Subscriber Services |

In the Nation

Jamie Hood (second from left) leaves an Athens apartment surrounded by several people he had been holding hostage.

Posted: March 27, 2011

Navy exercise tied to dolphin deaths

SAN DIEGO - A naval training exercise that included an underwater blast off San Diego's coast has been linked to at least three dolphin deaths this month, prompting a probe into whether the military violated the federal law that protects marine mammals.

Navy officials, who reported the deaths of the long-beaked common dolphins after the March 4 detonation off the coast, say they were following proper procedures and will continue with the training.

The National Marine Fisheries Service plans to take another look at the Navy's pending request to disturb marine mammals between Imperial Beach and Coronado, where it conducts amphibious and special warfare training, agency leaders told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Friday.

The Navy's application, which has been in the works for years, says it does not anticipate any dolphin deaths due to training. But after the March 4 incident, the fisheries service opened an enforcement case to determine whether the Navy violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. - AP

Crews battle fire at Marine base

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Authorities said Saturday that crews were closer to containing a fire that has scorched more than 14 square miles at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune.

The state Division of Forest Services said that the fire was 40 percent contained and that cool, damp weather was aiding the firefighting effort. No private buildings were reported damaged, though some minor damage was reported to military structures.

Marines at the military post had been doing training exercises with weapons the day the fire started, but officials have not confirmed that as the cause. - AP

Surrender term: Must be on TV

ATHENS, Ga. - The man suspected of killing a Georgia police officer and wounding another who tried to apprehend him told authorities he would surrender and release the five hostages he was holding in an apartment - only if it was broadcast on live TV.

Jamie Hood, 33, walked out of the apartment late Friday night shirtless and surrounded by five of the nine adults and children he had held captive for hours as he negotiated with authorities. Four had already been freed. It was a prime-time ending to a four-day manhunt.

"He was convinced he was going to be killed by law enforcement," said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan. Hood, whose brother had been killed by police a decade earlier while Hood was in prison, insisted that his surrender be broadcast live by a news crew to ensure he was not harmed, Keenan said. - AP

Elsewhere:

Harley G. Lappin, the director of federal prisons, will retire in May after eight years at the helm of a corrections system responsible for the care of 210,000 inmates. Lappin, a 25-year employee, spearheaded a skills-development initiative aimed at preparing inmates for a crime-free return to the community when they finish their sentences.