Jury convicts five men of plotting against U.S. soldiers. A jury convicted five Muslim men Monday of plotting to kill American soldiers at For Dix military base in New Jersey last year. After six days of deliberation, the jury agreed with prosecutors that three brothers – Shain, Eljvir and Dritan Duka – and Mohamad Shnewer and Serdar Tatar were planning to attack Fort Dix and kill the base residents. However, the jury, while agreeing with the conspiracy charge, did not find them guilty of attempted murder. Among the evidence accumulated by the prosecution were hundreds of tape-recorded conversations between the defendants and FBI agents, several propagandist videos from one of the suspects’ computers, and video of an illegal purchase of several machine guns. The defense contended that the government informants were shaky and that the feds coaxed the defendants into making damning comments on government wiretaps. One of the informants is an Egyptian-born illegal immigrant on probation for bank fraud; the other has been paid about $150,000 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for making the secret recording. The five men were arrested in May 2007 after one of the government’s informants secretly videotaped them paying $1,400 for seven machine guns in the informant’s apartment, in Cherry Hill, N.J.

U.S. missiles kill eight people in Afghanistan. U.S. missiles fired from an unmanned aircraft killed at least eight people in Afghanistan Monday, sparking anger among Pakistani authorities who argue that such actions are undermining their own strategy against terror, The Associated Press reports. Four of the deaths occurred when missiles slammed into a vehicle and a house. Four others died and one was injured in the second vehicle about five miles away by a dirt track. The U.S. military has launched than 30 missile strikes since August in Pakistan’s lawless, tribal areas, targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan.

Ex-NFL star helped kill canines, report says. Imprisoned former Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick helped drown dogs by forcing their heads into a five-gallon water bucket, a new report says. Though Vick first claimed that he never participated in the actual killing of animals connected with his illegal Bad Newz Kennels fighting ring, a U.S. Department of Agriculture statement says the ex-quarterback admitted hanging dogs that didn’t fight well and using family pets as bait for aggressive dogs. Vick is due in a Virginia court tomorrow where he’s expected to plead guilty to state charges of torturing animals and promoting dog-fighting. The former star is already serving federal time until summer of next year. Formerly the NFL’s highest-paid player, Vick reportedly washes pots and pans for 12 cents an hour.

Three suspects were arrested, and guns, bullet-proof vests and drugs were seized

At least three Colorado men, possibly four, have been arrested with rifles, bullet-proof vest, walkie-talkies and camouflage clothes in an alleged plot to kill Sen. Barack Obama, according to reports from news media and law-enforcement agencies. TV station CBS4 reports that the suspects planned to shoot Obama in Denver during his acceptance speech. One suspect was nabbed in Aurora on Sunday, after being stopped by police for swerving in traffic in a rented pickup truck, reports say. Get more details on the plot at BET.com/News.

Plane crash in Guatemala kills 10. A Guatemalan plane carrying 14 people crashed Sunday, killing 10 people, reports CNN. Eight Americans are among the dead.  About 45 minutes after the Cessna Caravan 208 took off, the pilot started making calls about engine failure, according to the country’s director of civil aeronautics. But the air-traffic tower lost contact with the plane at 9:45 a.m. and it crashed in Zacapa, killing the pilot, co-pilot and the Americans on board. The other four passengers were taken to a hospital after the crash. “It seems like the pilot tried her best to make a safe landing in an open field but was not successful. On impact, the aircraft was split into pieces,” a Zacapa firefighter told reporters at the scene.  

Civilians killed by Sudan’s government forces, witnesses say. Sudanese forces attacked a refugee camp in Darfur, killing at least 32 civilians early Monday, witnesses say. The witness accounts of the attack are chilling. More than 50 vehicles “packed with armed men wearing police and security forces’ uniforms … hit us with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns,” resident of the refugee camp, Mandela Abdullah Mohammed, told The Associated Press. He also said the victims included many women and children. One rebel group spokesman from the Sudan Liberation Army claimed an even higher death toll – 45 people dead and 135 people wounded – due to the Sudanese soldiers “storming” the camp and attacking. “The government sent a strong military force and attacked the camp with the intentions of killing civilians,” another spokesman for the group told AP.  A Sudanese military spokesman, though, insists they had good reason to fire on the camp. “They were surprised by heavy gunfire from within the camp. There was an exchange of fire and a number of victims,” the spokesman, Sawarmy Khaled, said.  But the United Nations say they received reports about Sudanese police surrounding and attacking the camp in southern Darfur, which resulted in “injuries and deaths of civilians.” The United Nations would not give an estimate on the death toll, but a coordinator for nearby clinic run by Doctors Without Borders says that at least 65 people were admitted for treatment for gunshot wounds. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is facing genocide charges brought on by the International Criminal Court for allegedly supporting attacks against the nation’s ethnic Africans. Since fighting started in Darfur in 2003, about 300,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million have been made homeless.

Some believe Joe Horn is a vigilante murderer; others see a hero

A 62-year-old Texas man who shot to death two men who he believed ha just burglarized his neighbor’s home will not be put on trial, a grand jury determined Monday. For many people who have been watching this case closely over the past eight months, Joe Horn is a hero, who did what was necessary to defend his neighbor’s property. But for others, Horn is not only a vigilante but a ruthless killer, who without remorse shot two men in back with a 12-guage shotgun. The latter would like Horn to stand trial and ultimately be convicted and go to prison for his actions. On Nov. 14, Horn called 911 to report that someone was stealing from neighbor’s house. The dispatcher told him to stay inside, but a stubborn Horn engaged the men, eventually shooting them to death. Critics argue that had the victims been White, and not Latino, he would have been arrested – even though Texas law allows people to protect themselves with a gun, and even kill a perpetrator if they believe their life is in danger. Speaking to The Houston Chronicle Monday, Frank Ortiz, of the Pasadena , Texas , chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, he was the FBI to investigate. “That’s amazing that they would no-bill him with so much evidence against him,” Ortiz said. “This was no more than a vigilante.” Countered Tom Lambright, Horn’s attorney: “He wasn’t acting like a vigilante. He didn’t want to do it.” Rather, he said, a frightened Horn merely tried to defend his neighbor’s property and only fired when the two men entered his yard and threatened him. “He was scared. He was in fear of his life,” he said. Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson said, “I understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn’s conduct. The grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn’s use of deadly force did not rise to a criminal offense.” The two victims, 38-year-old Hernando Riascos Torres and 30-year-old Diego Ortiz were jobless illegal immigrants from Colombia . Torres had been deported in 1999 after being convicted on an earlier cocaine charge.