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May 8, 2011

U.S. releases videos of Osama bin Laden

Seized from the late Al Qaeda leader's raided Pakistani compound, one video shows a gray-bearded, unkempt Osama bin Laden. Other information gathered in the raid shows that he remained to the end the terrorist group's operational leader, a U.S. intelligence official says.

Initial analysis of the huge cache of documents seized at Osama bin Laden's Pakistan compound shows he was not a figurehead but the operational leader of Al Qaeda, an active manager who communicated regularly with terrorist partners about plots and tactics, a senior intelligence official said.

"As a result of the raid, we've acquired the single largest collection of material from a senior terrorist ever," said the official, who spoke to reporters Saturday on condition of anonymity. "The materials have already provided us some important insights.… We are already disseminating intelligence across the U.S. government based on what we found."

The official, who refused to be identified because of the nature of his work, called the Bin Laden operation "the greatest intelligence success in a generation."

Seeking to dispel any doubts that it was Bin Laden who was killed, the U.S. government also released five videos seized at the compound, one showing Bin Laden as he did not intend to be seen in public.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bin-laden-tapes-20110508,0,2358226.story

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Two women wounded in San Pedro shooting; citizens arrest suspect

A woman was taken into custody by citizens Saturday afternoon after she shot and wounded two other women during a dispute in San Pedro, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The shooting occurred about 12:40 p.m. near the intersection of Oliver and Centre streets, Officer Norma Eisenman said. Police found the two victims, ages 50 and 35, with gunshot wounds, but their injuries were not life threatening. Good Samaritans detained the suspect until police took her into custody, Eisenman said. The name of the female suspect was not immediately released.

Police are searching for a male friend of the suspect, who they said may have the weapon used in the shooting. The shooting was not gang-related, police said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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Internet data collection: The privacy line

From cellphones to the Internet, data collection is widespread. Can we limit it, and should we?

Apple introduced its Macintosh computer in 1984 with a now-famous Super Bowl commercial that showed a lone rebel striking out against Big Brother. So it was ironic that researchers recently accused the company of an Orwellian intrusion into consumer privacy: Its iPhones and iPads appeared to be tracking their users' movements. Apple eventually offered a rebuttal, and it hustled out a software update to address the concerns. Nevertheless, the episode helped strengthen the push in Congress for some basic consumer privacy protections.

Such safeguards are amply justified, given the burgeoning business that has emerged around the collection and dissemination of personal information. But as the Apple controversy illustrates, there is an important distinction between collecting information about individuals and invading their privacy.

The brouhaha began late last month after researchers for the O'Reilly Radar technology blog drew attention to a file on iPhones and iPads that recorded the GPS coordinates of nearby Wi-Fi access points and cellphone towers. The record stretched back for months, with the location information time-stamped and frequently updated.

The outcry lasted about a week, until Apple finally issued a statement declaring that it was "not tracking the location of your iPhone." The file in question, the company said, was a widely sourced database of Wi-Fi and cellular landmarks used to calculate the device's location faster while using less battery power. It acknowledged that its devices were sending location information back to Apple, but it insisted that the data were anonymized and collected merely to improve its databases of location and traffic information.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-privacy-20110508,0,2004240,print.story

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Mexico's drug war: Crossing borders

It is time the U.S. joins Mexico in saying enough to the cartels and drug violence.

Last year I visited a friend of mine, journalist Raúl Silva, in a working-class neighborhood of Cuernavaca. A popular destination for tourists and students of Spanish, the city, about 60 miles south of the Mexican capital, was on edge. Only a few weeks before, a drug gang had audaciously displayed its power, issuing a curfew one Friday night, warning that anyone out after 8 p.m. might be "mistaken" as an enemy and killed. A terrified public huddled indoors, and although no serious violence occurred, the incident left a deep scar.

Raúl and I spoke for hours, and I realized too late that I faced a taxi ride on a dark two-lane road to return to my wife and children in a nearby town. I asked Raúl if he thought it was safe. "You should be OK," he said, without much assurance in his voice.

It was a 30-minute ride with a gregarious cabbie who lectured me about (what else?) la guerra del narco , the drug war. "They" were all implicated, he told me, the cartel bosses and the mules, of course, but also the business elites, the governments, the addicts — on both sides of the border. In other words, there was no border.

There was a long stretch on that ride during which we passed not a single car. I asked the cabbie if he was worried. Not exactly; in Spanish, he invoked the classic fatalism: "When your time's up, it's up." I made it back to my family without incident.

A year later the road is dark as ever. Nearly 300 bodies were discovered in April in narcofosas , mass graves of victims of the cartels. For Mexicans on both sides of the border, the Cinco de Mayo celebration, like last year's centennial of the revolution and bicentennial of independence, has been overshadowed by the violence.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-0508-martinez-sicilia-20110508,0,387415,print.story

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Napolitano: ‘State by state won't cut it'

While U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wouldn't comment on Georgia's Arizona-like immigration bill, she said Saturday that state legislative initiatives are not the way to address the issue.

“This is what [President Barack Obama] has said and I've been saying, state by state won't cut it,” Napolitano said in a speech to the Atlanta Press Club. “It's got to be a federal reform of immigration laws.”

The secretary was also in town to assess storm damage in Ringgold today and to address graduation at Emory University on Monday.

Napolitano, who declined to comment on Georgia's immigration HB 87, was governor of Arizona before taking over Homeland Security halfway into her second term. She said states are taking on immigration because of an “underlying frustration that this has not yet been dealt with at the national level, which is really where it should be dealt with so that there is national consistency where immigration is concerned.”

Immigration reform was arguably the hottest topic in this year's legislative session. HB 87, which Gov. Nathan Deal said he will sign soon, will create new requirements to ensure new workers are eligible for employment in the U.S. and empowers police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/napolitano-state-by-state-939276.html?printArticle=y

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May 7, 2011

MTA plans security upgrades on rail lines

Transit officials in Los Angeles County say $10 million in improvements were planned before the discovery that Osama bin Laden had wanted Al Qaeda to strike U.S. rail systems.

Transportation officials are planning a number of security upgrades along Los Angeles County's network of rail lines over the next year, including a chemical-detection system and scores of new video surveillance cameras.

The improvements were planned before U.S. officials announced they had found evidence that Osama bin Laden was planning some type of attack on U.S. rail systems. But officials said the roughly $10-million worth of safety upgrades comes at an opportune moment.

"Our timing's perfect, it's fortuitous," said Don Knabe, Metropolitan Transit Authority Board Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor.

