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characterized as disruptive. He said having a permanent director would be helpful, and Obama's nominee, B. Todd Jones, would be a good fit. Jones is currently acting director of the ATF and the U.S. attorney for Minnesota.
• Sweetow, a native of Tucson, Ariz., began his ATF career in 1990 in Los Angeles, where he spent several years assigned to an arson and explosives group. As part of ATF's National Response Team, he responded to and investigated high-profile cases such as the bombings in Oklahoma City and Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta.
• He's also worked in various ATF roles in Los Angeles, Washington and Phoenix and was the first ATF agent to deploy to Iraq. He was there in 2003 as homemade bombs were emerging as a threat.
• Sweetow has spent his first month in St. Paul meeting with local and federal authorities, and he hopes to work with them to find the worst offenders. He said this region presents some challenges for agents, including its diverse landscape and the shared border with Canada. He also said many of the gangs in the area operate as small crews that are formed for the purpose of committing a specific crime, though there are large, organized gangs in Milwaukee.
• But if the ATF keeps its focus on violent crime, he said, the type of street gang won't really matter.
• "Who are the people that if we could somehow take them out of the game, violent crime would drop in your areas?" he said. "That's really how we're looking big picture at crime in the four-state area. We want to focus on the people that are really out there committing the violence."
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The South Dakota Legislature has passed a measure banning beginning drivers from using cellphones behind the wheel.
• The Senate voted 23-10 Wednesday to accept a change in the bill made by the House. The measure will become law if signed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
• The measure would ban young drivers from using cellphones or other electronic devices until they get unrestricted licenses at age 16.
• The House added language that says a law enforcement officer cannot stop a young driver just for driving while using a cellphone. A law officer could issue a ticket for driving while using a cellphone only after stopping a young driver for some other traffic violation.
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