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From the Los Angeles Times

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Suspect in Border Patrol agent's 2009 slaying arrested in Tijuana

Mexican authorities in Tijuana said Monday they have arrested a man wanted on suspicion of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent in July 2009.

Marcos Manuel Rodriguez Perez, nicknamed “El Virus,” was arrested Monday evening by Tijuana municipal police officers in the eastern part of the city, an agency spokesman said.

Rodriguez, 26, is one of three men suspected of trying to rob Border Patrol Agent Robert W. Rosas while he was on patrol in a remote area east of San Diego. The 30-year-old father of two was shot multiple times after putting up a struggle.

Another suspect, Christian Daniel Castro Alvarez, turned himself in and was sentenced to 40 years in prison last year.

Castro, a teenager at the time of the incident, said the group crossed the border intending to steal the night vision gear and other equipment from Rosas' vehicle. The men allegedly lured Rosas out of his car by making noises as he drove just north of the border fence near Campo, about 60 miles east of San Diego.

The FBI had been working closely with Mexican authorities to find Rodriguez and a third suspect, who remains at large. A Mexican police source said Rodriguez has already been turned over to U.S. authorities.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment on the arrest, citing the “highly sensitive” nature of the investigation.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/suspect-in-border-patrol-agents-slaying-arrested-in-tijuana.html

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Suspect in Santa Monica synagogue blast held in Ohio

Ron Hirsch, suspected in a synagogue bombing and believed to have been fleeing across the country, was arrested in Cleveland Heights, authorities say.

by Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times

April 12, 2011

A man suspected in the explosion last week at a Santa Monica synagogue has been arrested in Ohio, police said Monday night.

Ron Hirsch, 60, who was wanted in connection with Thursday's explosion at Chabad House, was apprehended in Cleveland Heights, the Santa Monica Police Department said.

He was taken into custody by local law enforcement officers who had received a tip from someone who had come into contact with Hirsch, according to authorities.

The FBI said Hirsch fled Los Angeles on Thursday on a Greyhound bus after the explosion at Chabad House. He was believed headed to New York, where he has relatives. But authorities said Hirsch may have gotten off the bus elsewhere.

On Monday afternoon, the FBI released images from a surveillance camera at a Greyhound station in Denver, which showed Hirsch walking through the building and standing at a counter.

It was unclear whether he took a bus from Colorado to Ohio. Authorities stressed late Monday that the investigation was ongoing and that additional details would be released as they became available.

Hirsch is believed responsible for last week's blast that sent a 300-pound metal pipe encased in concrete crashing through the roof of a home next to the synagogue, on 17th Street near Broadway. No one was injured.

Authorities first said the blast was accidental but later determined that explosives had been used. ?

Law enforcement sources told The Times that the explosive contained gunpowder and other materials linked to Hirsch. But authorities said they had not determined a motive.

Hirsch, also known as Israel Fisher, was described by authorities as a transient who frequented Jewish synagogues and community centers in search of charity. Among them was the Congregation Bais Yehuda on North La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.

The FBI; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Los Angeles Police Department; the L.A. County Sheriff's Department; and the Santa Monica police and fire departments were investigating the incident.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-temple-explosion-20110412,0,5268363,print.story

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Court upholds judge's ban on Arizona immigration law

A federal appellate panel agrees that parts of SB 1070 intrude on immigration and foreign policy, which should be left to the federal government. A showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court may be next.

by Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times

April 12, 2011

Reporting from Denver

A federal appellate court Monday upheld a judge's ban on the most controversial parts of a tough new Arizona immigration law, setting the stage for a showdown before the Supreme Court on how far a state can go in trying to expel illegal immigrants.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a federal judge in Arizona who found that provisions of the law, known as SB 1070, were an unconstitutional intrusion into immigration and foreign policy, which is the prerogative of the federal government. The law was signed last year by Gov. Jan Brewer, who argued that her state was overrun by dangerous illegal immigrants. Critics contended it would lead to racial profiling.

In a partial dissent, one judge argued that a key provision, which requires police to determine the status of people involved in traffic stops whom they suspect are in the country illegally, was constitutional. But that stance did not sway the majority, making the ruling a victory for the Obama administration, which challenged Arizona's law in court last year.

