Fugitive militant cops plea in 1975 bombing

LOS ANGELES -- Former Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive Sara Jane Olson pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing bombs with intent to murder policemen during the violent era of the revolutionary group in 1975.

The surprise plea came in an agreement that does not guarantee Olson a specific sentence. Her lawyers said they expected her to get about five years in prison, but the judge warned she could be sentenced to life behind bars.

Olson, 54, admitted possessing explosive devices and attempting to explode them Aug. 21, 1975, at a Los Angeles police station and a Hollywood restaurant.

Senators: Remove CIA from anti-drug flights

WASHINGTON -- The CIA should no longer run U.S. anti-drug interdiction flights over Peru if they are resumed, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence recommends.

The committee blamed errors by the Peruvian military and poor U.S. management of the interdiction program for the April 20 accidental shooting down of a Baptist missionary flight considered a drug smuggler.

"The lack of judgment displayed by key individuals involved was the primary factor leading to this disaster," the committee chairman said Wednesday.

Delta announces fewer layoffs than predicted

ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines, which planned to cut 13,000 jobs, said Wednesday only 2,000 employees will be laid off because 11,000 took early retirement or a one-year voluntary leave.

The 13,000 cuts, 15.8 percent of its work force, are part of a broader effort to reduce operations because of less traffic since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

About 4,200 employees chose to retire early, many lured by a company offer to add five years to their service records for better pension benefits, said Mark Baxter, a Delta human resources general manager. Employees are eligible for full pension at age 60.

Dents in Kursk hull examined for leads

MOSCOW -- Investigators trying to determine what triggered the explosions that sank the nuclear submarine Kursk focused on dents in its hull, a Cabinet official said Wednesday as experts pulled out a 65th body from the wrecked vessel.

"We need to very thoroughly deal with those dents which we see on the submarine to make thorough calculations to make sure what it was" that caused them, Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov said on Russian television.

Klebanov spoke after visiting the northern Russian port of Roslyakovo, where investigators are examining the Kursk in it was hauled into last week after more than a year on the Barents Sea floor.

--From wire reports