North Korea Says in Final Stage of Uranium Enrichment ; U.S. Expresses 'Concern'

Iran preparing for Israeli strike Forces being prepared, attitude hardened

Browse > Home / Incident Reports / 30 Quarantined In Possible Anthrax Attack – Pomona 30 Quarantined In Possible Anthrax Attack – Pomona

from National Terror Alert

30 quarantined due to suspicious powder A suspicious package, containing an unidentified, yellow powder, opened Thursday at a college in Pomona left one student exposed and 30 other people quarantined for their protection as hazardous materials teams and the FBI investigated the possible attack.

A “possible anthrax in an envelope” call was reported at 2:07 p.m. to the Student Services office at Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. Second St., said Inspector Mathew Levesque of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“One student was exposed but is showing no symptoms at this time,” Levesque said. “And 30 other people have been quarantined to defend them from an exposure.”

CIA Asks Justice to Probe Leaks of Secrets

Besieged by leaks of several closely held secrets, the CIA has asked the Justice Department to examine what it regards as the criminal disclosure of a secret program to kill foreign terrorist leaders abroad, The Washington Times has learned. ....

Guards' Behavior at Kabul Embassy 'Inexcusable,' Gates Says

Defense Secretary Robert Gates responded for the first time Thursday to a controversy at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan by saying the alleged lewd hazing and sexual horseplay among guards at the embassy is "offensive" and "inexcusable."

The misconduct was detailed in a watchdog's report earlier in the week. The report was accompanied by graphic photos of nude, homoerotic parties staged just miles from the U.S. diplomatic mission. According to the report, the "deviant hazing and humiliation" had led to a breakdown in the chain of command and compromised security.

Asked about the controversy, Gates said it was too early to say what needs to be done.

"But if those allegations are true, those activities are not just offensive to Afghans and Muslims. They're offensive to us and inexcusable," Gates said.

In response to the allegations, the State Department's inspector general is launching an investigation into the contractor that provides the guards, ArmorGroup North America. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan also has banned alcohol and assigned personnel to watch over the security guards. ....

Florida Exodus: Rising Taxes Drive Out Residents

(Time) There are many things public officials probably shouldn't do during a severe recession, but no one seems to have told the leaders in Florida ...

Elderly Couple Forced into State Custody

by Becky Oliver

DALLAS - They’re not criminals. They’ve broken no laws. But they’re being held against their will by the State of Texas. Why? It’s a tragic story about what can happen when you are alone in the world and lose control of your rights, your money, and your ability to complain.

Jean and Michael Kidd never imagined their retirement would play out like this. “I feel like I am not in America,” said Michael Kidd. “I can’t believe I have been hi-jacked off the street, virtually from the hospital, and imprisoned,” Kidd told FOX 4.

Michael Kidd and his wife Jean have been living out of a tiny room for months. They have lost control of their money, their home, even their car. They say they’ve been robbed of their dignity and their voice. And who do they say is responsible? The State of Texas.

“It is a shock to our system,” says Kidd. “We are still kind of in a state of shock,” Kidd told Reporter Becky Oliver. ....

North Korea says in last stage of enriching uranium

By Jonathan Thatcher

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday that it was in the final stage of enriching uranium, a process that would give it a second path to making a nuclear weapon.

After a series of conciliatory gestures by the North over the past month, the announcement raises the stakes in efforts by the international community to convince the reclusive state to give up its nuclear weapons programme.

"Experimental uranium enrichment has successfully been conducted to enter into completion phase," the KCNA news agency quoted North Korea's United Nations delegation as saying in a letter to the head of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC). ....