The administration "couldn't have asked for more in the results of the ruling or the reasoning of the ruling," said Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University who has closely followed the case.

Brewer and Arizona Atty. Gen. Tom Horne issued a statement criticizing the ruling. They did not say, however, whether they would appeal it to a full panel of the 9th Circuit or straight to the Supreme Court. The top court is already considering a challenge to another Arizona law that dissolves businesses that repeatedly hire illegal immigrants.

"I remain steadfast in my belief that Arizona and other states have a sovereign right and obligation to protect their citizens and enforce immigration law in accordance with federal statute," Brewer said.

Civil rights groups and immigration advocates were jubilant.

"We're really glad to see the side of civil rights and the Constitution have prevailed," said Phoenix activist Lydia Guzman, who helped organize protests against the law before it was largely suspended in July.

All the judges — two appointed by Republican presidents and one by a Democrat — agreed that the state went too far in making it a crime to lack immigration papers in Arizona or to work there while being in the country illegally. They agreed that Congress and the courts have historically reserved the ability to penalize illegal immigrants for the federal government.

Judge Richard Paez, who was appointed by President Clinton and wrote the majority opinion, argued that requiring police to perform immigration enforcement makes it impossible for the federal government to regulate immigration.

"By imposing mandatory obligations on state and local officers, Arizona interferes with the federal government's authority to implement its priorities and strategies in law enforcement, turning Arizona officers into state-directed [immigration] agents," Paez wrote.

Judge John T. Noonan, an appointee of President Reagan, wrote a separate concurring opinion emphasizing that Arizona had clearly tried to create its own immigration — and, therefore, foreign — policy. He noted that a number of countries protested the law, which begins by stating that "attrition through enforcement" is now the state's policy.

"It would be difficult to set out more explicitly the policy of a state in regard to aliens unlawfully present," Noonan wrote. "Without qualification, Arizona establishes its policy on immigration."

But Judge Carlos T. Bea, an appointee of President George W. Bush, contended in his partial dissent that Arizona had a right to tell its police to check immigration status because Congress had clearly authorized local police to aid in immigration enforcement. Bea, a native of Spain who was nearly deported from the United States before winning his citizenship, also warned against giving foreign governments a "heckler's veto" by citing their objections.

Gabriel "Jack" Chin, a law professor at the University of Arizona, said the dispute between Bea and the other two judges on what a state can tell its police to do set the stage for a Supreme Court challenge. He said the finding that police need permission from the federal government to enforce immigration laws conflicts with rulings from some other appellate courts.

"This is a diffuse law with lots of bits and pieces that were thrown against the wall to see what sticks," Chin said. "Maybe they found a way to get that issue, which is near and dear to their hearts, to the Supreme Court."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arizona-immigration-20110412,0,2687081,print.story

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From Google News

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9th body on LI beach

by KIERAN CROWLEY, SELIM ALGAR and BOB FREDERICKS

April 12, 2011

Cops scouring a Long Island beach-turned-graveyard found another set of grisly remains yesterday -- a human skull and torso that were at least a mile apart and might belong to the same body.

"It could be number nine, or it could be number 10, we don't know yet," a source told The Post, in regard to the increasing body count, which could be the work of a serial killer.

A State Police officer with a cadaver dog found the torso at 11:30 a.m. in Nassau County, five to six miles west of where eight other decomposed bodies have been found in Suffolk County since December, said State Police Capt. James Dewar.

Four hours later, a Nassau cop found bones in the JFK Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary at least a mile east of the torso.

"It appears to be a skull," Nassau Detective Lt. Kevin Smith said of the second find. "It's all been very startling. We have a lot of work to do."

The bones were taken to the Nassau County Medical Examiner's Office.

The latest grim discoveries came as roughly 125 Nassau and state cops teamed up to widen the search for missing New Jersey call girl Shannan Gilbert, 24, last seen screaming for help as she ran from the gated community at Oak Beach after meeting a john for sex.

Officials said last night the search of Nassau beaches has been completed.

Four bodies found in December right after the Suffolk search began were identified as Craigslist "escorts," who cops believe were strangled by a serial killer after turning tricks.

The four found in the past two weeks have not been identified -- although a source said one was a young child and possibly an infant, as first reported in The Post.

