Boston

Documents show intent of shoe bomb suspect

The man suspected of trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with a bomb in his shoe told his mother that he had a duty as a Muslim to “help remove oppressive American forces,” according to court documents released Thursday.

Richard Reid, 28, is charged with attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22. The flight was diverted to Boston.

In a memorandum, prosecutors wrote that Reid sent an e-mail to his mother on Dec. 20 saying, “What I am doing is part of the ongoing war between Islaam and disbelief, (and as such a duty upon me as a Muslim).

“The reason for me sending you (a document he calls his “will”) is so you can see that I didn’t do this act out of ignorance nor did I just do it because I want to die, but rather because I see it as a duty upon me to help remove the oppressive American forces from the Muslim land and that this is the only way for us to do so as we do not have other means to fight them.”

Washington, D.C.

Tests planned for canisters that will carry nuclear waste

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct full-scale tests of nuclear waste shipping canisters as part of the licensing review for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, commissioners said Thursday.

Opponents of the Yucca Mountain project have expressed concern about the testing of canisters because the NRC currently relies on computer modeling and tests on small-scale versions or containers to assure they will not be dangerously breached in an accident.

NRC Chairman Richard Meserve told a Senate hearing on Thursday that the computer modeling and limited tests “are sufficient to assess the effects of an accident.”

New York City

Brooklyn Bridge bash is off

Authorities canceled a 119th birthday celebration for the Brooklyn Bridge because of the recent warning of a potential attack on the landmark.

“We could not even contemplate finalizing our plans … because of the concerns that have been raised,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, whose office had been planning the June 2 event.

The FBI warned city officials Tuesday it had received uncorroborated information that terrorists made threats against New York and its landmarks, including the bridge, the Statue of Liberty and City Hall.

California

Immigrants swim ashore

Ten naked men, apparently from China, swam ashore early Thursday in California in a novel attempt to illegally enter the United States.

Officials said they believed all the suspects were in custody, the last one apprehended after dawn. They were being questioned by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and face deportation unless they apply for political asylum.

Late Thursday, about 100 miles offshore, the Coast Guard intercepted a 60-foot fishing vessel from Taiwan that officials suspected dropped the men off the Newport coast.

Officials could cite no precedents for Chinese trying to sneak into Orange County with a beach landing.