NATION IN BRIEF

Pennsylvania Teen Held After Police Find Cache of Weapons

PHILADELPHIA -- A home-schooled teenager who felt bullied amassed a cache of guns, knives and hand grenades and tried to recruit another boy for a possible school attack, authorities said Thursday.

The 14-year-old was taken into custody after police searched his bedroom in a Philadelphia suburb Wednesday evening. He had talked about mounting a Columbine-type attack at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, authorities said.

The weapons included a 9mm assault rifle that the teenager's mother had recently bought for him, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said. Prosecutors are reviewing her actions.

Police also found about 30 air-powered guns, swords, knives, hand grenades, a bomb-making book, videos of the 1999 Columbine High School attack in Colorado and violence-filled notebooks, Castor said. The weapons were plainly visible, he said.

The search did not turn up any ammunition for the most dangerous firearm in the bunch, the assault rifle. Authorities said one of the grenades was operable.

"I do not think an attack was imminent, and I am not certain that an attack was going to occur at all," Castor said. "It could have simply been big talking by a kid."

The teen previously attended middle school in the district but had been taught at home for more than a year after voluntarily leaving school, Castor said. Plymouth Township police searched the home after getting a tip Wednesday from a student and his father.

The teen was charged as a juvenile with solicitation to commit terror and other counts and was held at a youth facility.

The arrest came the same day a 14-year-old in Ohio opened fire at his Cleveland high school, wounding four before killing himself.

Navy Seal to Be Given Posthumous Honor

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- A Navy Seal who was killed while leading a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan will be given the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor. Lt. Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue on Long Island is the first Medal of Honor recipient for combat in Afghanistan, the Navy said in a statement.

Plagiarism Review Clears University Chief

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The president of Southern Illinois University did not plagiarize parts of his 1984 doctoral dissertation, but he should update its academic citations, a review panel concluded. Glenn Poshard said he accepted the report and its recommendations. "I take full responsibility for the inadvertent errors that I made 23 years ago," he said in a statement. Poshard has headed the university system since last year.

Teen in Louisiana Case Is Back in Jail

JENA, La.-- A teenager at the center of a civil rights controversy is back in jail after a judge revoked his probation because of an old drug charge that had never been tried, his father said. Mychal Bell, who, with five other black teenagers, has been accused of beating a white classmate, had gone to court expecting another routine hearing, Marcus Jones said. "He's locked up again," Jones said. "No bail has been set."

-- From News Services