Sept. 11 war crimes case resumes at Guantanamo Bay
FORT MEADE, Md. — The Sept. 11 war-crimes case before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, resumed relatively smoothly Monday as five men accused of being co-conspirators in the attacks were calm and cooperative in the first session of a weeklong pretrial hearing. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and the other four defendants each spoke directly — some through a translator — with the judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl. The atmosphere on the first day contrasted sharply with a chaotic arraignment hearing in May, when they refused to answer the judge’s questions.
Romney campaign makes pitch for ad barrage
Mitt Romney and the Republican Party have begun a late push to raise tens of millions of dollars in the closing weeks of the election, cash that will finance a last-minute barrage of advertising that Romney’s aides believe is critical to beating President Barack Obama.
Student debt relief changes to aid well-off most, study says
With nearly 1 in 6 student loan borrowers in default, the federal government is making changes to its income-based repayment plan to help borrowers with relatively high debt and low incomes keep up with their payments.
Shorts (right)
PARIS — Libya is preparing to bring a wide range of charges against a son of Moammar Gadhafi, and to begin his trial by February, lawyers for Libya told the International Criminal Court at The Hague on Wednesday. They appeared at a hearing dealing with the question of whether Libya or the international court has the right to try the younger Gadhafi as well as a powerful intelligence chief in his father’s regime.
Lawsuit accuses equity firms of colluding on big deals
The private equity giants Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts are longtime rivals that compete for multibillion-dollar deals. But during last decade’s buyout boom, according to newly released emails in a civil lawsuit accusing them of collusion, the two firms appeared to be on much cozier terms.
A legal brawl in Mexico as bond buyers look on
Trouble is brewing in the industrial heartland of Mexico, but it’s not the violent drug wars that have plagued the boomtown of Monterrey. It is a legal brawl over the bankruptcy of the country’s largest glassmaker, Vitro.
Chilly conditions in store for weekend
Polar air continues to move into our region, and the first frost looks imminent tonight. In fact, temperatures could reach the freezing point outside Boston! A high pressure sitting in the Midwest is pulling cold air from Canada down into New England. Winds should be somewhat stiff today as well, but will subside on Saturday. By that time, the high pressure will reach us and provide clear, dry conditions. The cold temperatures will not last long because a low pressure will approach the Great Lakes, pushing warm air into the Northeast by Monday. Any significant rain chances should hold off until late Sunday. So the jacket is a better choice over the umbrella this weekend.
Yemeni employee at US embassy in Sanaa is shot dead
SANAA, Yemen — A senior Yemeni officer working in the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa was killed Thursday in an attack that security sources said bore the hallmarks of the regional al-Qaida franchise. The killing comes amid sharp American scrutiny of security at foreign diplomatic posts in the wake of the militant assault one month ago on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, which killed a U.S. ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other diplomatic personnel.
Shorts (left)
PARIS — A year after the United States cut off its financing to UNESCO, following a vote to make Palestine a full member, the organization remains engaged in a frantic effort to cut back programs, reduce costs and raise emergency money.
Hezbollah flew drone into Israel, its leader says
Reporting was contributed by Hania Mourtada and Hwaida Saad from Beirut, and Isabel Kershner and Jodi Rudoren from Jerusalem.
Toyota recalls 7.4 million cars because of a fire risk
Toyota announced on Wednesday that it was recalling 7.4 million vehicles worldwide, including 2.5 million in the United States, to repair power-window switches that can break down and pose a fire risk.
Shorts (left)
JERUSALEM — The mainstream newspaper Maariv is on the verge of closing, apparently having lost a fierce 64-year contest against the populist Hebrew tabloid Yediot Aharonot. On Thursday, Haaretz, the flagship broadsheet of Israel’s left-wing intelligentsia, was not published for the first time in three decades; the newsroom held a one-day strike to protest the planned layoff of scores of employees.
After debate, a harsh light falls on a moderator
The new format for the presidential debate prompted plenty of partisan debate online —
Shorts (right)
BOSTON — Nearly four decades after this city was convulsed by violence over court-ordered busing to desegregate its public schools, Boston is working to reduce its reliance on busing in a school system that is now made up largely of minority students.
Karzai accuses US of duplicity in fighting Afghan enemies
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, on Thursday accused the United States of playing a “double game” by fighting a war against Afghan insurgents rather than their backers in Pakistan, and by refusing to supply his country with the weapons it needs to fight enemies across the border. He threatened to turn to China, India and Russia for those arms.
Anxiety rises as Iranian currency falls by 40 percent
TEHRAN, Iran — For months, since the imposition of harsh, U.S.-led sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s leaders have sworn they would never succumb to Western pressures, and they scoffed at the idea that the measures were having any serious impact. But after a week in which the Iranian currency, the rial, fell by a shocking 40 percent and protests began to rumble through the capital, no one is making light of the mounting costs of confrontation.
Warmth today/tomorrow before temps drop Sunday
Autumn weather is often characterized by large swings in temperature from one day to the next, and this weekend will be no exception. After several days of cloudy, drizzly conditions, today will be warm and dry, with highs reaching into the upper 70°F’s. With southerly warm air advection, 80°F is not beyond the realm of possibility. The warm temperatures will persist tomorrow before a cold front that is trailing a low in Canada moves through tomorrow night. There is a chance of showers tomorrow afternoon/evening, but the main effect of the front will be to drop the temperatures. Indeed, Sunday’s high is expected to be quite a bit chillier, only reaching the mid 50°F’s. An intensifying low moving up the coast will bring widespread rainfall on Sunday afternoon and evening. Clear skies should rebound for the holiday on Monday, but with cooler than normal temperatures.
Iranian officials offer plan to end nuclear crisis
WASHINGTON — With harsh economic sanctions contributing to the first major protests in Iran in three years, Iranian officials have begun to describe what they call a “nine-step plan” to defuse the nuclear crisis with the West, by gradually suspending the production of the uranium that would be easiest for them to convert into a nuclear weapon.
Fed members in accord on bond buying, minutes show
WASHINGTON — Policymakers at the Federal Reserve were nearly united last month in their belief that the economic recovery needed additional help and that the central bank had the ability to provide it, according to the official account of the meeting released Thursday.
Shorts (left)
LOS ANGELES — Facing a deadline of midnight Sunday to take action on bills the California Legislature passed this session, Gov. Jerry Brown signed dozens of them over the weekend on issues ranging from health care to corporate taxation, while vetoing dozens more.