MINDEN, Nev. Search teams dramatically expanded their hunt for adventurer Steve Fossett to encompass 10,000 square miles of mountains and desert Thursday after nearly four days yielded no trace of his single-engine plane. “As you can imagine, trying to make that needle stand out in a haystack that big is going to be a real challenge,” a Nevada Civil Air Patrol official said. “It’s going to be frustrating for a lot of people who were hoping for results early on.” Ten airplanes and helicopters made repeated passes over a search area the size of Massachusetts known for its 10,000-foot peaks and strong winds.
D.C.: Record number of troops
The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has climbed to a record high of 168,000 and is moving toward a peak of 172,000 in the coming weeks a level that could extend into December, a military official said Thursday. The director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the increase is the result of troops rotations, as several brigades overlap while they move in and out of the war zone. Previously officials had predicted the number could go up to about 171,000. For most of 2006, the number of troops hovered around 135,000.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no bold lede-in:Bill backs Cherokee freedmen
The Cherokee Nation would lose some of its federal funding under House legislation passed Thursday if it doesn’t reinstate descendants of its former slaves as tribal citizens. The bill delays the funding cuts until the issue has been addressed in federal court, potentially giving the Oklahoma-based tribe years before it would lose any money. Critics said it sends a clear signal that lawmakers are not happy with the Cherokee decision earlier this year to oust descendants of black slaves, known as Cherokee freedmen.
New Jersey: Anonymous jury
An anonymous jury will hear the case of six men accused of plotting to attack soldiers at Fort Dix, a federal judge ruled Thursday. A U.S. District judge agreed with prosecutors’ concerns that jurors could be intimidated because of the nature of the charges. He rejected defense complaints that such a jury would be biased. While the suspects are not accused of being part of a terrorist organization, there are groups in the U.S. that could sympathize with views attributed to the men, the judge noted.
Nebraska: Warren Buffett home
A man with camouflage paint on his face and a fake gun tried to break into to billionaire Warren Buffett’s house in Omaha but fled after a scuffle with a security guard, police said Thursday. Buffett’s wife, Astrid, summoned the guard after the doorbell rang shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The security guard found the man, dressed all in black, on the home’s front porch and confronted him, police said. The man struck the guard on the head, then fled and remained at large Thursday.
Kansas: Tribal leader arrested
The leader of an unrecognized American Indian tribe was arrested Thursday in a raid by federal authorities investigating claims that the group sold tribal memberships to immigrants with the promise that joining would provide U.S. citizenship. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General raided the Kaweah Indian Nation’s two Wichita offices and arrested Malcolm Webber, also known as Grand Chief Thunderbird IV, according to the U.S. attorney’s office and the immigration agency.
Germany: Terror suspects sought
Authorities said Thursday they are investigating at least seven more people suspected of aiding Islamic militants plotting to bomb American interests in Germany, including two who may have trained at camps in Pakistan. Prosecutors said they had identified five of the alleged helpers, mostly Turkish and German nationals. But they said they were still trying to decipher the aliases of others who may have assisted three men arrested Tuesday as they transferred bombmaking chemicals from a house in Oberschledorn.
Russia: Satellite launch fails
An unmanned Russian rocket carrying a Japanese communications satellite malfunctioned after liftoff Thursday, sending parts crashing in an uninhabited part of Kazakhstan and triggering concerns about environmental damage. Nobody was hurt. The Proton-M rocket failed to put the JCSAT-11 satellite into orbit because of a problem during operation of the second stage, International Launch Services said.
Indonesia: Russian weapons deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promised more than $1 billion in advanced weapons to Indonesia and pressed for closer military and economic ties to this longtime U.S. ally in Southeast Asia. Putin, the first Russian leader to visit Indonesia since former Soviet premier Nikita Krushchev in the 1950s, agreed to provide two Kilo-class submarines, 20 amphibious tanks, and 22 passenger and attack helicopters. Russia also will sell Indonesia six Sukhoi jet fighters worth $335 million.
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