LAW ENFORCERS: NYC-CANADA TRAIN WAS TARGET OF PLOT: NEW YORK (AP) — Two law enforcement officials say the target of a potential cross-border terror attack was a train that runs between New York City and Canada.
The officials have knowledge of the investigation and tell The Associated Press the attack was to take place in Canada. They aren't authorized to discuss the investigation and would speak only on the condition of anonymity.
Amtrak and Via Rail Canada jointly operate routes between the United States and Canada, including the Maple Leaf from New York City to Toronto.
Two men were in court in Canada on Tuesday, accused of plotting with al-Qaida members in Iran to derail a train.
Canadian authorities have charged them with conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group.
Police say the men never got close to carrying out the attack.
NO BAIL FOR SUSPECT IN ALLEGED FLA. TERROR PLOT: MIAMI (AP) — A Pakistani-born man accused along with his younger brother in an alleged terror plot to detonate bombs in New York City was critical to the plan because of his financial support, a federal prosecutor told a Miami judge at a bail hearing Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert also said that Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 30, had full knowledge that 20-year-old Raees Alam Qazi was learning how to make explosive devices via the Internet and was determined to mount an attack to avenge deaths caused by U.S. drones in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"He full well knew what his brother was intending to do," Gilbert said of the elder Qazi. "He played a very significant role, because he paid all the bills to enable his brother."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris McAliley denied bail for Qazi, finding that he is a great risk to flee to Pakistan and avoid prosecution. The brothers have been locked up since their arrests in November on charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
Both men, who are naturalized U.S. citizens, have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they face a possible life prison sentence. Sheheryar Qazi was seeking release on bail Tuesday, with his attorney Ronald Chapman trying to show he wasn't aware of his brother's plans and would not flee to Pakistan if released.
BOY, 15, FATALLY SHOT NEAR OBAMA'S CHICAGO HOME : CHICAGO (AP) — A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in a backyard about four blocks from President Barack Obama's Chicago home, police said Tuesday.
Cornelius German of Chicago was found unresponsive around 9:40 p.m. Monday. He had been shot in the back and was pronounced dead at the scene on the city's South Side, police told The Associated Press.
No arrests had been made as of late Tuesday afternoon, they said.
The teen's death comes about three months after the fatal shooting of another 15-year-old, Hadiya Pendleton, who was gunned down in a park about a mile from the Obama home in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago. Police have said the alleged gunman opened fire after mistaking someone in the group of young people that the girl was with for a member of a rival street gang. Two men face first-degree murder and other charges in the Jan. 29 shooting.
PETA BUYS SHARES OF SEAWORLD STOCK: ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — PETA has purchased newly issued shares of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., the theme park company often targeted for protests by the animal rights group.
PETA spokesman David Perle said Tuesday his group purchased 80 shares for more than $2,200 in last week's initial public offering of SeaWorld stock.
PETA officials say being shareholders will allow them to attend shareholder meetings and introduce resolutions.
The animal rights group says it wants SeaWorld to stop breeding and buying new animals at its parks in Florida, California and Texas. It also wants SeaWorld to release its whales and dolphins.
SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs says the company anticipated PETA's purchase. He says SeaWorld will try to do for PETA what it does for any other shareholder: create investor value.
US SEEKS VOLUNTARY LIMITS ON CAR TOUCH SCREENS: DETROIT (AP) — The government is asking automakers to put stronger limits on drivers' interaction with in-car touch screens in an effort to curb distracted driving.
U.S. traffic safety regulators unveiled guidelines Tuesday that would restrict the amount of time it takes to perform both simple and complex functions on a car's entertainment and navigation systems.
Regulators also want to ban manual text entry and display of websites, social media, books and other text distractions while the car is moving.
"Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible. It can have devastating consequences," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who announced the guidelines along with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator David Strickland.
LaHood and Strickland told reporters on a conference call that NHTSA has determined that over 3,000 people were killed in crashes that involved distracted driving in 2011 and more than 387,000 were hurt.
WIS. MAN CHARGED AFTER SEVERED HEAD FOUND IN TRUNK: MILWAUKEE (AP) — Authorities found a Minnesota man's severed head in the trunk of a car and other body parts in the basement of a Milwaukee home, according to a criminal complaint charging a central Wisconsin man with first-degree intentional homicide.
A judge ordered Kou Thao, 26, held on a $1 million cash bond during an initial appearance Monday. The Wausau man is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 1.
The investigation began April17 when police were called to a Wausau home. The suspect's brother-in-law, Yeh Lor, told officers Thao came to the house with Tong Pao Hang, a 58-year-old man from St. Paul, Minn. Hang was the boyfriend of Lor's aunt.
Lor told detectives he was smoking outside while Thao and Hang went into the basement to drink. He said he heard what sounded like a single gunshot come from the basement. When he went downstairs to investigate, he saw the victim lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
The two men wrapped the body in a tarp and loaded it into a car, Lor told investigators. Lor told authorities he helped Thao with the body because he thought Thao might have a gun.
GOLF COURSE WORKER RETURNS $36,000 CASH: MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida golf course employee is being commended for helping return $36,000 in cash to its rightful owner.
Police say Rachel Castillo found a bag full of money in January at Miami Beach Golf Course. She turned the money over to authorities, who found a name and address in the bag.
The 76-year-old man was no longer living at the address, but officials managed to track him to an assisted living facility.
Police verified that the money belonged to the man, who will get it all back.
If no one had claimed the money in 90 days, Castillo could have kept it.
