GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — Ten people were killed on early Sunday morning when nearly two dozen vehicles were involved in a pile-up in the U.S. state of Florida, local authorities said on Monday. Several others were injured.

The series of vehicle accidents happened on Sunday morning between 3:45 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, the largest city in Alachua County. The highway was covered with a combination of thick smoke and fog, causing extremely low visibility.

The smoke was coming from a brush fire on Paynes Prairie, reducing visibility on both the north and southbound lanes. At least 12 cars and six semitrailer trucks were involved in the string of deadly crashes as drivers were unable to see. Rescue workers also had difficulty reaching the scene and helping victims as they were only guided by screams and moans.

Local authorities told the Gainseville Sun that ten people were confirmed to have been killed while 21 others were injured. Of those injured, 18 were rushed to Shands at the University in Florida while three others were receiving medical treatment at the North Florida Regional Medical Center. Several people remained in a critical condition on Monday.

After Sunday’s accident, which is being described as one of Florida’s worst vehicle accidents in history, the Florida Highway Patrol closed the highway from around 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time in both directions, reports said.

As the fog and smoke cleared up, burnt vehicles were seen across the highway, and some were piled up under other cars.

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ORLANDO, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — A federal judge in Florida on Monday convicted a 27-year-old man of raping a toddler at SeaWorld while her parents were on a ride, prosecutors said. He faces up to 60 years in prison.

Michael Brian Grzybowicz was arrested on February 19, 2011, after he raped a 2-year-old girl two days earlier while they were at SeaWorld in Orlando. Grzybowicz was with a family, including the two-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy, to celebrate the children’s mother’s birthday.

Grzybowicz had been asked by the parents to watch the two children while they were on a roller coaster. “While the parents were on the roller coaster, Grzybowicz molested the 2-year-old and took explicit photographs of the child, using his cell phone,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said.

According to prosecutors, after leaving the park, Grzybowicz e-mailed the photos to his personal Yahoo! e-mail address. Two days later, at his house in Cocoa, Grzybowicz’s wife found one of the photographs on his cell phone and reported it to the Cocoa Police Department. Grzybowicz’s computer was also found to contain other images of child pornography.

Grzybowicz faces at least 20 years in prison and a maximum of 60 years.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — U.S. prosecutors on Monday charged a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer with repeatedly disclosing classified information about fellow officers to journalists. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

John Kiriakou, 47, of Arlington, Va., is accused of releasing secrets about two CIA employees and their involvement in classified operations to two journalists between 2007 and 2009. Among the information he released was the name and contact information of a CIA agent who remains covert.

The investigation was launched in January 2009 when a classified defense filing was found to contain classified information the defense had not been giving through official government channels. Several months later, photographs of government employees and contractors were found in the materials of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

According to prosecutors, Kiriakou had shared the classified information to a journalist who, in turn, disclosed that information to a defense team investigator. “This information was reflected in the classified defense filing and enabled the defense team to take or obtain surveillance photographs of government personnel,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.

One of the CIA agents whose names were allegedly released by Kiriakou was an agent who took part in an operation in 2002 to capture and question top al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah. Kiriakou first came to public attention in December 2007 when he described Zubaydah’s waterboarding, which is a form of simulated drowning, during an interview with ABC News.

“Safeguarding classified information, including the identities of CIA officers involved in sensitive operations, is critical to keeping our intelligence officers safe and protecting our national security,” said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. “Today’s charges reinforce the Justice Department’s commitment to hold accountable anyone who would violate the solemn duty not to disclose such sensitive information.”

Kiriakou, who worked as a CIA intelligence officer between 1990 and 2004, has been charged with one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for allegedly disclosing the identity of a covert officer and two counts of violating the Espionage Act for allegedly disclosing national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it.

In addition to those charges, Kiriakou has also been charged with one count of making false statements for allegedly lying to the Publications Review Board (PRB) of the CIA in an unsuccessful attempt to trick the CIA into allowing him to include classified information in a book he was seeking to publish.

According to prosecutors, prior to the publication of his book, “The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA’s War on Terror”, Kiriakou in July 2008 submitted a letter and draft manuscript to the PRB. He claimed a classified investigative technique, which he described as the “magic box”, was fictional although he had previously told his coauthor that the technique was used in the operation to capture Zubaydah.

