The agency was required to undertake some type of consultation, informal or otherwise, prior to making a conclusive determination that there would be no effect. Given the 2005 Rule's potential indirect effects on listed species, combined with the USDA's lack of documentation in support of their "no effect" determination, the failure to consult and/or prepare any type of biological analysis in conjunction with the 2005 Rule was arbitrary and capricious.

At the same time, Hamilton declined to reinstate a 1982 regulation, as the environmental groups had sought.

Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife, one of the plaintiff groups, praised Hamilton's ruling, saying:

The Bush administration reversed decades of progress in managing national forests, without considering the impacts on wildlife and the environment. The administration also cut the public out of the loop when considering these large-scale changes to how our nation's forests are managed.

US Justice Department officials are considering an appeal.

Dubbed the Xbox 360 Elite, the third version of the game console will be jet black in colour, boast a 120 GB hard drive (versus the standard Xbox 360's 20 GB drive) and have an HDMI output jack and cable, allowing it to take advantage of the highest resolution available on current high-definition TVs.

But the impending arrival of the Xbox 360 Elite hasn't been met with universal praise, even from among some of the Xbox faithful on Internet forums. Some fans are pointing out that the Elite is the same price as the entry level PlayStation 3 model, but lacks the PS3's built-in high-definition, high-capacity Blu-ray disc drive.

Others are bitter that they recently bought an Xbox 360 without having any inkling that a better model of the game console was on the way for just $50 more.

The Xbox 360 Elite's controller and headset will also be black in color, and black versions of most Xbox 360 accessories will be available in stores when the new console goes on sale.

For those who want to upgrade their current Xbox 360, the 120 GB hard drive will be sold separately for $209, but existing Xbox 360s will not have an option of being upgraded to support HDMI output.

Al-Nashiri has already been convicted and sentenced to death after a trial in absentia in Yemen, the site of the USS Cole attack. He is one of the 14 "high value" detainees moved from secret overseas CIA prisons.

Predominantly-Islamic Somalia has endured a lengthy civil war and several rounds of failed peace talks since the collapse of its last civil government in 1991.

An Alabama company and its owner have been indicted on charges of illegally exporting sensitive military technology overseas, fraud involving aircraft parts, and submitting false documents to the government, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Alice H. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

The five-count indictment, issued in the Northern District of Alabama, charges Axion Corporation, a defense contracting firm based in Huntsville, Ala., and its owner, Alexander Nooredin Latifi, 59, a resident of Huntsville.

"Keeping sensitive U.S. military technology from falling into the wrong hands is a top priority for the Justice Department," said Assistant Attorney General Wainstein. "This indictment and other recent illegal export prosecutions should serve as a warning to companies seeking to enhance their profits at the expense of America's national security." "No defense contractor can export an item on the United States Munitions List, to another country, without first obtaining a license from the Department of State. Critical technology, such as the bifilar weight assembly, will be protected through criminal law enforcement where violations are found," said Alice H. Martin, United States Attorney Northern District of Alabama.

According to the indictment, in September 2003 and continuing thereafter, Axion Corporation and Latifi knowingly and willfully exported defense articles, specifically technical drawings of the bifilar weight assembly for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, to overseas manufacturers without first obtaining a required license and authorization from the State Department. By law, U.S. companies must obtain a State Department license or authorization before exporting defense articles.

The indictment also alleges that, on or about February 19, 2004, Axion Corporation and Latifi made a fraudulent representation to the U.S. Army concerning an aircraft part in connection with a military contract. Specifically, the defendants represented to the U.S. Army that certain parts were provided by Tungsten Products of Madison, Alabama, when that company was not the supplier.

Further, on or about January 2004, Axion Corporation and Latifi knowingly submitted a false document to the government in connection with a military contract involving a tank part. Specifically, the defendants submitted "First Article Test Reports" which falsely stated that Industrial Fabrications Co., Inc., had conducted testing, when the defendants knew that the test reports were false and the testing had not taken place before a specific date.

Counts four and five of the indictment seek forfeiture of any assets and property derived from the offenses alleged in the indictment, including real property at 317 Nick Fitchard Road, NW Huntsville, Alabama, where Axion Corporation is located, as well as $659,280 and all interest and proceeds derived therefrom.

The maximum penalty for exporting defense articles without a license is ten years imprisonment, a fine of $1,000,000 or both, and a term of supervised release of three years. The maximum penalty for fraud is fifteen years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $500,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of three years. The maximum penalty for filing false documents is five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a term of three years supervised release. This investigation was conducted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); Army Criminal Investigation Division; the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David H. Estes, Angela Redmond Debro, and James D. Ingram from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama, as well as Trial Attorney Mariclaire Rourke from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

A Milan woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Jackson on bank fraud and income tax evasion charges, according to a Friday release from David Kustoff, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

Donna L. Hardy, 48, of Milan, was charged with 12 counts of bank fraud and five counts of income tax evasion in a sealed indictment returned on Tuesday.
 
She made her initial court appearance on Wednesday, the release said.

According to the indictment, Hardy was employed by The Dedmon Company as a bookkeeper until it merged with Milan Box Corp. in March of 2002.
Hardy then was employed by Milan Box as a plant accountant. The indictment charges that from March 25, 2002 until around December 17, 2004, Hardy devised a scheme to defraud the former Union Planter's National Bank, now called Regions Bank.

Prosecutors said Hardy did not close bank accounts that belonged to Dedmon upon the merger of the two companies as she was instructed to do.

Instead, Hardy transferred funds from Milan Box accounts into the bank accounts belonging to Dedmon that were supposed to have been closed, the indictment said.

Hardy then transferred funds from this account to her personal bank accounts. The indictment lists more than $232,000 in fraudulent transfers from Milan Box accounts to Dedmon accounts.

In addition, the indictment charges Hardy with five counts of income tax evasion for the years 2000 through 2004.

According to the indictment, Hardy did not report over $250,000 in income on her federal income tax returns filed for these years. This resulted in a tax loss to the government of over $58,000.

This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation.

Los Angeles got just a half-inch of rain this month, indicating that the city was experiencing the driest rain year on record, the National Weather Service reported Sunday.

The .05 inches that fell in March is more than 3 inches below the average March rainfall of 3.14 inches.

This rain season, which begins in July, is currently the driest downtown since records began to be kept in 1877, according to the Weather Service.

This was largely due to global warming which pushes up temperatures and leads to rising sea levels, said scientists.

Since July 1, downtown has received just 2.47 inches of rain --nearly a foot, or 11.47 inches below the normal precipitation to date, which is 13.94 inches.

To date, only 18 percent of normal rainfall has fallen. If downtown receives less than 1.95 inches of rain through June 30, it will become the driest rain season ever for the area, beating the 4.42 inches of rain that fell in 2001-02.

Average rainfall begins to drop off sharply in Los Angeles in April, when the average is .83 inches. In May, average rainfall drops to .31 inches, and .06 inches in June.

Los Angeles averages 15.14 inches of rain a year.