NATION IN BRIEF

2 Men With Flight Data Held After Traffic Stop

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Attorneys for two Arab American college students accused of supporting terrorism through the sale of mobile phones said their clients were victims of discrimination, while authorities charged them Thursday with an additional felony.

"These are all-American kids that unfortunately, in this day and age since 9/11, have names that call them into question," said lawyer Rolf Baumgartel.

Authorities stopped Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, both of Dearborn, on a traffic violation Tuesday in Ohio. Authorities said they found airplane passenger lists and information on airport security checkpoints in their car, along with $11,000 in cash and 12 phones.

Each defendant was charged Wednesday with money laundering in support of terrorism. On Thursday, prosecutors added soliciting or providing support for acts of terrorism. The two were also charged with a misdemeanor count of falsification. A judge ordered them held on $200,000 bond each. Both must surrender their passports.

Backers Not Giving Up Fight for Cuban Spies

MIAMI -- Attorneys for, and supporters of, five men convicted of being part of a Cuban spy network vowed to continue their legal and political fight to free them, despite an appeals court ruling rejecting a new trial.

A possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is a possible option for the "Cuban Five," said Leonard Weinglass, a lawyer representing one of the men.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Wednesday that opposition among Cuban Americans in Miami to the government of Fidel Castro and publicity about "hot-button" issues, including the Elian Gonzalez case, were not enough to warrant a new trial for the men, who were convicted in 2001.

The latest ruling reversed a decision made last year by a three-judge panel of the same court vacating the men's sentences and ordering a new trial outside Miami.

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· CHICAGO -- Six of 11 Egyptian students who failed to turn up as scheduled for a Montana university exchange program last week have been apprehended, and authorities said none of them poses a terrorist threat. The six either were taken into custody or turned themselves in to authorities in Minneapolis, Chicago and Dundalk, a Baltimore suburb. The government will seek to have them deported.

· KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Olivia Shelltrack and Fondray Loving, who must get married or move in order to comply with a housing ordinance in Black Jack, Mo., sued the town, saying the regulation prohibiting the unmarried couple and their children from living together is unconstitutional. The ordinance prohibits more than three people from living together in the same house if they are unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption.

· CAPE CANAVERAL -- Astronauts strapped themselves into the space shuttle Atlantis for a practice launch countdown more than two weeks before they are scheduled to blast off on a mission to resume construction of the international space station. The practice went smoothly, with the countdown clock stopping at four seconds, NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said.

· SACRAMENTO -- The state Senate sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would make California the first state to prohibit college administrators from censoring student newspapers.

-- From News Services