An Army private accused of leaking classified material to the anti-secrecy website Wikileaks will be back in a military courtroom for an arraignment later this month. The arraignment for Pfc. Bradley Manning is set for Feb. 23 at Fort Meade in Maryland. Manning faces a general court-martial on 22 counts, including aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life sentence. At the arraignment, Manning can request a trial by military judge or jury. The jury would include at least five officers, and Manning can ask that at least one-third of the soldiers on the panel be enlisted. Military prosecutors say Manning gave Wikileaks a trove of sensitive battlefield reports and diplomatic cables. Defense lawyers say Manning was a troubled soldier who shouldn't have had access to classified material.
Police say a southwestern Pennsylvania university student may be the victim of an international extortion plot using the Facebook social networking site -- or just the target of an elaborate hoax. Southwest Regional Police Chief John Hartman tells WPXI-TV that 22-year-old Daniel Plumley has gotten private messages through Facebook threatening to post a private video of Plumley online unless he wires $500 to a man in Morocco. Plumley tells police that the Facebook friend relaying the threats has claimed to be from London, England. Plumley has told police that the private video in question was hacked from his computer. Hartman says his department is continuing to investigate, but isn't even sure the threat is legitimate. The chief says he frequently gets reports of possible criminal activity on social networking sites.
Verizon has a double data deal for a limited time. Customers who buy a new 4G LTE smartphone will be able to get double the amount of monthly data at the regular price. The Los Angeles times reports the deal is open to people who are new to Verizon or are upgrading from a non-4G handset to a 4G phone. And it's only good on smartphones. Tablets and other products are not eligible.