“There is a reference early in this chapter to a device called a ‘magic box’,” Kiriakou said in the letter to the PRB. “I read about this so-called device in a New York Times article. The information in that article was clearly fabricated, as we used no such device. I am unaware of any [such] device … As it is fictionalized, I believe it is unclassified.”

However, in an e-mail to his coauthor, Kiriakou admitted that he had lied to the PRB. “I laid it on thick. And I said some things were fictionalized when in fact they weren’t. There’s no way they’re going to go through years of cable traffic to see if it’s fictionalized, so we might get some things through,” the e-mail said.

Several months later, the PRB informed Kiriakou that it had reviewed the draft manuscript and found information regarding the technique was classified and that he could therefore not include the information in the book. The CIA has recently declassified the information to allow the prosecution to go forward and revealed the magic box is a device which can locate any switched-on cell phone.

Responding to the news of the arrest and charges, CIA Director David Petraeus said he was unable to comment on the specifics of the case. “When we joined this organization, we swore to safeguard classified information; those oaths stay with us for life,” he said. “Unauthorized disclosures of any sort – including information concerning the identities of other Agency officers – betray the public trust, our country, and our colleagues. Given the sensitive nature of many of our Agency’s operations and the risks we ask our employees to take, the illegal passage of secrets is an abuse of trust that may put lives in jeopardy.”

If convicted on all charges, Kiriakou faces up to 30 years in prison.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted a 21-year-old man with the attempted assassination of U.S. President Barack Obama after he fired two shots at the White House in November 2011. He faces life in prison.

The jury returned a 17-count indictment against Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez which charges him with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, assaulting officers of the United States with a deadly weapon, injury to U.S. property, and related firearms charges.

The incident happened on November 11 when gunshots were heard in the 1600 block of Constitution Avenue, about 700 to 800 yards (640 to 730 meters) from the White House. Several days later, authorities discovered damage to an exterior window of the White House.

“A round was stopped by ballistic glass behind the historic exterior glass,” a U.S. Secret Service spokesman said in November. “One additional round has been found on the exterior of the White House.”

Within five minutes of the shots being heard on November 11, officers located a vehicle in the 2300 block of Constitution Avenue. Evidence in the vehicle led to U.S. Park Police obtaining an arrest warrant for 21-year-old Ortega-Hernandez. He was arrested on November 16 at a hotel in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

“On or about November 11, 2011, in the District of Columbia, the defendant, Oscar Ortega-Hernandez, did knowingly attempt to kill the President of the United States, Barack Obama,” the indictment alleges. It adds that damage to the White House was in excess of $1,000.

Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were in California at the time of the shooting, but prosecutors previously said Ortega-Hernandez was “deadly serious about eliminating the president” and viewed Obama as “the devil” or the “anti-Christ.” He also believed the federal government was ‘conspiring against him.’

Ortega-Hernandez has denied the charges and claimed his car had been stolen and that he never owned a gun, even though his fingerprints were found on ammunition magazines in the vehicle. His federal public defender said his client expects to enter a not-guilty plea.

If convicted, Ortega-Hernandez could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

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STAR, NORTH CAROLINA (BNO NEWS) — Three people were killed on early Friday morning when a gunman opened fire at his co-workers in North Carolina, officials said. The gunmen died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on early Saturday.

The shooting happened just before 6:15 a.m. local time on Friday when a 50-year-old employee walked into a warehouse at a lumber business in the town of Star, which is located in Montgomery County. About 20 people were working at the warehouse at the time.

“Upon the entry into the warehouse, Montgomery County deputies located three deceased bodies. Another injured victim was located near the warehouse,” said Sheriff Dempsey Owens. The injured victim was later airlifted to a trauma center in a critical condition.

Deputies later learned that the suspect, who was identified as Ronald Dean Davis, had left the premises and was possibly en-route to his home which is north of Star in the unincorporated community of Ether. A response team quickly responded to his residence.

“Deputies knocked on the door but with no reply,” Owens said. “One of the team members observed, through the window, that Mr. Davis was sitting on the couch with his head hung down. The deputies made entry into the residence and found Mr. Davis with a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.”

