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4B Daily News – Saturday, July 27, 2013 WORLD BRIEFING Snowden's secret trove of documents unlikely to be bargaining chip against US WASHINGTON (AP) — It's the stuff of spy novels: The hunted-down protagonist wins in the end because he's got damaging documents squirreled away, a bargaining chip against the bureaucrats who want to silence him. If National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden thinks he's living in such a thriller, legal experts say he ought to think again. Nothing he has is likely to scare off the prosecution. Snowden, stuck at a Russian airport while he seeks asylum from several countries, has not overtly threatened the U.S. that he would release more damaging documents. But the journalist through whom he has been working, Glenn Greenwald, has said that blueprints that detail how the NSA operates will be made public if something should happen to Snowden. ''This is his insurance policy,'' said Greenwald, a columnist with Britain's Guardian newspaper who received Snowden's initial leaks and who communicates with the former NSA systems analyst. In a July 13 article in the Argentine newspaper La Nacion, Greenwald said, ''The U.S. government should be on its knees praying every day that nothing happens to Snowden, because if something does happen, all the information would be revealed and this would be its worst nightmare.'' The Justice Department is not discussing its prosecution strategy, though Attorney General Eric Holder has said the U.S. has no plans to seek the death penalty as it pursues criminal charges against Snowden. Holder made the comments in a letter to the Russian government dated Tuesday. Attorney General Holder tells Russia US won't seek death WASHINGTON (AP) — Striving to get Edward Snowden back to America, U.S., Attorney General Eric Holder has assured the Russian government the U.S. has no plans to seek the death penalty for the former National Security Agency systems analyst. In a letter dated Tuesday, the attorney general said the criminal charges Snowden now faces in this country do not carry the death penalty and the U.S. will not seek his execution even if he is charged with additional serious crimes. Holder's letter followed news reports that Snowden, who leaked details of top secret U.S. surveillance programs, has filed papers seeking temporary asylum in Russia on grounds that if he were returned to the United States he would be tortured and would face the death penalty. Snowden has been charged with three offenses in the U.S., including espionage, and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. The attorney general's letter was sent to Alexander Vladimirovich Konovalov, the Russian minister of justice. Military grilling Morsi to build broader case against him and Muslim Brotherhood CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's criminal investigation against the ousted president, announced Friday, is likely just the start of wider legal moves against Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood — ominous prospects for a country seething with violent divisions. During Morsi's three weeks in secret detention, military intelligence agents have extensively questioned him on the inner workings of his presidency and of the Brotherhood, seeking to prove he committed crimes including handing state secrets to the Islamist group, military officials told The Associated Press. Military intelligence has had sole access to him and has questioned him at least once a day, sometimes for up to five hours, the officials said. At times they have presented him voice recordings of his conversations to question him on them, they said. Throughout, Morsi has been denied access to television and newspapers, they said. He has been moved at least three times between Defense Ministry facilities in armored vehicles under heavy guard. He is currently in a facility outside Cairo, they said, without elaborating. The military appears not to have decided yet what to do with the information it is gathering. But the officials said it could be used to fuel the civilian prosecution already underway, indict other Brotherhood figures or to justify a more dramatic move: renewing the ban on the Muslim Brotherhood itself. US seeks transfer of 2 Guantanamo detainees WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is transferring two Guantanamo Bay detainees to Algeria, the first movement of terrorist suspects from the prison since the president announced a renewed push to close the contentious military-run facility in Cuba. The White House said Friday it was starting the transfers as part of President Barack Obama's goal to close the prison, a campaign promise that has eluded him since he took office. ''We are taking this step in consultation with the Congress, and in a responsible manner that protects our national security,'' Obama press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale said that under long-standing policy, the names of the two detainees will not be released until after the transfer. He also wouldn't say what security assurances they had from the Algerian government as part of the arrangement. ''We will not discuss the sensitive, diplomatic arrangements associated with the transfer,'' Breasseale said. A spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee said the panel received the certification, which requires the defense secretary to ensure that in transferring a detainee to another country that the individual will not engage in terrorist activities. An administration official said the detainees were chosen because Algeria is a close U.S. ally that has successfully managed detainees in the past — none of the previous 12 to be released have returned to terrorist activities, unlike some returned to other countries. The