Seattle
‘Superhero’ arrested: An amateur superhero was arrested for assault last weekend after he allegedly pepper-sprayed a group of people outside a nightclub. Self-styled vigilante Benjamin Fodor, who goes by the name “Phoenix Jones,” claims he was breaking up a fight, but Seattle police say Fodor started the scuffle. A mixed martial arts fighter, Fodor is a member of the Rain City Superhero Movement, a group of masked crime-fighters who patrol the streets of the city like comic book characters. Seattle police have warned the costumed crusaders to dial 911 rather than take matters into their own hands. “It’s fine if people want to dress up and walk around,” said Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson. But “if you’re deploying pepper spray on people on the street, you have to have a good reason to do it or you’ll be arrested.”
Creech Air Force Base, Nev.
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Infected drones: The U.S. fleet of military drones has been infected by a computer virus that records pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over war zones, Wired.com reported last week. The military said that the virus—first detected at Creech Air Force Base late last month—hasn’t stopped it from conducting missions, such as the recent airstrike in Yemen that killed al Qaida propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki. And there haven’t been any confirmed instances of information being transmitted to outside sources. But the bug has stubbornly resisted security specialists’ attempts to clear it from Creech’s computers. “We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” said a source familiar with the virus. Security experts believe that the bug entered the network when the Air Force transferred data between computers with an external hard drive. The military is investigating whether the virus was introduced intentionally or accidentally.
Topeka
Domestic violence law repealed: The City Council repealed the municipal law against misdemeanor domestic violence this week because Topeka no longer has the funds to enforce it. The city assumed responsibility for prosecuting domestic violence cases after the Shawnee County district attorney’s office stopped prosecuting misdemeanors, almost half of which were domestic assault cases last year. Topeka’s leaders said the city couldn’t afford the additional court bills and voted 7–3 to decriminalize the offense. Because domestic violence remains a crime under state law, the repeal is seen as an effort to force the DA to start prosecuting the cases again. “It’s really outrageous that they’re playing with family safety to see who blinks first,” said Rita Smith of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Detroit
‘Underwear bomber’ pleads guilty: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to bring down a Detroit-bound plane with explosives hidden in his underwear, stunned a federal courtroom in Detroit this week when he abruptly pleaded guilty to all charges against him. In an address to the court on the second day of his trial, the 25-year-old Abdulmutallab, who had elected to represent himself but was being assisted by a court-appointed attorney, admitted setting off the explosive device on Christmas Day 2009. He called the act a “religious duty” in retaliation for the “U.S. wreckage of Muslim lands and property.” In their opening statement, prosecutors told jurors that Abdulmutallab had admitted to FBI agents that he was working for al Qaida. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced in January.
Rockville, Md.
Prostate exam questioned: A government panel recommended last week that healthy men no longer receive the PSA blood test, which screens for prostate cancer. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said that the test’s widespread use had resulted in needless procedures that have left tens of thousands of men incontinent, impotent, or both. “Unfortunately, the evidence now shows that this test does not save men’s lives,” said Dr. Virginia Moyer, chairwoman of the task force. The PSA test, routinely given to men aged 50 and over, identifies the presence of cancerous cells in the prostate. But the vast majority of men with the cells never suffer ill effects, as the cancer usually grows slowly. The American Urological Association, whose doctors often treat the disease, said that the recommendation was misguided and “will ultimately do more harm than good.”
Washington, D.C.
Assault weapon ban upheld: The District of Columbia can continue to ban semiautomatic rifles and magazines containing more than 10 rounds of ammunition, an appeals court ruled last week. Those laws were introduced in the wake of a 2008 Supreme Court decision ending the capital’s 32-year-old handgun ban. Dick Heller, a security guard, filed the 2008 lawsuit when the district rejected his application to keep a pistol at home. After the court ruled in his favor, Heller challenged new restrictions on gun ownership approved by the D.C. Council, claiming that they violated the Second Amendment. But an appeals court found that the city’s interest in fighting crime justified the ban on assault weapons and large-capacity clips. Leaving such weaponry unregulated would put police in danger, the court declared, while their prohibition “does not effectively disarm individuals or substantially affect their ability to defend themselves.”
