Nation briefs 4/7/06

More remains found on roof next to Ground Zero

NEW YORK -- Construction workers near the World Trade Center discovered 74 more bone fragments on a damaged skyscraper being prepared for demolition, the largest discovery of human remains since cleanup of the building began last fall, officials said. Investigators reviewing emergency calls from the morning of the terrorist attacks also identified eight more recordings of emergency dispatches and 911 calls from the towers that had previously been overlooked. Most of the bone fragments discovered over the weekend were found mixed with gravel that had been raked to the sides of the roof of the former Deutsche Bank building, which suffered extensive damage when the twin towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Negotiators work toward extending Bush tax cuts

WASHINGTON -- House and Senate Republicans worked toward agreement Thursday on a bill keeping President Bush's tax cuts for capital gains and dividends in place for two additional years. The legislation under discussion would also prevent more families from paying the alternative minimum tax this year. Intended to prevent the wealthy from evading taxes, the alternative minimum tax now threatens less wealthy families with higher taxes. House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said there is "some hope" that the House could pass a bill containing those two changes today.

Detectives convicted of murdering for the mob

NEW YORK -- Two highly decorated former detectives were convicted Thursday of moonlighting as hitmen for the mob in one of the most sensational cases of police corruption in New York history. Louis Eppolito, 57, and Steven Caracappa, 64, could get life in prison for their roles in eight murders committed between 1986 and 1990 while they were simultaneously on the payroll of both the NYPD and Luchese crime family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso. Federal prosecutor Daniel Wenner described the case as "the bloodiest, most violent betrayal of the badge this city has ever seen." Prosecutors said the two men carried out two hits themselves -- in one case after pulling a mobster over in a phony traffic stop -- and delivered up some of the other victims to the Mafia to be killed. The defendants rubbed their faces and stared at the federal jury upon hearing the verdict, reached after two days of deliberations. The defendants' $5 million bail was revoked, and they were led off to jail to await sentencing May 22. The men's lawyers said they will appeal.

Democrats ask Bush to hold energy summit

WASHINGTON -- Fifty-one congressional Democrats called on President Bush on Thursday to hold a bipartisan energy summit to find ways to reduce the country's dependence on oil. They said participants should include representatives "from all facets of life" -- from oil companies and automakers to environmentalists, academics and consumer advocates. "Developing a serious long-term strategy to curb our nation's dangerous dependence on oil is long overdue," the Democrats said in a letter to Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. There was no immediate response from the White House on the summit idea.

Four N.J. students charged with terrorism

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Four teenagers accused of plotting to kill about 25 people in a lunch-period massacre at a high school were charged Thursday under a terrorism law created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The boys, ages 14 to 16, were arrested Wednesday after police heard about the alleged plot from administrators at the school, where three of the teens are students. Their names were not released because of their ages. Authorities said the teens planned to attack students, teachers and others at Winslow Township High. The boys appeared in family court, and a judge ordered them held for psychiatric evaluations. The charges are serious enough that prosecutors could ask a judge to move the case to adult criminal court. Prosecutors have 30 days to consider. No one in New Jersey has been convicted under the terrorism law, which carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison without parole.

-- From wire reports