Nation in brief

U.S. Army officer in Cuba accused of security breach

MIAMI - A senior Army intelligence officer was charged Saturday with violating security at the Guantanamo Bay prison - the highest-ranking soldier so far swept up in a crackdown on mishandling of classified information at the offshore prison for al-Qaida and Taliban suspects.

Col. Jackie Duane Farr, 58, is accused of two violations of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice: making a false statement and failure to follow orders. Conviction of the crimes could carry a maximum combined punishment of seven years in prison, a dishonorable discharge and a loss of pay.

The U.S. Southern Command in Miami announced the charges, which add to the continuing scandal over classified material being removed from the island Navy base. So far, two Arabic translators and a Muslim chaplain have been charged with violations ranging from espionage to adultery.

Until recently, Farr was director of the intelligence collection operation in the so-called Joint Interrogations Group, said Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, a Guantanamo spokeswoman. The group has teams of interrogators and analysts who each week question about half of the 660 prisoners being held at Camp Delta, a sprawling prison camp for captives taken in Afghanistan in the war on terror.

The other three suspects, all Muslim, are: Senior Airman Ahmed Halabi, facing the most serious charges in an Air Force court in California; former civilian linguist Ahmed Mehalba, who is accused in a federal court in Massachusetts of carrying classified material from Guantanamo; and Army Capt. James "Youseff" Yee, who recently had adultery and other charges added to his case.

Farr is not Muslim, Hart said Saturday.

Details were scant about the case. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Chris Loundermon said Saturday that protected material was found in the colonel's luggage as he was about to board a flight and leave the base in October.

"Inspectors discovered classified information in Col. Farr's belongings in an inspection of his luggage prior to departing Guantanamo Bay, Oct. 11. These inspections are routine at Guantanamo Bay," he said.

But the crux of the case, according to his military charge sheet, was that Farr allegedly lied in a subsequent interview about his supervision of classified material when he said: "It was always locked up, in my presence and none of it would have left the island."

PORTLAND, Ore. - A man suffering from dementia shot and killed his wife and another man before putting the gun to his head and pulling the trigger at a care center where they all lived, police said Saturday.

Authorities said there was a history of problems between the man they said was the shooter, 86-year-old Frank Kykendall, and the other man, 80-year-old Joe Bruscia.

"But nothing that would telegraph that this was coming," said Sgt. Scott McKee of the Eugene police department.

The three were residents of the memory care unit at the Alpine Court assisted living center in Eugene, and the two victims also suffered from dementia.

Investigators were trying to determine how Kykendall got a gun. McKee said at least six workers were on duty at the center at the time of the shooting.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The number of tips has surpassed 800 and the reward money has reached $140,000, but police still have no suspects in the disappearance of a University of North Dakota student last seen at a shopping mall a week ago.

Authorities on Saturday asked for 200 volunteers to comb areas of Grand Forks County on Sunday in the search for Dru Sjodin. More than 1,300 people looked for her last week, but authorities have worked alone since Wednesday.

Sjodin, 22, was last seen Nov. 22 after leaving work at the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks. Authorities believe she might have been abducted while talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone.

"One small lead could be the thing that leads us to Dru," said Grand Forks police Sgt. Michael Hedlund, who added that about 15 FBI agents are assisting in the investigation.

A reward fund has been set up at Lakes State Bank in Pequot Lakes, Minn., where Sjodin graduated high school.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Saturday it hit a single-day company sales record during the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving shopping sprees, taking in more than $1.52-billion nationally.

Last year, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, reported sales of $1.43-billion for the Friday after Thanksgiving.

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