In response to Bin Laden's killing and discovery of rail attack plans, Knabe said Friday that Metro was responding by elevating security and asking the public to be vigilant.

Although some media organizations said the plans found in Bin Laden's compound specifically mentioned Los Angeles, Knabe said officials were not aware of any specific threats to the area's rail network.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-rail-security-20110507,0,4761284,print.story

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Criticism of Calderon mounts over Mexico drug violence

Outrage over the rising death toll has generated sporadic street protests, and a massive demonstration is set for Sunday in Mexico City to denounce the government's failure to stem the bloodshed.

Public dismay over Mexico's drug violence mixed with election-season jockeying have put President Felipe Calderon on the defensive amid finger-pointing over the carnage.

Following the slaying of a poet's son and discoveries of hundreds of bodies in mass graves in northern Mexico, critics have stepped up charges that the conservative Calderon is the author of a failed anti-crime strategy. A massive demonstration to protest the country's rampant violence is planned Sunday in Mexico City.

Calderon, in a series of recent comments, has sought to steer blame toward the violent drug gangs, which at times act with the help of police under the control of local authorities. The president has accused detractors of political aims, and vowed to continue his 4 1/2-year-old crackdown on drug cartels.

"The actions of criminals … must not divide us," Calderon said Thursday during a Cinco de Mayo ceremony in the city of Puebla. "Mexicans should put country before party."

The sparring has accelerated as the three main parties, including Calderon's National Action Party, or PAN, prepare for several more gubernatorial votes this year and a presidential election in 2012.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-blame-20110507,0,6199674,print.story

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In Fallout of Suicide by Student, a Plea Deal

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — One of two former Rutgers University students accused of spying on another student with a webcam just days before he committed suicide will be allowed to avoid a conviction if she continues to provide information about her co-defendant, prosecutors said Friday.

The former student, Molly Wei , pleaded not guilty to invasion-of-privacy charges in Superior Court here. Ms. Wei was admitted to a pretrial-intervention program, in which she must perform 300 hours of community service over the next three years, testify at any proceedings, participate in counseling to deter cyberbullying and cooperate with the authorities. If she complies, the charges against her will be dropped.

The parents of the dead student, Tyler Clementi , who attended the proceeding, later said that they had advised the court to allow Ms. Wei, 19, to enter the program. But they said they favored harsher treatment for their son's roommate, Dharun Ravi , who has been charged with streaming live images of Mr. Clementi's intimate encounter with another man from a computer in Ms. Wei's dormitory room in September.

“We understand that Ms. Wei's actions, although unlawful, are substantially different in their nature and their extent than those against Tyler's former roommate,” Tyler's father, Joseph Clementi, said outside the Middlesex County Courthouse.

Standing next to his wife, Jane, Mr. Clementi said that while Ms. Wei had made a bad decision “without regards to another person's privacy and dignity,” she deserved another chance. “We hope that Ms. Wei will become a person who makes better decisions,” he said, “a person who helps people and a person who shows kindness to those she comes into contact with.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/nyregion/in-rutgers-suicide-case-ex-student-gets-plea-deal.html

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May 6, 2011

DNA testing sheds new light on Original Night Stalker case

Investigators confirm through DNA that the man who killed a Goleta couple in 1981 is the same one they believe responsible for a string of crimes that started with dozens of rapes in Northern California and ended with multiple slayings in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange counties.

Whether the serial killer known as the Original Night Stalker is still alive, nobody knows.

But 30 years after a couple died while housesitting in Goleta, investigators have confirmed through DNA testing what they long suspected: The man who killed them is the same one they believe responsible for a decades-long crime spree that started with dozens of rapes in Northern California and ended with as many as 10 slayings in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange counties.

The last known crime associated with the Original Night Stalker took place in 1986, but his notoriety lives on. In 2004, California voters passed an initiative, bankrolled by the brother of one of his victims, that mandates collection of DNA samples from people convicted — or even arrested — in felony cases.

Authorities are no closer to pinpointing an identity for the killer, who was usually masked and sometimes accompanied by his German shepherd. Still, officials in Santa Barbara said Tuesday they've answered a crucial question in the 1981 slayings of Cheri Domingo, 35, and Gregory Sanchez, 27.

"We now have concrete evidence that links their deaths to the horrific individual that terrorized both Northern and Southern California," said Drew Sugars, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.

About six months ago, the state crime lab in Santa Barbara offered sheriff's investigators a chance to scrutinize old evidence with cutting-edge DNA technology.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-original-night-stalker-20110506,0,6713627,print.story

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Doyle McManus: Al Qaeda's very bad year

More than the death of Osama bin Laden, the spread of democracy in the Arab world is depriving the terrorist movement of its reason for being.

Al Qaeda is having a very bad year. And from the terrorists' standpoint, the death of Osama bin Laden isn't even the worst of it. The biggest potential blow is the spread of democratic politics in the Arab world. If it succeeds, Al Qaeda will be deprived of its reason for being.

Bin Laden's death at the hands of American commandos produced strikingly little outrage in the Muslim world. In 2001, when he held the United States and Europe in a state of terror, Bin Laden was a hero to a sizable fringe of Muslims frustrated by their countries' stagnant politics. But by the time he died this week, the Saudi-born terrorist had become little more than an object of curiosity. Polls conducted by the Pew Research Center found that the number of people in Muslim countries who expressed confidence in Bin Laden plummeted during the last 10 years. Even in Pakistan, where he lived his final years, the terrorist's "job approval" dropped from 52% in 2005 to 18% in 2010.

Al Qaeda, the movement Bin Laden co-founded, is looking marginal as well. Bin Laden and his lieutenants knew that they could die at any moment, and they tried to design Al Qaeda to survive them. When the United States attacked "Al Qaeda Central" in Pakistan and Afghanistan, they decentralized, sponsoring franchises in Yemen, North Africa and Somalia. And they focused more energy on inspiring and supporting individual would-be terrorists in the West.

That strategy isn't working very well. The last known successful attack against a Western country coordinated by Al Qaeda Central was the London transit system plot of 2005, almost six years ago. The last apparent "self-starter" attack was the 2009 Ft. Hood massacre for which Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been indicted, but that was an isolated tragedy.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mcmanus-column-bin-laden-20110505,0,1187561,print.column

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Tornado Leaves Couple With Nothing, but Not for Long

HENAGAR, Ala. — There's the kindness of strangers, and then there's what is happening to Regina and Jerry Wayne Walker.

They used to rent a mobile home for $150 a month on a dirt road in this slice of rural northeastern Alabama.

