Bail set at $2M for armed man arrested in Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) — A judge set bail at $2 million Friday for a Las Vegas man arrested near the University of Washington in a truck that authorities say contained multiple weapons, maps to three Seattle campuses and a recording in which he said he planned to do something in the West to support protesters demanding reform in Brazil.

King County Judge Arthur R. Chapman said he set such a high bail for Justin Jasper because he considered the 22-year-old a flight risk and a threat to the community.

Montana authorities said Jasper stole a pickup truck and guns from a truck driver in Butte, Mont., who had let Jasper stay at his home.

At the bail hearing in Seattle, a prosecutor said authorities found six firebombs in the vehicle, along with a bolt-action rifle, a double-barrel shotgun, a machete and several knives. They also found a recording of a podcast that appears to have Jasper expressing support for protesters in Brazil.

More than 1 million demonstrators have taken to the streets in Brazil over the past month to denounce everything from poor public services to the billions of dollars spent preparing for next year's World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

Police found evidence that Jasper was planning some kind of action in support of those protesters, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Hamilton said. Hamilton said that on the podcast, Jasper said he was going to back the "Brazilian revolution" by doing something "somewhere in the Western United States."

"I'm going to make sure people understand and notice it," he allegedly said on the podcast.

Authorities also found maps in the truck to the University of Washington, Seattle University and South Seattle Community College. Court documents identified Jasper's occupation as a self-employed journalist. He has not yet been appointed a public defender.

The truck driver from Butte reported to authorities Wednesday that he returned from a trip to find his pickup truck missing and guns stolen from his home, said Butte-Silver Bow Undersheriff George Skuletich.

Jasper had been staying at the truck driver's home for about a month.

The Seattle Times identified the truck driver Friday night as Erik Henderson (http://is.gd/YavETd ).

The trucker said Jasper described himself as an "anarchist," The Times reported.

Jasper had concerns about topics ranging from the chemical industry to genetically altered foods to voting rights, Henderson said.

Henderson discovered his pickup, guns and body armor missing Tuesday after returning home from 11 days on the road. He said he had body armor from his days as a contract convoy trucker in Iraq.

Jasper was arrested Wednesday after University of Washington police were told to watch for a truck that had been stolen in Montana.

University police saw Jasper sleeping in a truck near campus Tuesday night, the day before they received the stolen-vehicle notice. University of Washington Police Chief John Vinson said nothing came up in their system when they checked the plates Tuesday.

Butte authorities are looking into possible charges, but none have been filed, Skuletich said.

Vinson said the man had with him a scoped rifle, shotgun and fewer than 10 Molotov cocktails.

"We have no idea what his intentions are," he said. "This is a very active investigation. We're trying to rule out everything at this point."

Vinson said Thursday there did not appear to be any threat to the university campus.

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Information from The Seattle Times is contained in this report.

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Associated Press writer Matt Volz in Helena, Mont., and AP Photographer Ted Warren in Seattle contributed to report.

Via Yahoo News!

Reports: Juarez cartel armed wing leader nabbed (AP)

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON, Associated Press Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press – Sat Jul 30, 7:23 pm ET

MEXICO CITY – Federal police have captured the alleged leader of a ruthless gang of killers who work for a drug cartel in the violent border of Ciudad Juarez, Mexican news media said Saturday.

The suspect, Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, is wanted by the U.S. government on charges of murdering a U.S. consulate employee and her husband last year in Ciudad Juarez, which is across the border from El Paso, Texas.

The newspaper El Universal and Milenio television said the 33-year-old Acosta was arrested Friday in the northern city of Chihuahua, capital of the state where Ciudad Juarez is. Mexican authorities have identified Acosta as the head of La Linea, a gang of hit men and corrupt police officers who act as enforcers for the Juarez Cartel.

Federal officials said they could not confirm the arrest, but federal police spokesman Juan Carlos Buenrostro said a suspect would be flown from northern Mexico to Mexico City to be shown before news media by Sunday.

The federal Attorney General's Office offered a 15 million peso ($1.2 million) reward last October for information leading to Acosta's arrest. A woman answering the reward phone line advertised on Acosta's wanted posters said he had been detained Friday but refused to give her name.

U.S. prosecutors seek to try Acosta in the killings of an employee of the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez, her husband and the husband of another consulate employee in March 2010. The slayings are among the highest profile attacks in the city that has been plagued with violence.

