Cross Country
An Apology From Those Nice G-Men
It's not often that the U.S. government fesses up. But last week, a mea culpa resulted in an embarassment of riches–embarassment for the FBI and $2 million worth of riches for the man the bureau had wrongly accused.
In May 2004, the FBI arrested Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield as a material witness in connection with the terrorist bombings of commuter trains in Madrid. FBI fingerprint examiners erroneously tied Mayfield to a partial fingerprint found on a bag of detonators. Though Spanish authorities told the FBI it had the wrong man, Mayfield was jailed for two weeks. Then he sued.
Last week in Portland, the feds settled for $2 million and apologized for the misidentification. The government denied the Muslim convert was a target because of his religion but acknowledged how "deeply upsetting" the episode was to Mayfied and his family.
Fallout From Two Police Shootings
Civic leaders in both New York and Atlanta were scrambling last week to explain two controversial police shootings that roiled tensions and led to angry charges of racism.
New York officers working an undercover sting at a strip club shot a group of black men who were celebrating an impending wedding, wounding two of them and killing the groom after firing 50 rounds. The officers opened fire after the groom, Sean Bell, 23, hit one cop with his car. The officers believed one of the men had a gun, but no weapon was found.
In Atlanta, a narcotics team with a no-knock warrant exchanged gunfire with an 88-year-old African-American woman after breaking down her door. The woman, Kathryn Johnston, wounded three cops before she was killed in a hail of police fire. Police said an informant had bought cocaine at the home, but the informant later denied it.
Investigations were launched in both cities; Atlanta police chief Richard Pennington asked the FBI to take over the probe there. But that didn't quiet fiery criticism of how the departments train their officers and deal with minority residents. Even New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the number of shots fired there was "unacceptable or inexplicable."
A Not-So-Civil Union Custody Dispute
Civil unions for gay couples have proved just as complicated to break up as they were to create. Last week, the Virginia Court of Appeals in Richmond dodged the question of whether the state must recognize civil unions from other states, ruling that Vermont has jurisdiction in a custody battle.
Lisa and Janet Miller-Jenkins were Virginia residents in 2000 when they traveled to Vermont for a civil union. They later moved there. In 2003, the couple separated, and Lisa, the biological mother of daughter Isabella, moved back to Virginia and sought sole custody. Since unions are not recognized in Virginia, a state court gave Janet no visitation rights, but the Court of Appeals ruling gives jurisdiction to Vermont, where judges have already ruled that she is entitled to visit Isabella. Lisa's attorneys promise further legal challenges.
Another Dig at the Troubled Big Dig
"You can't replace a life," says Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly. But you can certainly make companies pay dearly for it. That seemed to be the plan last week, as Reilly filed a lawsuit against 15 firms involved in the design, construction, and oversight of a Boston highway tunnel that partially collapsed in July, killing a woman. The tunnel was part of the $14.6 billion Big Dig highway project, which was plagued by a litany of problems even before four 3-ton ceiling panels fell on a car, killing Milena Del Valle, 39.
Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the lead contractor on the project, is the only company facing the most serious charge of gross negligence. "We will stand behind our work," said Bechtel spokesman Andy Paven.
Rockies Wreath War
After three weeks of tumult in Pagosa Springs, Colo., a Christmas wreath shaped like a peace sign finally achieved a sort of political amnesty last week when members of a homeowners association dropped their threat to fine the offending household.
Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco unwittingly fired the opening salvo by hanging the peace wreath on their home weeks ago. It was, Trimarco said, a holiday expression of the Christian call for peace on Earth. But some neighbors viewed it as a statement against the Iraq war. And the situation grew worse when Bob Kearns, president of the homeowners association, described the symbol as "an anti-Christ sign"-a reference to some people's belief that the peace symbol is a broken cross. As word spread, so did local protests. Supporters of Jensen and Trimarco covered Pagosa Springs, a town of 1,700, in peace symbols. In the end, peace prevailed. The homeowners association dropped threats of a $25-per-day fine for the wreath, and then board members of the group resigned last week.
With Chitra Ragavan, Kit R. Roane, Will Sullivan, Angie C. Marek, Bret Schulte and Associated Press
This story appears in the December 11, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.