WASHINGTON – The number of serious international terrorist incidents more than tripled in 2004, according to U.S. government figures, a sharp upswing in deadly attacks that the State Department has decided not to make public in its annual report on terrorism due to Congress this week.
Overall, the number of what the U.S. government considers “significant” attacks grew to about 655 last year, up from the previous record of around 175 in 2003, according to congressional aides who were briefed on statistics covering incidents including the bloody school seizure in Russia and violence related to the disputed Indian territory of Kashmir.
Terrorist incidents in Iraq also dramatically increased, from 22 attacks to 198, or nine times the previous year’s total.
Bills makes terror codes optional
The color-coded terror alert system that signals national threat levels would become optional under proposed legislation that sets the Homeland Security Department’s priorities for next year. The bill, which will be considered today by the House Homeland Security Committee, says the color-coded system is too vague and the threat warnings too broad. It calls for other methods to communicate threat information to the public.
Plan sees closed bases as refineries
President Bush is offering to make closed military bases available for new oil refineries and will ask Congress to provide a “risk insurance” to the nuclear industry against regulatory delays to spur construction of new nuclear power plants, senior administration officials said Tuesday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president will outline his proposals in a speech today in which he intends to emphasize how new technologies can be used to ease the energy crunch.
Frist turns down filibuster deal
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., on Tuesday rejected compromise offers that would allow minority Democrats to continue to block judicial nominees, saying all of President Bush’s past and future court choices deserve confirmation votes from the GOP-controlled Senate. Democratic congressional sources said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Tuesday offered a compromise that included confirmation for four of seven Bush judicial nominees and would require Republicans to back away from attempting to ban judicial filibusters.
Nevada: Finger-in-chili case
The woman who was arrested after claiming she bit into a human finger in a bowl of Wendy’s chili waived extradition Tuesday, telling a Las Vegas judge she was eager to return to San Jose, Calif., to face charges of attempted grand theft. Anna Ayala, 29, maintains she bit down on a 1 1/2-inch-long finger fragment while dining March 22 at a Wendy’s in San Jose. Police have called her claim a hoax; she has denied placing the digit in her bowl.
Georgia: Two toddlers had drowned
Autopsies confirmed Tuesday that two toddlers found dead Monday in a sewage pond after disappearing from their Warrentown home drowned, and the coroner said there appeared to be no sign of foul play. Jonah Payne, 3, and his 2-year-old sister, Nicole, were reported missing Saturday by their mother, who said they vanished after she went into another room.
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