WorldBriefs

Officials urgecaution amid

questions about confession

in JonBenet case

BOULDER, Colo. - For a moment, it seemed the decade-old mystery surrounding the slaying of a child beauty queen had been solved. But authorities Thursday cautioned against rushing to judge the schoolteacher who made a stunning confession that he killed JonBenet Ramsey.

For now, the only public evidence against John Mark Karr are his own words. And questions have already been raised about the details of his story, including whether he drugged the girl, sexually assaulted her or was even in Colorado at the time of the slaying.

Those questions led some to wonder whether Karr was the answer to the long-unsolved slaying or a disturbed wannabe trying to insert himself into a high-profile case.

"We should all heed the poignant advice of John Ramsey," Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy, quoting the little girl's father. "Do not jump to conclusions, do not rush to judgment, do not speculate. Let the justice system take its course."

Paraded before a raucous crush of reporters in Bangkok, Thailand, the sullen Karr told how he loved JonBenet, was with her when she died but that her death was an accident. And while vague on the details - "it would take several hours" - he answered flatly when asked if he was innocent: "No."

Judge rules that administration's warrantlesssurveillance

is violation

DETROIT - A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless surveillance program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate end to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy, as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

"Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution," Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

The Justice Department said it is appealing the ruling.

"We're going to do everything we can do in the courts to allow this program to continue," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a news conference in Washington.

Lebanese army troops a welcome sight for most

people living in south Lebanon

QLEIA, Lebanon - Villagers throwing rice and Hezbollah guerrillas holding banners welcomed the country's army to south Lebanon on Thursday after a nearly 40-year absence, and the first airliner landed at Beirut airport since fighting began more than a month ago.

Four days into a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, there was still no firm date for a deployment of an enhanced international force that is supposed to expand to 15,000 troops and join an equal number of Lebanese soldiers. France announced it would provide only 400, and Germany - uneasy given its Nazi past of any possible military confrontation with Israeli soldiers - said it wouldn't send any.

The U.N. cease-fire resolution called for the force to keep the peace and disarm Hezbollah fighters south of the Litani River. However, the Lebanese government adopted a mandate Wednesday that requires confiscation of Hezbollah arms only if carried in public. It said nothing about the network of Hezbollah rocket bunkers across the 18-mile stretch between the river and the Israeli border.

President Bush signs pension bill, calling it the most sweeping reform in more than 30 years

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday signed new rules to prod companies into shoring up their pension plans and offered strong words forcorporate America: "Set aside enough money now."

Before an enthusiastic audience in an office building on the White House grounds, Bush called the legislation "the most sweeping reform of America's pension laws in over 30 years."

"Americans who spend a lifetime working hard should be confident that their pensions will be there when they retire," Bush said. "Some businesses are not putting away the cash they need to fund the pensions they promised to their workers."

The massive legislation reflects the evolution of workers' retirement benefits - the decline in traditional pensions that give retired employees a fixed payment each month and the rise of defined-contribution savings plans that rely on workers to build retirement assets.

It could also save taxpayers from funding a multibillion-dollar bailout of the federal agency that insures pension plans.

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Lax law enforcement, thriving sex networks give pedophiles cover in parts of Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - One pedophile had plastic surgery and jumped bail to elude authorities. Another paid thousands of dollars to the families of his victims after they agreed to ask that charges be dropped.

Across Asia, pedophiles have long taken advantage of weak and corrupt law enforcement systems, endemic poverty and networks of like-minded criminals.

The announcement that authorities had arrested American John Mark Karr in Thailand as a suspect in the 1996 murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was viewed as rare victory in the region.

Karr was arrested Wednesday, a day after he began teaching second grade in Bangkok, District Attorney Mary Lacy told reporters in Colorado. Karr told investigators he drugged and sexually assaulted the child beauty queen before accidentally killing her, according to a senior Thai police officer, who was briefed about the interview.

U.S. Ambassador John Miller, who heads the State Department's people trafficking office, said part of the challenge of catching pedophiles is that many come across "as upstanding citizens" who are doctors, teachers and soldiers.

