Ariel Castro faces kidnap, rape charges

Amanda Berry (AP Photo/Family Handout courtesy WOIO-TV)

CLEVELAND -- Amanda Berry returned Wednesday morning to her sister’s home in the city's west side neighborhood where she planned to live with her 6-year-old daughter after being held for a decade in captivity only miles away.

Berry, now 27, had been expected to address the crush of reporters and camera crews awaiting her arrival, but her sister, Beth Serrano, spoke instead, saying Berry needed time to recover first.

“I want to thank the public and the media for their support,” Serrano said. “At this time our family would request privacy so my sister, niece and I have time to recover. We appreciate all you have done for us for the past 10 years. Please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statement. “

Berry and her daughter were escorted to the home by police motorcade around 11:35 am ET. The home, covered in balloons and welcome signs, is a short distance from the dilapidated house where Berry, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, are believed to have been held as prisoners.

Brothers Ariel, Pedro and Onil Castro have been arrested in connection with the crime and are expected to face charges Wednesday.

Berry managed to escape the house Monday evening and call 911.

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Teacher who assigned essay on why Jews were evil faces discipline

By Holly McKenna

ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - A New York state high school English teacher who asked students to imagine they were Nazis and give reasons why Jews were evil could be reprimanded or dismissed, a school district superintendent said on Friday.

City School District of Albany Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard apologized at a news conference and pledged officials would personally express regret to Albany High School students who were given the assignment and their families.

"This assignment for some of our students at Albany High School was completely unacceptable. It displayed a level of insensitivity that we will not tolerate in our school community," Vanden Wyngaard said.

"I'm deeply apologetic to all of our students, to all of our families and the entire community," she said, appearing with representatives of the Anti-Defamation League and the United Jewish Federation (UJF) of Northeastern New York at the UJF office in Albany.

The teacher, who Vanden Wyngaard declined to name, was removed from class for now and faced disciplinary action.

"It can go anywhere from a letter of counsel, to a letter of reprimand, all the way through to termination. There is a broad spectrum," Vanden Wyngaard said.

A letter would go out to all families in the school district, she said.

Vanden Wyngaard first issued an apology through the Times Union on Thursday night after the newspaper reported the assignment on its website. She responded with "absolute horror" when a parent presented her with the assignment on Thursday.

The teacher gave three classes of 10th grade students a persuasive writing assignment as part of a class project to demonstrate how Nazis thought and showed their loyalty to the Third Reich before World War Two.

"You need to pretend that I am a member of the government in Nazi Germany, and you are being challenged to consider that you are loyal to the Nazis by writing an essay convincing me that Jews are evil and the source of our problems," the assignment instructions said.

One-third of the students refused to complete the task, which was assigned following a class review of Nazi propaganda and directed them to imagine that their teacher was a Nazi official, said Ron Lesko, a spokesman for the district.

Students were asked for an introduction, conclusion and a list of arguments and were advised, "Please remember your life (here in Nazi Germany in the 30s) depends on it!"

(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Alden Bentley)

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Journalist faces judge over sources in Colorado shooting story

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - A Fox News reporter returned to a Colorado courtroom on Wednesday for a hearing on whether she should be compelled to reveal anonymous sources cited in a story about the July 2012 massacre of a dozen people in a suburban Denver movie theater.

The outcome of the proceedings were inconclusive, however, and the judge put off a decision on the matter for at least four more months.

New York-based journalist Jana Winter is fighting a subpoena calling for her to testify about her sources for an article that said the accused theater gunman, James Holmes, sent a notebook to a psychiatrist detailing his plans to commit mass murder.

Holmes' public defenders are demanding that prosecutors be sanctioned for leaks of the information to the media, arguing that whoever provided the information violated a gag order in the case and undermined their client's right to a fair trial.

Citing two law enforcement sources, the story appeared five days after prosecutors say Holmes opened fire inside an Aurora, Colorado, multiplex during a midnight screening of Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 moviegoers and wounding 58 others.

