Around the Nation

Judges Delay Execution in Disputed Georgia Case

ATLANTA -- A federal appeals court gave a last-minute reprieve Friday to a Georgia man who was set to be executed Monday for the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer even though several witnesses have changed their accounts of the crime.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ordered attorneys to draft briefs that address whether Troy Davis, 40, can meet "stringent requirements" to pursue the next round of appeals.

Davis's supporters have called for a new trial because seven of the nine key witnesses against him have recanted their testimony. Friday marked the third time since July 2007 that Davis has been spared the death penalty by a late court decision.

Davis's attorneys on Wednesday told the court that the execution was "constitutionally intolerable" and asked for a delay in the execution so they can pursue claims that Davis is innocent. Attorneys have 15 days to file briefs.

Navy Inspecting F-18 Fighters After Finding Fatigue Fractures

The Navy will inspect hundreds of fighter jets built by Boeing after discovering fatigue cracks on more than a dozen aircraft deployed overseas. The service issued an inspection alert for all 636 F-18 Hornet aircraft. Each will be inspected for cracks in a hinge that connects the aileron, or flap, to the plane's wing. The attack aircraft have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy twice has extended the F-18's service life to a maximum of 10,000 hours of flying time to help bridge the gap until the Joint Strike Fighter comes online.

Air Force to Create New Command to Oversee Nuclear Weapons

The Air Force said that it would create a separate command for nuclear missiles and bombers after blunders undermined confidence in its nuclear mission and led to the dismissal of top officials. Global Strike Command will be headed by a three-star general. The new command is expected to start operating by next September and will be responsible for nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 bombers as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said.

N.Y. Police Officers Deny Brutalizing Man in Subway Station

NEW YORK -- Prosecutors are investigating allegations that five New York police officers attacked a tattoo parlor worker and sodomized him with a walkie-talkie in a subway station. The 24-year-old man says the officers then wrote him a disorderly conduct ticket and abandoned him as he was writhing in pain. The police department disputes the allegations and strongly denies the man was sodomized. "His assertion . . . is not supported by independent civilian witnesses on the scene," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. The accusations brought back memories of the 1997 assault of Abner Louima, who was beaten and sodomized with a broomstick by NYPD officers.

Afghan Arraigned in Narco-Terrorism Case

NEW YORK -- An Afghan man was arraigned in a federal court on charges of leading an international drug-trafficking organization that helped fund the Taliban. Haji Juma Khan, 54, pleaded not guilty through an interpreter in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. On Thursday, Khan was detained in Indonesia and turned over to the United States, which had sent a notice to Interpol that he was being sought, authorities said. Khan had just arrived in Jakarta on a flight from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, they said. Khan is among the first to be prosecuted under a 2006 federal narco-terrorism law. Prosecutors said his organization produced enough morphine base, an opium derivative that is processed into heroin, to supply the entire U.S. heroin market for more than two years.

-- From News Services