Then, last Wednesday, winds from a tornado so strong it killed 33 people in the county pushed their mobile home across the road like it was a toy.

They woke up under a pile of rubble. Their cars were smashed.

Her blouse had been blown off, landing in a nearby tree, cellphone still in its pocket.

They were broke, bruised and stuck in a part of the country so remote that the Red Cross did not show up for three days.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/us/06voices.html?pagewanted=print

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Editorial

The Quiet at Ground Zero

President Obama made no speech as he placed a wreath of red, white and blue flowers at ground zero on Thursday. His silence was the best way to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. No words were needed to remind Americans of our continuing pain.

The closest Mr. Obama came to mentioning this week's killing of Osama bin Laden was at a lunch cooked by the firefighters of Engine Company 54, Ladder Company 4 and Battalion 9, the station that lost 15 members on 9/11. “When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say.”

The sky above was deep blue when Mr. Obama stepped forth later at ground zero and bowed his head. Before privately visiting families of the victims, Mr. Obama paid his open-air respects to the nearly 3,000 who perished. He stood near what is now called the Survivor Tree — a gnarled, scalded callery pear tree found in the wreckage. It was nursed back to flourish at the heart of what will be the National September 11 Memorial and Museum .

Crowds were kept well away on surrounding sidewalks, offering their own silence beyond sight of the president. A dozen construction cranes were stilled above acres of work in progress as ground zero slowly comes back from the ashen wound it was on Sept. 11.

One World Trade Center, stood barely halfway up to its 1,776 feet, but its mirror-finish skin reflected promisingly across the scene. “It's not joyful, but we persevere,” one man in the crowd declared of the occasion. He echoed the tone of President Obama before police responders from 9/11: “We did what we said we were going to do.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/opinion/06fri4.html?pagewanted=print

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The President in NYC: "When We Say We Will Never Forget, We Mean What We Say"

In New York City this afternoon, there was a profound mix of old grief and perhaps some new closure just a few days after the death of somebody responsible for such immense suffering in that city. The President didn't speak as he laid a wreath at the National September 11th Memorial. And he kept it private when he met with 9/11 family members afterwards. But speaking separately to police officers from the city and firefighters at the "Pride of Midtown" Firehouse, Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9 -- which lost 15 firefighters at the World Trade Center on 9/11 -- the President had messages for all of America.

To the firefighters :

This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day almost 10 years ago. Obviously we can't bring back your friends that were lost, and I know that each and every one of you not only grieve for them, but have also over the last 10 years dealt with their family, their children, trying to give them comfort, trying to give them support.

What happened on Sunday, because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence, sent a message around the world, but also sent a message here back home that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say; that our commitment to making sure that justice is done is something that transcended politics, transcended party; it didn't matter which administration was in, it didn't matter who was in charge, we were going to make sure that the perpetrators of that horrible act -- that they received justice.

So it's some comfort, I hope, to all of you to know that when those guys took those extraordinary risks going into Pakistan, that they were doing it in part because of the sacrifices that were made in the States. They were doing it in the name of your brothers that were lost.

To the police :

And so since that time I know a lot of you have probably comforted loved ones of those who were lost. A lot of you have probably looked after kids who grew up without a parent. And a lot of you continue to do extraordinary -- extraordinarily courageous acts without a lot of fanfare. What we did on Sunday was directly connected to what you do every single day. And I know I speak for the military teams, the intelligence teams that helped get bin Laden in saying that we know the sacrifices and courage that you show as well, and that you are part of the team that helped us achieve our goal, but also help us keep our citizens safe each and every day.

So I couldn't be prouder of all of you. I couldn't be more grateful to you. And I hope that you know that the country will continue to stand behind you going forward, because there are still going to be threats out there and you're still going to be called on to take courageous actions and to remain vigilant, and you're going to have an entire country behind you when you do it.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/05/president-nyc-when-we-say-we-will-never-forget-we-mean-what-we-say

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Statement from Press Secretary Matt Chandler

"DHS issued an intelligence message May 5 to its federal, state, local and tribal partners about potential Al-Qa'ida contemplation in February 2010 of plots against the U.S. rail sector. For the same reason, the Transportation Security Administration will issue a bulletin to rail sector stakeholders. We have no information of any imminent terrorist threat to the U.S. rail sector, but wanted to make our partners aware of the alleged plotting; it is unclear if any further planning has been conducted since February of last year.

We want to stress that this alleged Al Qa'ida plotting is based on initial reporting, which is often misleading or inaccurate and subject to change. We remain at a heightened state of vigilance, but do not intend to issue an NTAS alert at this time. We will issue alerts only when we have specific or credible information to convey to the American public. Our security posture, which always includes a number of measures both seen and unseen, will continue to respond appropriately to protect the American people from an evolving threat picture both in the coming days and beyond.

Since Sunday, DHS and its partners have taken a number of actions, including but not limited to: reviewing protective measures for all potential terrorist targets, including critical infrastructure and transportation systems across the country; deploying additional officers to non-secured areas at our nation's airports; and identifying any new targeting rules that should be instituted to strengthen the ways we assess the risk of both passengers and cargo coming to the United States.

As always, we urge our state, local, tribal and private sector partners, as well as the general public, to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to federal, state or local law enforcement."

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1304632982913.shtm

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May 5, 2011

Al Qaeda had U.S. trains in its sights, U.S. officials say

Evidence collected in the Osama bin Laden killing in Pakistan indicates that the terrorist network considered attacking America's rail system.

Evidence collected from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan indicates that Al Qaeda considered launching a terrorist strike against America's rail system, U.S. officials said Thursday, though there was no sign of concrete plans to carry out an attack.

The plot was "aspirational," said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

The apparent plot was discovered amid the documents, computers, hard drives, flash drives, DVDs and other material that U.S. commandos recovered after they killed Bin Laden in his hide-out Monday. It is the first information made public from the vast haul.

In response to the new intelligence, the Department of Homeland Security sent a bulletin to state and local police officials Thursday urging them to remain at a "heightened state of vigilance," said Matt Chandler, a spokesman for the department.

"We have no information of any imminent terrorist threat to the U.S. rail sector, but wanted to make sure our partners were aware of the alleged plotting," Chandler said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bin-laden-rail-threat-20110506,0,3807980,print.story

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Editorial

Death row's delays

California should take a cue from other states that have dealt with the issue of capital punishment: Just abolish it.