A U.S. federal indictment accuses 10 people, including Acosta, of conspiring to kill the three. Acosta and seven others are now in Mexican custody. Two others, including one of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives, Eduardo Ravelo, are still at large.

Besides the consulate killings, Acosta is blamed for two other notorious crimes in the Mexican government's 4 1/2-year-old offensive against drug cartels.

Chihuahua state officials allege Acosta ordered the massacre of 15 people, mostly teenagers, in January 2010 and was involved in a July 2010 car bombing, the first used by a cartel in recent history. Both attacks occurred in Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.3 million people that recorded 3,097 homicides in 2010 and more than 1,300 so far this year.

Mexico's government says at least 35,000 people have died in drug-related violence across the country since late 2006, when President Felipe Calderon took office and launched a crackdown on organized crime. Other sources, including local media, put the number closer to 40,000. The federal government has not released an update of its numbers since December.

Other cities near the U.S.-Mexico border have been hit hard with violence while rival drug cartels battle over control of smuggling corridors.

In the northern state of Durango, federal officials said Saturday they burned 50 metric tons of marijuana that were found earlier in the week inside a large warehouse in black plastic bags.

The warehouse was in Santa Maria del Oro in Mexico's "golden triangle" region. The area, known for drug cultivation and trafficking, is also where soldiers a week ago found marijuana fields covering 148 acres (60 hectares) with a processing lab and five camps.

In Sonora state, Mexico's military said Saturday that troops seized five metric tons of marijuana near the U.S. border in Puerto Penasco, a beach city popular with visitors from Arizona.

Soldiers found three tons of the marijuana more than a mile (2 kilometers) from the port Thursday, a statement said. Officials earlier reported finding two metric tons of marijuana elsewhere in the same town the same day.

U.S. authorities earlier this year urged tourists to "exercise caution" about visiting Puerto Penasco due to rising drug violence in the city.

Yahoo! News

Al-Assad blames armed gangs for Syria's unrest

(CNN) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered vague promises of reform and clear threats against protesters Monday as he addressed his nation amid months of protests that have left more than 1,100 dead, according to human rights activists.

The Syrian leader said he was "working on getting the military back to their barracks as soon as possible" but also warned that the government would "work on tracking down everyone who shed bloods or plotted in shedding the blood of the Syrian people, and we will hold them accountable."

He raised the possibility of amending the country's constitution and referred to the need for a "national dialogue" -- but made clear that his government would not engage directly with the opposition.

"It is not a dialogue of the opposition with the government... but it should be a dialogue that will include all fabrics of the Syrian society," he said in the speech, his third to the country in three months.

Al-Assad blamed armed gangs and conspiracies for the violence that has gripped the country, saying the unrest has tarnished the country's image and weakened its security.

"There are some who are distorting the image of the Syrian nation abroad, and they wanted to open the gates and even called for foreign intervention. They tried to weaken the national political position," he said in the speech to an enthusiastic audience at Damascus University.

"There are those who are killing the name of religion and want to spread chaos under the pretext of religion," he said, referring to conspiracies as "germs" that cannot be "exterminated."

Al-Assad has faced growing criticism from leaders in the United States, Europe and elsewhere over a violent government clampdown on demonstrators.

During the address, al-Assad said he had met a number of Syrians who voiced legitimate demands to improve the economy and increase personal freedoms.

He promised to "reform what has been damaged," though he warned it would take time.

"For us, the reform process is an absolute conviction that will be in the best interest of the nations and the citizen. We just can't jump into the unknown. We are working on building the way to our future," al-Assad said.

The speech follows protests a day earlier by children, who held anti-government signs and criticized al-Assad.

A video posted on YouTube showed a demonstration the cameraman claims took place Sunday in the Damascus suburb of Kaboon. In the video, dozens of mostly young people walk down a street brandishing signs, chanting and, in some cases, wearing party hats with messages on them. They are joined by a handful of adults, including one man who puts a boy on his shoulders as they march.

Another YouTube video, purportedly from the coastal city of Latakia, shows a group of young boys clapping and voicing anti-government sentiments. One boy leads the chants, with no adults visible.

The repeated phrases ranged from the patriotic "Long live Syria" to others targeting Syria's leader with slogans like "Bashar al-Assad go away" and "The people need the fall of the regime."

CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of videos. The network has not been allowed into Syria to cover the unrest and draws from social media and interviews with witnesses on the ground there to inform its reporting.