When officers entered the residence, they also found a gun on the couch next to Davis. “Mr. Davis was still breathing and EMS (emergency medical services) transported him to Firsthealth Montgomery here in Troy. He was later flown out by air ambulance to a trauma center.”

On early Saturday morning, Davis died of his severe injuries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical Center, according to Owens. The injured victim is believed to remain in a critical condition from a single gunshot wound.

Few details about the possible motive behind the shooting were immediately released, but Owens said it was possible that Davis was being harassed at work. The victims appeared to have been the target as others were not attacked. Both the victims and Davis were employed at the lumber company.

“Upon further investigation in the residence, the deputies located a six-page, handwritten note that was located beside him,” Owens said, without releasing any of the contents. “It’s really lengthy, it goes into some details about some things. But it rambles on pretty much.”

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TAMPA, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — A Kosovo-born was arrested over the weekend for allegedly plotting to carry out a series of attacks in the city of Tampa in Florida, U.S. prosecutors announced on Monday.

Sami Osmakac, 25, was arrested on Saturday evening after a number of meetings with an undercover officer. Osmakac, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, allegedly plotted to attack several locations in Tampa with a car bomb, firearms and other explosives.

According to the criminal complaint, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was contacted in late September by a person who said Osmakac and another individual had come into his business and asked if he had any flags which represent al-Qaeda. Osmakac soon after began working for the informant at his business.

On November 30, court records indicate Osmakac and the informant drove around the Tampa area while discussing a potential violent attack which Osmakac was seeking to execute. “During this meeting, Osmakac asked the [informant] to help him procure firearms and a belt containing explosives for use in the attack,” according to the criminal complaint.

During the same meeting, the informant allegedly told Osmakac that he knew someone who would be able to provide firearms and explosive devices. However, unknown to Osmakac, the individual the informant was discussing is in fact an FBI undercover officer.

After the informant and Osmakac called the undercover officer on December 19, Osmakac allegedly met with the undercover officer in person. During the meeting, Osmakac told the undercover officer he wished to acquire at least one AK-47-style machine gun, several Uzi submachine guns, at least ten grenades, and an explosive belt with a multi-directional blast range of approximately 15 yards (13.7 meters).

Four days later, Osmakac met with the undercover officer again and provided a $500 down payment for the weapons and explosives. “Osmakac also asked the [undercover officer] if he could build explosives that could be placed in three different vehicles and detonated remotely near the location where Osmakac would conduct an attack using the other weapons he previously asked for,” the criminal complaint alleged.

The undercover officer allegedly told Osmakac that it would be difficult to get three car bombs, but that he could possibly obtain a set of explosives which could be placed in the trunk of a car. “The [undercover officer] further explained that the explosive device for the car would be designed so that it could be triggered by using a cellular phone,” the complaint says.

For the explosive belt, Osmakac allegedly said it should be built to function both outdoors and in an enclosed space in case he was unable to get inside his intended target. “Osmakac told the [undercover officer] that he wanted the explosive belt to be built to kill people,” prosecutors allege.

Another follow-up meeting, which was recorded by audio and video devices, took place on January 1st. “I want to do something, something terrifying, like one day, one night, something’s going to happen, then six hours later, something else,” Osmakac allegedly told the undercover officer.

Osmakac described his attack generally by stating that he wanted to get a hotel room, park the car bomb at his target, leave the area, detonate the bomb in the car, and then retrieve the weapons and explosive belt from the hotel. Osmakac identified several places in Tampa as possible targets, but said he was looking for places with big gatherings.

Among Osmakac’s alleged bomb targets were night clubs in the Ybor City area of Tampa, the Operations Center of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Ybor City, and a business in the South Tampa area of Tampa.

During the same meeting on January 1st, Osmakac allegedly asked how far he should be from the car bomb to avoid being injured in the blast. He also expressed his desire to ‘take down buildings’ and ‘kill people inside.’

“You know, they saying they like 3 trillion in debt, they like 200 trillion in debt, and after all this money they’re spending for homeland security and all this, this is gonna be crushing them, this gonna terrify them,” Osmakac is quoted as saying in the criminal complaint.

