Nation briefs 8/12/06

Ill. cop accused of rape pleads not guilty

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- A police sergeant pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he raped four women in this central Illinois college town, some of them multiple times. Sgt. Jeff Pelo, a 17-year veteran of the Bloomington Police Department, was flanked by sheriff's deputies during the hearing. The alleged assaults started in 2002. In the last, in January 2005, Pelo is accused of raping the woman twice and repeatedly assaulting her. A McLean County grand jury indicted him on 35 counts including aggravated criminal sexual assault, intimidation, residential burglary, home invasion and aggravated unlawful restraint. If convicted, prosecutors said Pelo could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Judge: Ky. gov. can't be prosecuted while in office

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Gov. Ernie Fletcher, criminally charged with rewarding political supporters with protected state jobs, cannot be tried while in office, a judge said Friday as he rejected the governor's motion to throw out the charges. Special Judge David E. Melcher's ruling creates a legal limbo for Kentucky's first Republican governor in three decades as he seeks a second term next year. Fletcher can't be convicted, but he can't clear his name, either. Melcher ruled that Fletcher is protected by executive immunity and cannot be prosecuted while in office.

101st Airborne soldiers return to Fort Campbell

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Nearly 450 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division returned home from Iraq on Friday and more flights into Fort Campbell are expected soon, base officials said. The new arrivals bring the total number who have returned since the first homeward-bound flights in early July to about 1,000. Up to four flights, each of about 200 soldiers, are expected next week at the Army base.

Immigration rules eased to reunite Cuban families

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said Friday it will relax immigration rules for a limited number of Cubans, focusing largely on reuniting families who have relatives in the United States. The policy shift aims, in part, to pressure Fidel Castro's regime into giving Cubans official permission to head to the U.S. through safe and legal travels.

Court upholds random NYC subway searches

NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court said Friday that random bag searches on New York subways are constitutional. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to the searches by the New York Civil Liberties Union, saying U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman properly concluded in December that the program was "reasonably effective." Searches on the nation's largest subway system began after the deadly terrorist bombings in London's subways in July 2005. The NYCLU sued, arguing that they were an unprecedented intrusion on privacy that terrorists could easily evade.

-- From wire reports