WASHINGTON

STUDY: LETHAL CHEMICALS STORED NEAR AMERICA’S LARGEST CITIES

More than 100 facilities nationwide that store large amounts of lung-melting or other lethal chemicals are located near communities of at least 1 million people, congressional researchers say. Officials are concerned that the plants, located in 23 states, are tempting targets for terror attacks. The tally of plants was compiled by the Congressional Research Service, for release today, using Environmental Protection Agency data. It represents one of the first public state-by-state breakdowns of how close potentially deadly facilities are located to the nation’s largest population centers. “Chemical facilities are at the top of the terrorists’ target list, and I thought it would be helpful for the full picture to be presented,” Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat of Massachusetts, said in an interview yesterday.

The survey provided state-by-state figures but did not specify the names of the facilities or the cities in which they are located. The EPA refuses to release its own list of detailed locations of the chemical manufacturing plants, oil refineries, and storage facilities for fear doing so could aid terror plans. Environmental watchdog groups have compiled incomplete or outdated tallies of chemical facilities.

– Associated Press

NEW HOMELAND DEFENSE STRATEGY CALLS FOR EXPANDED ACTIVITY

A new Pentagon strategy for securing the American homeland calls for expanded American military activity not only in the air and sea – where the armed forces have historically guarded approaches to the country – but also on the ground and in other less traditional, potentially more problematic areas such as intelligence sharing with civilian law enforcement. The strategy is outlined in a 40-page document, approved last month, that marks the Pentagon’s first attempt since the attacks of September 11, 2001, to present a comprehensive plan for defending the American homeland. The document argues that a more “active, layered” defense is needed and says that American forces must be ready to deal not just with a single terrorist strike but also with “multiple, simultaneous” attacks involving mass casualties.

The document does not ask for new legal authority to use military forces on American soil, but it raises the likelihood that American combat troops will take action in the event that civilian and National Guard forces are overwhelmed. At the same time, the document stresses that primary responsibility for domestic security continues to rest with civilian agencies. “The role of the military within domestic American society, both by law and by history, has been carefully constrained, and there is nothing in our strategy that would move away from that historic principle,” the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for homeland defense, Paul McHale, said.

– The Washington Post

WEST

DOCUMENTS: DUNCAN TIED UP THREE SLAIN BEFORE ABDUCTING CHILDREN

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Eight-year-old Shasta Groene told authorities that a man later identified as a violent sexual predator tied up her family before she and her 9-year-old brother were taken away in a pickup truck, according to court papers released yesterday. The affidavit makes no mention of the savage beating deaths of the abducted children’s mother, older brother, and mother’s boyfriend, or whether the girl witnessed the killings.

Joseph Edward Duncan III, 42, of Fargo, N.D., was charged with two first-degree kidnapping counts and ordered held without bail yesterday. Duncan was shackled and appeared unshaven as he looked intently at the judge during a brief appearance via video link. The intent of the crimes, court documents said, was to rape, seriously injure, or commit a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 16 years old. Duncan has not been charged with anything other than the kidnapping counts, which can carry the death penalty or life in prison. The Kootenai County sheriff’s sergeant, Brad Maskell, wrote in the terse, handwritten document that both Shasta and 9-year-old Dylan Groene “were repeatedly molested.”

– Associated Press

SOUTH

$120 MILLION CHURCH ABUSE SETTLEMENT GRANTED PRELIMINARY APPROVAL

BURLINGTON, Ky. – A judge granted preliminary approval yesterday to the nation’s largest settlement in the church abuse scandal, authorizing a $120 million agreement between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and hundreds of victims of child-molesting priests and other employees.

The decision by Judge John Potter makes immediately available $40 million from diocese assets. The victims and the diocese are suing two insurance companies for the remaining $80 million. Judge Potter’s ruling allows the church and the plaintiff’s lawyers to begin advertising the settlement and sets a November 10 deadline for claims to be filed.

“It’s such a sensitive issue,” plaintiff’s attorney Stan Chesley said. “It’s the best way to know we have a measure of justice.”

– Associated Press