DETROIT – Seven members of a Midwest militia accused of plotting to overthrow the federal government are set to stand trial.
Jurors will decide whether federal authorities prevented an attack by homegrown extremists or simply made too much of the boasts by weekend warriors who had pledged to “take our nation back.”
Opening statements are set for today after a jury is seated in the trial of members of the Hutaree militia, charged with conspiring to commit sedition, or rebellion, after their March 2010 arrests in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
Nation
Download budget onto smartphone
Starting at 11:15 a.m. today, when the White House releases President Obama’s proposed spending plan for fiscal 2013, budget geeks across the country will be able to download it on their iPhones, Androids, BlackBerrys and other smartphones.
The app will give users access to text and images in one of the budget’s four volumes, the 216-page book with the president’s budget message, his priorities and overviews of the spending plans of each federal agency. The rest of the 2,000-plus-page publication can be read on mobile devices through online links to the government’s digital data system.
World
Cruise ship’s fuel removal begins
Underwater pumping operations began Sunday to remove some of the 500,000 gallons of fuel aboard the Costa Concordia, officials said, nearly a month after the cruise ship ran aground off Tuscany.
After nearly two weeks of delays because of rough seas and bad weather, the pumping got under way on the first of 15 tanks that are believed to hold 84 percent of the fuel on board, Italy’s civil protection department said.
Officials say it will take 28 consecutive days of pumping to empty the tanks.
The Concordia slammed into a reef off Giglio on Jan. 13 after the captain deviated from the ship’s planned course in an apparent stunt. About 4,200 passengers and crew escaped, but 17 bodies have been found and 15 people remain missing and are presumed dead.
Girl, 5, rescued from avalanche rubble
Rescuers have pulled a 5-year-old girl alive from the rubble of a house flattened by a massive avalanche that killed both her parents and at least seven of her relatives in a remote mountain village in southern Kosovo.
Col. Shemsi Syla, a spokesman for the Kosovo Security Force, said Sunday that officers discovered the girl when they heard her voice and cell phone. Her home was buried under 33 feet of snow.
Plane crash kills top Congolese official
A senior presidential adviser was among two killed after a private jet crashed while landing in Congo’s eastern city of Bukavu, a transport minister said Sunday.
Provincial Transport Minister Laban Kyalangalilwa and a co-pilot died in the crash of the jet, which was carrying two pilots and 10 passengers.
Chavez’s opponents choose challenger
Opponents of President Hugo Chavez voted in their first-ever presidential primary Sunday, choosing a single challenger they hope will have what it takes to finally defeat Venezuela’s leader after 13 years in office.
Henrique Capriles was the front-runner among five contenders, according to pre-election polls.
