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State Department issues travel alert for Americans abroad - CBS News Posted: 02 Aug 2013 09:16 AM PDT The State Department issued a worldwide alert to U.S. citizens traveling abroad on Friday, warning that al Qaeda and its affiliates are planning terrorist attacks that may materialize before the end of August, and suggesting that North Africa and the Middle East are the focus of the threat. The alert, which expires August 31, 2013, urges Americans traveling in that region to be aware of their surroundings: "U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. Terrorists have targeted and attacked subway and rail systems, as well as aviation and maritime service." Play Video State Dept: Some embassies to close Sunday due to "security considerations" Play Video State Dept: Some embassies to close Sunday due to "security considerations" The alert comes amid a heightened security concerns for embassies across the region after the State Department announced Thursday that any embassy normally open on Sunday would be closed for the day, with the possibility of a longer closure. The announcement was linked to al al Qaeda plot against U.S. diplomatic facilities in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, where Sunday is the beginning of the work week, CBS News correspondent David Martin reported. Officials say it appears to be a real plot in the making, not just the normal aspirational chatter among terrorists. The same officials say they are still missing key pieces of information. As of Friday morning, at least 21 facilities in 18 countries announced that they will close on Sunday pursuant to the State Department's guidance, including the U.S. embassies in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Sudan and Djibouti. On Thursday, Marie Harf, the deputy spokeswoman for the State Department, told reporters the embassies were told to close as a "precautionary" measure taken "out of an abundance of caution." Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said that the administration took a "responsible step" in closing diplomatic facilities on Sunday. "They obviously see a somewhat imminent threat to western targets," he explained. When asked if the decision to close the embassies has anything to do with the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that ends next week, McCaul replied, "That's always a concern, yeah." Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that the threat was not based on "the regular chit-chat." "When you have a threat and you think it's serious, you have to put it out," he said. "You get chit chat all the time, but this got to another level." The security of American embassies and other diplomatic facilities became a political controversy in the wake of the September 2012 attack on a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the lives of four Americans, including then-ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. In the wake of that attack, Republicans accused the State Department of providing insufficient security for diplomatic personnel in Libya. Ruppersberger suggested on Friday that the current heightened security posture in the Middle East and North Africa is a result of the lessons learned from the attack in Benghazi. "We have systems in place as a result of Benghazi," he said. "There is a lot of research and work being done in making sure we have systems in place to protect Americans in our embassies."

Whitey Bulger will not testify; calls trial a 'sham' - Boston.com Posted: 02 Aug 2013 08:16 AM PDT By Shelley Murphy and Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff Notorious gangster James "Whitey" Bulger said today he would not take the stand at his racketeering and murder trial in US District Court in Boston. Bulger, who is accused of 19 murders during his terrifying reign in Boston's underworld, told US District Court Judge Denise J. Casper that he wanted to testify, but because Casper would not allow him to claim that he was granted immunity by now-deceased federal prosecutor, Jeremiah O'Sullivan, Bulger saw no reason to do so. "I'm making the choice involuntarily because I have been choked off,'' Bulger said, refering to his uimm with old u. "As far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial. This is a sham. Do what you want with me.'' As Bulger spoke, Patricia Donahue, the widow of Michael Donahue, one of Bulger's alleged victims, shouted, "You're a coward!" Relatives of other alleged Bulger murder victims groaned. Casper cut Bulger off and pressed him to be clear on whether he would testify or not. He told her he would not testify. "That's my final answer,'' he said. Bulger's exchange with Casper took place without the jury present. After the brief conversation between Bulger and Casper, the jury was brought back to the courtroom. Defense attorney Jay W. Carney rose and appeared to suprise some jurors with what he said next: "The defense calls no further witnesses and we rest at the time." Casper told jurors that closing arguments would be held Monday and they would be given their legal instructions Tuesday, then begin deliberating. Deliberations will last all day, in contrast to the trial, where testimony ended each day at 1 p.m. "We'll see you on Monday," Casper told jurors. Bulger's