Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/31420
8A – Daily News – Thursday, May 12, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Bin Laden journal, letters show he saw cities as vulnerable WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep in hiding, his ter- ror organization becom- ing battered and frag- mented, Osama bin Laden kept pressing followers to find new ways to hit the U.S., officials say, citing his private journal and other documents recov- ered in last week’s raid. Strike smaller cities, bin Laden suggested. Tar- get trains as well as planes. Above all, kill as many Americans as possi- ble in a single attack. Though he was out of the public eye and al- Qaida seemed to be weak- ening, bin Laden never yielded control of his worldwide organization, U.S. officials said Wednesday. His personal, handwritten journal and his massive collection of computer files reveal his hand at work in every recent major al-Qaida threat, including plots in Europe last year that had travelers and embassies on high alert, two officials said. They described the intelligence to The Asso- ciated Press only on con- dition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about what was found in bin Laden’s hideout. Ana- lysts are continuing to review the documents. The information shat- ters the government’s conventional thinking about bin Laden, who had been regarded for years as mostly an inspirational figurehead whose years in hiding made him too mar- ginalized to maintain operational control of the organization he founded. Floodwaters rise in the Mississippi Delta RENA LARA, Miss. (AP) — Floodwaters from the bloated Missis- sippi River and its tribu- taries spilled across farm fields, cut off churches, washed over roads and forced people from their homes Wednesday in the Mississippi Delta, a poverty-stricken region only a generation or two removed from sharecrop- ping days. People used boats to navigate flooded streets as the crest rolled slowly downstream, bringing misery to poor, low-lying communities. Hundreds have left their homes in the Delta in the past sev- eral days as the water rose toward some of the high- est levels on record. The flood crest is expected to push all the way through the Delta by late next week. ‘‘It’s getting scary,’’ said Rita Harris, 43, who lives in a tiny wooden house in the shadow of the levee in the Delta town of Rena Lara, popu- lation 500. ‘‘They won’t let you go up there to look at the water.’’ Officials in the town, which has no local news- paper or TV stations, tried Soroptimist International of Red Bluff extends a thank you to the following Event and Regular Sponsors and a special thank you to all who participated and helped with the 11th Annual Spring Run that was held April 9, 2011 THANK YOU SPECIAL THANK YOU: Tom Cairns Cheryl Clark John Luaces The Copy Center EVENT SPONSORS: Bessert’s Fine Designs McGlynn & McGlynn Attorneys at Law Northern California Title Company Nandino and Nandino Family Dentistry Law Office of Ronald D. McIver St. Elizabeth Community Hospital Bickley’s Air Conditioning Cornerstone Community Bank Sacred Heart School & Preschool Dr. Aurora Barriga – Red Bluff Vision Center Sandy Clarkson Geo. Growney Motors, Inc. Tehama Property Management Sacramento River Discovery Center REGULAR SPONSORS: Mary Alice George, – Retired County Clerk & Recorder The Big Picture, Custom Frame Shop We Shoot Ya Photography Golden Apple Insurance North – Troi Shilts Norman C. Nasise, M.D., OB/GYN Dr. Kevin Waits Tehama Women’s Health Specialist Red Bluff Moose Family Center Hill Enterprises Towing Paul R. Moon D.D.S. Hair Etc. Bob & Jan Miller Tehama County Lock & Security Compassionate Health Center Bev Ross, County Clerk & Recorder Kinner Construction Co. – Remodeling & Repairs Bill McMahon CPA William K. Borgsmiller M.D. Chris Kier, Jacy, Aiden and Julia Garcia Charlotte Allen Rogers, “AKA” and Caitlin Miller McLure & Feuer, Legal Search – SF Jan Cole Rosser’s Bakery & Specialty Foods Crystal Complex Antelope Self Storage Jack the Ribber Lassen Tax Professionals Sharon Lenahan – Notary Public to reassure residents that they are doing what they can to shore up the levee and that they will warn people if they need to leave. Earthquakes strike Spain in quick succession MADRID (AP) — Two earthquakes struck southeast Spain in quick succession Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and caus- ing major damage to buildings, officials said. It was the highest quake- related death toll in Spain in more than 50 years. The epicenter of the quakes — with magni- tudes of 4.4 and 5.2 — was close to the town of Lorca, and the second came about two hours after the first, an official with the Murcia regional government said on con- dition of anonymity in line with department poli- cy. Dozens of injured peo- ple were being treated at the scene and a field hos- pital was set up in the town of about 85,000 peo- ple, officials said. About 270 patients at a hospital in Lorca were being evac- uated by ambulance as a precaution after the build- ing sustained minor dam- age, the Murcia regional government said. The Spanish prime minister’s office put the death toll at 10 and the Murcia administration said the deaths included a minor and occurred with the second, stronger quake. Large chunks of stone and brick fell from the facade of a church in Lorca as a reporter for Spanish state TV was broadcasting live from the scene. A large church bell was also among the rub- ble, which missed striking thanks largely to weapons prosecutors have using against mob- sters and drug lords for years: wiretaps. What that means for his for- mer peers depends on whether it’s true, as his lead attorney asserts, that what he did ‘‘hap- pens every day on Wall Street.’’ the reporter, who appeared to be about 30 feet (9 meters) away when it fell. The broadcaster reported that schoolchild- ren usually gather at that spot around that time, and if it had happened 10 min- utes later, a ‘‘tragedy’’ could have occurred. Access to bin Laden death photos at CIA WASHINGTON (AP) — Some members of Congress are making appointments at CIA headquarters to view graphic photos of Osama bin Laden’s corpse. But the American people might have to wait decades to see images of the al-Qaida leader who was killed in Pakistan by Navy SEALs during a daring middle-of-the- night raid. The CIA is allowing members of the House and Senate Intelligence and Armed Services com- mittees to see the photos in a secure room at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Va., a CIA spokeswoman said Wednesday. Lawmakers cannot take copies of the photos with them. Access on Capitol Hill to privileged information, whether it’s a classified military secret, campaign strategy or the identity of a political nominee, is the coin of the realm in Washington. Knowing what so many others don’t can raise public profiles and spice careers in ways that methodically toiling over legislation and casting floor votes cannot. The CIA invitations went out to the lawmakers who oversee spy missions and military operations. GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Com- mittee, was a largely unknown Michigan law- maker when he was appointed to the post in December after Republi- cans won House control. Bin Laden’s death has catapulted him into a dif- ferent league as an expert and insider, a familiar face now on television news shows. Wall St. titan convicted NEW YORK (AP) — Former hedge fund titan Raj Rajaratnam was convicted in an insider- trading case Wednesday Federal prosecutors used nearly three dozen recordings at trial to back up their claim that Rajaratnam made a for- tune by coaxing a crew of corporate tipsters into giving him an illegal edge on blockbuster trades in technology and other stocks. In a clear signal of the tapes’ importance, the U.S. District Court jurors asked several times to rehear some of the recordings before con- victing Rajaratnam of all 14 counts: five of conspiracy and nine of securities fraud. Rajaratnam could be heard wheeling and dealing with corrupt executives and consul- tants — in one case demanding ‘‘radio silence’’ on information that could affect a stock price. The tapes spelled the demise of a defendant who ‘‘was among the best and the brightest, one of the most educat- ed, successful and privi- leged professionals in the country,’’ U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. ‘‘Yet, like so many oth- ers, he let greed and cor- ruption cause his undo- ing.’’ Authorities have said the recordings represent the most extensive use to date of wiretaps in a white-collar case. The defense had fought hard in pretrial hearings to keep the evidence out of the trial by arguing that the FBI obtained it with a faulty warrant.