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Woman on diverted flight urinated on floor, passed notes to crew members, affidavit shows

BOSTON (AP) - A woman on a trans-Atlantic flight diverted to Boston for security concerns passed several notes to crew members, urinated on the cabin floor and made comments the crew believed were references to al-Qaida and the Sept. 11 attacks, according to an affidavit filed Thursday.

Catherine C. Mayo, 59, of Braintree, Vt., appeared in federal court Thursday on a charge of interfering with a flight crew on United 923 as it flew from London to Washington, D.C., Wednesday.

She was dressed in a Rolling Stones T-shirt, black pants and socks without shoes for the hearing and was ordered held pending a detention and probable cause hearing next Thursday.

Her attorney, federal public defender Page Kelley, said Mayo was "just barely lucid" when they spoke. "She's got some very serious mental health problems."

U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said he hoped to learn more about Mayo's mental state before the next court appearance. "We believe it's important during that time period to have a doctor examine her," he said.

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Researchers find television can be a painkiller for children

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sometimes the numbing effect of TV can be helpful. Especially if you're a kid being stuck with a needle at the hospital.

Researchers confirmed the distracting power of television - something parents have long known - when they found that children watching cartoons suffered less pain from a hypodermic needle than kids not watching TV.

Especially disturbing to the author of the scientific study was that the cartoons were even more comforting than Mom.

While it's good to have a powerful distraction for children getting painful medical procedures, it is also troubling "because we have demonstrated the excessive power of television," said chief author, Carlo Bellieni, a father of three and a neonatologist and pediatrician at the University of Siena in Italy.

His research at a nearby hospital was reported this week in the British journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.

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Justin Timberlake says 'American Idol' champion Taylor Hicks 'can't carry a tune in a bucket'

NEW YORK (AP) - Justin Timberlake backtracked from criticism of "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks after telling Fashion Rocks magazine the 29-year-old soul singer "can't carry a tune in a bucket."

"I have a strange relationship with that show," Timberlake tells the magazine in an interview. "I despise it, and yet I'm completely fascinated."

"The guy who won - people think he looks so normal, and he's so sweet, and he's so earnest, but he can't carry a tune in a bucket. Do you realize how much pressure it is to put on somebody all of a sudden?"

Timberlake, a member of boy band 'N Sync who is now pursuing a solo career, also said: "If he has any skeletons whatsoever; if, God forbid, he's gay, and all these people in Mississippi who voted for him are like, 'Oh, my God, I voted for a queer!' It's just too much pressure."

Liz Morentin, a representative for Hicks' record label, RCA, declined to comment Thursday.

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Dell posts disappointing second-quarter earnings amid regulatory probe

DALLAS (AP) - Dell Inc. on Thursday posted disappointing second-quarter earnings amid a regulatory probe. The company also announced an expanded partnership to put Advanced Micro Devices Inc. computer chips into a new line of Dell servers and desktop PCs as early as next month.

The deal was revealed as the Round Rock-based company's second-quarter profit fell 36 percent to $605 million, and days after it voluntarily recalled 4.1 million potentially flammable batteries supplied by Sony Corp. for laptop computers.

Dell also said Thursday it was cooperating with an informal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over "accounting and financial reporting matters for certain past fiscal years." Dell said it did not believe there were any issues, it also was conducting its own internal investigation.

CEO Kevin Rollins said Dell received a letter from the SEC in August of 2005 "asking us about a fairly broad level of questions on some revenue recognition."

"We're complying with that informal investigation," he said. "That's about all we know. We don't think there are going to be any issues that are material that we're going to have to worry about."

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Judge tells Barry Bonds' trainer: Testify before grand jury or go to jail

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge ordered Barry Bonds' personal trainer to testify Thursday before a grand jury investigating whether the slugger lied about using steroids.

If Greg Anderson refuses to testify, he will be sent back to prison for contempt of court.

Anderson has served time twice in less than a year in connection with a Bay Area-based performance-enhancing drug ring linked to some of the world's top athletes, including Bonds, Yankees star Jason Giambi and sprinter Tim Montgomery.

The 40-year-old Anderson has promised to remain quiet. If he continues to do so, he could be held until he either agrees to testify, or the grand jury's term expires in 17 months or Judge William Alsup becomes convinced that he will never break his vow of silence.

Anderson spent 15 days in prison last month for refusing to testify, but was freed after that grand jury's term expired.