Holmes, 25, is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors announced last week they will seek the death penalty for the California native if he is convicted.

Winter said in an affidavit that if she were compelled to divulge the names of the sources, her reputation in the industry would be "irreparably tarnished."

"If I am forced to reveal the identities of persons whom I have promised to shield from public exposure, simply put, I will be unable to function effectively in my profession, and my career will be over," she wrote.

In a hearing on the issue last week, Winter's lawyer argued that the court had not exhausted all possible remedies to trace the origin of the leak, short of ordering Winter to testify, a requirement under Colorado's reporter shield law.

POLICE DENY LEAKING INFORMATION

Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. agreed and ordered Aurora police detective Alton Reed, who previously denied under oath that he was a source of the leak, to take the stand Wednesday and testify as to whether he told anyone about the notebook who may have then leaked its contents.

Reed said he discussed the notebook in general terms with another police officer who was drafting a warrant but did not share information gleaned from his investigation with anyone else. Several other police investigators denied under oath in December that they had leaked information.

After Reed's testimony, Holmes' lawyer, Rebecca Higgs, said someone in law enforcement must have lied about not disclosing sealed information and urged the judge to force Winter to disclose her sources.

Winter's reporting was "not a noble act," Higgs said, because she knew there was a gag order in place, and Holmes' right to a fair trial trumps Winter's free-speech rights.

But Samour, who took over the case last week, said he would not force Winter to testify until and unless the notebook, which is under seal, becomes evidence in the case.

"I need to know whether the notebook will be admitted or not," he said. "I can't speculate."

The judge deferred ruling on the issue and ordered Winter back to court in August.

Prosecutors have not been directly implicated in connection with the leak and have remained largely silent on the matter.

Representatives of the Colorado Press Association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Colorado Broadcasters Association have filed affidavits with the court on Winter's behalf.

The president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Press Club, Angela Greiling Keane, issued a statement calling on the judge to drop the issue.

"If anonymous sources believe their identities can be dredged up in court, they will be less likely to disclose to the press information of vital public importance," she said.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Steve Gorman and Pravin Char)

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Analysis: Illinois pension fix faces political, legal hurdles

By Karen Pierog

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois lawmakers begin a two-month push on Monday to enact major pension reform, under pressure from taxpayers, workers, business groups and bond investors to fix the worst-funded state pension system in the United States.

The key objective: To put together a package of reform measures that are capable of addressing a nearly $100 billion unfunded pension liability, while still standing up to anticipated court challenges.

The state's constitution prohibits reduction in pension benefits to active and retired workers, and reform efforts have been inhibited by warnings made by union groups and others that they intend to file lawsuits to block implementation of many reforms.

The president of the Illinois Senate, John Cullerton, a Democrat, said he is preparing a two-pronged attack. He first will seek to pass a bill similar to the measure the House approved late last month that would impose restrictions on cost-of-living increases to pension payments to retirees.

As a back up, in case those reforms hit a constitutional roadblock, Cullerton said he will seek to offer workers a choice. They will either receive the benefits already promised, but have to forego state-funded healthcare care in retirement, or they will accept limits on cost-of-living increases in their pensions and still have access to state-funded healthcare.

"I'm trying to come up with a winning combination to pass a bill," Cullerton said.

Pensions are devouring an ever-increasing share of state revenue. That is a worry for the state's bondholders, as well as vendors, school districts and others doing business with a state that is running as much as a year behind on $9 billion in unpaid bills.

Illinois' credit ratings have been downgraded to the lowest levels among U.S. states as solutions to the pension problem remain elusive, and studies have shown Illinois has the lowest funding ratio of any state in the nation.

The legislative push that begins Monday comes two weeks after the state's lower chamber passed a reform plan that, if adopted by the Senate and signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn, could save as much as $100 billion in pension costs over 30 years, according to backers.