decision not to testify came despite a public promise from Carney before the trial that the 83-year-old gangster would share his version of events — how he believed he was never an informant for the FBI, and how he was told by prosecutor O'Sullivan that he could commit crimes with impunity. Judge Casper ruled in May that Bulger could not claim to the jury that he had immunity. Federal prosecutors have called the claim "fantastical" and absurd. It was an anticlimactic end to testimony in a high-profile trial that has so far consumed 35 days and included testimony from 72 witnesses, including some former close Bulger cronies who had cut deals with prosecutors in return for testifying against the one-time leader of the Winter Hill Gang. During the trial, US Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office presented a mountain of evidence, beginning in mid-June, about Bulger's criminal exploits in the 1970s and 1980s. Bulger's decision not to testify frustrated relatives of some of the people he is accused of murdering, especially the widow and sons of Donahue, an innocent Dorchester truck driver murdered in 1982 by Bulger with the help of another man. The other killer's identity has officially remained a mystery, although some have suggested it was Patrick Nee. The Donahues wanted Bulger questioned about who the man was. Earlier today, Bulger offered to hand over $822,000 in cash found inside the walls of the California apartment where he was arrested in 2011 to relatives of Donahue and Brian Halloran, who Bulger was allegedly targeting. According to trial testimony, Bulger had been tipped that Halloran was cooperating with the FBI against him; Donahue was an innocent who offered to give Halloran a ride home. Both families sued the FBI for its corrupt relationship with Bulger, but the federal courts reluctantly threw out the cases on grounds they were filed beyond the statute of limitations, an argument aggressively pushed by the Justice Department. Bulger faces a sweeping federal racketeering indictment that, in addition to the 19 murders, charges him with extortion, money laundering, and possession of illegal weapons. Prosecutors have portrayed him as a long-time, prized FBI informant who killed several people after being warned by a corrupt FBI agent that they were cooperating against him. His notoriety grew when he eluded a worldwide manhunt for 16 years before his capture in seaside Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011. Revelations of FBI corruption and his brother William's parallel rise in the political world to become president of the Massachusetts Senate stoked further interest in the case and inspired numerous books, TV shows, and movies. Martin Finucane, John R. Ellement and columnist Kevin Cullen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymurph. Milton J. Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @miltonvalencia.

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Fugitive Snowden granted a year's asylum in Russia, leaves airport - Reuters Posted: 01 Aug 2013 09:36 AM PDT By Timothy Heritage and Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW | Thu Aug 1, 2013 12:49pm EDT (Reuters) - Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden slipped quietly out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after being granted a year's asylum in Russia, ending more than five weeks in limbo in the transit area. Russia's decision to help the American, and ignore U.S. requests to send him home to face trial for leaking details of government surveillance programs, is sure to anger Washington and increase doubts that a summit between presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin will go ahead in Moscow in September. After 39 days avoiding hordes of international reporters desperate for a glimpse of him, Snowden managed to give them the slip again, leaving the airport in a car. "Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law but in the end the law is winning," Snowden, whose first leaks were published two months ago, was quoted as saying by the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group which has assisted him. "I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations." Grainy images on state television showed the 30-year-old's document, which is similar to a Russian passport, and revealed that he had been granted asylum for a year from July 31. A Russian lawyer said he had handed Snowden a document from Russia which enabled him to leave the airport for a safe location which would remain secret, and that he could now work and travel freely in the country of 142 million. State television also showed a picture of him getting into a grey car at the airport driven by a young man in a baseball cap. Snowden wore a backpack and a blue button-up shirt. "He is the most wanted man on planet Earth," Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told Reuters. "He has to think about his personal security. I cannot tell you where he is going." "He can live wherever he wants in Russia. It's his personal choice," he said. OTHER OFFERS OF ASYLUM Snowden, who had his U.S. passport revoked by Washington, fled to Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23 and had stayed at a hotel at the airport, Kucherena said, but was "psychologically exhausted". "Imagine yourself daily (having to listen to) 'Dear passengers, the flight to New York, the flight to Washington, the flight from Rome'," the lawyer said. Snowden, whose revelations have fuelled a debate in the United States about civil liberties and national security needs, was accompanied by Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks representative. "We would like to thank the Russian people and all those others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the battle - now the war," WikiLeaks said on Twitter. WikiLeaks issued its statement as the case against Private Bradley Manning continued for releasing classified U.S. data through its website. Snowden hopes to avoid a similar fate. Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela have offered him refuge, but there are no direct commercial flights to Latin America from Moscow and he was concerned the United States would intercept any flight he took. He was forced to bide his time in the transit area between the runway and passport control, which Russia considers neutral territory. Kucherena had given Snowden Russian books to help pass the time and says he has started learning Russian in preparation for his stay, which could be extended after a year. "I am so thankful to the Russian nation and President Vladimir Putin," the American's father, Lonnie Snowden, told Russian state television. He is expected to come to Russia to see his son shortly. It is not clear what Snowden plans to do in Russia, although he has said he would like to travel around the country. VKontakte, Russia's answer to social networking site Facebook, has already offered him a job. STRAINS IN TIES Washington has signaled in the last few weeks that Obama might consider boycotting the planned summit with Putin. It did not immediately comment on Snowden's change of status, which steps up the level of support he is receiving from Russia. It is not clear whether Obama might also consider a boycott of a G20 summit in Russia in September or of the Winter Olympics which Russia will host in the city of Sochi next February. A senior Kremlin official played down concerns. "Our president has ... expressed hope many times that this will not affect the character of our relations," Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy adviser, told reporters. But Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized Moscow's decision and said Russia should send Snowden home because his revelations could do great harm to the United States. "Edward Snowden is a fugitive who belongs in a United States courtroom, not a free man deserving of asylum in Russia," Menendez said. "Regardless of the fact that Russia is granting asylum for one year, this action is a setback to U.S.-Russia relations." Putin wants to improve relations with the United States that are strained by issues from the Syrian conflict to his treatment of opponents and foreign-funded non-governmental organizations, but would have risked looking weak if he had handed him over to the U.S. authorities. More than half of Russians have a positive opinion of Snowden and 43 percent wanted him to be granted asylum, a poll released by independent research group Levada said this week. Putin has said Snowden must stop anti-U.S. activities, but it was not clear whether the American had agreed to do so. Snowden has said that he does not regard his activities as hostile to the United States. There has already been diplomatic fallout from Snowden's leaks, which included information that the U.S. National Security Agency bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, even though the EU is an ally. China, Brazil and France have voiced concern over the spying program and U.S. ties with Latin American states have been clouded. (Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Alexei Anishchuk, Katya Golubkova and Gleb Stolyarov, editing by Elizabeth Piper and Michael Roddy)

Ariel Castro victim: 'Nobody should go through what I went through' - CNN Posted: 01 Aug 2013 07:51 AM PDT Ariel Castro's sentencing for the kidnapping and rape of three women in Ohio will be issued Thursday, August 1. During the trial, the prosecution presented images from inside the house that reveal the disturbing conditions in which they were held. A model of the house was also included. HIDE CAPTION Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > >> STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: Ariel Castro says he's a "happy person inside" He swears he didn't beat the victims Victim Michelle Knight reads impact statement to Castro Cleveland kidnapper faces life plus 1,000 years Cleveland (CNN) -- [Breaking news alert, 12:51 p.m. ET] Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro, speaking at his sentencing hearing, said, "I'm not a violent person. I simply kept them there so they couldn't leave." He was referring to the three women he held captive for about a decade. Castro said he knew what he did was wrong, but he argued that the "accusations that I would come home and beat them" are "totally wrong." "I'm not a monster. I'm just sick. I have an addiction. Just like an alcoholic has an addiction." "God as my witness, I never beat these women like they're trying to say that I did. I never tortured them," he said. Castro admitted that he drove past his own daughter, failing to