Last year, California added 28 inmates to the state's death row, eight of whom were sentenced in Los Angeles County. They aren't in much danger of an early demise, however, thanks largely to legal delays, including a decision Tuesday by state officials not to pursue executions in 2011. The seemingly never-ending court battles mean that convicts in capital cases are far more likely to die of natural causes than by lethal injection. But that won't stop them from costing taxpayers an estimated three times more than other inmates.

Not for the first time, this gives us cause to wonder what good the death penalty in California is doing. Gov. Jerry Brown also personally opposes death sentences, though he appears to lack the courage of his capital convictions. The solution is in plain sight and has been pursued successfully by other states, including Illinois earlier this year: Abolish capital punishment.

The budget-minded Brown last week canceled plans to build a new death row at San Quentin State Prison, noting that it was hard to justify spending $356 million on housing for convicted murderers while services for children, the disabled and seniors were being slashed to the bone. Fair enough. But deferring the problem won't make it go away, as California lawmakers discovered after their practice of ignoring a worsening prison overcrowding crisis was finally ended when federal judges declared the state guilty of unconstitutionally cruel punishment. Similarly, the state can't go on adding to the death row population indefinitely while failing to address San Quentin's severe capacity and design problems.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-death-20110505,0,3508064,print.story

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Verdict Issued in London Terror Bombing

LONDON – The coroner in an inquest into terrorist bombings, which killed 52 people and injured more than 700 others on London's public transportation system on July 7, 2005, delivered a verdict of “unlawful killing” on Friday.

The five-month inquest, which called 309 witnesses, including officers of Britain's domestic intelligence service, MI5, examined the attacks in minute and often moving detail. "I am not aware," said the coroner, Lady Justice Hallett, "of our having left any reasonable stone unturned."

Though the verdict was never in doubt, she said in her remarks that the families of those who died “want to find out what happened, how their loved ones died and if their deaths could have been prevented." The coroner said she would make a series of recommendations, expected to encompass everything changes in intelligence gathering and coordination that might have increased the chances of detecting the plot to suggesting on improving emergency services and law enforcement.

Some of the bereaved families have issued their own recommendations, and have said they may pursue a new enquiry, focused more specifically on such possible failings by the authorities. But Lady Justice Hallett said that the evidence she had heard “does not justify the conclusion that any failings of any organization or individual caused or contributed to the deaths,” and added that she hoped the inquest would mark the end of investigations into the bombings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/world/europe/07london.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

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Beware of Osama Bin Laden Email Phishing Schemes

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May 4, 2011

Osama bin Laden's death removes a cloud that enveloped a generation

For the generation known as the millennials, young adults born after 1980, the 9/11 attacks and the wars that came out of them created a climate of foreboding that shaped their youth.

Just as the world was opening up for Luke Watkins' generation, one man's face began to haunt it.

Watkins was a sixth-grader when his mother called him to a television screen where smoke was pouring from the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Accompanying the carnage were grainy images of Osama bin Laden, the sudden embodiment of a terrorist network that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere.

For Watkins, now a 20-year-old junior at UCLA, that was half a lifetime ago. It is hard to remember a time before the Al-Qaeda leader, and strange to think of a planet without him.

"There's always been Osama bin Laden," said Watkins, of Orange. The terrorist leader "was the face of those who wanted to hurt us, and could."

For his generation, known as the millennials, terrorism and the American response to it created a climate of foreboding that shaped their youth. For many, the death of Bin Laden marks a defining moment as they enter adulthood.

"It feels as though that arc in American history has come to a close," Watkins said. Acknowledging the strangeness of the analogy, he compared Bin Laden's death to the upcoming last installment of the long-running Harry Potter movies: "It marks the end of our childhood," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bin-laden-generation-20110504,0,1325844,print.story

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Boy charged in father's death had problems with violence and aggression

The son of Riverside neo-Nazi leader Jeffrey R. Hall apparently shot his father early Sunday at their home, police say. The child and his sister were caught in a bitter divorce nearly a decade ago, court records show.

A 10-year-old Riverside boy charged with fatally shooting his father, local neo-Nazi leader Jeffrey R. Hall, had past problems with aggression and violence after being caught in the middle of a bitter divorce fraught with abuse allegations, court records show.

Legal experts said it was extraordinarily rare for such a young person to face a murder charge, and legal barriers prohibit detectives and prosecutors from discussing a juvenile case.

Investigators said the boy apparently retrieved a family handgun and shot his father about 4 a.m. Sunday on the living room couch. Police declined to say whether Hall was asleep at the time.

"We believe it was an intentional act," said Riverside police Lt. Ed. Blevins, "and we believe the 10-year-old was responsible."

Detectives "received some statements" about a possible motive, Blevins said, but declined to elaborate because the underlying cause of the attack is still under investigation.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0504-neo-nazi-20110504,0,7359600,print.story

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Santa Monica synagogue bomb suspect indicted by federal grand jury

A 60-year-old homeless man was indicted Tuesday on federal explosives charges in connection with a blast last month outside a Santa Monica synagogue.

Ron Hirsch faces charges including detonating an explosive device April 7 outside the Chabad House, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.

He fled California on a bus, but was apprehended several days later in Cleveland.

Hirsch, who is in federal custody, was indicted by a federal grand jury and faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted of the four felony charges, authorities said.

The explosion hurled a 250-pound piece of concrete-encased steel pipe that smashed into a nearby home. The slab tore a hole in the roof above a bedroom where a 12-year-old girl was sleeping, according to papers filed in federal court.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/man-indicted-by-federal-grand-jury-in-santa-monica-synagogue-bomb-blast.html

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11 alleged Central Coast gang members arrested on drug trafficking charges

Eleven members and associates of two Central Coast gangs were arrested Tuesday after being charged in federal indictments with drug trafficking, said U.S Atty. André Birotte Jr.

FBI special agents and local police detectives penetrated the drug trafficking network of a Lompoc-based subset of the Six Deuce Brims Bloods and the Northwest (Santa Maria) street gang, the largest Latino gang on the Central Coast, which is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, federal officials said.

The gangs are believed responsible for a significant amount of the region's narcotics dealings and firearms sales, as well as various violent crimes in the coastal communities.

Working undercover, investigators orchestrated controlled purchases of narcotics and weapons from the suspects.

"With this morning's arrests, we have collectively delivered a powerful message to the criminal street gangs and drug dealers who think they can operate in this region," Birotte said. "We will use every tool at our disposal to disrupt this criminal activity so that we can ensure the safety of the people who live and work in our neighborhoods."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/11-alleged-central-coast-gang-members-arrested-for-drug-trafficking.html

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9/11 Inspires Student Patriotism and Celebration

Ashley Bright was 15 years old and on her way to school in Cottonwood, Ariz., when she stopped at a friend's house and saw the news that two planes had hit the World Trade Center.