The House measure, which was sponsored by the powerful speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, a Democrat, limits cost-of-living allowances (COLAs) on pension payments, a significant factor in Illinois' rising pension costs. Cuts to COLAs also were part of another, more comprehensive bill that went down to defeat in the Senate on March 20. None of the reform bills passed so far by the House or Senate has been taken up in the other's chamber.

The Madigan-backed measure, which lists Cullerton as the Senate sponsor, would take the biggest step in reform so far by addressing cost-of-living allowances for pensioners.

Under it, retired workers would get the current 3 percent compounded annual automatic increase only on the first $25,000 of their pension. No pension increase would kick in until a worker turns 67 or has been retired for five years, whichever comes first.

The House also passed two measures earlier in March -increasing retirement ages for certain workers and limiting salaries on which pensions are based. Taken together the two changes would save only $1 billion over 30 years.

OFFERING A CHOICE

Cullerton's effort to put together a bill that can pass constitutional review already has begun, with a relatively modest measure dealing solely with the Teachers' Retirement System, which covers local school districts with the exception of the Chicago Public Schools.

The key to its constitutional viability, Cullerton believes, is the effort to offer pension beneficiaries a choice in how their benefits may change. The Cullerton plan offers something of value in exchange for reduction in pension benefits - in this case, health coverage in retirement - and this consideration could be key to any constitutional challenge.

The Cullerton bill would offer school employees the choice of retaining the current annual 3 percent compounded cost-of-living adjustment to their pensions, but no health benefits upon retirement. As an alternative, teachers could agree to a reduced COLA in order to have continued access to state-sponsored healthcare in retirement.

Cullerton would like to expand the approach taken with the Teachers Retirement System, the state's largest pension fund, to three of Illinois' other state-sponsored funds.

However, potential savings to the sagging pension system under this approach are expected to be much less than if COLA limits and other changes are imposed on workers and retirees, as prescribed in the House measure backed by Madigan.

HURDLES AHEAD

Public worker unions are taking a dim view of the bills. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats but state labor unions that traditionally back the Democratic Party have expressed skepticism that changes to member benefits can be made without violating constitutional protections.

In December, Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 said that any proposal that includes a COLA limit would result in lengthy and costly litigation.

However, a recent state court ruling has begun to reframe the legal debate. On March 19, a state judge found that state-sponsored healthcare for retired state workers is not protected by the constitution. This has given rise to a belief that court challenges may face more difficult going than union rhetoric has suggested.

State Representative Elain Nekritz, a Democrat, said she believed the House's approach to pensions is constitutional because the courts would interpret the clause restricting pensions adjustments in light of the state's efforts to improve its sagging finances.

Beyond the struggle to redefine cost-of-living allowances and make other changes, some proposals are seeking to shift the cost of pension payments from the state to local authorities.

One controversial measure is to make school districts, community colleges and state universities pick up the cost of pension payments for their teachers. Currently, the state bears those costs.

Nekritz, the House's point person for pensions, said she expects the lower chamber to put together a comprehensive bill that could include shifting the cost of teachers' pensions to local taxing districts.

Many suburban Chicago Republican lawmakers oppose the move, concerned it would lead to property tax increases by local school districts. But Nekritz said the impact would be reduced by restricting the change to pensions for workers hired after any law is passed.

Other reforms under discussion include one that would require employees to pay more toward their pensions and another that would give the pension funds power to sue if the state fails to keep current on new payments into the state pension funds, according to Nekritz.

The state also could be required to use money currently allocated to pay off pension bonds to make pension payments once those bonds are retired. All told, the state has sold more than $17 billion in pension bonds since 2003.

LOW CREDIT RATING

Illinois' struggles with pension reform have drawn the attention of bond investors, and any reform measures likely will face skepticism from investors who have seen Illinois adopt reforms in the past, only to fail to deliver.

