Nation in brief: Kidnapping suspect faces more charges
A Missouri man accused of kidnapping and molesting two boys was indicted Thursday on federal charges he took pornographic pictures and videos of one of the youngsters.
The indictment marked the first federal charges against Michael Devlin, 41, a former pizzeria manager from the St. Louis suburbs.
Devlin is charged with kidnapping and other offenses in the 2002 abduction of Shawn Hornbeck, who is now 15, and the January abduction of 13-year-old Ben Ownby. Both boys were found in Devlin’s apartment Jan. 12.
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said four counts of the six-count indictment allege Devlin photographed and videotaped a minor engaged in sexually-explicit acts between 2002 and this year. Two other counts allege he took the minor to Illinois and Arizona with the intent to sexually assault him.
Hanaway said all six counts involved the same child, identified only as “S,” an apparent reference to Shawn. Authorities have alleged that Devlin held him captive from October 2002 until police found the boy in January.
WASHINGTON
Government missed energy deadlines
The government has missed all 34 deadlines set by Congress for requiring energy efficiency standards on everything from home appliances to power transformers, government auditors said Thursday.
Two-thirds of the deadlines have yet to be met, though many of them are more than a decade old.
Because of the failures, consumers and corporations stand to pay tens of billions of dollars more for energy than they would have if the deadlines had been met, the Government Accountability Office said.
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who made the report public at a news conference, said the delays covered many years and that he did not mean to single out the Bush administration. Some of the deadlines date back to the 1990s.
The GAO said of the 34 standards, covering 20 product categories, 11 have been completed, though all of them are from several months to five years late. The remaining 23 standards have yet to be completed, and some are expected to be 10 to 15 years late, the report said.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
Airline worker leads Gore past security
An airline employee led former Vice President Al Gore and two associates around airport security lines before police spotted the breach and required them to be screened, an airport spokeswoman said Thursday.
The American Airlines employee led the three down to the lower baggage level Wednesday and swiped each of them through a secure turnstile with her security badge, Nashville International Airport spokeswoman Lynne Lowrance said. She declined to identify the employee.
An airport officer assigned to escort Gore to his gate was to meet him at the security checkpoint, but Gore never came through, Lowrance said. The officer found Gore, his communications director Kalee Kreider and another staffer waiting at the gate for their flight.
The officer asked them if they went through security, and when they said they hadn’t, they were taken back and fully screened. Gore did not complain and cooperated fully, Lowrance said.