Nation in brief

Man liable in death of Salvadoran archbishop

FRESNO, Calif. - A federal judge found a retired Salvadoran air force captain liable Friday in the 1980 slaying of the Salvadoran archbishop and ordered him to pay $10-million in damages.

Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot to death by a sniper as he performed Mass, and no one was ever held responsible for the slaying, which happened amid El Salvador's 12-year civil war. His death was the subject of the 1989 movie Romero.

The unusual lawsuit was brought on behalf of one of Romero's relatives under a little-known law that allows foreign nationals with U.S. connections to be sued for crimes like torture or genocide.

It asked the court to determine whether the evidence presented was enough to show that Alvaro Rafael Saravia, a retired Salvadoran air force captain last known to be living in Modesto, Calif., could be held liable for Romero's death.

Saravia was not present and had no representation in court.

DETROIT - A federal judge dismissed terrorism charges against two men convicted last year, saying the prosecution's zeal to obtain a conviction in the wake of Sept. 11 overcame its professional judgment.

But U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said the two, as well as a third man, must stand trial again on charges of document fraud.

The judge's decision came after the Justice Department admitted widespread prosecutorial misconduct in the case and asked the judge to dismiss the terrorism charges against two men accused of being part of a Detroit terror cell.

Karim Koubriti, 26, and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 38, were convicted in June 2003 of conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism and to engage in fraud and misuse of visas and other documents. Ahmed Hannan, 36, was convicted of only the fraud charge, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 24, was acquitted.

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal from a man convicted of having five wives who argued that antibigamy laws violated his First Amendment right to religious freedom.

Attorney John Bucher had argued that polygamy was part of Tom Green's religion and that Utah's laws for cohabitation were so vague Green had no way to know he was in violation.

Green, 55, lived with his five wives and 31 children in a cluster of trailer homes in the remote desert, about 125 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. He was convicted in 2002 of child rape for having sex with one of his five wives when she was 13. A year earlier, he was convicted of four counts of bigamy and one count of criminal nonsupport of his children. He's due for release from prison in 2007.

Bucher said that Green and his wives were disappointed and that he might seek an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson, saying he must respond to "untruths and sensationalism," acknowledged Friday that he has reached financial settlements with people in the past to avoid the public embarrassment of going to court.

Jackson's statement was issued just hours before the scheduled broadcast of a Dateline NBC report alleging that the entertainer paid $2-million to the son of an employee at his Neverland Ranch in 1990 to avoid a child molestation accusation. The statement did not mention the NBC report.

Jackson, 45, has denied ever harming any child and is currently fighting charges he molested a boy in 2003. His trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 31.

Jackson acknowledged that he has made financial settlements in the past to avoid litigation but added, "I would never harm a child."

"I have been a vulnerable target for those who want money."

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