official, speaking on a condition of anonymity without authorization to publicly discuss the process, said it has been in the works since several months before Obama announced his intention this spring to push anew for closure. Spain train crash investigation turns to driver SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (AP) — Investigations into Spain's deadliest train crash in decades have only begun, but already a key question has been answered: Experts said Friday that the driver, not a computer, was responsible for applying the brakes because no ''fail-safe'' system has been installed on the dangerous stretch of bending track. The question of whether the brakes failed — or were never used — in the approach to Santiago de Compostela may remain open until police can question the injured driver and analyze the data on the train's just-recovered ''black box.'' Police announced they had arrested 52-year-old Francisco Jose Garzon Amo on suspicion of reckless driving because the train hit the turn Wednesday traveling far faster than its posted 80 kph (50 mph) limit. The train's eight carriages packed with 218 passengers tumbled off the tracks into a concrete wall, and diesel fuel powering the engine sent flames coursing through some cabins. As the first funeral ceremonies began Friday night, authorities working from a sports arena-turned-morgue announced they had positively identified 75 of the 78 people killed in the crash. They lowered the death toll from 80 after determining that some severed body parts had wrongly been attributed to different victims. They said five of the dead came from Algeria, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Mexico and the United States. Closing arguments wrap up in Bradley Manning trial FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Army Pfc. Bradley Manning's fate was in the hands of a military judge Friday after nearly two months of conflicting portrayals of the soldier: a traitor who gave WikiLeaks classified secrets for worldwide attention and a young, naive intelligence officer who wanted people to know about the atrocities of war. Judge Col. Denise Lind said she will start deliberating Friday on the 21 charges Manning faces, but she did not say when she would rule, only that she will give the public a day's notice before her announcement. The most serious charge is aiding the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence in prison. During closing arguments, defense attorney David Coombs said Manning was negligent in releasing classified material, but he did not know al-Qaida would see the material and did not have ''evil intent,'' a key point prosecutors must prove to convict Manning of aiding the enemy. Prosecutors contended Manning, 25, knew the material would be seen across the globe, even by Osama bin Laden, when he started the leaks in late 2009. Manning said the leaks didn't start until February the following year. ''Worldwide distribution, that was his goal,'' said the military's lead prosecutor, Maj. Ashden Fein. ''Pfc. Manning knew the entire world included the enemy, from his training. He knew he was giving it to the enemy, specifically alQaida.'' Pope shows off spiritual side with solemn Way of the Cross RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Pope Francis presided over one of the most solemn rites of the Catholic Church on Friday, a procession re-enacting Christ's crucifixion in the improbable location of Rio's hedonistic Copacabana beach, as he headed into the home stretch of his first international trip for World Youth Day. The evening procession highlighted Francis' deep spiritual side a day after he showed off his rebel streak by calling on young Catholics to shake things up in their parishes and make a ''mess'' by going out to the streets to spread their faith. Francis took a long drive in his open car along Rio's oceanfront to reach the stage, kissing babies brought to him and waving to the shrieking crowds held behind fences and soldiers in camouflage. He then watched on in prayer as young people began the procession, which recounts the final hours of Christ's life as he is condemned to death and crucified. The procession is one of the mainstay events of World Youth Day, designed to remind young Catholics about the root of their faith that Christ died to forgive their sins. Francis drove home that message at the start of Friday, hearing confessions of five young pilgrims in a Rio park. ''It was just five minutes, it followed the regular ritual of confession, but then Francis stayed and talked with us,'' said one of the five, Estefani Lescano, 21, a student from La Guaira, Venezuela. ''It was all very personal. He told us that young people have the responsibility of keeping the church alive and spreading the word of Christ.'' Castro pleads guilty in kidnap case of 3 long-missing Ohio women to avoid death penalty CLEVELAND (AP) — The man who imprisoned three women in his home, subjecting them to a decade of rapes and beatings, pleaded guilty Friday to 937 counts in a deal to avoid the death penalty. Ariel Castro told the judge he was addicted to pornography, had a ''sexual problem'' and had been a sexual abuse victim himself long ago. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors recommended Castro be sentenced to life without parole plus 1,000 years. Castro, 53, said he understood that he would never get out of prison, saying he expected he was ''going to get the book thrown at me.'' HOME SERVICES DIRECTORY Online: Publishes 24/7 Print $ and www.redbluffdailynews.com 112 Per Month On-Line Three additional online locations at no extra cost! No early cancellation, non-refundable In Print Every Tuesday - Thursday - Saturday Building Construction Clock Repair Construction R. G. 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