Briefly

Pakistan: Bridge bombing thwarted

Four Islamic militants armed with grenades were arrested late Friday in Karachi, allegedly as they were on their way to blow up a bridge in the city.

Police said the four men belong to Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamic group declared a terrorist organization by the United States. It was outlawed in Pakistan after the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Police said the four unidentified men were arrested in an eastern neighborhood of the violent city. They were headed toward a major thoroughfare where police believe they were planning to blow up a bridge.

Washington, D.C.: Blood safety questioned

The American Red Cross may have released tainted blood to hospitals, the government said Friday, reporting more than 200 violations of federal blood safety rules in its battle to get the Red Cross to improve the quality of its blood operation.

The Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating further to determine whether patients received bad blood.

“The blood supply is not as safe as it should be,” said FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan. “I am troubled by apparent lapses in blood safety.”

The Red Cross provides 45 percent of the nation’s blood supply.

A year ago, the FDA went to court seeking contempt charges for 10 years of Red Cross safety violations. Friday’s preliminary report on safety at the Red Cross biomedical headquarters suggests the problems have not been fixed, McClellan said.

Seattle: Whaling decision reversed

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Makah Tribe could not resume gray whale hunts, agreeing with whaling opponents who argued that the government must study the hunt’s impact more thoroughly.

A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in San Francisco rejected as inadequate a federal environmental assessment showing the hunt caused no significant impact. The court said the assessment did not adequately determine the hunt’s effect on the local whale population and the precedent the hunt could set in other areas.

Questions remain “as to whether the tribe’s whaling plans will have a significant effect on the environment,” said Judge Marsha S. Berzon, writing for the panel.

Overturning a lower court, the panel ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to create an environmental impact statement, a document more extensive than an environmental assessment.

Washington, D.C.: Cameras deployed for rallies

Police intend to use more than a dozen automated surveillance cameras to keep an eye on large demonstrations planned in the nation’s capital next month.

The cameras, monitored at police command centers, will keep tabs on anti-war protests planned for the weekend of Jan. 18-19 and the Jan. 22 “March for Life,” an anti-abortion demonstration to mark the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Officials said Friday they were publicizing the plans to comply with an ordinance passed in November by the District of Columbia Council. It requires advanced public notice when the tactic is to be used.