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By Allen G. Breed The Associated Press FORT BRAGG, N.C. » With the Pentagon under increased scrutiny over revelations of rampant rape and sex - ual misconduct within the ranks, opening statements began Friday in a rare court- martial of an Army general — believed to be the most se - nior member of the U.S. mil- itary to face trial on sex as- sault charges. Prosecutors were mak- ing their case against Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, ac- cused of sexually assault- ing a captain under his com- mand with whom he had a three-year affair. Prosecu- tors said in their statements that they plan to ask the cap- tain to take the stand later Friday. Defense lawyers portray Sinclair as the victim of an overzealous military under intense political pressure to make an example of him. Sinclair, 51, stood ram - rod straight before a judge Thursday and pleaded guilty to three charges that could send him to prison for up to 15 years. It was a remark - able admission sure to end the military career of a man once regarded as a rising star among the Army's small cadre of trusted battle com- manders. Sinclair still faces five other charges stemming from the claims of a female captain nearly 20 years his junior who says the general twice forced her to perform oral sex. But by pleading guilty to the lesser charges, Sin - clair's lawyers believe they will strengthen his case at trial by potentially limiting some of the salacious evi - dence prosecutors can pres- ent. It will ultimately be up to the judge to determine what, if any, limitations to place on the evidence as the case un - folds. The former deputy com- mander of the 82nd Air- borne could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of the sexual assaults. Asked by judge Col. James Pohl Thursday whether he clearly understood the con - sequences of his admissions, the decorated veteran of five combat deployments an- swered in a clear voice, with no emotion: "Yes sir." Pohl accepted Sinclair's plea after nearly three hours of often intimate questions about the married general's f lirtations and dalliances with four women — three military officers and one ci - vilian. R ep e at e d l y, S i ncl a i r turned to his lawyer before answering, prompting the judge to say: "It's important that you tell me the truth as you recall it." "You'll get nothing but the truth from me," the general replied. The general pleaded guilty to having improper relation - ships with two female Army officers and to committing adultery with a third, the captain who was his long - time mistress. Adultery is a crime in the military. When asked by the judge if he was aware of the prohi - bition against senior officers having relations with sub- ordinates, Sinclair replied, "Oh, yes sir." He then described how the affair began during a war tour in Iraq when his primary accuser asked if he wanted to watch a movie. Once they were alone in his quarters, the general said the young officer made sex - ual advances that he initially rebuffed. Pohl asked how Sinclair knew the woman wanted to have sex with him. "Probably when she took her top off, sir," the general said with a nervous chuckle. Sinclair's wife of nearly 30 years has remained with him through his legal trou - bles and served as a staunch public defender, though she was not in the courtroom Thursday. The couple has two children. The general also admitted to violating orders by pos - sessing pornography and to conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. After he knew he was under investigation, Sinclair also admitted deleting nude pho - tos from a personal email account sent by a civilian woman with whom he was childhood friends. Sinclair's lawyer Rich - ard Scheff said by admit- ting guilt on the charges for which there is the strongest evidence, the married father of two hoped to narrow the focus of the trial to charges that rely heavily on the tes - timony and credibility of his former mistress. miliTARy Opening statements begin in general's sex trial The FayeTTeville Observer, James rObinsOn — The assOciaTed Press brig. Gen. Paul Wilson leaves the courthouse aer testifying in pretrial motions in the case of brig. Gen. Jeffrey sinclair on Tuesday at Fort bragg, n.c. By Jesse J. Holland The Associated Press WA S H i NGTON » You n g adults like to think of them- selves as independent, but when it comes to politics, they're more likely than not to lean to the left. Half of American adults ages 18 to 33 are self-de - scribed political indepen- dents, according to a sur- vey out Friday, but at the same time half of these so- called millennials are Dem- ocrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, the high- est share for any age group over the last decade. I n add it ion , you n g adults tend to be single and churchless — turning away from their predeces - sors' proclivity for religion and marriage, according the Pew Research Center survey. Almost two-thirds don't classify themselves as "a religious person." And when it comes to tying the knot: Only about 1 in 4 mil - lennials is married. Almost half of baby boomers were married at that age. The new survey shows how the millennial adults are "forging a distinctive path into adulthood," said Paul Taylor, Pew's execu - tive vice president. This can especially be seen when it comes to pol- itics. Fifty percent of the millennials identify them- selves as political indepen- dents, while only 27 per- cent said Democrat and 17 percent said Republican. The independent identifi- cation for millenials is an increase from 38 percent back in 2004. The number of self-de - scribed independents is lower among their prede- cessors. Only 39 percent of those in Generation X said they were independents, along with 37 percent of