Nation digest 10/05/04

Four soldiers charged in Iraqi general's death

FORT CARSON, Colo. -- The Army charged four soldiers with murder Monday, accusing them of suffocating an Iraqi general during an interrogation last fall. Chief Warrant Officers Jefferson L. Williams and Lewis E. Welshofer Jr., Sgt. 1st Class William J. Sommer and Spc. Jerry L. Loper could get life in prison without parole in the Nov. 26 death of Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, 57, at Qaim, Iraq. The Army said Mowhoush died of asphyxiation from chest compression and from being smothered. A decision on whether to court-martial the men will be made after an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a preliminary hearing in civilian court.

Feds: Briton plotted with shoe bomber Reid

WASHINGTON -- U.S. authorities brought charges Monday against a British man they contend conspired with admitted al-Qaida member Richard Reid to use shoe bombs to blow up planes in midair. A seven-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed in Boston charges Saajid Badat, 25, with attempted murder, trying to destroy an aircraft and other charges related to the alleged conspiracy with Reid, who also is a British citizen and Muslim convert. Reid's attempt to blow up an American Airlines Paris-to-Miami flight on Dec. 22, 2001, was thwarted by attendants and passengers after he tried to light a fuse leading to the concealed plastic explosives in his sneakers.

Court asked to reconsider ruling on feeding tube

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush will ask the Florida Supreme Court to reconsider its 7-0 ruling against a law designed to keep a brain-damaged woman alive, a spokesman said Monday. Florida's high court ruled two weeks ago that Bush and state lawmakers overstepped their authority with the year-old law ordering that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube be reinserted six days after her husband had it removed so she could die. Since a judge had heard evidence in the case and ruled for the husband, the law violated the fundamental doctrine of separation of powers in the Florida Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled. Bush said Monday that he respected the "role and the judgment of the Florida Supreme Court" but that he feared the Schiavo ruling could limit the ability of state lawmakers to govern.

-- From wire reports