Man arrested at airport in ID theft bank scam
(AP) - A man with about a dozen aliases has been accused of using several people's names and Social Security numbers to open more than 40 bank accounts as part of a coast-to-coast scam, federal authorities said Monday.
Joe Morris Thompson was arrested Friday evening before he boarded a flight at the Albuquerque International Airport. The FBI said Thompson led police on a chase, knocking down passengers before being tackled by an officer with the Transportation Security Administration. The officer's arm was broken.
Thompson, whose age and hometown were unknown, faces aggravated identity theft charges.
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Activist group members file ethics complaint
(AP) - Three people filed formal complaints against Albuquerque Police Chief Gilbert Gallegos on Monday for his handling of problems in the department's evidence room.
If the city's ethics board decides the complaints are valid, it could prompt the first investigation in the evidence room controversy directly targeting the police chief, said Andres Valdez of New Mexico Vecinos United.
"He's made steps to correct this decades-old problem," said police spokesman Jeff Arbogast, citing audits of the evidence room ordered by the chief.
The ethics complaints charge that those steps were not enough.
LANL scientists develop fingerprint finder
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists are using a new technique to see fingerprints on surfaces that typically make them invisible.
The method uses a technology called mini-X-ray fluorescence to detect chemical elements in fingerprints without altering them, said Christopher Worley, a scientist on the project.
The technology focuses a tight beam of X-rays on surfaces with fingerprints and creates a computer picture out of those scans.
The equipment costs about $175,000.
American ex-diplomats oppose Bolton nomination
WASHINGTON (AP) - Challenging the White House, 59 former American diplomats are urging the Senate to reject John R. Bolton's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"He is the wrong man for this position," they said in a letter to Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Indiana Republican has scheduled hearings on Bolton's nomination for April 7.
Schiavo's father says she is weak but responding
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - Described by her father as weak and emaciated, Terri Schiavo clung to life Monday, as police guarded her hospice room and demonstrators prayed outside for last-minute government intervention in the case.
Supporters of prolonging the severely brain-damaged woman's life also carried their protests to the White House, while her father repeated his plea that she be kept alive by having a feeding tube reinserted.
Judge: Jackson can hear previous allegations
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) - In a major setback for Michael Jackson, a judge ruled Monday the jury can hear allegations the pop star molested or had designs on five other boys, including actor Macaulay Culkin and two youngsters who reached multimillion-dollar settlements with the singer.
District Attorney Tom Sneddon said Jackson's inappropriate activities with these boys included kissing, hugging and inserting his hands into their pants. He also said there was a pattern of "grooming," or preparing the boys for molestation, but did not elaborate.
2,000 deaths predicted in Indonesian earthquake
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) - A powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia's west coast late Monday, killing hundreds of people whose homes collapsed on them and spreading panic across the Indian Ocean that another killer tsunami was on the way.
Indonesia's vice president predicted up to 2,000 deaths. Fears of a second tsunami catastrophe in just over three months eased within hours, as officials in countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of earthquake-spawned waves that ravaged a dozen countries in Asia and Africa on Dec. 26.
Minister: Iraq may be secure in 18 months
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's outgoing interior minister predicted Monday that his country's emerging police and army may be capable of securing the nation in 18 months, saying his officers are beginning to take over from coalition forces.
Insurgents, meanwhile, targeted Shiite pilgrims, setting off two blasts that killed at least three people.