An opposition activist, who spoke to CNN from Syria on condition of anonymity, said that such demonstrations have become a daily ritual in the Middle Eastern country, with children embracing their parents' politics and following their lead in voicing their views publicly. Parents and teachers are often nearby in these protests, which typically happen in neighborhoods near homes or schools, the activist claimed.

There was no indication of violence Sunday, unlike what's been reported during dozens of other protests that have erupted since the mid-March arrest of teens for writing anti-government graffiti in Daraa.

Critics have accused forces loyal to al-Assad of targeting defenseless demonstrators and hindering outside help for those in need. The Syrian government has consistently blamed the protest casualties on "armed gangs."

Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, the Red Cross' director for the Near East and Middle East, said in an interview posted last month on the group's website that a lack of information and access has greatly hindered humanitarian assistance to Syria.

The head of her group, International Committee of the Red Cross President Jakob Kellenberger, will arrive in the Syrian capital on Sunday night, the organization announced via Twitter.

He plans to "discuss the humanitarian situation" and the role of the Red Cross with Syrian authorities, the nonprofit group said.

Kellenberger's visit comes two days after another high-profile activist -- actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie -- met with Syrian refugees in Turkey and drew attention to the anguish faced by families affected by the violence and reported government crackdown.

The Turkish government has said more than 10,100 Syrians have crossed the border. About 3,000 more were huddled on the Syrian border near Badama, eyewitness Jameel Saib told CNN Saturday.

Refugees are living in four camps managed by Turkey and the Turkish Red Crescent, the U.N.'s refugee agency reported Saturday.

CNN's Saad Abedine and Kamal Ghattas contributed to this report.

CNN

Only one of five people killed during bin Laden raid was armed

WASHINGTON — Only one of the five people shot and killed during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound was armed, the head of the House Intelligence Committee said Thursday as officials revised the tale of the al-Qaeda leader's takedown for the third day in a row.

A Pakistani vendor sells traditional sweets close to the perimeter of the walled compound of a house where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was caught and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said White House officials "got a little ahead of themselves" earlier in the week when they mistakenly described a sustained firefight between Navy SEALs and those in bin Laden's compound and said bin Laden tried to fight back and one of his wives, used to shield him, was killed.

Rogers said that when the team reached bin Laden's room, he was not armed but there was a gun there, similar to the rifle he has carried in photographs since the 9/11 attack.

"Maybe they should have waited" until the SEAL team was fully debriefed, Rogers said of the White House officials.

On Thursday, the White House declined to explain why White House counterterrorism czar John Brennan and others had gotten key elements of the story wrong. "I don't have any updates on the narrative," press secretary Jay Carney told reporters traveling with President Obama to Ground Zero in New York City.

As the story of the raid continued to unfold, information from the cache of computers seized from the bin Laden compound emerged. The Department of Homeland Security said al-Qaeda has been contemplating an attack on the U.S. rail system. A memo from the agency said there is no imminent threat, but an administration official said the attack was being considered to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The official would not be identified because that detail was not made public.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said the information did not identify possible locations for such attacks. "We have been concerned about al-Qaeda's interest in this for quite some time," he said.

The CIA had spied on bin Laden from a safe house in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad and conducted extensive surveillance on him for months, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

Meeting with commandos

Following on his trip to meet with relatives of 9/11 victims and first responders, Obama today will head to Fort Campbell in Kentucky to meet with some of the commandos who carried out the raid, according to two administration officials who would not allow their names to be used because the meeting has not been officially announced.

The successful bin Laden raid has given Obama a boost in the polls. In Gallup's daily tracking poll, the president has averaged a 52% approval rating in the three days since the raid, up from 46% in the three days before the raid.

On Tuesday, in correcting Brennan's version of events, Carney said that although bin Laden was not armed when he was shot, "there were many other people who were armed" and the commandos "were met with a great deal of resistance."

A senior Defense official described the raid to the Associated Press as a floor-by-floor hunt for bin Laden — during which the commandos took out the terrorist leader's courier and his brother as well as bin Laden's son — not a sustained firefight as the White House has suggested.

"We would have avoided confusion if the details had not been discussed," Rogers said.

Ari Fleischer, a George W. Bush administration White House press secretary, said the White House engaged in "sloppy messaging." He said all briefings to the news media about the operation at the suburban Islamabad compound should have come from the military.