give her a ride, so he could kidnap his second victim, Gina DeJesus. He said he did it because "I was driven by sex." "I am truly sorry for what happened," he said. [Breaking news alert, 12:43 p.m. ET] Describing himself as a "very emotional person," Ariel Castro said during his sentencing hearing that "these people are trying to paint me as a monster and I'm not a monster. I'm sick." "I believe I am addicted to porn to the point that it makes me impulsive and I lost it," he said, adding he's "not trying to make excuses." "I'm a happy person inside," he added. [Breaking news alert, 12:36 p.m. ET] Tim McGinty, Cuyahoga County prosecutor, stressed there's no backing to the claim that Ariel Castro suffered from mental illness. "He is responsible," he said, likening him to murderers John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy. "He has no excuse." When asked what Castro would do if he could go back and do things differently, the kidnapper responded that he'd do it all over again, McGinty said. "He doesn't believe he did anything wrong," McGinty said. "There is no remorse." [Breaking news alert, 12:30 p.m. ET] During Ariel Castro's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Anna Faraglia said that Castro "tormented (his victims) by allowing them to watch their vigils ... and even had the audacity to attend them." She further said that Castro would talk to his victims' parents as if he were distraught by their disappearances when "they were right underneath his roof." Defense attorney Craig Weintraub then told the judge that he felt some of the testimony presented was inappropriate because "these were really private matters," the sentence had been agreed upon prior to the hearing and Castro waived his right to challenge the facts of the case. Judge Michael Russo responded that he felt the testimony and evidence was necessary to help him guide his decision on whether to accept the sentence. [Breaking news alert, 12:20 p.m. ET] Michelle Knight, one of Ariel Castro's kidnap victims, said in court she missed her son during her ordeal in captivity. "I cried every night. I was so alone. I worried what would happen to me and the other girls every day," she said at Castro's sentencing hearing Thursday. Kidnapping victim Michelle Knight told her captor, Ariel Castro, during his sentencing hearing, "You took 11 years of my life away. ... I spent 11 years in hell. Now, your hell is just beginning." "I can forgive you, but I will never forget," she said in her statement to Castro, calling him a hypocrite. "Nobody should go through what I went through," she said tearfully. She called another victim, Gina DeJesus, her "teammate" saying the woman saved her when she was "dying from his abuse." Knight said she "will overcome what happened" but Castro "will face hell for eternity." "I will live on. You will die a little every day." [Breaking news alert, 12:15 p.m. ET] Sylvia Colon, cousin and spokeswoman for kidnap victim Gina DeJesus, told Ariel Castro's family that "we do not hold you accountable" for Castro's crimes. Colon, speaking at Ariel Castro's sentencing hearing Thursday, added, "It is not for us to judge or determine any punishment. Only a higher power can do that." She was speaking at Ariel Castro's sentencing Beth Serrano, sister of kidnap victim Amanda Berry, said her sister doesn't want to speak of the horrors she went through because she doesn't want her daughter to hear details about the case. "She will do anything to protect her daughter." She was speaking at Ariel Castro's sentencing hearing, [Breaking news alert, 12:04 p.m. ET] Michelle Knight, one of three women held captive for a decade by Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro, entered the courtroom after a break in his sentencing hearing Thursday. [Previously published story, 11:55 a.m. ET] They were forced to play Russian roulette. He threw money at them after sex. He reconfigured his entire home to keep their whereabouts a secret. And it was all to "purely satisfy his sexual needs," Det. David Jacobs of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office testified Thursday during the sentencing hearing for Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro. Castro's victims were subjected to a "complete and comprehensive captivity," forensic psychiatrist Dr. Gregory Saathoff said during the Cleveland kidnapper's sentencing hearing. Saathoff initially wrote upon learning of the kidnappings, "The scope and magnitude of Ariel Castro's crimes is unprecedented," but he said that an examination of the defendant showed "no psychiatric illness whatsoever." Already in the testimony, witnesses have recounted Castro forcing the girls to play Russian roulette, throwing money at them after sexually abusing them, his admission that he's a "criminal" and "sexual predator" and the measures he took to keep the women's whereabouts a secret. Explaining how women the age of Castro's victims typically are learning how to be intimate in life, psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, a pioneer in trauma science, described the mental damage the women suffered. "This was not real intimacy. This was a perversion of intimacy," Ochberg said, further describing the women's survival and coping skills as "marvelous, compelling examples of resilience, of imagination, of