In 1994, the state legislature passed a plan giving itself 50 years to fix Illinois pension problems. But after a 15-year "ramp up" period expired, the legislature never came through with the large balloon payments mandated by the law.

In 1993, Illinois began issuing pension bonds, the proceeds of which were supposed to be used to put the state's pension system on solid footing. In all, $17 billion of pension bonds have been issued, but portions of the proceeds have gone toward making the state's annual pension payments, and the bonds have contributed substantially to the state's indebtedness.

The state's track record was reflected in the pricing of $800 million in bonds sold by the state of Illinois last week. The so-called credit spread for the 10-year, tax-exempt bonds over Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale, stood at 141 basis points last week. As recently as April 2010, Illinois' credit spread was just above 100 basis points, at the same level as California.

John Sinsheimer, Illinois' capital markets director, said the U.S. municipal bond market continues to demand "a significant penalty" for the state's failure to address the pension shortfall.

Richard Ciccarone, a managing director and the chief research officer at McDonnell Investment Management, said any reform plan should include a guarantee the state will not return to its old habit of not fully making annual pension payments. For decades Illinois skimped on making payments to the pension system as required by actuarial calculations. In fact, the state met its obligations in only one year of the past decade.

Despite its strong pledge to repay bondholders, Illinois "still needs cash in the bank" in order to make the actual payments, Ciccarone said.

Lawmakers and business and labor groups involved in the push for reform are uncertain whether a comprehensive fix can be achieved in both chambers of the Illinois legislature before the legislature's spring session is scheduled to end by May 31.

"We're a ways away from a proposal the governor can sign," said Steve Brown, a spokesman for Madigan.

Christopher Mooney, a political scientist at the University of Illinois, said that in the end, several pension reform bills likely will be combined into a single measure. A successful court challenge to any enacted reforms could actually help state lawmakers, he said.

"They'd have to start over but they would be in a much better position because they would have some guidance from the court on what is acceptable and not acceptable," Mooney said.

(Reporting By Karen Pierog; Editing by David Greising, Frances Kerry and Bill Trott)

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U.S. soldier accused of Afghan killings faces "sanity" review

By Laura L. Myers

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier charged with killing 16 civilians, most of them women and children, near his Army post in Afghanistan is set to undergo a medical review on Sunday to determine his state of mind at the time of the killings and ability to stand trial.

The review, known in the military as a "sanity board," will be conducted by three doctors at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, and will be completed by May 1, according to a U.S. Army spokesman.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan who is accused of gunning down the villagers in cold blood during two rampages through their family compounds in Kandahar province last March.

Army prosecutors say Bales, a 39-year old father of two, acted alone and with "chilling premeditation" when, armed with a pistol, a rifle and a grenade launcher, he left his base twice in the night, returning in the middle of his rampage to tell a fellow soldier: "I just shot up some people."

The shootings marked the worst case of civilian slaughter blamed on a rogue U.S. soldier since the Vietnam War and further eroded strained U.S.-Afghan relations after more than a decade of conflict in that country.

Defense lawyers have not set out an alternative theory of what happened on the night of the shootings, but have focused on Bales' fragile mental state.

Bales' lead civilian attorney John Henry Browne said in January that government documents showed Bales had been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a brain injury before his deployment in Afghanistan in 2011.

After hearing preliminary evidence in November, military judge Colonel Jeffery Nance determined that Bales should face a court martial, which is due to begin in September.

At Bales' arraignment in January, Browne's team entered no plea and told Nance they were preparing a possible "mental health defense." Nance said such a defense would require a formal psychiatric evaluation, and ordered a sanity board review.

SANITY BOARDS COMMON

Sanity boards are common in military justice, said Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gary Dangerfield.

They may be ordered when a commander, investigating officer, government trial counsel, defense counsel, or military judge believes there is reason to question the mental responsibility of the accused at the time of the offenses or that the person lacks the mental capacity to stand trial, Dangerfield said.