At the time, Ms. Bright did not even know what the twin towers were. “I had no concept of what it meant,” she said Tuesday, “except that suddenly we were saying the Pledge of Allegiance again every day and having assemblies about patriotism, and everyone was flying their flags again out of nowhere.”

Young Americans, like many others, had a variety of reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden — sadness and anger at the lives he had destroyed, questions about how much safer his death made the United States. But their response, in some notable instances, was punctuated by jubilant, if not jingoistic, celebrations.

In Washington, college students spilled in front of the White House chanting “U.S.A! U.S.A.!” and puffing cigars. In State College, Pa., 5,000 students waved flags, blew vuvuzelas, and sang the national anthem and the chorus to Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the U.S.A.” Cheering students jumped into Mirror Lake at Ohio State — as they do with big football games — and swelled the Common in Boston.

Some, like Ms. Bright, thought the celebrations excessive. But they were not surprising, she and others said, in the context of how much their young lives had been shaped by Sept. 11. For them, it set off a new emphasis on patriotism, with constant reminders from teachers and parents that it is important to be proud of being an American — a striking contrast to the ambivalence of the Vietnam years that marked their parents' generation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/us/04youth.html?pagewanted=print

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Security on Higher Alert Across U.S.

There have been no known specific or credible threats received since American troops killed Osama bin Laden this week, but on Tuesday security at public spaces — including mosques, synagogues, train stations and basketball arenas — remained at elevated levels.

Although the Department of Homeland Security has not issued an alert, the agency remains at what the homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano , has called a “heightened state of vigilance.” The State Department, on the other hand, has issued a worldwide travel alert to Americans.

In Philadelphia, the police commissioner, Charles H. Ramsey , has placed the department on “high alert,” increased patrols around religious buildings, and intensified security at tourist attractions and shopping malls, the police said.

“We haven't added more personnel; we're just doing more checks and asking our officers and citizens to be more aware,” said Lt. Ray Evers, a police spokesman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/us/04security.html?pagewanted=print

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Five Men Arrested Near Plant In Britain

LONDON — Five men have been arrested near the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the north of England under antiterrorism laws, the police said.

The men were stopped in a vehicle “close to the site” on the Irish Sea coast on Monday afternoon, according to a statement from the West Cumbria police. All were in their 20s and from London, it said.

They were arrested under a provision of Britain's terrorism laws that allows suspects to be questioned without charge, the police said, and they were handed over to the North West Counter Terrorism Unit in Manchester.

A BBC report suggested that the men were of Bangladeshi origin and that they were thought to have been filming near the site.

A spokeswoman for the terrorism unit, which works closely with Britain's domestic intelligence service, MI5, declined to offer details, saying that “the investigation is at an early stage” and that questioning was under way.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/world/europe/04britain.html?pagewanted=print

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Op-Ed

My Sister, My Grief

“AFTER someone has been murdered, their family members often feel peace when the murderer has been executed,” a friend called to tell me on Monday. “Do you feel peace?” Another friend asked, “Are you going to dance in the streets now and celebrate?”

On Sept. 11, 2001, my sister Karen died while working at the World Trade Center.

In the weeks that followed, my family and I held a memorial service for her, and emptied and sold her apartment. Then, my body gave out. For weeks, I couldn't get out of bed. I lost all interest in watching TV, listening to music or reading.

I thought I had the flu, but friends told me my symptoms were all due to grief. I had trained as a psychiatrist, but grief and the sense of dread I experienced were far more physical than I would have ever expected. Over the months that followed, I began to feel better. My friends asked periodically if I'd had closure. But I did not fully. I still felt haunted. My remaining family spent more time together, feeling closer than we had since my sisters and I were children. Every year since, we have gone on long family vacations, and come to appreciate one another more. We have managed to move on with our lives — though Karen will always remain with us in some way. Then, out of the blue, we learned that Osama bin Laden had died. We were surprised at the large numbers of phone calls and e-mails we received, asking how we felt. We phoned one another. How did we feel?

Decidedly mixed. “It's anti-climactic,” one of my two surviving sisters said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/opinion/04klitzman.html?pagewanted=print

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Texas Puts Inmate to Death With New Drug Combo

A man convicted of raping and strangling a woman in 2001 was executed Tuesday in Texas, becoming the state's first inmate put to death using a new three-drug cocktail.

Cary Kerr, 46, expressed love and thanks to friends and relatives, then insisted he wasn't responsible for the crime outside Fort Worth.

"To the state of Texas, I am an innocent man," Kerr said. "Never trust a court-appointed attorney."

Kerr's reaction to the chemicals was similar to most of the 466 inmates executed in Texas since 1982 under the previous drug combination.

"Here we go," he said after a deep breath. He took two more deep breaths, then uttered "Lord Jesus, Jesus," the final words slurred.

He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. CDT, nine minutes after the drugs began flowing into his arms.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13522409

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Arpaio "Fires" 2 Deputies for Corruption; New Accusations Made of Racism in his Office

Sheriff Joe Arpaio fired two of his top deputies for alleged corruption, just as reports broke of racist jokes against Mexicans within his department.

Arpaio, already a lightning rod for his tough immigration laws in Maricopa County, is simultaneously dealing with a number of different controversies.

On Tuesday, he accepted the resignations of two of his top deputies, essentially firing his right-hand men when allegations of corruption become too much to bear.

KSAZ Fox 10 in Phoenix reported that David Hendershott, a deputy for three decades, gave notice; deputy chief Larry Black resigned, too, the station reported.

"Dave Hendershott was removed from his duties because he let me down," Arpaio said at a news conference. "When it comes to serious integrity violations, there is no wiggle room for a law enforcement professional."

The normally tough sheriff showed a bit of humility in announcing the firings.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/05/04/sheriff-joe-arpaio-fires-2-deputies-reports-racism-office-emerges/ .

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May 3, 2011

How Bin Laden met his end

Targeting the Al Qaeda leader with a missile strike wasn't enough. President Obama needed proof he was dead — and a much bolder plan.

The nail-biting moment, the period when absolute disaster loomed, came at the very start.

About two dozen Navy SEALs and other U.S. commandos were supposed to rope down into a Pakistani residential compound from a pair of specially modified Black Hawk helicopters in the predawn hours Monday, race into two buildings, and capture or kill Osama bin Laden. One chopper stalled as it hovered between the compound's high walls, unable to sustain its lift, and thudded into the dirt.

