NPR 2008-08-08

A military jury has sentenced the former driver for terrorist leader Osama bin 1 Laden 2 to five and a half years in prison. The sentence handed down to Salim Hamdan for his conviction of supporting terrorism was far less than the 30 years prosecutors 3 have been seeking. The BBC's Kim Ghattas has more from Guantanamo Bay.

The sentence is a dramatic snub to the Bush administration. It was announced after just over an hour and a half of deliberations. The jury of six military officers in a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay sentenced Hamdan to 66 months in prison including time served. This leaves Osama bin Laden's alleged 4 driver with only five months left as a convict. But Mr. Hamdan can now still be held indefinitely as an unlawful combatant in the US administration's war on terror. BBC's Kim Ghattas.

Earlier in the day, Hamdan pleaded with the court to spare him life behind bars, saying he worked for Bin Laden only because he needed a job. The same jury yesterday cleared Hamdan of the more serious charges of conspiracy 5.

The EPA has denied a request by the State of Texas to trim a federal rule that mandates 7 adding ethanol to gasoline. More from NPR's John Burnett.

Last spring Texas Governor Rick Perry requested a temporary one-year waiver that would've cut the federal ethanol mandate 6 in half. He said it would help ease "the devastating 8 impact of skyrocketing feed and food costs". More than 70 GOP members of Congress including John McCain had supported the waiver. EPA Administrator 9 Steven Johnson said they reviewed more than 16, 000 public comments as well as fuel and commodity prices before making their decision. "This research found that the mandate is not causing severe economic harm. Rather, the mandate is strengthening our nation's energy security and supporting American farming communities." As a result of the EPA's decision, the nation's fuel retailers 10 will as mandated 11 add nine billion gallons of ethanol to gasoline this year, increasing to 11 billion gallons next year. John Burnett, NPR News.

Pakistan's ruling coalition 12 says it's going to begin impeachment 14 proceedings 15 against President Pervez Musharraf. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Technically 16, President Musharraf has the power to dissolve Pakistan's parliament and dismiss the government. That would be one way of blocking an impeachment vote against him. But most commentators 17 believe he no longer possesses the political muscle to exercise this power. His party was heavily defeated in the February elections which brought the two main opposition 18 parties to power, the forces now ranged against him. Since then, Musharraf's largely been sidelined. The ruling coalition parties say they can muster 19 the two-thirds vote in parliament needed to impeach 13 Musharraf. The general's supporters cast doubt on this, saying the numbers are very tight. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Islamabad.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 224 points today. The NASDAQ lost 22 points. The S&P was down 23 points.

This is NPR.

A crash involving a packed SUV has claimed the lives of at least nine people with 10 others injured. Officials say the accident occurred this morning on a stretch of roadway in the Arizona Desert, with suspicions on the part of law enforcement officials that the vehicle was carrying illegal immigrants. According to authorities , the accident occurred on a rural highway between Tucson and Phoenix 20, with the SUV leaving the road and rolling over, ending up on its roof.

Top US gymnast Morgan Hamm has pulled out of the Olympic Games because of injury. His announcement today came just two days before the gymnastic competition begins. From Beijing, NPR's Tom Goldman has more.

Morgan Hamm's been dealing 21 with a left ankle injury for the last year and in Beijing he said it got worse. The extreme pain forced him to withdraw on Thursday. At a news conference, a dejected Hamm said it was best to step down and let another athlete fill his position. "This is something that for me is very tough because it's the end of my career and it's not the way I planned it." Hamm and his twin brother, Paul, have been the stars of US men's gymnastics in recent years. They led the team to a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games. It was the first Olympic medal for the American men in 20 years. Morgan's withdrawal 22 from the Beijing Games follows a similar move by Paul Hamm late last month, also because of injury. Alternate Alexanda Artemev will replace Morgan on the US team. Tom Goldman, NPR News, Beijing.

A couple of green sea turtles are taking unusual route out of Florida Keys to their new home in Connecticut. The turtles hatched four years ago as part of a research project are being sent via FedEx to a 19,000 gallon aquarium 23. Named Righty and Lefty, the turtles are due to arrive at the Maritime 24 Museum in Norwalk, Connecticut tomorrow.