Gilbert's aunt said yesterday the family hopes the new remains aren't hers -- and holds out hope she's still alive.

"We're continuously on the edge of our seats, hoping none of the remains are my beloved niece," said Lori Grove. "We're trying to keep optimistic but realistic at the same."

Lynn Barthelemy, mother of victim Melissa Barthelemy, said yesterday her younger daughter, Amanda, is "very scared" that the sicko who killed her sister -- and later made threatening phone calls to Amanda -- might now come after her.

"We just don't understand why he chose us to call. That's the really scary part. My daughter is the only one who's actually spoken to him," she said yesterday. "We're being extra careful, because you never know."

"They were very taunting and angry words," Amanda told "Good Morning America" yesterday. "[It was] very scary. My heart would stop and I just didn't know what to do. I have to be worried . . . Is that going to happen to me one day?"

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano pledged an intense investigation "to hunt this animal down and bring him to justice."

http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/local/th_body_on_li_beach_1IPEYYIwdcwoKvMU8FVwOI

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Virginia: 23-Year Sentence for Subway Bomb Plot

An Ashburn man pleaded guilty Monday to joining what he thought was a plot by Al Qaeda to bomb the Washington region's Metrorail system and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

The authorities say Farooque Ahmed, a naturalized citizen from Pakistan, plotted with people who turned out to be part of a government sting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/us/12brfs-23YEARSENTEN_BRF.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

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Aviation security

Many terrorist suspects kept off flights

APRIL 12, 2011

U.S. security officials learned something after a Nigerian terrorist attempted to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day, 2009.

The Nigerian "passenger" was an al-Qaida operative who was on a large watch list that includes al-Qaida financiers and people who have trained with the group but for some reason were not considered a threat to aircraft.

The government had been checking this watch list, but only after flights were airborne. If checkers found a passenger on the list, the person would be questioned upon arrival at his destination and most likely not allowed in the country, the Associated Press reported.

That provided little security for the people in the plane, as the Detroit incident illustrated.

Since then, security officials have been checking at least two documents before flights take off — no-fly lists but also the larger watch list that includes al-Qaida associates. The result is that more than 350 people suspected of terrorist ties have been barred from boarding U.S.-bound commercial flights, AP reports.

Some of the people denied boarding were terrorists who received weapons training. Others fought against American troops. Still others were recruiters.

The terror watch list includes 450,000 names of people U.S. intelligence believes could be a threat to national security. The no-fly list numbers about 30,000 names. Both lists are checked and revised regularly.

Before Christmas 2009, there was a gap in U.S. aviation security. But it has been fixed, authorities say. Learning from situations such as the 2009 incident is crucial.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20110412/OPINION01/304129964

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Texas: Personal Data Posted Accidentally

Social Security numbers, birthdates and other information of about 3.5 million residents have been accidentally posted on computer servers, the state comptroller, Susan Combs, said Monday.

Most of the information, including some driver's license numbers, was available for more than a year.

Ms. Combs said the information included data transferred by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission and the Employees Retirement System of Texas.

She said that there was no indication any information was misused.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/us/12brfs-PERSONALDATA_BRF.html?pagewanted=print

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From the White House

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Announcing HumanRights.gov

Last week, in conjunction with the release of its annual Human Rights Report, the State Department officially launched HumanRights.gov , a new central portal for international human rights-related information generated by the United States Government. HumanRights.gov was designed in the letter and spirit of President Obama's Open Government Directive issued in January 2009, requiring Federal agencies to take specific steps to achieve key milestones in transparency, participation, and collaboration.

HumanRights.gov is primarily aimed at increasing the American public's access to human rights-related information and understanding of our global engagement on these critical issues. We hope that it proves equally valuable to citizens of other nations seeking to promote accountability and change in their own societies.

HumanRights.gov currently features content that largely comes from the U.S. Department of State. The content will grow to include additional information from partnering Federal agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The website is easily searchable with a comprehensive archive of reports, press releases, statements, articles, and briefings generated on international human rights concerns. We hope you find it useful and welcome your feedback, which should be sent to HumanRightsWebsite@state.gov .

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/04/11/announcing-humanrightsgov

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