the boomers and 32 percent of the Silent Generation. When the self-identified Democratic millennials combined with the self-de - scribed independents who lean Democratic, half — 50 percent — of the millenni- als are Democrats or Dem- ocratic-leaning while 34 percent are Republicans or Republican-leaning. "They don't choose to identify, but they have strong views and their views are views that most people conventionally asso - ciate with the Democratic Party," Taylor said. "They believe in a big activist gov- ernment on some of the so- cial issues of the day — gay marriage, marijuana legal- ization, immigration." Taylor said they don't know whether millennial voting trends will stay the same as they get older. "People can change over the course of their life - times," Taylor said. "At the same time, the behaviors, attitudes, the voting pat- terns and experiences that generations sort of encoun- ter as they come of age in their late teens and early 20s are important and this generation as political ac - tors has come in three or four national elections in a row now as distinctively Democratic and liberal de - spite the fact they don't want to identify that way." pOliTiCS Su rv ey : Ha lf o f millennials likely to lean Democratic Non affiliation with political parties, religion stand out By Ken Thomas The Associated Press OXON Hill, md. » Texas Gov. Rick Perry mocked Demo- cratic governors for leading their states to higher taxes and fewer jobs as early au- ditions for the next Repub- lican presidential contest rolled on Friday at the na- tion's largest annual gather- ing of conservative activists. It's the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, which brings thousands of activ - ists to suburban Washing- ton each year to put their stamp on the Republican Party. The program fea- tured Perry and two other former presidential candi- dates known for their focus on social values — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huck- abee and former Pennsyl- vania Sen. Rick Santorum. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul took the stage later in the day, setting up a clash of ideas between libertarian- minded Republicans and Christian conservatives. An afternoon panel discus - sion was titled, "Can Liber- tarians and Social Conser- vatives Ever Get Along?" All four men have left open the possibility of run- ning for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 — a contest expected to begin in earnest in about a year. Perry said Democratic governors lead states with higher taxes, more regu - lations and fewer jobs. He singled out New York and California as egregious ex- amples. About New York, he said, "They're implementing the tired old recipe of back- breaking taxes and regula - tions that are larger than a 30-ounce big gulp." Perry also suggested that Washington politicians in both parties have seized too much power and it's time to elect "the right kind of lead - ers." The day before, the ini- tial slate of Republicans vy- ing for the party's next pres- idential nomination called for the GOP to unite behind a clear agenda and draw contrasts with Democrats. The contestants ranged from Sen. Ted Cruz, a tea party champion, to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a favorite of the Republican establishment. Republicans have much to mend before 2016, start - ing with a stark ideological divide between the party's establishment and the su- per-conservatives who rose to power in the tea party-fu- eled 2010 elections that de- livered a Republican House majority. Fiscal crises, com- promises and a war of words have separated the factions from the top down despite widespread agreement that Obama's signature health care law should be over - turned. More than two years be- fore the election to succeed Obama, there's no clear front-runner for the Repub- lican nomination. pOliTiCS Perry knocks N.Y., California at GOP showcase Texas Gov. rick Perry speaks at the conservative Political action committee annual conference in national harbor, md., on Friday. Friday marked the second day of the annual conservative Political action conference, which brings together prospective presidential candidates, conservative opinion leaders and Tea Party activists from coast to coast. susan Walsh — The assOciaTed Press By Brian Skoloff The Associated Press pHOENiX » The federal gov- ernment on Friday released the U.S. Border Patrol's use- of-force policies while the agency's chief issued a di - rective that reiterates how personnel should respond to threats amid mounting crit- icism of excessive force and lack of transparency. Border Patrol Chief Mike Fisher, in a memorandum, reminded agents that the "level of force applied must reflect the totality of the cir - cumstances surrounding each situation." Immigrant rights groups have complained that Border Patrol agents are too trig - ger-happy in responding to people who throw rocks at them along the border with Mexico. Fisher said that since 2010, agents have been assaulted with rocks 1,713 times, with deadly forced being used in 43 instances. While Border Patrol pol - icy has always held that agents may use deadly force if there is a reasonable threat of imminent death or serious injury, Fisher's di - rective Friday reiterates that they shouldn't fire their weapons unless absolutely necessary. BORdER Ne w us e of force gu id es released www.tehamafamilyfitness.com Tehama Family Fitness Center 2498 South Main St. Red Bluff • 528-8656 Single $ 199 Couple $ 299 Family of 3 only $ 349 Don't let your refund go to waist! 5 Month Membership Specials One month unlimited tanning only $ 25+tax *2 month tan limit per person * must be 18 to tan. *Standard monthly rate option available upon promo expiration. | NEWS | redbluFFdailyneWs.cOm saTurday, march 8, 2014 8 A