USA
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the US in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, clearing the way for his case to proceed before a federal judge in Alexandria, Va. The justices let stand an appeals court ruling that allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty in his yet-to-be-scheduled trial and said he could not directly question Al Qaeda captives he claims could help his defense. The defense must rely on summaries of the interrogation statements prepared by the government. A French citizen of Moroccan descent, Moussaoui was arrested on immigration charges before 9/11. He has said he wasn't involved in the hijackings, but is an admitted Al Qaeda member who pledges allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
Despite speculation that ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist might step down, he returned to work at the Supreme Court Monday for the first time in five months. Rehnquist has worked behind the scenes for weeks, but has not appeared for arguments. He was last seen in public Jan. 20, when he administered the oath of office for Bush's second term.
A federal judge ordered a hearing Monday afternoon to consider a request by the parents of Terri Schiavo, who's at the center of a right-to-die family feud, to resume her feeding in a Pinellas Park, Fla., hospice. The request was filed early in the day after Congress rushed through special legislation to get the case into federal courts, and President Bush signed it. Schiavo's court-appointed doctors consider her in a persistent vegetative state. Her feeding tube was removed Friday on a Florida judge's order.
For the second time in three years, researchers in Hawaii said they have discovered the wreckage of a World War II-era submarine. The 400-foot-long 1-401 submarine, found in the waters off Oahu, was designed to carry three fold-up bombers.
Thom Mayne became the first American in 14 years to win architecture's coveted Pritzker Prize, The Washington Post reported. Mayne's work is marked by angularity, exposed structure, and metallic skin. Recognition for his work grew after designing a Pomona, Calif., high school six years ago. Mayne's firm, Morphosis, is based in Santa Monica, Calif.
Major League Baseball and the players union agreed Sunday to drop fines as a possible alternative punishment to suspensions for steroid use. The option came in for repeated criticism during last week's congressional hearings about steroids in baseball.
