Clearance procedure overhauled
NEWYORK — Under pressure over his handling of abuse allegations against a top aide, White House chief of staff John Kelly on Friday ordered sweeping changes in how the White House clears staff members to gain access to classified information, acknowledging that the administration “must do better” in how it handles security clearances.
Mr. Kelly issued a fivepage memo that acknowledged White House mistakes, but put the onus on the FBI and the Justice Department to provide more timely updates on background investigations, asking that any significant derogatory information about staff members be quickly flagged to the White House counsel’s office.
The issue has been in the spotlight for more than a week after it was revealed that former staff secretary Rob Porter had an interim security clearance that allowed him access to classified material despite allegations of domestic violence by his two ex-wives.
Romney to run
In a long-expected announcement, Mitt Romney said Friday that he would run for the U.S. Senate seat from Utah, pledging to bring that state’s priorities of balanced budgets, strong economy and welcoming borders to Washington, D.C.
Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts and the 2012 Republican nominee for president, made the announcement in a video posted to Twitter and Facebook.
USS Cole case halted
A military judge indefinitely halted a death-penalty case Friday linked to the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, dealing a blow to the troubled military court system for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
The decision by Air Force Col. Vance Spath, who voiced exasperation at what he characterized as repeated defiance of his authority by defense attorneys, illustrates the problems plaguing the judicial process set up in the wake of the 9/ 11 attacks.
More than 16 years later, trials for 9/11 suspects are still stuck in pretrial proceedings, and conclusions remain years away.
Seventeen Americans were killed in the attack on the Cole off the coast of Yemen.
Life for al-Qaida leader
A senior al-Qaida member was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in New York to life in prison for conspiring to kill American troops in Afghanistan and plotting to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria.
The actions of Ibrahim Suleiman Adhan Adam Harun in 2003 resulted in the deaths of two U.S. soldiers.
Detroit to sue
The city of Detroit said Friday it plans to file a lawsuit challenging two voterapproved marijuana initiatives that would have relaxed local control this year.
Themove comes after a Wayne County Circuit Courtjudge dismissed two cases Friday that sought to over turn the initiatives. The initiatives, which were approved by 60 percent of votersin November, have been inlimbo since then after a crop of lawsuits surfaced, challenging the measures.
Also in the nation …
Five Cook County Jail inmates who applauded as the man charged with the fatal shooting Tuesday of a Chicago police commander was led by their cell could face reprisals for their actions, a jail official said Friday.