NewsMay 26, 2005
Nation briefs 5/26/05
Charges brought against runaway bride in Georgia; Pentagon suspends effort to find soldiers' remains; Proposal to limit role of women in combat dies; Convicted sniper transferred to MarylandCharges brought against runaway bride in Georgia
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- The bride-to-be who skipped town just days before her lavish wedding was indicted Wednesday on charges she told police a phony story about being kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, was charged with making a false statement and making a false police report. She could get up to six years behind bars and $11,000 in fines if convicted. She could also be ordered to reimburse authorities for the more than $50,000 cost of the search set off by her disappearance. A warrant will be issued for Wilbanks' arrest within the next few days, and arrangements will probably be made for her to turn herself in, the district attorney said.
Pentagon suspends effort to find soldiers' remains
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon on Wednesday abruptly suspended U.S. efforts to recover the remains of American soldiers from North Korea, accusing the Koreans of creating an environment that could jeopardize the safety of U.S. personnel performing the work. The work has been proceeding since 1996, resulting in the recovery of more than 220 soldiers' remains. Thousands more are still missing, and a large number of those are believed to be recoverable. The move came just one day after the Pentagon announced that a number of remains of U.S. soldiers had been recovered during the first of what had been scheduled to be a series of missions this year at two former battlefields in North Korea. That announcement gave no indication there was a problem with safety.
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Proposal to limit role of women in combat dies
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans abandoned their own plan to curb the role of women in combat zones after it ran into opposition from the Pentagon and lawmakers from both parties. The GOP-controlled House decided Wednesday to let the Pentagon continue deciding military jobs for women, as long as defense officials give Congress advance word on any changes. The watered-down combat role proposal -- letting the Pentagon decide on women's military jobs as long as it gives Congress 60 days notice -- was approved 428-1. It was added to a defense bill that would authorize $491 billion in spending and set defense policy for next year.
Convicted sniper transferred to Maryland
CLARKSBURG, Md. -- Convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo was transferred from Virginia to Maryland on Wednesday to be tried on charges of killing six people there during the Washington-area sniper shootings in 2002. Malvo was removed from a prison in Virginia, where he is serving a life sentence for the shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin in Fairfax, Va., and flown to Maryland, officials said. He was placed in the Montgomery County jail. A bond hearing was tentatively scheduled for today, though attorney Harry Trainor said he didn't know if it would be necessary since Malvo is serving a life sentence. Malvo, 20, and John Allen Muhammad, 44, will be tried in Montgomery County on six first-degree murder counts. Muhammad was convicted in 2003 of killing Dean Meyers in Manassas, Va., and sentenced to death.
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