humanity." While Castro faces the possibility of spending the rest of his days in prison, Ochberg said the women will experience "life sentences" themselves and the horrific memories are not going away. Deborah Knight, the grandmother of kidnapping victim Michelle Knight, participates in a community balloon-release service in Michelle's honor on Thursday, May 9, in Cleveland. Four females were found in a home on Seymour Avenue in the Clark Fulton neighborhood on Monday. Since then, the neighborhood and the nation have wondered how they were held captive without anyone noticing sooner. The Clark Fulton neighborhood HIDE CAPTION << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 > >> Testimony kicked off with Barbara Johnson, the Cleveland police officer who first responded to kidnapper Ariel Castro's home. She recalled finding Michelle Knight and Georgina DeJesus after hearing the pitter-patter of footsteps in a dark room. Knight "literally launched herself" into another officer's arms," Johnson said, "legs, arms, just choking him. She just kept repeating, 'You saved us! You saved us!' " Johnson said the kidnapping victims were scared, pale, talkative and didn't want to be left alone. After the women were rescued in May, Castro was quick to tell police that his brothers had no involvement in the kidnappings and it was in that context that he told authorities, "I'm a criminal," but he showed no remorse at that time, said . " 'I knew what I did was wrong.' He said that more than once," Jacobs said, explaining how Castro cooperated with police. Castro had a gun in the home that he told Jacobs he would "show to the girls as a form of control." Asked if he had ever forced the girls to play Russian roulette, Castro told Jacobs that he didn't remember it, "but if the girls said it, it probably happened." FBI agent Andrew Burke said he had been familiar with DeJesus' and Amanda Berry's disappearances prior to their discovery earlier this year. Asked if he remembered the moment he saw them, Burke recalled first laying eyes on the three adult victims and Berry's daughter in an ambulance outside Castro's home. "I'll never forget it," Burke said, explaining the women appeared dehydrated and malnourished. "It was surreal to me. I had been involved in the missing persons investigations for quite some time." Shown photos and a model of Castro's home, Burke described a residence equipped with an alarm on the back door, a bedspread separating the kitchen and living area, a porch swing obstructing a flight of stairs and a curtain over the stairs leading to the area where the women were held captive. The door to the room where Berry and her daughter were held had no doorknob and could be secured from the outside. Because the windows in that room were boarded up from the inside, Burke said, a hole was cut in the door for ventilation. Authorities also found a "significant amount" of cash in a washing machine in the house. On occasion, Castro would throw the money at the women after sexually abusing them and require that they pay him to pick up any special items for them when he left the house, the agent said. Also found in the home was a handwritten letter in which Castro described how he victimized his captives and declared, "I am a sexual predator," Burke said. The letter also noted that Castro himself had been sexually abused as a child and mentioned an addiction to pornography and masturbation. On cross-examination, Burke said the Castro also expressed remorse and said he was sick and mentally ill, but the FBI agent did not concur with the defense's characterization of the letter as a suicide note. Gerald Maloney, the emergency room doctor on duty when the three victims were taken to the hospital, described them as "very much emotionally fragile at the time" and said Knight requested that no male physicians attend to her. The women told Maloney that they had been sexually and physically abused and, at times, deprived of food during their years of captivity. Castro lured DeJesus into his car in 2004 by asking her for help locating his daughter, said Det. Andrew Harasimchuk, recalling DeJesus' statement to him. Castro then told DeJesus he had to go home for money before asking her for help moving a speaker, the detective said. She became uncomfortable, and Castro told her she had to leave through a different door than the one she entered through. When she walked through that door, she found herself in the basement of his home, Harasimchuk said. Castro then chained her to a center support pole in the basement, bound her hands with plastic ties and sexually assaulted her, the detective said. All three women told Harasimchuk that they had been repeatedly raped "vaginally, orally and anally" during their captivity, he said. Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, in a deal that dropped a possible death penalty in exchange for life in prison plus 1,000 years. At the beginning of his hearing, a shackled Castro, flanked by his lawyers and wearing an orange prison uniform and eyeglasses, quietly told the judge he understood the reporting requirements of his sex-offender status, should he ever be released, which is unlikely given the plea deal. Defense attorney Craig Weintraub told the court that his client accepts "full responsibility" for his conduct. Noting that Castro promptly took responsibility for his crimes, Judge Michael Russo said that given the scope of the crimes, "I don't know that this could've been any more dignified." Amanda Berry speaks in a video released on YouTube on Monday, July 8, thanking people for support and privacy. Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from a Cleveland home on May 6 after being held captive for nearly a decade. Kidnapped teens found decade later HIDE CAPTION << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 > >> With a model of Castro's home in the courtroom, another defense attorney, Jaye Schlachet, said he did not approve of anything but the victims' impact statements being introduced during the sentencing hearing. He also mentioned doctors' reports and photos as other examples of things he felt shouldn't be presented in court. Russo later responded that he wanted to see records pertaining to the case and hear testimony to ensure that "the court can reach and appropriate sentence." Castro is expected to speak at length during his sentencing, delivering a statement that his sister promises will allow people to see "the other side of Ariel Castro." He'll give a rather lengthy statement, explaining his life and who he really is, his sister, Marisol Alicea, told CNN on Wednesday night. "(People will) see the other side of Ariel Castro ... not the monster that everyone thinks he is," she said, adding that she was in no way defending her brother. "He must pay for what he did." Alicea said she doesn't plan on attending the sentencing with others in her family, fearing the evidence will be too graphic. Hearing to last hours The sentencing hearing is expected to last hours and include witness testimony and evidence, a Cuyahoga County court source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told CNN. Child custody rights for rapists? Most states have them Prosecutors want to make sure there's a record going forward in case of a future appeal, should Castro want to try to get out of prison, said the source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Prosecutors also want the court and the public to understand the impact Castro's actions had on his victims and the community. At least one of Castro's victims, Knight, will likely make an impact statement during the hearing, Alicea said. An official with direct knowledge of the investigation also said Knight intends to speak. In a handwritten note, posted Wednesday on the Cleveland Police Community Relations Facebook page, Knight said she was overwhelmed with the support she has received from "complete strangers." "It is comforting. Life is tough, but I'm tougher," she wrote. "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, she became a butterfly. Thanks." The other two women -- DeJesus and Berry -- will not be present in the court, according to the attorney representing the three women. They could make a videotaped statement, or a family member could talk on their behalf. Ariel Castro's son: I won't visit dad in prison Evaluating a kidnapper Prosecutors also have submitted an evaluation of Castro's confinement and abuse of Knight, DeJesus and Berry that was compiled by acclaimed psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, considered a pioneer in trauma science. The evaluation was part of the prosecution's pre-sentencing report, which has been submitted to the court. The evaluation -- using statements, medical records, videotaped interviews and transcripts -- painted a horrifying picture of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Castro that included brutal beatings and repeated rapes that resulted in pregnancies that he would end by punching the women in the stomach. "He appeared to be evolving in an ever more dangerous direction, capturing younger and younger women, telling his captives he was hunting for replacements," Ochberg wrote. Castro abducted Knight, Berry and DeJesus separately over a two-year period between 2002 and 2004, according to investigators. Promise of a ride In each case, Castro lured the women into his car with the promise of a ride, according to court documents submitted by Timothy McGinty, Cuyahoga County prosecuting attorney. Castro "enticed" Knight to go inside the house, where she would be held captive in the next 11 years, with "promises of a puppy for her son." The documents also say that Castro "serially abused (Knight, Berry and DeJesus) physically, emotionally, and sexually on a daily basis." All three women kept diaries, with Castro's permission, providing many of the details used in the case. Knight suffered "the longest" The women and Berry's 6-year-old daughter were held in Castro's 1,400-square-foot home. DNA tests have confirmed that Castro is the child's father. In the evaluation, Ochberg wrote that Knight, who was kidnapped first, suffered "the longest and most severely." "But it was Michelle who served as doctor, nurse, midwife and pediatrician during the birth (of Berry's child). She breathed life into that infant when she wasn't breathing," he wrote. "At other times, she interceded when Castro sought to abuse Gina, interposing herself and absorbing physical and sexual trauma. But each survivor had a will to prevail and used that will to live through the ordeal." When freedom came The women were freed in May after Berry shouted for help while Castro was away. Neighbor Charles Ramsey said he heard their cries as he was sitting down to eat. "I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house," he told CNN affiliate WEWS. "I go on the porch and she says, 'Help me get out. I've been in here a long time.'" Finally free, Berry pleaded for a phone. "Help me, I am Amanda Berry," she frantically told a 911 operator. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here, I'm free now." In early July, Berry, DeJesus and Knight released a YouTube video offering their thanks to all those who have helped them since they were freed. They have not faced their captor and tormentor since their rescue. "I want to thank everyone who has helped me and my family through this entire ordeal. Everyone who has been there to support us has been a blessing," Berry said in the video. "I'm getting stronger each day." Why so many high-profile crimes in Cleveland? CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin wrote from Atlanta, and Pamela Brown reported from Cleveland. CNN's Chelsea J. Carter, Chris Boyette, Ronni Berke, Ashley Fantz and Martin Savidge contributed to this report. 0 Comments » SHARE THIS Print Email More sharing

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KL shares open higher but eases thereafter Posted: 31 Jul 2013 06:52 PM PDT Shares on Bursa Malaysia opened higher but eased thereafter on lack of buying interest, said dealers. At 9.11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.94 points lower at 1,768.68 after opening 2.38 points higher at 1,775.71. HwangDBS Vickers Research said while the selling pressure on Malaysian equities could persist, bargain-hunting might step in as the local bourse slides further. Technically speaking, the benchmark FBM KLCI, after falling 37.4-point or 2.1 per cent in five straight days, will probably find key support at the 1,750 level, it said. Elsewhere, regional markets may show a mild rebound today following the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting outcome last night. "Essentially, policymakers reiterated that they would continue the asset purchases programme and are prepared to increase or reduce the pace of the purchases depending on incoming data. "And given their mention of the economic risks posed by a below average inflation, the jury is still out on whether the tapering process would begin as early as September this year," said HwangDBS. On the scoreboard, the Finance index fell 65.67 points to 16,682.91, the Plantation Index eased 30.79 points to 8,287.53 and the Industrial index shed 11.90 points to 3,012.86. The FBM Emas Index trimmed 15.01 points to 12,316.37, the FBM100 Index erased 15.31 points to 12,176.26, the FBM ACE Index inched down 0.25 of a point to 4,998.71 but the FBM 70 Index increased 29.35 points to 14,186.35. Gainers outpaced losers by 96 to 90, with 156 counters unchanged, 1,235 untraded and 18 others were suspended. Turnover amounted to 60.559 million shares worth RM52.519 million. Among actives, Cybertowers added half-a-sen to 15.5 sen while TH Heavy Engineering and Malaysia Airlines were both flat at 81.5 sen and 30.5 sen, respectively. Sona Petroleum inched down half-a-sen to 41.5 sen and Zelan fell 3.5 sen to 24.5 sen. Of heavyweights, Axiata added three sen to RM6.82, TNB rose 12 sen to RM9.01 but Maybank eased four sen to RM10.22, CIMB shed three sen to RM7.84 and Sime Darby slipped two sen to RM9.46.-- Bernama

Ringgit opens slightly higher versus US dollar Posted: 31 Jul 2013 06:54 PM PDT The ringgit opened slightly higher versus the US dollar today on mild buying interest, dealers said. At 9.03am today, the Malaysian ringgit was quoted at 3.2415/2435 to a US dollar from 3.2425/2455 registered at 5pm on Wednesday. Against the Singapore dollar, the domestic currency was little changed at 2.5494/5525 from 2.5495/5529 yesterday but rose to 3.3100/3127 from 3.3185/3229 versus the yen on Wednesday. Against the British pound, the local note improved to 4.9199/9240 from 4.9322/9377 yesterday but was traded lower versus the euro at 4.3122/3152 from 4.3080/3126 previously.-- Bernama

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Public gets first look at once-secret court order on NSA surveillance - Los Angeles Times Posted: 31 Jul 2013 08:57 AM PDT WASHINGTON -- The public got its first look at the secret court order that authorized the government's vast collection of records of domestic telephone calls as the Obama administration moved Wednesday to try to boost public confidence in the National Security Agency's program. The order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court lays out the rules under which the program operates, mirroring the descriptions that U.S. officials have given in the weeks since the program was disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The order stipulates that a small number of analysts and supervisors are authorized to access the records for the limited purpose of matching them against phone numbers linked to terrorism. Also disclosed were two letters to Congress, in 2009 and 2011, explaining that the government was using the Patriot Act and other provisions to justify bulk collection of U.S. phone records and, until 2011, email "to and from" information. PHOTOS: 2013's memorable political moments But while the safeguards