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June 10, 2015

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ByJoshLederman and Jim Kuhnhenn The Associated Press WASHINGTON SecretSer- vice agents interrupted a live, televised White House press briefing Tuesday to evacuate journalists after a bomb threat was called in to police. No bomb was found, the Secret Service said. President Barack Obama was in the Oval Office and remained there during the evacuation, which only af- fected the James S. Brady Briefing Room. White House press sec- retary Josh Earnest, who was briefing reporters at the time of the evacuation, said later that first lady Mi- chelle Obama and daugh- ters Sasha and Malia were in the White House resi- dence and were not evac- uated. The incident came after a bomb threat related to the White House briefing room was phoned in to local Washington police, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said. Roughly 20 minutes later, uniformed Secret Service officers on the scene said an all-clear had been issued, and jour- nalists were later allowed back into the White House, where the daily press brief- ing resumed. Evacuations at the White House are rare, but not unprecedented. Last year, journalists and officials were tempo- rarily evacuated after a fence-jumper made it in- side the White House. Yet Tuesday's incident was made more dramatic by the fact that it took place on camera during a live press briefing — the first such instance since the White House started allowing live television coverage of full press brief- ings in the 1990s. It was unclear why only reporters were ordered to leave while White House officials stayed in the West Wing. Earnest said that the Secret Service had swept the briefing room with ca- nine units before allowing peopletoreturn. Associated Press journalists returning to their workspace in the White House after the all- clear found items displaced, ostensibly by Secret Service officers searching for poten- tial security threats. "The evacuation was conducted to protect the safety of all of us," Ear- nest said. Many television net- workshavepermanentcam- eras installed in the White House briefing room. BOMB THREAT WhiteHousebriefing room briefly evacuated CAROLYNKASTER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Members of the media return to the White House briefing room in Washington on Tuesday a er it was evacuated. Part of the White House was evacuated amid security concerns. By Cain Burdeau and Brian Slodysko The Associated Press ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA. Prison activist Albert Woodfox, the last member of the "Angola Three" in- mates held in solitary con- finement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, will have to wait at least several more days to see if he'll experi- ence the "immediate" and "unconditional" freedom ordered by a federal judge. A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of Woodfox, who spent decades in isolation after forming a Black Pan- ther Party to protest prison conditions. Tuesday's order came a day after a federal judge ruled that the state can't fairly try Woodfox, now 68, a third time for the killing of a prison guard 43 years ago, and that the "only just remedy" would be setting him free after all the years he spent in "extended lock- down." Woodfox has long main- tained his innocence in the guard's killing, which hap- pened during protests of brutal conditions inside the huge penitentiary built on a former slave plantation in Angola, Louisiana. His two previous convictions were overturned for racial prej- udice and lack of evidence. Louisiana Attorney Gen- eral Buddy Caldwell is ap- pealing the order by U.S. District Judge James Brady, saying Woodfox is a killer who should remain locked up. The stay by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans blocks his re- lease until 1 p.m. Friday, providing time for the court to decide whether to accept the state's appeal. "We are hopeful that the Court of Appeals will grant this stay, for the sake of the families of his victims and the multiple juries and grand juries that indepen- dently determined that this inmate should be held ac- countable for his multiple crimes," Caldwell spokes- man Aaron Sadler said. Woodfox is currently be- ing held at the West Felici- ana Parish Detention Center in St. Francisville, where he was transferred in prepara- tion for a third trial. His at- torney, George Kendall, met with Woodfox inside the jail Tuesday and said he's "guardedly hopeful." Wood- fox has been through ardu- ous court fights before and "understands how the sys- tem works," Kendall said. BLACK PANTHER ORGANIZER Court blocks release of 'Angola 3' inmate By Michael Tarm and Sara Burnett The Associated Press CHICAGO A somber Den- nis Hastert