First Gitmo Detainee Arrives in US for Trial

WASHINGTON - A Guantanamo Bay detainee indicted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa arrived in New York on Tuesday to face criminal charges.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani is the first detainee held at Guantanamo to be transferred to the United States to face criminal prosecution. The Tanzanian national has been held at the camp in Cuba since September 2006.

Ghailani's arrival in New York comes amid mounting tension between Congress and President Obama over the planned closing of Guantanamo.

Judge Halts Deportation of 4, Cites ICE Conduct

NEW HAVEN - Immigration Judge Michael W. Straus has terminated deportation proceedings against four city residents arrested in a 2007 raid because of the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Straus found that the four men's constitutional rights were "egregiously violated."

Straus said in a recent ruling that ICE agents illegally entered the apartments of the four men "without a warrant, without probable cause and without consent," a violation of their 4th and 5th amendments protections.

Iraqi Security Forces Arrest Five American Civilians

BAGHDAD - Iraqi security forces have arrested five Americans in connection with the killing of a contractor last month in Baghdad's Green Zone, Iraqi officials said Sunday. It could be the first case in which Americans face local justice under a security pact signed last year.

The Americans were detained Wednesday, although U.S. and Iraqi officials say no charges have been filed. James Fennell, a U.S. Embassy spokesman, said Sunday that consular officials had visited the men a day after their arrest to make sure "they're being afforded their rights under Iraqi law."

Texans Sue KBR, Halliburton Over War-Zone Burn Pits

Six people from Texas, including some soldiers, who claim they were poisoned by toxins and emissions from burn pits at U.S. camps in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing contractors KBR and Halliburton.

The suit, moved to federal court in San Antonio from state court last week, alleges the companies operated the large war-zone pits and burned waste since 2004 that included trucks, tires, plastic water bottles, medical waste, hazardous materials, animal carcasses and even human corpses.

North Korea Tries US Journalists

Two US journalists are reported to have gone on trial in North Korea, on charges of committing "hostile acts".

Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, were arrested on 17 March after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China.

The US has dismissed the charges as "baseless" and said the two women should be released immediately.

The trial comes amid growing tensions in the region following North Korea's recent nuclear and missile tests.

US Judge Rejects Lawsuits in Wiretapping Cases

SAN FRANCISCO - A US federal judge dismissed dozens of lawsuits against telecom companies that participated in a wiretapping program without court authorization during the presidency of George W. Bush.

San Francisco-based US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the companies had immunity from liability under the FISA Amendments Act (FISAAA), which the US Congress adopted in 2008.

Blackwater Contractors in Fatal Shooting Say They're Scapegoats

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two U.S. security contractors involved in the shooting death of an Afghan civilian said they were pressured to say they had been drinking in order to protect the company's contract.

"There was no question as to, 'Were you drinking?' It was, 'I know you were drinking, I know this happened,' and then pretty much trying to force us into making a statement on that," Steven McClain told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" in a story to air on Wednesday.

California Upholds Gay Marriage Ban

The California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8 -- the controversial ballot question that banned same-sex marriage.

At the same time, the ruling will allow about 18,000 same-sex couples already married, to retain the rights they attained during the brief six-month period that gay marriage was legal in the state.

"There it goes," said Jim Schnobrich, who married his partner of 27 years in Pasadena, Calif., last September. "We have to keep going."

Shell on Trial: Oil Giant Faces Charges of Human Rights Abuses

Royal Dutch Shell will revisit one of the darkest periods of its history tomorrow as a potentially groundbreaking court case opens in New York.

The oil giant stands accused of complicity in the 1995 execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a Nigerian environmental activist.

The world's boardrooms are watching the case, which is seen as a test of whether transnational companies owned or operating in the US can be held responsible for human rights abuses committed abroad.