STATE BRIEFS
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Prosecutor: Explosives residue found on luggage of Portland sheik
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Tests indicated explosives residue on the luggage of a local Islamic religious leader arrested at Portland International Airport on charges of document fraud, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the man's arraignment.
Sheik Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, 41, was arrested at the airport without incident around noon Sunday and booked at the Multnomah County Jail.
Kariye on Monday pleaded innocent to two felony charges of using false information -- including a changed name -- while applying for and receiving three different Social Security cards between 1983 and 1995.
U.S. District Court Judge Donald Ashmanskas set a Nov. 5 trial date for the case and ordered Kariye held until today, when the court will resume a detention hearing to determine if he can be released pending trial.
Kariye, a U.S. citizen who was born in Somalia, serves as an imam, or prayer leader, at the Islamic Center of Portland-Masjed As-Saber, a southwest Portland mosque, said Philip A. Lewis, Kariye's lawyer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Gorder said Monday that Kariye went to the airport on Sunday with his four young children and his brother for a flight to Dubai, which is in the United Arab Emirates.
Gorder said tests done Monday by the U.S. Customs Service indicated "TNT residue" on two pieces of the party's luggage.
He also said "several thousand dollars" were found in Kariye's bags, along with a checkbook that used a different variation of Kariye's name.
Lewis said Kariye was traveling to Dubai to take a teaching job and decided to take his children to immerse them in Arabic culture. He said his client had made several trips to Saudi Arabia to make religious pilgrimages and to speak in his role as imam.
Lewis also said it is common for Islamic people to have multiple names. Variations of Kariye's name on document applications were not necessarily attempts at fraud, he said.
Puyallup teachers say talks deadlocked
After 70 hours of "frustrating" talks, Puyallup teachers said contract negotiations with district administrators are deadlocked and have asked for a state mediator.
Meanwhile, talks in striking districts Issaquah and Snohomish won't continue until later this week; no major progress was made over the weekend, educators said. The start of classes in each district has been delayed four days by the strikes.
In all, about 6,200 teachers in Washington districts covering nearly 93,000 students are still negotiating their contracts, and more strikes are possible.
In Puyallup, teachers are scheduled to vote Sept. 17 on whether to strike. The district has about 20,000 students.
The 1,300 teachers are working for a second year without a contract.
Teachers in Issaquah and Snohomish walked the picket lines again Monday. Talks in both districts stalled over the weekend.
The main issues are compensation and health care coverage.
Teachers and administrators in Snohomish were scheduled to meet again Tuesday. Issaquah talks will resume Thursday, making it unlikely the 14,000 students there will head to class this week.
Terror suspect Ujaama pleads innocent
SEATTLE -- James Ujaama, accused of conspiring to help al-Qaida set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, on Monday pleaded innocent to that charge and to a weapons violation.
Ujaama, 36, appeared before Magistrate John L. Weinberg after being transferred Friday from a jail in Alexandria, Va.
Ujaama was indicted Aug. 29 by a federal grand jury in Seattle on one charge of conspiracy to provide material support and resources for al-Qaida, and another charge of using, carrying, possessing and discharging firearms during a crime.
The indictment contends Ujaama, a Muslim who was born James Earnest Thompson, led a conspiracy in 1999 to set up a training camp in Bly, Ore.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; the other, 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Weinberg set trial for Nov. 4 and scheduled a detainment hearing for Monday. Ujaama remains in federal custody.
State officials accept federal Medicaid help
OLYMPIA -- State officials have decided to accept a $70 million federal bailout for Medicaid, even though it's less than a third of what they wanted.
Despite the setback, they say they won't make drastic cuts -- at least for now.
At first, Washington officials believed they were entitled to about $1 billion in additional Medicaid payments. They scaled that down to $235 million, but the Bush administration rejected that and came back with the $70 million offer.
State officials said that wasn't enough to solve the problems of the overtaxed Medicaid system. But after conversations with top Medicaid officials in Washington, D.C., they decided to take what they could get.
"We think our initial claim was legitimate, but we understand the circumstances in Washington, D.C.," said Ed Penhale, spokesman for the governor's budget office.
Penhale said even without the bailout, the state can maintain Medicaid services without cuts at least until the Legislature meets in January. -- AP
Three districts face labor votes this week
SEATTLE (AP) -- Teachers in the Snohomish and Northshore school districts planned to vote on contract offers today. Issaquah teachers vote Thursday. In each case, contract rejection would mean a strike. Teachers in many other districts around the state were still negotiating with ... [Read More...]
Portland mosque linked to suspect Islamic charities
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A Muslim cleric in jail here on document fraud charges served as a director of an Islamic charity that is now under investigation by FBI agents for possible links to al-Qaida, an attorney for the charity confirmed Friday. But ... [Read More...]
Republican oppononent of Inslee will drop out of race SEATTLE -- King County Councilwoman Jane Hague announced Friday that she's dropping out of the 1st District congressional race against Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee, dashing the Republican Party's hopes of winning the seat. A ... [Read More...]
Ujaama video details his vision for Islamic state
SEATTLE -- In a videotape, James Ujaama describes Afghanistan under the Taliban as the perfect Islamic state, where believers could live separately from Christians and Jews, attend military training camps, and be where homosexuality and pornography are outlawed. "There are many Muslims who ... [Read More...]
Negotiations break down in Issaquah
Negotiators for striking teachers in Issaquah headed into district headquarters with pillows and sleeping bags Sunday night, saying they would camp out there until they could tell every member of the school board they were willing to accept the first year of the ... [Read More...]