WideAngle at PBS.org reports:
Mexican forces arrest 10 mayors and other officials in President Felipe Calderon’s home state of Michoacan. The operation targets politicians with ties to Mexico’s drug traffickers and organized crime networks that control much of the state. An adviser to the governor, and director of the Institute of Police are among those arrested.
The NYT reports that the defendants in the Holy Land Foundation case were sentenced in Texas today following their convictions for conspiracy to provide support to Hamas, a militant group officially designated as a terrorist organization. Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elashi, 55, were each sentenced to 65 years ; their three co-conspirators received lesser sentences.
Remember that this was the case originally resulting in a mistrial after the jurors were “avalanched” by mountains of evidence. The government subsequently convicted the guys the second time around.
At least 23 are dead in the latest bomb detonated in Pakistan. The NYT reports that the car bomb that rammed into a wall housing emergency response services in Lahore was likely intended to decimate the local nearby branch of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI).
Recall that after the Mumbai bombings, the ISI raided camps of the militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, the group that is widely believed to have been responsible for the bombings. Some suggested that there were hidden ties between the ISI and LeT. View my previous posts on the topic here.
The Arizona State House of Representatives voted on May 7 to allow citizens to carry loaded weapons in vehicles, no matter where they are parked e.g. day care centers, hospitals, schools, or abortion clinic parking lots.
Note that the legislation does not trump other federal and state laws that keep weapons off public school campuses. Rep. Krysten Sinema (D-Phoenix) said that creates an interesting disparity, creating gun-free areas where youngsters in kindergarten through high school are, but not the area around a private preschool.
Last week, the New York Post reported that a stack of certified, blank birth certificates was stolen from the New York City Health Department’s Offices:
April 25, 2009 — A stack of blank birth certificates has been stolen from the city Health Department’s offices, leading investigators to worry that they may have fallen into the hands of terrorists, The Post has learned. On March 12, an employee discovered that 104 certificates with the agency’s stamp on them were missing from the department’s offices at 125 Worth St., near City Hall, sources said. It was the first time in 10 years that blank birth certificates were stolen from the department. The NYPD and the city’s Department of Investigation are investigating. “It’s like hitting the Lotto for a terrorist,” one investigator said. “Forged documents are one of the primary concerns of Homeland Security. After you get that birth certificate, you can get any document you want. This is extremely serious.” The missing documents were in a box of blank certificates that was stacked on other similar boxes. The employee noticed they were missing because there was a break in the numbers on the certificates. Investigators believe the theft was carried out by someone who has access to the offices, probably an employee.
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