THE REGION
No Trial Date Set for Moussaoui
A federal judge declined yesterday to set a trial date for terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, saying the U.S. Supreme Court might take up the issue of whether he can interview key al Qaeda detainees.
Federal prosecutors in Alexandria had sought a trial this spring for Moussaoui, who is charged with conspiracy in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema agreed with defense attorneys that it would be "premature" to set a trial date until the Supreme Court decides whether to take the case.
Defense attorneys are planning to appeal an appellate court's ruling on the witness access issue, which has snarled the case for more than a year. Moussaoui, the only person charged in an American courtroom in the Sept. 11 attacks, wants to interview detainees he says can aid his defense.
THE DISTRICT
Officer Wounded After Bullet Ricochets
A D.C. police officer was slightly wounded by a bullet that ricocheted after officers fired at a pit bull that lunged at them last night as they served a search warrant in a drug case at a Southeast Washington apartment, officials said.
Major Narcotics Unit officers were serving the warrant in the 4200 block of Fourth Street just before 7:30 p.m. when the dog tried to attack them, police said. Officers fired and investigators believe that a bullet bounced off something and grazed the officer in the thigh. The officer was taken to Washington Hospital Center, officials said.
Small Fire Evacuates Hotel Washington
A small fire in a guest room caused the evacuation of the Hotel Washington and slowed rush hour traffic through parts of Northwest Washington last night, officials said.
Sprinkler systems extinguished the blaze in the sixth-floor room before firefighters arrived just after 6 p.m. But the fire caused extensive smoke and water damage, said Alan Etter, a spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Services department. No one was injured.
City Officials Announce Housing Plans
The District government has gained control of 27 vacant or abandoned properties in the Columbia Heights, Shaw, Trinidad and Fairlawn neighborhoods and is seeking bids from developers interested in rehabilitating them into decent housing and putting them up for sale.
Developers must be pre-qualified through the city's Home Again program, which is run out of the Office of Planning and Economic Development. Bids are due Dec. 22. A percentage of the homes must be kept affordable for people of low to moderate income.
Also yesterday, Home Again officials announced that they had selected developers Mi Casa Inc., Manna Inc., Marshall Heights Community Development Organization and East of the River Community Development Corp. to build or renovate a total of 29 residences at 11 vacant or abandoned properties. The properties are in Shaw, Columbia Heights, Deanwood, Anacostia and Bellevue.
The three-year-old Home Again program has launched the rehabilitation of more than 320 vacant properties, either by selling them to developers or persuading their existing owners to take action, a spokesman for the program said.
VIRGINIA
