Friday's Headlines: 9/11 Trial Might Move Out of Manhattan

TERRORISM -- January 29, 2010 at 8:56 AM EDT

Friday's Headlines: 9/11 Trial Might Move Out of Manhattan

The Obama administration is considering relocating the trial of the accused 9/11 mastermind out of Manhattan, White House officials told the Associated Press. When Attorney General Eric Holder announced in November that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would stand trial on U.S. soil, members of Congress and New York City residents, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, raised stiff opposition to the plan, citing security concerns and unnecessary emotional stress on the city.

White House officials indicated that any decision about possible sites will come straight from the Justice Department, though no alternatives have yet been announced.

The economy grew 5.7 percent, surging faster than the 4.5 percent initially expected, according to a report released Friday from the Commerce Department. It is the second straight quarterly gain and the fastest pace since 2003, reported to the Associated Press.

Much of this can be attributed to temporary economic solutions such as the government stimulus and companies restocking leftover inventories. However, the surge in earnings could provide a small boost for the market as both Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. reported better than expected earnings Thursday night.

In Haiti, the United Nations announced that relief operations are out of the triage stage. Aid deliveries are addressing the most urgent needs of quake survivors, including the nearly 1 million people left homeless in Port-au-Prince. "We are out of the urgent phase," said Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, head of the World Health Organization operations in Haiti.

Despite the upbeat news, others have indicated that getting supplies to those most in need continues to be a struggle.

Almost seven years after the British joined the American-led invasion of Iraq, former Prime Minister Tony Blair testified Friday before a panel investigating the war. During six hours of questioning in London, Blair spoke about confidential meetings with former President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Blair indicated that while he worried about the threat of Saddam Hussein, perhaps his concern was overblown. "We thought he was a risk, but it was worth trying to contain it. The crucial thing after Sept. 11 is that the calculus of risk changed," he said.

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