House.
Waiting in the wings to challenge party nominees for the 17th Congressional District is convicted felon James Traficant Jr., who filed to run as an independent in Warren, Ohio. Traficant, who served as a congressman for nine terms as a Democrat, was released in September from prison where he served time for bribery, cheating on his taxes and racketeering.
Traficant also hinted he may run in the 6th Congressional District. The secretary of state's office said it was checking into the legality of running for two offices in the same election.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, representing the 17th District and Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio, representing the 6th District, both are seeking re-election.
In addition, Ohio voters will be asked to decide whether to borrow $700 million for five years to help high tech businesses.
In Indiana, voters will choose party nominees to succeed U.S. Sen. Even Bayh, who is leaving the upper chamber after 12 years
Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth announced he would run for the seat Bayh. The Republican primary field is crowded with some well-known names in Indiana politics: former Rep. John Hostettler, state Sen. Marlin Stuzman and former U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, who unretired to run for the seat.
Several polls indicate the eventual Republican nominee would be favored to win on Election Day. Before President Obama's victory in 2008, Indiana went red in all but three presidential elections dating back to 1928.
In Indiana's 5th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Dan Burton is seen by some observers as vulnerable to a primary challenge from several people known in Indiana political circles.
With Ellsworth looking to move to the Senate, political observers say his House seat is considered competitive.
North Carolina Democrats are eying freshman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., as a potential political victim on Election Day in November. Poor approval ratings and a low profile in the Tar Heel state are reasons Democratic Party strategists say they think Burr, if he survives the primary, could lose.