The Army has not said which doctors will conduct the review, or what their specialties are, but such panels are usually made up of Army physicians and psychologists. There was no word on whether the judge had granted a defense request that Bales be examined by a neuropsychologist with expertise in traumatic brain injuries.

At a November pre-trial hearing, prosecutors said Bales had been drinking earlier in the evening of the attacks, and had used steroids on the Special Forces outpost. Defense attorneys also quizzed Bales' colleagues closely about his sudden explosions of temper in the days before the attacks.

Bales faces 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of assault and wrongfully possessing and using steroids and alcohol while deployed.

Military justice experts say a defense based on Bales' PTSD or deeper mental health problems may not be enough to avoid trial, but could raise serious issues over premeditation, which would make a death sentence less likely.

"Just because someone has a (mental) disease does not mean they're legally insane," said Victor Hansen, a professor at the New England Law Boston law school with two decades of military law experience.

"The board could uncover unknown components that could help the defendant claim diminished capacity," Hansen said. "To obtain death, you have to prove premeditation. Anything less than premeditation of murder, there's no death."

Defendants deemed unable to stand trial after a sanity board are typically referred for treatment at a government medical center.

(Writing by Bill Rigby; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker)

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U.S. Army says it faces "dire" financial situation as cuts loom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior military budget officer said on Wednesday that converging financial pressures could leave the U.S. Army with just $2 billion to spend on operations, maintenance and training this year after it has funded the war in Afghanistan and other security needs.

That is a fraction of what the Army usually spends to train soldiers, maintain bases, refurbish equipment and carry out overseas operations during a seven-month period and has created a "dire" and "unprecedented" outlook, said Major General Karen Dyson, director of the Army Budget Office.

Pentagon officials have warned for months that a $46 billion across-the-board cut in defense spending - now due to go into effect on Friday - would be "devastating" to the military.

Some analysts say the Pentagon is exaggerating the impact in an effort to convince Congress to stop the spending reductions.

Officials have said the Army would be hardest hit by the spending cuts and other converging financial issues.

Dyson told reporters the "fiscal crisis" facing the Army was the result of higher-than-expected Afghanistan war costs, the looming reduction in overall defense spending and a congressional decision that extended Pentagon funding based on 2012 levels and priorities.

Costs of the Afghanistan war were projected 18 months ago, but are running higher than expected. That is in part because military supply lines running through Pakistan have not been fully restored after a shutdown last year and the expense of using alternative routes is higher.

As a result of that and other war costs, Army spending on Afghanistan is running about $6 billion higher than anticipated this year, Dyson said.

The Army also is being squeezed by Congress' decision to fund the Pentagon through March 27 with a resolution that based spending on 2012 levels and priorities, she said. As a result, much of the money allocated to the Army is in the wrong accounts and cannot be easily transferred.

That has left the Army with another shortfall that could hit $6 billion if Congress decides to extend its decision through the end of the fiscal year in September.

TROOPS' PAY AND BENEFITS PROTECTED

The Army will have to absorb more than a quarter of the $46 billion across-the-board cut to defense spending due to go into effect on Friday. Dyson said $6 billion of that cut will hit Army operations and maintenance spending.

President Barack Obama has elected to protect the pay and benefits of uniformed military personnel from the budget cuts, known in Washington as "sequestration." And the Pentagon has made it a priority to avoid cuts to Afghanistan war funding and protect money for training troops deploying to the conflict.

As a result, said Dyson, the Army had about $34 billion in its operations and maintenance accounts that would not be protected from cuts in the 2013 fiscal year. However, the fiscal year began in October 2012, so only about $20 billion in unprotected funds are left to absorb the $18 billion in cuts, she said.

"This is why we say this is a devastating environment that we're operating in," Dyson told reporters. "The Army has had to begin taking actions to cut our spending now, so that we can plan for how we will implement sequestration."