Half a world away in the White House Situation Room, the president and his war council crowded around a table covered with briefing papers and keyboards and watched nervously as video feeds streamed in. The special forces team needed a rescue chopper. Gunfire was blazing around them. No one wanted another "Black Hawk Down" debacle.

"A lot of people were holding their breath," recalled John Brennan, the president's counter-terrorism advisor.

The extraordinary drama surrounding the killing of Bin Laden encompassed the White House, the CIA and other arms of America's vast national security apparatus. The tale is part detective story, part spy thriller. But the decade-old manhunt for the Al Qaeda leader ultimately came down to a three-story building on a dirt road in the Pakistani army town of Abbottabad, north of Islamabad.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bin-laden-raid-20110503,0,3800001,print.story

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Local police on alert for possible reprisals

Although there have been no specific threats, the LAPD, Sheriff's Department and other agencies tighten security at public venues as a precaution and urge people to watch for suspicious activity.

Law enforcement agencies in and around Los Angeles on Monday boosted patrols of locations that are potentially attractive to terrorists, sent bomb-sniffing dogs into train stations, and monitored local sales of ammunition and chemicals in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces.

The Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and other area agencies increased security at airports, sporting venues, commercial centers, religious institutions and elsewhere.

Law enforcement officials emphasized that there had been no indication of a specific threat or suspicious activity, but said they were taking no chances.

Michael Downing, commanding officer of LAPD's Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau, in a memo to other department officials, warned of an increased threat of a terrorist attack.

"This threat could come in the form of surprise attacks by homegrown violent extremists who, while not previously mobilized for violence, now find justification to mobilize and commit violent acts against innocent civilians or government institutions," he wrote.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-osama-la-security-20110502,0,940657,print.story

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Terrorism concerns prompt security measures

Homeland Security Department cautions that Al Qaeda could retaliate after the death of Osama bin Laden. But an attempt might not be made immediately.

An hour after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden was dead, a midnight bulletin flashed across the country to state and local law enforcement officials, warning them that a suddenly leaderless Al Qaeda would probably "retaliate" and "continue to pursue attacks" against the United States.

The caution from the Homeland Security Department in Washington escalated Monday as national security officials, terrorism experts and the White House agreed that future strikes could likely be triggered from a new power struggle inside Al Qaeda or by some lone wolf or "micro-terrorist" plotting in the U.S. to personally even the score for Bin Laden's death.

Around the country, airports beefed up inspections, mass-transit police heightened patrols and cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago increased their security measures. Abroad, U.S. embassies and other foreign facilities were placed on high alert, and U.S. citizens were strongly advised to be careful if traveling or living overseas.

In the midnight bulletin to state and local officials, Washington warned that anything could happen. "Everyone is extremely sensitive to the fact that there will at least be an attempt for a retaliatory attack," said one U.S. intelligence official.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bin-laden-threat-20110503,0,2455944,print.story

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Obama will visit Ground Zero Thursday to mark Osama bin Laden's death

President Obama will travel to New York on Thursday to mark the killing of Osama bin Laden and honor the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks during a visit to the World Trade Center site.

Obama will also meet with the families of the victims of the attack on the trade center, a White House spokesman said.

In Sunday night's historic announcement of Bin Laden's death, Obama recalled the horror of the attacks nearly 10 years ago.

"The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the twin towers collapsing to the ground," he recalled.

On Monday, the president discussed the spirit of patriotism as crowds gathered there late Sunday to celebrate the news -- "people holding candles, waving the flag, singing the national anthem -- people proud to live in the United States of America."

Obama has marked the anniversary of Sept. 11 at the Pentagon in each of his two years as president so far.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-ground-zero-visit-20110502,0,4324350,print.story

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Osama bin Laden's burial at sea upsets relatives of Sept. 11 victims

In New York, two mothers and a sister of Sept. 11 victims say the U.S. was too hasty in burying Bin Laden at sea. They say Americans deserved to see the body.

Rosaleen Tallon kissed her three children good night and went to sleep feeling at peace. The terrorist responsible for the death of her brother, New York firefighter Sean Patrick Tallon, was dead. Her two boys and her little girl had been assured that the "bad man" behind the attacks that claimed their uncle was gone.

But when Tallon awoke Monday to the news that Osama bin Laden had been buried at sea, she was stunned. That was one corpse she would like to have seen for herself, Tallon said, her fiery words underscoring the change this suburban science teacher has undergone in the last decade.

"I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I was a little dismayed — a lot dismayed," Tallon said as her 20-month-old son, Paddy, nestled in her arms while savoring a red lollipop. "I think that was too hasty. I would've liked the American people to say without a shadow of a doubt, 'Yes, that's him.' "

Rosemary Cain not only would like to see the body, she'd have happily been the one to fire the shot that killed the man responsible for her son George's death. And Maureen Santora, whose son Christopher died in the World Trade Center, had a suggestion for where Bin Laden's remains should go: atop the garbage dump where debris from the shattered buildings, including bones of victims, were piled after the attacks.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0503-bin-laden-new-york-20110503,0,2332699,print.story

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Neo-Nazi father shot to death by young son, police say

Riverside Police say an avowed white supremacist who once ran for a water board post was shot to death in his home by an unlikely suspect: his own young son.

Jeff Russell Hall, 32, was southwestern regional director of the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group based in Detroit. Police were called to his home at 4:04 a.m. Sunday and found a badly injured Hall lying on a couch, said Lt. Ed Blevins.

Paramedics attempted to revive Hall, but he died at the scene, Blevins said. After interviewing Hall's wife and five children, police booked a minor son on a homicide charge, he said.

"We believe it was an intentional act,'' Blevins said.

The boy, whose age was not given because he is a minor, was booked into Riverside County Juvenile Hall. Riverside County prosecutors are reviewing the case, Blevins said.

Hall's other children were taken into protective custody, he said. A neighbor told the Press-Enterprise that all of the couple's children are under the age of 12.

Al Qaeda without its leader

The terrorist network's one-man, one-bomb approach keeps the risk of attacks in the West high.

Even as Westerners celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden, cities around the world are bracing for repercussions. Hundreds of dedicated jihadi wannabes will be in mourning today and swearing to give their lives in revenge for the killing of Bin Laden by U.S. forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

Bin Laden's death is a huge blow to the terrorist network, but at the same time, Al Qaeda has moved over the years from a highly centralized hierarchy with recruiting, training and orders all filtering down from top leaders to a much more loose and amorphous organization.

