Nation briefs 3/19/15

LaHood's son to run for Schock's seat

PEORIA, Ill. -- The son of former White House cabinet member Ray LaHood emerged as the leading contender Wednesday to replace U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, as two other potential candidates abandoned thoughts of seeking the seat that is coming open after a spending scandal forced the Illinois congressman's abrupt resignation. State Sen. Darin LaHood, a Republican whose father held the central Illinois seat before Schock and then served as President Barack Obama's transportation secretary, announced he would seek the seat Wednesday morning during an appearance on a radio show in Peoria, where his family has resided for decades.

Secret Service knows of cyanide suspect

WASHINGTON -- The person suspected of sending an envelope to the White House that may have contained cyanide is known to the Secret Service and has sent suspicious items over the last two decades, a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said Wednesday. The official said the suspected sender has sent packages with rambling messages and foreign substances. The official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. The envelope was received at a mail processing center away from the White House for routine screening Monday, and initial tests were negative for cyanide. A second test on Tuesday returned a "presumptive positive," the Secret Service said. Officials are waiting for the results of a third round of testing to determine whether the envelope contained the toxin.

Dead officer's blood was in bomber's car

BOSTON -- The blood of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer appeared on white gloves found in Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's car, a DNA expert testified Wednesday as prosecutors tried to show he played an active role in that killing days after the bombings. Tsarnaev, 21, faces the possibility of the death penalty for his role in the 2013 deadly bombings. Three people were killed, and more than 260 were injured when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the marathon. His lawyer said it was Dzhokar's brother, Tamerlan, who shot officer Sean Collier as the brothers tried to flee. Jennifer Montgomery, a DNA analyst with the state police crime lab, testified Wednesday that Collier's blood was on a pair of gloves found near the gas pedal and driver's seat of Tsarnaev's Honda Civic.

Record set for withholding files

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration set a record again for censoring government files or denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data. The government took longer to turn over files when it provided any, said more regularly it couldn't find documents and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. It acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were improper under the law -- but only when it was challenged. Its backlog of unanswered requests at year's end grew by 55 percent to more than 200,000. It cut by 375, or about 9 percent, the number of full-time employees across government paid to look for records.

-- From wire reports