The world at a glance . . . United States

last updated 8 January 2015

Helena, Mont.

Urban deer hunting: Responding to deer attacks on people and pets, police in Helena last week began culling the city’s deer population. Helena is home to about 700 deer, most of which exhibit little or no fear of humans. “I’m really concerned about the children in the area,” said local restaurant owner Jeff Spurlin, who has a herd of six deer squatting in his yard. So far, the city has trapped more than a dozen, killing adults with a bolt gun. The meat is donated to the needy. Captured fawns, however, are released. “There were images in people’s mind of Bambi dying in the streets,” said deer task force member Matthew Cohn.

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Cross-border drug bust: After an 18-month investigation, police in California and Canada this week broke up a drug-trafficking ring, arresting six people who moved millions of dollars worth of cocaine, Ecstasy, and marijuana across the U.S.-Canada border. California electronics executive Nathanael Lineham was arrested at his Newport Beach home and charged with importing Ecstasy and marijuana from Canada and sending cocaine back across the border. Five other alleged ring members were arrested in California and Canada. Police said they confiscated at least 95 kilograms of cocaine and large quantities of cash. Investigators broke the case by intercepting phone calls and reading encrypted e-mails sent from Lineham’s BlackBerry. Lineham’s company, Datalocking Co., claims its method of encrypting e-mails is unbreakable.

Medevac copter crash: A medical evacuation helicopter ferrying two car crash victims to a Maryland hospital crashed in a densely wooded park this week, killing one patient, two medical workers, and the pilot. The second patient, 18-year-old Jordan Wells, survived with critical injuries. Authorities grounded the state’s remaining 11 medevac helicopters while they investigated the cause of the accident. “There is no recording of a distress call,” said Deborah Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board. It was the eighth medevac copter crash nationwide this year. In 2006, the NTSB called for new safety standards for medevac flights, citing 64 accidents in the previous five years.

New prosecutor in Justice scandal: U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey this week appointed a special prosecutor to determine whether his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, or others should be charged with crimes in connection with the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006. A 392-page Justice Department report released earlier in the week found “serious failures” in the department’s dismissal of the attorneys and stated that Gonzales and a deputy made “inconsistent, misleading, and inaccurate” statements in the case. The special prosecutor, Nora Dannehy, acting U.S. attorney in Connecticut, will investigate allegations that the firings were politically motivated. “At a minimum,” said Mukasey, the dismissals were “haphazard, arbitrary, and unprofessional.”

Twice is not enough: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced this week that he was reversing his longstanding support for term limits in order to run for a third term. Bloomberg, who earlier this year flirted with a presidential run, called on the City Council to overturn New York’s term limits law without seeking voter approval, arguing that the city needs his financial expertise to get through the Wall Street crisis. In the past, the billionaire mayor has scoffed at the notion that anyone is indispensable. “Whenever we’ve had someone who was irreplaceable,” he said in 2006, “their successor invariably did a better job, and I think change is good.”

Spy admits corruption: A former high-ranking CIA official pleaded guilty this week to steering lucrative contracts to a longtime friend. Former CIA Executive Director Kyle “Dusty” Foggo admitted in federal court to concealing his relationship with San Diego military contractor Brent Wilkes while he awarded Wilkes federal contracts worth millions. The illicit deals were exposed during a corruption investigation of former California Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who is serving an eight-year federal prison sentence for accepting bribes from Wilkes. Foggo now faces up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors said they would seek a lighter sentence, citing his cooperation in other investigations.