by Faith Mangan, FNC Field Producer

Najibullah Zazi, 24, and his father, Mohammed Zazi, 53, had an initial appearance together before Judge Craig Shaffer in federal court in Denver today.  They are charged with knowingly and willfully making false statements to the FBI in a matter involving international and domestic terrorism.

Both defendents were escorted into the crowded courtroom in handcuffs.  The elder Zazi was clad in a grey t-shirt and running pants, while his son was in a short sleeved, button-down yellow, plaid shirt.  Before the official start, they each spent some time looking over sheets of paper, while quietly conferring with defense attorney Arthur Folsom.  The courtroom was packed early on with media representatives from all the main news organizations.  It was standing room only.

The hearing got underway with a request for a court appointed attorney for Mohammed Zazi.  The judge said he knew things had been busy for Arthur Folsom’s office, but he needs to be in good standing with this district to have an appearance in it.  Folsom said he had taken care of paperwork earlier in the day and the problem was that he was still credentialed under his last law firm.  The judge said he’d accept Folsom’s representation for today, but if he’s going to have future court appearances, the paperwork needs to be properly resolved going forward.

The initial appearance continued with the judge advising the defendants of their rights: the 5^th amendment (self-incrimination) and the 6^th amendment (right to counsel).  Najibullah indicated he intends to keep Folsom as his attorney.  Mohammed affirmed he wanted court-appointed counsel.  The judge reviewed Mohammed’s affidavit of financial need and said he qualifies for the help.

The judge then moved onto citizenship, stating if someone is not a citizen, he or she has a right to have the consular office contacted.  Both men are from Afghanistan. Najibullah is a legal resident of the United States, his father is a naturalized citizen of this country.

Folsom consulted with Najibullah and said they do not wish to have that done at this time, but they reserve the right in the future.  A representative from the public defender’s office then jumped in on behalf of Mohammed, even though the case has not yet been assigned to a particular attorney.

It was then time to go over the charge each of them is facing and the penalty if convicted, a potential 8 years imprisonment, $250,000 fine, and three years supervised release.

The men were told they’re entitled next to a preliminary hearing.  The government is not seeking detention of the father, Mohammed, but prosecutors do want to keep Najibullah in custody.  The judge set 9 a.m. MT on Thursday, September 24, 2009 as a preliminary and detention hearing for Najibullah.  Judge Shaffer said he understands evidence gathered under the Surveillance Act (known as FISA) is part of the case, and he asked if that would be a problem for Thursday.  Prosecutors said they did not expect it to be an issue.

Mohammed’s expected release was the next thing on the agenda.  The public defender pointed out Mohammed was having issues following along with the proceedings in English and asked for an interpreter next time.  Conditions for Mohammed’s release include: $50,000 unsecured bond (he does not have to post, but can forfeit that money if he violates conditions), he’ll have to report to a court officer on a regular basis, his travel is restricted to the state of Colorado and he has to get permission before crossing the state’s lines, he has to surrender his passport and may not obtain new travel documents, he can not become an informant without the court’s prior consent, he can not have firearms and he may not leave his home except for preset reasons such as employment, medical reasons, court appearances, education or religious reasons.  Mohammed must also pay the cost of electronic monitoring.  Even though the government does not intend to hold him on an ongoing basis, he cannot be released until his home is certified for electronic monitoring.  The judge set Thursday, September 24 for t a status conference to check up on progress towards Mohammed’s release.  The prosecution said they want the full amount of allowable time, 20 days, until they have to hold a preliminary hearing for Mohammed, because they are still collecting evidence and interviewing people.

The public defender who was present finished out the hearing by taking the podium to state Mohammed has not waived his right to counsel, so further attempts by law enforcement or the government to contact Mohammed Zazi must go through counsel.

Afterwards, outside the courtroom, the wall of silence returned. The prosecution team left without saying a word to reporters. The defense, would only say they will be back Thursday.

The CDC's Global Communications Center in Atlanta.

This morning, I’m on my way to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The CDC is holding a two day workshop for journalists covering influenza (including H1N1), to give us the latest information on these viruses as well as more in-depth background.

I will update this blog with what we learn. Regarding H1N1, here’s what we know so far:

According to the CDC’s latest figures, H1N1 has been responsible for 7,983 hospitalizations and 522 deaths in the U.S. this year.

“It’s important to keep in mind that these numbers radically underestimate the number of cases that actually occur,” said Jay Butler, director of the CDC’s H1N1 Vaccine Task Force. “Many cases go without testing and, in many areas, there is not routine testing of people who are not sick enough to require hospitalization.”

The CDC stopped reporting estimates of probable cases of 2009 H1N1 on July 24. Mathematical modeling at the time suggested as many as 1 million Americans may have been infected.

