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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2002
WASHINGTON -- The American Bar Association condemned the government's secret detention of immigrants arrested after Sept. 11, asking for information Tuesday on who is being held and why.
The Justice Department has appealed a ruling that it must release the names of more than 1,000 people picked up since the jetliner attacks. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler has said there was no justification for a blanket secrecy policy.
The 408,000-member ABA said the department should do even more, disclosing the facilities where detainees are being held, giving them access to attorneys and family members and scheduling prompt and open hearings when possible.
The association's action came as it wrapped up a meeting that focused on the war on terror.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan -- Three rockets were fired early Tuesday at a government building in eastern Afghanistan, missing the target but exploding in a civilian neighborhood and injuring eight people, six of them children.
The attack occurred on the outskirts of Asadabad, capital of Kunar province. Police were investigating but were unsure who fired the weapons.
U.S. special forces have been operating for months in Kunar, which borders Pakistan and is thought to harbor Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives. Last week, U.S. troops killed six men in two separate encounters in Kunar.
A civilian wounded in an ambush had been taken from the eastern town of Khost to a U.S. medical team in Urgun, and the Air Force HH60 medevac helicopter was leaving when the accident occurred, said a statement from Bagram, Afghanistan
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Federal agents on Tuesday canvassed the business district near where the latest anthrax spores were found, showing merchants a photograph of a man who may have been in the area last fall.
An FBI spokesman would not give details about the investigation but said it was related to Monday's announcement that a mailbox in the area had tested positive for anthrax exposure.
COMPLAINT FILED: Lawyers for Steven J. Hatfill, a biowarfare expert under scrutiny in the FBI's anthrax investigation, lodged formal complaints Tuesday with the Justice Department and the FBI, complaining that investigators leaked information about their client to the news media.
Victor Glasberg, one of Hatfill's attorneys, would not disclose the details of the complaint he filed at the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and the FBI other than to say that he had "presented certain concerns and asked for an inquiry and appropriate action."
Better N.Y. building code sought
NEW YORK -- Drawing on lessons from Sept. 11, experts said Tuesday that high-rise building codes should be revised to require wider emergency stairways and stricter protections against collapse and heavy fires.
"Your code is 30 or 40 years out of date," consultant Jake Pauls told a city panel. "I encourage you to put a lot of effort into changing that."
Pauls spoke at a daylong forum held by the city's World Trade Center Buildings Codes Task Force. The 11-member committee is reviewing building design, construction and operating requirements to decide if changes are needed.