Nation briefs 4/19/04

Oklahoma City families search for co-conspirator

McALESTER, Okla. -- For Jannie Coverdale, the search for suspects in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed her two grandsons and 166 other people did not end with the arrests of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Nine years after the deadly bombing, Coverdale is among a resolute group of survivors and members of victims' families that is still searching for the enigmatic suspect John Doe No. 2 and evidence of a wider bombing conspiracy.

No closure yet for N.D. student's family, friends

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Residents of this tiny northern Minnesota city felt a sense of relief Sunday, a day after the discovery of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin's body, but they have yet to find the closure they seek. That won't happen, several residents said, until Sjodin's killer is brought to justice. Searchers found Sjodin's body Saturday morning in a ravine near a county road northwest of Crookston after a five-month search. Sjodin, 22, was last seen alive Nov. 22 at a Grand Forks, N.D., shopping mall.

Terrorism concerns rise during election season

WASHINGTON -- The United States is bracing for possible terrorist attacks before the November presidential election, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Sunday. The opportunity for terrorists to try to influence the election, as was the case last month in Spain, appears to be an opportunity that would "be too good to pass up for them," Rice said.

Guardsman shot; upset over brother's deployment

RIVERTON, Utah -- A Utah National Guardsman, apparently distraught that his brother was being redeployed to Iraq, was shot and killed early Sunday morning after threatening his family and brandishing a shotgun at deputies, authorities said. Chad Thompson, 32, whose family said he had been drinking, was upset after learning that his brother's tour of duty was being extended, according to Sgt. Rosie Rivera, a spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.

-- From wire reports