WASHINGTON

MORE THAN 400 ARRESTS MADE IN NATIONWIDE METHAMPHETAMINE SWEEP

When police visited an assisted-living facility in Pittsburgh they found employees cooking more than just the evening meal – authorities seized a lab used to make methamphetamine.

Police also made two of the more than 400 arrests that were part of the first nationally coordinated operation aimed at producers and sellers of the highly addictive drug.

Authorities announced yesterday the results of Operation Wildfire, a cooperative effort among police in more than 200 cities and the Drug Enforcement Administration. More than 200 pounds of the drug and 56 labs were seized.

– Associated Press

MILITARY CHAPLAIN INVESTIGATED IN SEX ASSAULTS

The Army is investigating a Roman Catholic military chaplain on charges of forcible sodomy and assault.

Captain Gregory Arflack, 44, was suspended both by the Army and his dioceses pending the results of the investigation. He is a chaplain with the 279th Base Support Battalion. The unit performs administrative functions at its post in Bamberg, Germany, which also houses the 1st Infantry Division.

The Army is investigating 12 charges: three counts each of forcible sodomy and indecent acts, two counts each of fraternization with enlisted service members and disobeying orders, and one count each of indecent assault and conduct unbecoming an officer, said Major Bill Coppernoll, a 1st Infantry Division spokesman.

– Associated Press

EAST

JUDGE HALTS BASE COMMISSION’S RECOMMENDATION IN CONNECTICUT

HARTFORD, Conn.- A federal judge temporarily halted yesterday the national base-closings commission from recommending a realignment of a Connecticut Air National Guard base, which the governor contends cannot be done without her approval.

U.S. District Judge Alfred Covello issued a temporary restraining order and scheduled a hearing September 7 on the Base Closure and Realignment Commission’s recommendation to remove planes from Bradley International Airport.

“The court finds that the plaintiffs have demonstrated that there exists a risk of irreparable harm if the application is not granted, and that there exists a likelihood of success on the merits of the underlying claim,” Judge Covello wrote in his two-page order.

– Associated Press

HUNG JURY IN TRIPLE-MURDER CASE

BALTIMORE – The murder trial of two Mexican immigrants accused of nearly beheading three young relatives ended yesterday with the jury unable to reach a verdict after 11 days of deliberations.

Adan Canela, 18, and Policarpio Espinoza, 23, were accused in the murders of 9-year-old Ricardo Espinoza Jr., his 8-year-old sister, Lucero Espinoza, and their 10-year-old cousin, Alexis Espejo Quezada. The children were found dead in their apartment in May 2004.

The defendants were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy and would have faced life imprisonment if convicted. Prosecutors said immediately that they would retry the case.

– Associated Press

WEST

FBI WILL CONDUCT ‘THREAT ASSESSMENT OF INMATES’

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – FBI agents nationwide have been ordered to conduct “threat assessments” of inmates who may have become radicalized in prison and could commit extremist violence upon their release, according to an FBI letter obtained by the Associated Press.

“The primary goal of these efforts is to assess and disrupt the recruitment and conversion of inmates to radicalized ideologies which advocate violence,” according to a letter from the acting assistant chief of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, Randy Parsons.

The agency has been trying to identify potentially disruptive groups for “some time,” according to the letter. “However, recent investigations have identified a clear need to increase the FBI’s focus and commitment in this area,” Mr. Parsons wrote in the letter, which was dated Friday and obtained yesterday by the AP.

– Associated Press