contained in the order may address some public concerns about the program's costs, U.S. intelligence officials continued to have difficulty convincing members of Congress about its benefits. Under questioning at the Senate Judiciary Committee, officials remained unable to come up with more than one relatively minor terrorism-financing case in which the phone records had proved instrumental. The committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), said the Obama administration had failed to convince lawmakers or the public that the collection of U.S. phone records is a crucial tool. "It's been far too difficult to get a straight answer about the effectiveness" of the program, Leahy said. "I think the patience of the American people is beginning to wear thin, but what has to be of more concern in a democracy is the trust of the American people is wearing thin." Asked how many terrorism cases were cracked using U.S. phone records, John "Chris" Inglis, NSA's deputy director, answered that a dozen domestic terrorism investigations had made use of the records. But Inglis could cite only one in which the records were instrumental: a group of men from San Diego who sent $8,500 to Al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia. PHOTOS: Team Obama, where are they now? One of the defendants in that case was discovered when a known terrorist phone number in Somalia was compared against the database, Inglis said. Leahy questioned whether that record met the balancing test between privacy and security. "We could have more security if we strip-searched everybody that came into every building in America," he said. "We're not going to do that. We have more security if we close our borders completely to everybody; we're not going to do that. If we put a wiretap on everybody's cellphone in America, if we search everybody's home. But there are certain areas of our own privacy that we Americans expect, and at some point, you have to know where the balance is." Follow Politics Now on Twitter and Facebook ken.dilanian@latimes.com Twitter: @KenDilanianLAT

Egypt's government tells police to break up pro-Morsi protests - Washington Post Posted: 31 Jul 2013 09:05 AM PDT CAIRO — Egypt's military-backed government on Wednesday ordered the police to break up demonstrations in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, saying the protests pose an "unacceptable threat" to national security, the Associated Press reported. Morsi backers have camped out in two locations in Cairo — outside a mosque and a university campus — ever since the July 3 coup. Egypt's interim leaders appear increasingly determined to clear the pro-Morsi demonstrators away – a process that would likely be tremendously violent. Dozens of protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces in recent weeks. In a televised statement, Information Minister Dorreya Sharaf el-Din said police are to end the demonstrations "within the law and the constitution," AP reported. Late Tuesday, Morsi was visited by a group of African Union officials, the second time in recent days he has been allowed to meet with a foreign delegation after being held incommunicado for four weeks. News of the meeting came as Morsi's former prime minister was ordered to prison for a year. The ruling by a Cairo misdemeanor court against former Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, who was not a member of the Morsi-affiliated Muslim Brotherhood but was seen as sympathetic to Islamists, further broadens the wide-scale crackdown on Morsi allies, with an increasing number of Islamist politicians and leaders being arrested and thrown in jail. But Egypt's government also has allowed more access to Morsi since Monday, raising the possibility of some sort of negotiation between the president who was deposed on July 3 and his successors. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with Morsi late Monday. Neither she nor the African Union group disclosed where Morsi is being held or the substance of their conversations, although both delegations said that Morsi appeared to be doing well. The African Union delegation met with him for an hour late Tuesday, a member said at a Wednesday news conference. Qandil, a technocratic prime minister who served during Morsi's year in office, was ordered to a year in prison by Judge Mohamed el-Sawy after losing an appeal of a court ruling decided April 9. The case stemmed from a 2005 decision to privatize a state-owned company, seven years before Qandil took office. An administrative court ordered that Qandil's cabinet undo the privatization; it did not, and Qandil was held liable for the failure to uphold the order. Egypt's judiciary, comprised largely of appointees from the time of former President Hosni Mubarak, tangled frequently with Morsi and his associates, and the April 9 ruling was one of those instances. Ashton's Monday meeting with Morsi was the first contact he with an independent official since he was taken into military custody almost a month ago. By allowing the meeting, Egypt's military signaled that it may be willing to work with Morsi toward a political solution to the country's ongoing crisis, which has spawned repeated violence between security forces and the ousted president's supporters.

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