Today the group's philosophy is one man, one bomb. In other words, it does not need another 9/11 to make its mark. One bomb in Times Square in New York placed by one dedicated suicide bomber, or one bomb on a New York subway — both things that were attempted last year — are now considered big enough statements.

Al Qaeda's decentralization has ensured it will remain a viable franchise for some time. Anyone can join by planting a bomb somewhere. And almost anyone who travels to Pakistan or Afghanistan can receive training from Al Qaeda allies, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani Taliban or the Afghan group headed by Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Pakistan has refused to go up against Al Qaeda allies like Haqqani because they have up to now waged their attacks in Afghanistan, not Pakistan. Allies like Lashkar-e-Taiba are tacitly tolerated because their main targets are Kashmir and India.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rashid-bin-laden-20110503,0,4028801,print.story

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After Osama bin Laden's death, Arlington firefighters reflect on 9/11

Just looking at the column of dark smoke rising over Arlington, they could tell something horrible had happened.

Riding up Route 27 about two minutes after a jet had slammed into the Pentagon, the Arlington County rescue crew met a stream of stunned people flowing from the nation's military headquarters and a raging fire behind them.

“It just looked like devastation,” said Lt. Scott Hagan, who was one of the first rescuers to reach the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. “And we had no idea it was part of something much bigger.”

Hagan and other Arlington fire and rescue officials said the death of Osama bin Laden brought back many of the stark memories they carry from that day nearly a decade ago. But they also said that while bin Laden's demise was a significant moment and an important military achievement, it does not erase the threats the United States faces.

Still vivid are the pungent jet fuel, the acrid smoke, the shattered fuselage, the bodies. The badly burned helping the more seriously wounded. The hole the nose cone made in the C-Ring wall.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/arlington-firefighters-reflect-on-911/2011/05/02/AFmXNscF_print.html

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Missing list still contains more than 300

TUSCALOOSA | As of Monday night, 676 names had been cleared from the missing persons list at Tuscaloosa City Hall.

But the list still contains 308 names.

“It's devastating. It hurts your heart to have to report numbers like these numbers,” said Mayor Walt Maddox. “For every name we seem to remove, we seem to add another one on.”

Names like Lou Smith, a woman in her 80s who lived in the destroyed neighborhood of Cedar Crest.

Linda Marquis Smith posted on the Tuscaloosa News website that she was looking for Smith, her aunt.

“My cousins who live there haven't been able to get in touch with her,” said Smith, who lives in South Carolina.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110503/NEWS/110509916/1007?Title=Missing-list-still-contains-more-than-300 -

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Celebrating the Work of America's Public Servants

Ed. note: First Lady Michelle Obama sent a video message to public servants as part of the White House's observance of Public Service Recognition Week.

What do you know about public servants? Probably more than you think. And during Public Service Recognition Week, you have the opportunity to learn even more .

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/03/celebrating-work-americas-public-servants

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President Obama Presents Medal of Honor: "We're Reminded That We Are Fortunate to Have Americans Who Dedicate Their Lives to Protecting Ours"

The President began his remarks on that note:

I think we can all agree this is a good day for America. Our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done. The world is safer; it is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden.

Today, we are reminded that, as a nation, there's nothing we can't do —- when we put our shoulders to the wheel, when we work together, when we remember the sense of unity that defines us as Americans. And we've seen that spirit -— that patriotism -— in the crowds that have gathered, here outside the White House, at Ground Zero in New York, and across the country -- people holding candles, waving the flag, singing the National Anthem -- people proud to live in the United States of America.

And we're reminded that we are fortunate to have Americans who dedicate their lives to protecting ours. They volunteer. They train. They endure separation from their families. They take extraordinary risks so that we can be safe. They get the job done. We may not always know their names. We may not always know their stories. But they are there, every day, on the front lines of freedom, and we are truly blessed.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/president-obama-presents-medal-honor-were-reminded-we-are-fortunate-have-americans-w

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Donating or Volunteering To Help Disaster Survivors

Statement by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on the Death of Osama Bin Laden

The death of Osama bin Laden is an important success not only for the United States, but the entire world. Our efforts to combat terrorism, however, do not fixate on one individual, and we remain completely focused on protecting our nation against violent extremism of all kinds.

We remain at a heightened state of vigilance, but the Department of Homeland Security does not intend to issue an NTAS alert at this time. I have been clear since announcing NTAS in January that we will only issue alerts when we have specific or credible information to convey to the American public. However, our security posture, which always includes a number of measures both seen and unseen, will continue to respond appropriately to protect the American people from an evolving threat picture both in the coming days and beyond.

I commend the President and offer my gratitude to the men and women who defend and protect our nation at home and abroad, whether they wear a military or law enforcement uniform or serve as one of thousands of unsung heroes in the intelligence and homeland security community. It is true that we are stronger and safer than we were on 9/11 – not only because Osama bin Laden is dead, but because of the unflagging dedication and hard work of so many people throughout the world committed to freedom and security.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1304346558767.shtm

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May 2, 2011

U.S. kills Osama bin Laden

Al Qaeda leader dies in a firefight near Pakistan capital. 'Justice has been done,' President Obama says.

A U.S. special forces team killed Osama bin Laden at a compound inside Pakistan and recovered his body, bringing a close to the world's highest-profile manhunt after a decade-long search, President Obama announced to the world Sunday night.

"Justice has been done," the president said solemnly in a hastily arranged late-night televised address from the East Room of the White House.

Bin Laden, he said, was "a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children," and his death was "the most significant achievement to date" in the U.S. war against the Al Qaeda terrorist network.

As described by the president and top administration officials who briefed reporters after the president's speech, the successful effort to track down Bin Laden centered on a trusted courier for Al Qaeda, a man whom officials described as a protege of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the operational mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

U.S. intelligence officials had identified the courier four years ago, based on information from detainees in U.S. custody who said he was one of the few Al Qaeda couriers trusted by Bin Laden, a senior official said. Two years ago, they succeeded in identifying areas in Pakistan in which the courier operated. In August, they succeeded in finding the man's residence, a walled compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fg-bin-laden-dead-20110502,0,541570.story

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News and jubilation spread fast after Bin Laden's death

Crowds surge toward the White House and Times Square, cheering, singing and blessing the U.S. forces who killed Osama bin Laden. Some families of 9/11 victims and slain troops express mixed emotions.

