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We should oblige as soon as possible. All five of the Guantánamo detainees charged with planning and coordinating the Sept. 11 attacks have asked a military judge to accept their confessions in full. The request appeared to be intended to cut short any effort to try them, and to challenge the United States government to put them to death. more . . .

MIAMI - A Venezuelan man pleaded guilty Friday in a scheme to cover up the source of $800,000 in a suitcase seized in Argentina, where it was allegedly sent by Venezuelans as a donation to Cristina Fernandez's presidential campaign. Moises Maionica, 36, admitted to acting as an unregistered foreign government agent in the U.S. He could be sentenced to up to 15 years for this and a related conspiracy count, but is cooperating with prosecutors and thus could get a reduced sentence. U.S. officials said Maionica and four others tried to hide the Venezuelan source of the cash, which was...

Sen. Larry E. Craig said he had retained a lawyer to examine his case, suggesting that he may attempt to withdraw his guilty plea. That may be possible in some circumstances, legal experts say, but he would risk having more serious charges reinstated and the public exposure of other details of the restroom incident that has imperiled his congressional career. Ordinarily, Minnesota law allows defendants to withdraw plea agreements in limited situations where there has been "manifest injustice." Courts have interpreted that narrowly -- where prosecutors have not upheld their end of a plea bargain, for example, or where a...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California man has pleaded guilty to providing restricted software products to China, marking the first successful U.S. prosecution for illegal exports of military-related software code, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. Xiaodong Sheldon Meng, 42, formerly of Beijing and now a resident of Cupertino, California, has pleaded guilty to violating U.S. laws on economic espionage and arms export controls, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Prosecutors said Meng improperly installed a demonstration unit of a simulation product at the Peoples' Republic of China Navy Research Center and exported to China a restricted visual...

<p>A former analyst for the Pentagon’s intelligence service provided China with highly classified information prior to the loss of a major electronic spying operation against Beijing, The Washington Times has learned. The loss of the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping operation hampered U.S. efforts to track China’s covert arms sales to nations such as Iran, Syria and Pakistan, Bush administration officials said.</p>

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion charges involving the sale of his home.

One of two men accused of throwing cream pies at nationally syndicated columnist Ann Coulter last year pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault Friday. Phillip Edgar Smith agreed to pay $915 in restitution for damage caused to a backdrop screen that was hit by one of the pies, said deputy Pima County Attorney Noah Van Amburg. Judge Paul Simon gave Smith a $250 fine, but told him that if he pays the restitution by Dec. 5 he will suspend the fine, Van Amburg said. According to police, Smith and William Zachary Wolff, both 25, threw the tofu cream pies at Coulter...

Story last updated at 5:07 a.m. Saturday, October 11, 2003 Lubbock man pleads guilty to child porn A Lubbock man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to possessing child pornography downloaded from the Internet. Michael Gene Bowser, 45, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years when sentenced in a few months by U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings. Bowser pleaded guilty to possessing one image of a young girl engaged in sexual intercourse with an adult man. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss six additional charges as part of the plea arrangement. Bowser also must forfeit his computer equipment. Lubbock FBI agents arrested...