"In their elation and desire to tell a riveting story, they dropped their guard, the discipline went down," he said. He added that he gives them a "mulligan" because they haven't shown a pattern of deceit, and the bottom line — the death of bin Laden — is what matters.

'This was a combat zone'

Rogers, who was briefed Wednesday on the operation by Navy Vice Adm. William McRaven, agreed. He said McRaven told him that "one person (inside the compound) was able to reach their weapon" when the U.S. team surprised the occupants and gunfire was exchanged.

"Whether it was five (armed combatants) or one, it doesn't matter. None of the people were compliant," he said, adding that a mix of machine guns, pistols and rifles were found in house. "This was a combat zone."

Rogers said bin Laden made no apparent move to surrender. "You don't know if he's got a suicide vest," he said, referring to the SEAL team.

He said there was concern that the building could have been rigged with explosives. "These are difficult circumstances. (Bin Laden) had an opportunity to surrender. This was a combat operation, and he's an enemy combatant. It's Osama bin Laden, for goodness' sake."

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Obama OKs use of armed drone aircraft in Libya

By Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon on Thursday.

EnlargeCloseBy Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon on Thursday.

It also is the first time that drones will have been used for airstrikes since the conflict began on March 19, although they have routinely been flying surveillance missions, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Thursday.

He said the United States will provide up to two 24-hour combat air patrols each day by the unmanned Predators.

Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the drones can help counteract the pro-Moammar Gadhafi forces' tactic of traveling in civilian vehicles that make it difficult to distinguish them from rebel forces.

STORY: Libya rebels claim border post control"What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions," Cartwright said. "They are uniquely suited for urban areas."

He added, "It's very difficult to pick friend from foe. So a vehicle like the Predator that can get down lower and can get IDs better, helps us."

Gates rejected the notion that the approval of drone strikes means that the U.S. will get pulled slowly back into a more active combat role, despite Obama's vow merely to provide support for NATO.

U.S. forces played a lead role in the early days of the conflict, launching an onslaught of cruise missiles and bombs against Gadhafi's surface-to-air missile sites and advancing Gadhafi's troops.

With American forces stretched by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the humanitarian operations in Japan, the Pentagon turned the mission over to NATO, saying it would do only limited airstrikes to take out air defenses. The United States, said Obama,no longer would do airstrikes to protect the civilian population.

Gates said that bringing in the Predators will give NATO a critical capability that the U.S. uniquely can contribute.

"I think this is a very limited additional role on our part, but it does provide some additional capabilities to NATO," said Gates. "And if we can make a modest contribution with these armed Predators, we'll do it. … I don't think any of us see that as mission creep."

He said Obama has been clear that there will be no U.S. boots on the ground, and the main strike role would belong to the allies.

The first Predator mission since Obama's go-ahead was flown Thursday, but the aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, turned back due to poor weather conditions without firing any of its munitions, said Cartwright.

Gates, who publicly expressed skepticism about getting involved militarily in Libya before Obama endorsed the limited intervention, said "the real work" of overthrowing Gadhafi will have to be done by the Libyans themselves.

While he acknowledged the conflict "is likely to take a while," Gates also said the continuing sanctions, arms embargo and NATO-led offensive have weakened Gadhafi's military and eaten away at his supplies and cash. Over the long term, Gates said, that will hurt Gadhafi's ability to strike back at opposition forces, if they should rise up again in other cities.

At the same time, however, Gates said the administration's decision to provide $25 million in nonlethal military assistance to the rebels did not signal a deeper U.S. commitment to anti-Gadhafi forces whose makeup, objectives and motives still are not fully understood in Washington.

The aid, he said, is not high-end military equipment but rather a hodgepodge of things like uniforms and canteens.

"I'm not worried about our canteen technology falling into the wrong hands," he joked.

Asked how long he believes it will take the NATO-led air campaign to succeed, Gates replied, "The honest answer to that is, nobody knows."

In other comments, Gates did not rule out major military program cuts to meet Obama's goal to slash another $400 billion from U.S. national security spending over the next 12 years. But he laid out some programs he believes are vital, including the new Air Force refueling tanker and the replacement of some Navy ships.

"The worst of all possible worlds, in my view, is to give the entire Department of Defense a haircut, basically (saying) everybody is going to cut X percent," said Gates.

Instead, he said the Pentagon must lay out options and the risks involved if particular cuts are made and how they would affect military missions.

He added that he does not know how much of the cut the Pentagon will be expected to take.

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