NATION IN BRIEF

Jose Padilla, an alleged al Qaeda operative held as an "enemy combatant" for more than three years, arrives in Miami for his trial on criminal charges. He made a brief court appearance yesterday and is to enter a plea today. (By Alan Diaz -- Associated Press)

Padilla Makes First Court Appearance

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MIAMI -- Jose Padilla, the alleged al Qaeda operative held as an "enemy combatant" for more than three years, made his first appearance in court Thursday after he was taken from a Navy brig and flown to Miami.

The transfer from military to civilian custody came after a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Padilla appeared before a judge on criminal charges after he was taken from a brig in South Carolina and flown by military aircraft to Miami, said U.S. Marshals Service spokesman David Turner. He is to enter a plea Friday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber explained Padilla's rights as a criminal defendant and asked whether he understood them.

"Yes, I do," said Padilla.

Garber set a Friday hearing for Padilla to enter his plea and to determine whether he will remain in custody or be released on bail. Prosecutors said they will ask that he be held until his trial.

Padilla, a former Chicago gang member, was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in May 2002 and held by the Bush administration without criminal charges on suspicion of plotting to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" inside the United States.

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PIERRE, S.D. -- The South Dakota Supreme Court reinstated the law license of former representative William J. Janklow (R-S.D.) two years after it was suspended over a deadly auto accident that ended Janklow's political career and sent him to jail. The high court said restoring Janklow's license would pose no public threat because his offenses were unrelated to the practice of law and did not involve fraud or other dishonesty.

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- State officials agreed to cover $7 million in drug costs for poor Vermont senior citizens for a month after a new federal Medicare prescription drug program rejected some of their claims. The state had covered 30,000 seniors' drug costs until Sunday, when the federal program took effect, but some have reported problems enrolling in the new system. Vermont is not the only state helping seniors cope with confusion over the new federal drug benefit. Maine has offered, when necessary, to continue covering the prescriptions of 67,000 low-income Medicare recipients who previously got their drugs through state programs. Maine and Vermont plan to ask the federal government for reimbursement.