NATION/WORLD BRIEFING
Libyan cleared of most serious charges in Benghazi attack
WASHINGTON – A federal jury has found a suspected Libyan militant not guilty of the most serious charges stemming from the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.
Jurors on Tuesday convicted Ahmed Abu Khattala of terrorism-related charges but acquitted him of murder.
Prosecutors accused Abu Khattala of leading a rampage aimed at killing personnel and plundering maps and other property from the U.S. mission in Benghazi. Defense attorneys said their evidence against him was shoddy.
Air Force: Lapse in shooting rampage report part of pattern
WASHINGTON – The Air Force said Tuesday that its failure to report the criminal history of the former airman who massacred 26 people at a Texas church in early November was “not an isolated incident,” suggesting it was part of a pattern of reporting lapses.
In a statement on progress in its investigation, the Air Force blamed gaps in “training and compliance measures” for the lapse involving Devin P. Kelley, who had been convicted of assaulting his then-wife and stepson in 2012.
The fingerprint card and the report on the outcome of his court martial were not submitted to the FBI by Air Force personnel at Kelley’s base in New Mexico. If reported, this information should have stopped him from buying weapons.
Pence says Trump considering moving US embassy in Israel
WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday that President Donald Trump is “actively considering when and how” to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision fiercely opposed by the Palestinians.
Pence spoke at a New York City event to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations vote that led to the founding of the state of Israel.
Trump in June backed off a campaign pledge on the embassy move as his Mideast envoy sought to reinvigorate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Ex-Conyers staffer says he touched her inappropriately twice
WASHINGTON – A former staffer to Rep. John Conyers says he made an unwanted sexual advance and touched her inappropriately twice in the late 1990s, the Detroit News reported Tuesday, in the latest sexual misconduct allegations against the veteran lawmaker.
Deanna Maher, 77, who ran a Michigan office for Conyers from 1997 to 2005, told the newspaper that there were three instances of inappropriate conduct.