Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

Witness describes sniper suspect's love for his kids

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Jurors in the John Allen Muhammad trial have become used to seeing tearful people in the courtroom, as witnesses describe how their family members were killed by a sniper's bullets. But Friday, jurors saw tears coming from an unlikely person - Muhammad himself.

In his most explicit display of emotion since his murder trial began four weeks ago, Muhammad hung his head, closed his eyes and wept as the director of a homeless shelter, Albert Archer, talked about how Muhammad treated his children in a caring way and never raised his voice or a hand to them.

It was the first extended discussion at the trial of Muhammad's three children - John Jr., now 13, Salena, 11, and Taalibah, 10 - who were taken by his ex-wife, Mildred, to Maryland one year before the sniper shootings began. Prosecutors believe one possible motive for the killings was to terrorize Mildred and possibly take the children back.

CHICAGO - A state report that estimates Illinois could save $91-million a year by buying drugs via mail order from Canada wrongly assumes Canadian health authorities can guarantee the safety of drugs sent to the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

Bringing prescription drugs into the United States from abroad, where they are often cheaper, is illegal, but the federal government has not tried to block individuals from traveling to Canada to fill prescriptions.

The state report said Illinois could save more than a quarter of what it spent last year if all eligible prescriptions were filled through a Canadian mail-order plan.

WASHINGTON - Five Democrats have withdrawn from the District of Columbia's nonbinding presidential primary, the D.C. Board of Elections said Friday.

Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, John Kerry, Dick Gephardt and Wesley Clark each delivered letters on Thursday stating their intention to withdraw from the Jan. 13 contest, Board of Elections spokesman Bill O'Field said.

The Democratic National Committee does not recognize the primary because delegates will not be selected. The district will hold caucuses Feb. 14 to choose its delegates.

NO ANTHRAX FOUND IN POST OFFICES: Initial testing Friday found no anthrax in air samples and swabs from a naval mail-sorting office, and the Postal Service said it would reopen 11 facilities it had closed as a precaution. Officials closed a Navy mail-sorting office and 11 other Washington-area postal facilities Thursday after an automated alarm and one followup test indicated the possible presence of anthrax spores at Anacostia Naval Station.

NASA ADDS ASTRONAUTS TO MISSION: NASA added three more astronauts Friday to its next space shuttle flight, a mission to test techniques for repairing wing holes like the one that doomed Columbia. The three new crew additions are: Andrew Thomas, an American-Australian engineer who was the last American to live aboard Russia's Mir station; Wendy Lawrence, a Navy captain who flew twice to Mir; and Charles Camarda, a space rookie who has been involved with repair activities at Johnson Space Center.

SENATE FILLS ENERGY AGENCY SEATS: The Senate on Friday confirmed the nominations of a Republican and a Democrat to fill vacant seats on the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees wholesale electricity markets. Joe Kelliher, a senior adviser at the Energy Department, and Suedeen Kelly, former New Mexico state utility commissioner, were approved by voice votes.