“If that’s accurate, it’s more than 1 million cases now,” Butler said.

Health officials say H1N1 continues to disproportionately affect young people — unlike seasonal flu, which tends to hit the elderly the hardest. According to Butler, 75 percent of H1N1 hospitalizations and 60 percent of H1N1 deaths involve persons under 49 years of age.

This year, H1N1 is the predominant influenza virus circulating worldwide. Researchers have been keeping a close eye on South America and Australia, which are approaching the end of their winter flu season.

So far, fears that the virus might mutate into a more dangerous form have not been realized.

“There have been no significant changes detected in the influenza virus isolated from persons in the southern hemisphere as compared to viruses isolated from persons in the northern hemisphere,” Butler said.

According to Butler, the viruses remain susceptible to anti-viral drugs, such as oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza). He said they also remain similar to the viruses selected for H1N1 vaccines currently in development.

Follow Jonathan on:     Twitter Facebook Other Blogs

OK, I must admit, I wasn’t the hugest of Michael Jackson fans.   I, like millions of others, own a copy of Thriller (the vinyl edition sits in a box in my father’s basement on Long Island).   And I, like millions of others, danced many a disco night (including at Studio 54) to “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” et. al.

But after the 80s, Jackson, and I, had moved on.

So it was with a little cynicism I took on the assignment of covering the Jackson death in London.  But almost right away I realized how special he was to a lot of people.

Getting my Friday morning coffee at our cafeteria, I chatted with a young woman who was very sad.  She was disappointed that she hadn’t been able to buy one of the 750,000 (!) seats for Jackson’s planned series of concerts in London which were sold out in a matter of hours.

When we were doing man-on-the-street interviews near the Michael Jackson sound-alike show “Thriller” in London’s West End, we ran into, by coincidence, two New York musicians who played with Jackson in 2001.    Their deep, profound and heartfelt regard for his artistry moved me.

done

As did other warm comments from people ranging in age from around 12 to 60+.

By sheer coincidence, this has been a huge Rock weekend in the London area.   The UK’s annual version of Woodstock, the Glastonbury festival, was being staged outside of the city.  That drew artists to gigs in London.

Jackson’s death and these concerts got me thinking about what “Pop” music (remember he was the “King of…”) means to me…and us.

Last Thursday night I saw, for the first time, one of my more modern groups, The Dave Matthews Band.   They usually play huge arenas in the States but as their following is smaller here, they played in a cozy smallish theater.

Friday, a venue in my Chelsea neighborhood hosted Roger McGuinn, founder of the legendary Byrds group. It was a bit forced, but he performed wonderful, absolutely iconic (there I said it), tunes from the Byrds’ catalogue.

Then, the big time.  The Hard Rock Café sponsored a set of concerts at one end of Hyde Park in London getting a crowd of some 50,000 for each day’s set.   The headliner Saturday night was one of my favorites, that old rock warhorse, Neil Young.

Sunday night at Hard Rock Calling, the headliner was none other than New Jersey’s hometown boy, Bruce Springsteen.   He’s arguably been my favorite singer since the first time I heard “Rosalita.”   His music a constant of passion, politics and hard–driving, good-natured rock.  Sunday he didn’t disappoint.

The age of the audiences for all the shows literally spanned decades.   And nearly everyone seemed to know the words to all the songs.  And nearly everyone got into it.

At my relatively advancing age, I’m still belting out  “Born to Run,” “Rockin’ in the Free World”  “My Back Pages” and more.

When I was young, rock’n’roll was the music of youth and rebellion.    You always kind of thought you’d eventually grow out of it and by the time you were thirty you’d be listening to classical music and Frank Sinatra.   But funny, that didn’t happen to me and it didn’t happen to a lot of other people.

One song at the Neil Young concert summed up the generation-spanning emotion-grabbing character of pop music.    These days, Neil Young’s encore tune is an odd choice, the Beatles’ 1967 Sgt Pepper anthem, “A Day in the Life.”

Saturday night it was perfect :

After Young did the first part of the song (the bit Lennon wrote and sang, “I read the news today ‘O boy’…”), out came Paul McCartney from the side of the stage where he’d been watching the concert.  And he sang the bit he wrote and performed  (“Woke up, fell out of bed…”).  They then finished it together including the endless final note, with back up vocals and cheers from EVERYONE in the crowd.

So what does this all have to do with Michael Jackson?

While a few acts at the Glastonbury festival paid tribute to Jackson, funnily enough, Jackson wasn’t mentioned at any of the four concerts I attended.

Disregard?  Emm, not really.

Most of the acts had some link to Jackson.  McCartney performed with him.    Springsteen’s ‘80s albums dueled with Jackson’s. Both Young and Matthews use or have used backings that would not have been not out of place on any funky Jackson album.