There were joyful cries of victory. There was skepticism from those who demanded to see a corpse. There were huge crowds waving U.S. flags outside the White House, and people erupting into chants of "USA!" on the dark streets around the former World Trade Center in New York. And there were the bitter words of a mother still mourning the son lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

There was no shortage of reaction across the nation to the news late Sunday of Osama bin Laden's death, but in the city hit hardest by the attacks, joy at the news was tempered with anguish over the loved ones lost a decade ago, and the time it took to end the reign of the world's most wanted terrorist.

There was also a tacit acknowledgment that the killing of Bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan could have repercussions.

In the minutes after the announcement came from the White House, though, there were few signs of worry — not even in Times Square, where exactly one year earlier a Pakistani-born immigrant angered over the U.S. war in Afghanistan had tried to blow up a car bomb. On this night, passersby clambered atop a New York fire truck as the news blazed in giant letters across the neon billboards surrounding the square.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bin-laden-us-reax-20110502,0,2145493.story

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The death of Osama bin Laden: Statements by two presidents, Obama and Bush

President Obama's statement on the death of Osama bin Laden, as provided by the White House

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty .......seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what r ace or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/05/osama-bin-laden-death-obama-george-w-bush.html

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Cheering 'ultimate victory' in death of Osama bin Laden

The troops who returned from the war and the families of those who died in battle hail the death of the fugitive terrorist.

Del Warren of Long Beach got the news in a text message and immediately began to tear up.

Osama bin Laden was dead, said the text from the widow of Warren's son Kyle, who was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

"It's fabulous," Warren said Sunday night, glued to the television set.

President Obama's announcement that U.S. forces had killed the 9/11 mastermind in Pakistan brought a sense of closure for soldiers as well as families who lost soldiers in the war in Afghanistan.

They celebrated the news but remembered the loved ones and fellow soldiers lost in the War on Terror.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-soldier-react-20110502,0,4602651,print.story

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Osama bin Laden death: LAX, other airports on heightened alert

The killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden has Southern California airports boosting security.

Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Los Angeles International, Ontario International and Van Nuys airports, said all of the facilities were on heightened alert.

“We have our antenna out higher than normal,” she said.

Lindsey would not elaborate on the security measures or detail what types of new patrols might be used at LAX.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has also said his department is on heightened alert and urged residents to be watchful for suspicious activity.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/bin-laden-death-lax-other-airports-on-heightened-alert.html

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Osama bin Laden death: Sheriff warns residents to be watchful for terrorist reprisals

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said he is activating his emergency bureau in the wake of the CIA killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Baca, speaking to KTLA News, said law enforcement officials want to be prepared in the event of any attempted terrorist reprisals.

He said airports, harbors and transit systems are always the biggest potential targets for terrorism in L.A. and added that beefed up security is possible.

The Sheriff's Department might also call a news conference to remind the public of local counter-terrorism measures and remind people to report suspicious activity.

"Right now, there is time for celebration," he told the station. "We need more public vigilance. ... If you see or hear something, say something."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/osama-bin-laden-death-terrorist-reprisals-sheriff-warns.html?lanow

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Osama Bin Laden dead: 'End of a dark era in U.S.-Muslim relations'

The president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles said Sunday night that the death of Osama bin Laden “represents the beginning of the end of a dark era in U.S.-Muslim relations.”

“And hopefully it ushers in a new era of hope and democracy in dealing with the grievances of Muslim people throughout the world without resorting to political violence,” said Salam Al-Marayati. “Bin Laden has been sitting on an empty throne of self-righteousness while sending young people to their deaths.”

“This creates a rising tide of freedom and an enormous opening in terms of working with leaders throughout the Muslim world.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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Bin Laden death: LAPD increases patrols of religious institutions, 'high profile' terrorist targets

Local authorities are increasing patrols at religious institutions and other potential terrorist targets in the wake of the death of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.

LAPD Deputy Chief Mike Downing, commanding officer of the Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau, said Sunday night that in the near term, there would be additional patrols around "high-profile targets." Police will be on the lookout for terrorist activities and possible hate crimes.

"We are somewhat concerned about any retaliation because of his [Bin Laden's] death," Downing said. "But with our partnerships and relationships that we've built over the last four or five years, we will stand with these communities to resist any attacks or hate incidents."

The LAPD has worked hard over the last five years in its outreach, particularly to build relationships and partnerships in the Muslim community in Los Angeles, which Downing called "our strength."

Downing cautioned that the public should be on the lookout for any behavior that has a "nexus to any type of terrorist activity with a focus on harming innocent people."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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Taliban commander vows to avenge Bin Laden's death

Taliban commander known as Qudos says jihadis are planning to mount attacks in response to death of Osama bin Laden

A Taliban commander in Afghanistan has promised that his fighters would mount attacks to avenge the killing by US forces of Osama bin Laden .

The commander, who gave his name as Qudos and operates in the northern province of Baghlan, said: "The killing of Osama bin Laden will bring no change to jihad. Osama is the leader of al-Qaida and he is a powerful man in jihad. Losing him will be very painful for the mujahideen, but the shahadat [martyrdom] of Osama, will never stop the jihad. We will continue our fight until we liberate our lands from the Kafirs."

He said his fighters planned to launch an operation called Bader "to avenge the killing of Osama" and claimed many other similar operations would be launched.

A war inspired by 'the Sheikh'

From the shrub-covered, bullet-riddled frontlines of Mogadishu, to the concrete slums in the outskirts of Amman and Damascus, from a camp in a pine forest in eastern Afghanistan to the sprawling deserts of southern Yemen, soft-spoken zealots with Kalashnikovs have told me about their aspirations to fight, kill and hopefully die in the war against the infidels and their agents. A holy war inspired by, led by and catalysed by, the Sheikh.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/taliban-avenge-bin-laden-death/print

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Homeland Security's Rep. King: US must be vigilant

WASHINGTON—The head of the House Homeland Security Committee said Monday the United States must temper victory with vigilance in the wake of Osama bin Laden's assassination.

Rep. Peter King told NBC's "Today" show the al-Qaida terrorist organization could "try to avenge this death" and says "we'll have to be on full alert."

Bin Laden was killed by U.S. military forces in a raid early Monday on his custom-built hideout in Pakistan.

The New York Republican predicted "a fight for power" within al-Qaida. He said the shooting of bin Laden gives "a sense of closure" to the relatives of people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States. King also said there will be "round-the-clock" government surveillance to determine if al-Qaida is planning or organizing a retaliatory attack. He said federal agencies will be trying to find out if an attack is possible or imminent, "and how we can prevent it, how we can stop it."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17973608?nclick_check=1

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