appeared in court Tuesday for the first time since he was in- dicted, pleading not guilty to charges that he violated banking rules and lied to the FBI in a scheme to pay $3.5 million in hush money to conceal misconduct from his days as a high school teacher. As his attorney entered the plea on his behalf, the 73-year-old former House speaker stood motion- less, his hands folded and eyes downcast at the floor. When the judge asked if he understood he had to sub- mit a DNA sample and that he could go to jail if he vio- lated any conditions of his release, the man who was once second in the line of succession to the presi- dency, answered quietly, "Yes, sir." Hastert has not spo- ken publicly about the ac- cusations that emerged two weeks ago and quickly raised questions about pos- sible sexual abuse by the once-powerful Republi- can legislator from Illinois. Neither he nor his attorneys commented after the hear- ing. The politician-turned- lobbyist was before Judge Thomas M. Durkin on charges that he evaded fed- eral banking laws by with- drawing hundreds of thou- sands of dollars in smaller amounts and lying about the money when ques- tioned. As Tuesday's hearing be- gan, Hastert reached into a coat pocket and pulled out his passport, handing it to his attorney, who turned it over to a court official. Sur- rendering foreign travel documents is another stan- dard condition of release. The former congressman was also ordered to have any firearms removed from his property by June 23 and was forbidden from having contact with victims or wit- nesses in the case. The judge spent most of the 20-minute hearing ex- plaining how he believed he had no conflict of interest in the matter but then giv- ing prosecutors and defense attorneys until Thursday to say if they want him to stay on the case. The issue came up be- cause Federal Election Commission records indi- cate he donated $500 to the "Hastert for Congress" cam- paign in 2002 and $1,000 in 2004. Durkin was an attor- ney at a Chicago law firm at the time of the contribu- tions. Durkin cited those do- nations and that he knew Hastert's son from before he became a judge in 2012. But he also said that, to the best of his knowledge, he never met Hastert himself. FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER Ha st er t ma ke s hi s fir st c ou rt appearance in hush-money case CHARLES REX ARBOGAST — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert arrives at the federal courthouse Tuesday in Chicago for his arraignment on federal charges that he broke federal banking laws and lied about the money when questioned by the FBI. INTERNATIONAL COALITION TO FREE THE ANGOLA 3 Prosecutors sought to keep Albert Woodfox, the last of the "Angola Three," behind bars Tuesday. By Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press JERUSALEM The Obama administration is near- ing a decision on how to improve and accelerate the training of Iraqi secu- rity forces in light of re- cent setbacks against the Islamic State, including the possibility of setting up new training camps in Anbar Province, U.S. offi- cials said Tuesday. U.S. officials said the ad- ditional training could re- quire up to 1,000 more U.S. troops, but no final deci- sions have been made on the details of the plan. The changes are aimed at bolstering the participation of Sunni tribes in the fight, but the plan is not likely to include the deployment of U.S. forces closer to the front lines to either call in airstrikes or advise smaller Iraqi units in battle, offi- cials said. Officials said the num- ber could be end up closer to 500, depending on train- ing requirements and the ability of the Iraqis to iden- tify trainees. And they said that ad- ministration and Penta- gon leaders are forming a consensus on the training changes, but no announce- ment date has been set. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to dis- cuss the planning discus- sions publicly. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told report- ers traveling with him in Israel that it's not clear yet whether opening new training sites would re- quire additional American forces. "To be determined," Dempsey said. ISLAMIC STATE FIGHT Administration nearing decision on improvement of Iraqi training MANUEL BALCE CENETA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. AnIndependentlyownedandoperatedMemberof Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 FOR24/7PROPERTYINFOCALL1-888-902-7253 TEHAMA COUNTY REAL ESTATE TEAM • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com See All Tehama County Listings at OurknowledgeableandprofessionalstaffofRealtors are here to assist you with all your Real Estate needs. *18 Months to 3 Years for Short Sales / 4 – 7 Years for Foreclosures. 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