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NATION IN BRIEF

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·SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. -- A 7-year-old boy put on his seat belt and remembered to use his turn signal as he took his parents' pickup truck for a ride, leading police on a slow pursuit around town. The boy, nine years too young to take his license test, was charged with driving without a license and eluding police. He will face a hearing later this week in juvenile court.

· Ali Hamza al Bahlul, a Yemeni accused of being a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden, went before a U.S. military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and said he would boycott his war crimes trial because he did not recognize the tribunal's authority. "There's going to be a tribunal of God on the day of judgment," Bahlul told the court. "Do what you have to do to me, however you have to rule. . . . God will rule based on justice."

· BUTLER, Ga. -- Plaques that separately list local blacks and whites who served in World War II will stay in the county courthouse, but a sign explaining the history of segregation will be added to help put the display in context.

· RALEIGH, N.C. -- A 65-year-old Florida man held since August on a charge that he deserted the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War was released from the Camp Lejeune brig and will be discharged, a base spokesman said. Jerry Texiero was accused of deserting Camp Pendleton, Calif., in 1965. Texiero, living under an alias, was arrested and jailed in Florida in August after a fingerprint match.

-- From News Services

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