No.  I think tribute was paid by all of these performers simply by performing the music he championed, and made even bigger.

And again while “Beat it” might not have been in my pantheon of rock classics, I defy anyone to sit still when the riff  “ABC….It’s easy as 1,2,3….It’s simple as Do-Re-Mi…” blasts out of the radio.

All the best, Michael.

By John Fiegener
Fox News Coordinating Producer, Iraq

Everybody sees a crack.

If the Middle East were a neighborhood street, Iran would be the large house with the cracked foundation.

Neighbors would not be terribly displeased to see the distress this crack is causing to the owners of Iran, they might even chuckle at the misfortune of those fussy owners who have meddled in their lives, they would know that even if the crack were cemented over and painted it would still be a crack, and at night, as they fell asleep, they might be wondering how such a crack might affect them.

The reaction to events in Iran is not overly reported in neighboring Iraq or in other countries across the Middle East. Official comments have been guarded, with Iraq’s president sending a short message to congratulate president Ahmadinejad for his victory; “I am confident that friendly ties binding our two countries will grow stronger during the years to come, to the interest of the people of both sides, and peace security and stability in the region.” Fairly neutral stuff in diplomatic terms.

Everyone knows that Ahmadinejad could in fact be the president of Iran for another term and all the neighbors are taking a wait and see attitude. There is also a tradition in the region of not being overtly involved in the “internal affairs” of neighbors. Saddam Hussein crossed that line with his invasion of Kuwait in 1991 and paid the price.

Iraqis in private are more direct about their view of events in their neighboring country. Some say the Khameini and Ahmadinejad regime has been too arrogant in its dealing with Iraq since the fall of Saddam, playing too many games on Iraqi soil in a contest to win influence and outmaneuver the US in Iraq. But stability is good for business, in a year that has been bad for business, and that is what truly preoccupies many Iraqis and others in the region now. So no one is protesting on the Middle East Street in support of free and fair elections in Iran.

Everyone now sees that Iran has a cracked foundation, whatever the outcome of weeklong demonstrations and violence on the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities. The regime has clearly lost the support of many of its bright, professional, young people. Neighbors understand that it will be a different Iran no matter what happens that they will deal with. A more insecure Iranian regime might be less inclined to meddle in the affairs of the region, or not. Neighbors may gain more favorable terms in bargaining with a weakened Iranian leadership, or not.

And what must worry many of the neighbors as they fall asleep at night is the possibility of the crack in Iran spreading to other homes on the street. People and rulers around the region who have lived under autocratic regimes will be especially concerned about the perception of rigged elections, a violent backlash and crackdown.

So the neighbors will keep watching, hoping, and worrying about events in Iran for years to come following last week’s elections.

Islamabad, Pakistan — People on the streets of Pakistan shouting, banners waving and guns being fired— really nothing new as this country has been facing some very tough times over the last few years.  But those people on the streets late last night were not calling for the overthrow of the government or extremists chanting ‘death to America’ or even lawyers calling for judicial reform.  They were cricket fans celebrating Pakistan’s victory over Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 World Cup Championship.

Now I know that cricket is lost on most of us Americans, and believe me, I have tried many times to understand it.  It’s tough.  But seeing the jubilation on the streets and in the parks of Pakistan late Sunday night when their team was victorious, it did not matter if you knew the difference between a wicket and home plate or an ‘out’ verses an ‘over.’ It was crystal clear that this victory was a ray of hope the Pakistani people direly needed.

Not only have recent terror attacks thrown the country into a state of preoccupation and hyper-alertness, but it had hit their beloved cricket as well.  A few months ago, terrorists struck a convoy of the visiting Sri Lankan team just before a game in Lahore.  After that, international cricket organizations stopped any major games from being played on Pakistani soil.  So that attack prevented most Pakistanis from seeing their national team contest in international tournaments.

With nearly 2 million displaced people in the northwest, a serious battle raging in the Swat Valley between the army and militants and another just starting to open down in South Waziritstan, good news and a little bit of hope are just what the doctor ordered.  The TV news anchors even appear to be holding back ear-to-ear grins as they recount the game and show footage of drum-playing and bouncing cricket fans from every corner of Pakistan.  Thanks to huge outdoor TV screens set up at several camps, thousands of the internal refugees were able to see the game.

To be honest , while watching the dancing on the streets, in the back of my mind I was thinking that these scenes are exactly the soft targets the Taliban militants have been targeting on a regular basis over the last few months.  Luckily my paranoia was unfounded and the celebrations went off without a hitch.

My true hope is that the people of Pakistan get to savor this victory, giving them the opportunity to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s a long and tough tunnel to travel through, but there is an end.