She said the Army had begun reducing contracts, canceling training, stopping maintenance, halting upkeep to facilities and imposing a hiring freeze.

Brigadier General Curt Rauhut, director of resource management at the Army's Installation Management Command, said: "Bottom line up front, sequestration will affect soldiers, families and our civilian work force and the community businesses around our installations."

Asked if the Army could realistically maintain its 75 installations with 169,000 buildings worldwide for seven months on $2 billion, a spokesman said, "No, hence the draconian efforts to slam the brakes on costs."

"Cost control won't get the Army to the end of the fiscal year," said Army spokesman Dov Schwartz. "The Army will require help to make it to year end."

(Editing by Warren Strobel and Christopher Wilson)

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New York's Bloomberg faces test in Chicago political gun battle

CHICAGO (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's push for stricter U.S. gun laws in the wake of the Connecticut school massacre faces a stern test next week in a messy Chicago special election where he has piled in with more than $2 million in political ads.

The outcome of the race is the first big election test since the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting of whether gun control champions such as Bloomberg and former U.S. congresswoman Gabby Giffords can use money, and the same tough tactics as gun rights lobbyists, to influence voters.

Gun control vaulted to the top of the U.S. political agenda after a gunman last December shot and killed 26 people at an elementary school in Newtown including 20 children.

Bloomberg is taking a risk by wading into the nasty and racially charged politics of Chicago, where critics have already complained the brash mayor is trying to buy an election nearly 1,000 miles from New York City.

The February 26 primary is to replace U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., who pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to using campaign funds to finance a lavish personal lifestyle.

Jackson was a reliable vote in Congress for gun control measures but polls last month showed the seat could be won by Debbie Halvorson, who has an "A" rating from the powerful gun rights lobby, the National Rifle Association, and opposes an assault weapons ban.

The winner of the Democratic primary is likely to win the seat because the district is heavily Democratic.

Bloomberg's Independence USA political action committee, or PAC, has blanketed Chicago television with more than $2 million in ads attacking Halvorson's stance on guns and endorsing Robin Kelly, a candidate supporting gun control, according to PAC spokesman Stefan Friedman.

"Halvorson would have probably won this district if the gun control issue hadn't intervened," said Dick Simpson, a former Chicago city council member and political scientist at the University of Illinois, Chicago. "Whether she still can win it is unclear."

The district at stake is majority African-American and includes some areas ravaged by gun violence, as Chicago's murder rate reached the highest in five years. The district should be receptive to Bloomberg's message of gun restrictions.

But it also stretches south to the outer suburbs of Chicago where some white voters are in favor of gun ownership.

Halvorson is the only white candidate among the 14 Democrats still vying for the seat. The concern among some in the black community is that the black vote will split, allowing Halvorson to win the primary with only about a third of the vote.

There have been no public polls in weeks and both sides are touting private polls showing they are winning the gun battle.

Halvorson is fighting back, saying Bloomberg misrepresented her position on guns. She said that she supports registration of all firearms and background checks for gun purchases, but opposes a ban on assault weapons.

"(The commercials) are so over the top. They are unbelievable. They also are false, because they say that I am endorsed by the NRA, which I am not," Halvorson said.

The Illinois State Rifle Association, which is aligned with the NRA, said it does endorse Halvorson.

"I think that (Bloomberg) is trying to take advantage of a tragedy," association executive director Richard Pearson said, referring to the Connecticut shooting. "And I think that you hear less talk about victims and it's more about getting his agenda done."

Halvorson and Chicago city council member Anthony Beale, who is also vying for the seat, accused Bloomberg of trying to "buy" an election.

Bloomberg and his allies are unbowed by the criticism.

"The mayor has been clear that when these issues are in play, he believes it's a good use of time and resources to help educate the public about the candidates' position on them," Friedman said.

(Reporting by Renita Young; Editing by Greg McCune and Dale Hudson)

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