City and State

 
Wanted man may be headed to Minnesota

 Bemidji Pioneer – Idaho

            According to authorities a sex offender wanted in the state of Washington has eluded capture in Idaho and may be headed for Northern Minnesota.

            A level 3 sex offender, Mattson was pursued by deputies who were forced to end the chase because of difficult road conditions.  Mattson’s car was later found abandoned, but a tracking dog was unable to find his trail.

            Mattson is described as 5-foot-11 and 185 with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Nation and World

 Congress warned against removing troops

 New York Times – Washington

            On Tuesday Congress was warned against removing “too many troops too quickly” by senior commander of multinational forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus.  General Petraeus then refused to provide an estimate of American force levels by the end of this year.

            These comments were met by criticism from senior Democrat, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.  Levin said that the Bush administration had adopted “a war plan with no exit strategy.”

            In hearings that began Tuesday morning, General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker described Iraq as a scene of significant, if fragile, progress in security and politics.

            General Petraeus described security progress in Iraq as “significant but uneven.”  He declined to estimate American troop levels beyond July, but acknowledged under questioning that a recent offensive in Basra was not well planned.

 -Briefs compiled by Travis Grimler