During the second portion of the plot, Osmakac said he wanted to use the explosive belt to enter a building with a lot of people and take hostages. He would then demand for certain prisoners to be released before detonating his explosive belt in an attempt to kill his hostages and police officers.

Osmakac also allegedly discussed his desire to attack a U.S. Army base and to take down bridges across the Tampa Bay area, but recognized such a plan would be unrealistic. “I mean, I made many plans, but there’s not enough people,” he said.

At a later point during the same meeting, the undercover officer asked Osmakac when he would be ready to carry out his plan. “I’ve been ready, man. Whenever we can get this done, I’m ready,” he allegedly said. Osmakac later shook his head in the negative when the undercover officer said he could still change his mind because nothing had been delivered yet.

“We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way,” Osmakac allegedly told the undercover officer. When the officer asked if he didn’t want to have a wife and children first, Osmakac allegedly said that Allah allows people to have children in Jannah (paradise).

On Saturday, Osmakac and the undercover officer agreed via text message and a handwritten note to meet at a hotel in Tampa later that day. During the meeting, Osmakac was shown an item in a truck bed which was designed to resemble a vehicle-born improvised explosive device (VBIED).

When they later arrived at the hotel room, the undercover officer began showing Osmakac a fully automatic AK-47, ammunition and magazines for the AK-47, a pistol, ammunition and a magazine for the pistol, grenades and an explosive belt. He later gave them to Osmakac, although none of them were functional.

After trying on the explosive belt, Osmakac allegedly told the undercover officer to film him with a digital video camera. During the 8-minute video, Osmakac says his belief is that the blood of Muslims is ‘more valuable’ than that of people who do not believe in Islam. He also said he wanted “pay back” for wrongs he felt were done to Muslims.

Following the meeting, Osmakac was taken into custody and charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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CONNECTICUT (BNO NEWS) — Former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo has claimed that his status as the country’s former leader gives him immunity from being prosecuted for a 1997 massacre that left dozens of people dead in the southwestern state of Chiapas.

Zedillo, who was Mexico’s leader between 1994 and 2000, denied allegations that his office was in some way responsible for the killings of 45 people by paramilitary groups in the town of Acteal. Ten anonymous plaintiffs sued Zedillo in September and are seeking about $50 million in damages.

Zedillo, who is now employed at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, said in a court filing that he had “inherited the conflict in Chiapas from the prior administration,” CNN reported. He delivered the filing to a U.S. district court in Hartford.

“These anonymous accusations that President Zedillo was somehow complicit in the events in Acteal are baseless and outrageous,” a statement said, as quoted by the news network. “The December 1997 attack in Acteal was an appalling tragedy. But that tragedy was not the result of an elaborate conspiracy by the Mexican federal government, masterminded by President Zedillo.”

The massacre in Acteal on December 22, 1997, is considered among the more brutal incidents during an armed conflict that began in early 1994 when the Zapatista Army of National Liberation demanded more rights for indigenous people.

In 1999, the United Nations Commission on Human Reports found that the killings “occurred against a background of long-standing disputes, often over land ownership, which have for decades divided the local indigenous communities.” The report added that clashes between government supporters and those backing Zapatista rebels “claimed a large number of victims” in the region over a five-year span during the 1990s.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has applied for a visa to enter the United States for medical treatment, the U.S. State Department confirmed on Wednesday. He was injured in an assassination attempt on June 3rd.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner confirmed Saleh had applied for a visa, but shot down rumors suggested in a New York Times report that a decision had already been made. “Despite reports to the contrary, the United States is still considering President Saleh’s request to enter the United States for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment.” he said.

Toner gave no indication on when a decision could be made, but did reiterate that no announcement would be made until the process was complete. “Only at the end of this internal review process will a final visa adjudication be made. The Department of State will confirm that a decision has been reached only after this process has been completed,” he said.

Saleh previously spent more than three months in Saudi Arabia to recover from injuries he sustained in a rocket attack which hit the mosque of the presidential palace in Sanaa on June 3. It was part of an uprising against his government which began in February, resulting in a crackdown by security forces which left at least 1,500 people killed.

