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Nation in brief

Would-be terror bomber sentenced to 22 years

By wire services
Published July 28, 2005

SEATTLE - An Algerian who plotted to bomb the Los Angeles airport on the eve of the millennium was sentenced to 22 years in prison Wednesday by a judge who used the opportunity to criticize the Bush administration's antiterrorism tactics.

"We did not need to use a secret military tribunal, detain the defendant indefinitely as an enemy combatant or deny the defendant the right to counsel," U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said. "The message to the world from today's sentencing is that our courts have not abandoned our commitment to the ideals that set our nation apart."

The sentence against Ahmed Ressam was significantly lower than the 35 years recommended by prosecutors, but it could have been even shorter had Ressam agreed to testify against two of his alleged co-conspirators.

The U.S. Agriculture Department is investigating another possible case of mad cow disease in a domestic cow, its chief veterinarian said Wednesday.

The department would not say where the farm was, other than to say it was in a remote area.

The veterinarian, Dr. John Clifford, said the 12-year-old cow died in April but that its brain tissue had not been tested until last week. Because the initial results were ambiguous, scientists at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, are conducting more tests to determine whether the cow was infected.

Although the brain tissue was collected in April, the veterinarian forgot to send it in, Clifford said. "While that time lag is not optimal, it has no implications in terms of the risk to human health," he said.

The carcass was destroyed, Clifford said, "and therefore there is absolutely no risk to human or animal health from this animal."

[Last modified July 28, 2005, 01:10:15]