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ers in one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war. He'll give specific details in open court as he pleads guilty to the massacre to avoid being put to death.
• His attorney, John Henry Browne, told The Associated Press that although his client's state of mind should be considered in sentencing, it didn't rise to the level of a legal insanity defense.
• Browne said Bales was "crazed" and "broken" the night of the attack.
• He said his client, who was on his fourth combat deployment, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury. He continued to blame the Army for sending him back to war in the first place.
• ___
Terror fears, shoddy records keep toxic plants like one in Texas blast hidden from public
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Until the local fertilizer company in West, Texas, blew up last month and demolished scores of homes, many in that town of 2,800 didn't know what chemicals were stored alongside the railroad tracks or how dangerous they were. Even rescue workers didn't know what they were up against.
• "We never thought of an explosive potential," said Dr. George Smith, the EMS director who responded to the factory fire by running to a nearby nursing home to prepare for a possible chemical spill.
• Firefighters feared that tanks of liquid ammonia would rupture. But while they hosed down those tanks to keep them cool, a different chemical -- a few tons of ammonium nitrate -- exploded with the force of a small earthquake.
• Smith and his colleagues should have known that ammonium nitrate was also a significant hazard. Neighbors should have known, too.
• Around the country, hundreds of buildings like the one in West store some type of ammonium nitrate. They sit in quiet fields and by riverside docks, in business districts and around the corner from schools, hospitals and day care centers.
• ___
AP sources say ex-Bush official James Comey to be Obama's nominee to head FBI
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is prepared to nominate James Comey, a former Bush administration official with bipartisan credentials, as the next FBI director. In a possible warning sign, the top Republican on the Senate committee that would review the nomination said Comey would face questions about his (Continued on page 30)
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