Saleh signed a political agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) late last month, effectively ending the 11 months of political turmoil. Under the accord, Saleh agreed to hand over his powers to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi who took over as Acting President on December 23.

The timetable set out in the agreement includes the formation of a government of national consensus, presidential elections within 90 days, a national dialogue, a constitutional review and a program of reforms that starts to tackle the profound humanitarian, economic and security challenges that Yemen faces.

But Saleh received immunity from prosecution under the agreement, which has been rejected by some protesters. A national unity government, led by Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, was sworn in earlier this month in an effort to restore peace and democracy. The ruling party and opposition parties evenly divided the 34 ministries.

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NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) — A 47-year-old man has confessed to killing an elderly woman by setting her on fire in a New York City elevator during the weekend, local media reported on Monday.

Jerome Issac turned himself in to police on Sunday and confessed to having set 73-year-old General Post Office worker Deloris Gillespie on fire because she allegedly owed him $2,100 for previous work, police told the New York Post on Monday.

According to reports, Issac waited for Gillespie at her building in the New York City borough of Brooklyn at around 4 p.m. local time on Saturday afternoon. When the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor, he sprayed flammable liquid before lighting her with a barbecue lighter and hurling a lit Molotov cocktail at the screaming victim.

Gillespie crouched down but was unable to fight off the attack, according to police, and Issac eventually sprayed more liquid which killed her. The brutal murder was caught on tape by two cameras.

After the attack, Issac fled to his nearby apartment, which he also tried to set ablaze, although he was only able to damage the door frame. He went on to the roof of the building to hide, as he thought he had already been identified as the killer. He fell asleep and later turned himself in at around 12.30 a.m. local time.

Relatives have claimed that Issac stole several items, including a DVD player and kitchenware, from Gillespie, who had hired him for several odd jobs. Because of these alleged thefts, the victim had refused to pay him.

As a result, family members and neighbors allege that Issac terrorized and harassed Gillespie constantly. He followed his victim, who was extremely scared of him, and cursed at her. He had been seen in front of the building several times.

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NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) — A U.S. federal court sentenced two more Somalis to life in prison on Thursday for their roles in a pirate attack on an American yacht earlier this year which resulted in the deaths of four U.S. citizens, prosecutors said.

The defendants, 32-year-old Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali and 20-year-old Jilani Abdiali, both of Somalia, were among 19 Somalis who, after several days of sailing the sea in search of a vessel to pirate and hold for ransom, attacked the 58-foot (17.6-meters) American yacht S/V Quest in February and held hostage its four passengers south of Oman.

The U.S military initially offered the pirates to take the vessel as long as they released the hostages unharmed, but the leaders of the group refused the deal because they believed they would get little money just for the boat. A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) was then fired at a U.S. military warship and the hostages were shot at in an attempt to get the U.S. boats to retreat.

When U.S. military personnel boarded the Quest, they took fifteen Somalis into custody, including a juvenile who has not been charged in this case. Four pirates were shot dead by the U.S. military, and the four American hostages were found deceased.

On Thursday, Ali and Abdiali were sentenced to life in prison at a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia. Ali, who was previously a police officer in Somalia, pled guilty on May 23 to piracy under the law of nations and hostage taking resulting in death. Abdiali, an electrician, pled guilty on May 20 to piracy under the law of nations.

“As Somali pirates expand their territory, they place more individuals’ lives at risk,” said Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “These men willingly joined this group of pirates out of greed, knowing full well that their actions could – and did – lead to the death of their hostages. They will spend their lives in prison for what they willingly chose to do and the lifetime of suffering and pain they thrust on the victims’ loved ones.”

Ali and Abdiali are among eleven men who have previously pled guilty for their involvement in the Quest hijacking and murders. Seven others were previously also sentenced to life in prison, and two other co-conspirators are to be sentenced on Friday.

The two owners of the vessel the Quest were on an “around-the-world” trip that began in mid-December 2004. “This is planned to be an eight or ten year voyage,” the website of the couple, Scott Underwood Adam and Jean Savage Adam, said in February. Their friends Phyllis Patricia Macay and Robert Campbell Riggle were the other victims.

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