Despite the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of public trials, nearly all records are being kept secret for more than 5,000 defendants who completed their journey through the federal courts over the last three years. Instances of such secrecy more than doubled from 2003 to 2005. An Associated Press investigation found, and court observers agree, that most of these defendants are cooperating government witnesses, but the secrecy surrounding their records prevents the public from knowing details of their plea bargains with the government. Most of these defendants are involved in drug gangs, though lately a very small number come from terrorism cases. Some of these cooperating witnesses are among the most unsavory characters in America's courts — multiple murderers and drug dealers — but the public cannot learn whether their testimony against confederates won them drastically reduced prison sentences or even freedom....
http://news.yahoo.com
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Editor - 22:58:00 03-04-06
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 Catholic bishop calls for protection of Christian sites |
A Roman Catholic bishop called for better protection of Christian sites Saturday after an Israeli couple set off a series of explosions in a church in Nazareth. Israeli Arabs, meanwhile, filled the streets of the biblical city to protest Friday's attack on the Basilica of the Annunciation, which apparently was driven by personal distress and not extremism but still heightened religious and political tensions in northern Israel. The couple and their 20-year-old daughter used a baby stroller to smuggle firecrackers and small gas canisters into the church on Friday evening. They threw the explosives from the balcony and were beaten by worshippers before police arrived. After a three-hour standoff between police and thousands of protesters, the suspects were led away through a back exit, disguised as police officers. Club-wielding police fired stun grenades to keep back the mob. ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-04-nazareth-church_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 22:26:00 03-04-06
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| Thousands of Muslims Protest in Indonesia, Demand U.S. Pullout From Iraq, Afghanistan |
Several thousand Muslims demonstrated in front of the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia's capital Sunday to protest the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hizbut Tahrir, the group organizing the rally, had predicted tens of thousands would attend, but the crowd appeared to number about 5,000, roughly half of them women and children. About 2,000 policemen kept the protesters away from the embassy compound, which is ringed by two concrete walls and barbed wire. The mission's main office block is set about 100 yards away from the outer wall, behind a courtyard and parking lot. "U.S.A. out of Iraq," chanted the demonstrators. They also carried placards condemning Israel and a U.S. mining company New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. which is accused of causing an environmental disaster at its Grasberg mine in Papua province. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1688455
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Editor - 22:10:00 03-04-06
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| Couple and Their Three Children Killed in North Carolina House Fire |
A family of five, including three children, died Saturday when fire engulfed their home, police said. Investigators believe an electrical short set the small two-bedroom house on fire, police Sgt. J.M. Eads said. Foul play isn't suspected. The family Jorge Ramiro Ramirez-Lopez, 37, Angelica Riberato, 31, and their children Luis Fernando Cardenas, 10, Secar Cardenas, 6, and one-month-old Nelsi Ramirez died of smoke inhalation, Eads said. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1688452
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Editor - 22:05:00 03-04-06
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| Catholic bishop calls for protection of Christian sites |
A Roman Catholic bishop called for better protection of Christian sites Saturday after an Israeli couple set off a series of explosions in a church in Nazareth. Israeli Arabs, meanwhile, filled the streets of the biblical city to protest Friday's attack on the Basilica of the Annunciation, which apparently was driven by personal distress and not extremism but still heightened religious and political tensions in northern Israel. The couple and their 20-year-old daughter used a baby stroller to smuggle firecrackers and small gas canisters into the church on Friday evening. They threw the explosives from the balcony and were beaten by worshippers before police arrived. After a three-hour standoff between police and thousands of protesters, the suspects were led away through a back exit, disguised as police officers. Club-wielding police fired stun grenades to keep back the mob. ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-04-nazareth-church_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 19:32:00 03-04-06
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| Governors May Cheat Students By Setting Standards Too Low Report Finds Discrepancy Between State and Federal Test Results |
Imagine a child bringing home two totally different report cards. One says she's getting straight A's. The other says she's failing. Today's report, by the nonprofit group Education Trust, now says gaping disparities between state scores and national appraisals should serve as a warning to everyone that states have set the bar too low. "If you want to know how well your youngster is being prepared for the 21st century, the results of the national assessment are much better than those of the state tests," said Katie Haycock, Education Trust director. Take the fourth-grade reading test. Every single state reported better test results than the separate national test found. Thirty-eight states posted state test scores that were more than two times higher than the federal results. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/US/story?id=1685078&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
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Editor - 19:29:00 03-04-06
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