Journalist sues ABC over bin Laden photos
A freelance journalist from Egypt filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver on Thursday claiming ABC News violated copyrights by sharing exclusive photographs he took of Osama bin Laden.
The action was filed by Essam Mohamed Aly Deraz, an Egyptian national who says he spent years in the late 1980s and 1990s photographing bin Laden.
The lawsuit says ABC News “obtained copies of all or portions” of Deraz’s works. The journalist claims the New York-based network paid him a total of $15,000 for two chances to use the work on a one-time basis.
Deraz said in the lawsuit that ABC News provided copies or authorized use of the photographs by others, and unfairly appropriated the images without compensating Deraz.
He is asking the court to enjoin ABC News from infringing on his copyright and that he be awarded damages of more than $10 million.
Ranch owners remove creek dam
An earthen dam that diverted Tarryall Creek off the Pike National Forest and onto private land has been removed, an Army Corps of Engineers official said Wednesday.
The dam was built on the Topaz Mountain Ranch after the owners’ permit for a fish habitat improvement project was suspended. The Colorado Division of Wildlife questioned the need for the diversion, which eliminated some of the only public fishing access along the creek.
The ranch owners complied with an Army Corps order to remove the dam by Thursday, said Tim Carey, chief of the agency’s Denver regulatory office.
The Corps has scheduled a meeting today with the owners, Randall Lortscher and Kip Kochevar, both of Denver, to discuss permitting issues.
Man charged with homicide in shooting
A 19-year-old man was charged Wednesday with criminally negligent homicide in the Aug. 25 shooting of a friend. Investigators said the defendant, Adrien Ramsey, was at his home with the friend, Ray Russell, 19, when the shotgun they were handling went off and injured Russell.
Russell died at Denver Health Medical Center. Ramsey remains in Denver County Jail. His bail is set at $50,000. Ramsey is scheduled to appear for formal advisement today.
Fort Carson colonel up for promotion
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced Wednesday that President Bush has nominated Army Col. Terry A. Wolff for appointment to the rank of brigadier general.
Wolff is serving as deputy commander, 7th Infantry Division at Fort Carson.
Republican weighs Musgrave challenge
A Fort Collins Republican who describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate says he may challenge U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave in the GOP primary next year.
While Musgrave has championed a constitutional ban on gay marriage, Eric Eidsness said he is a states’ rights advocate and doesn’t believe the federal government “should step into matters of the family.”
“I’ve talked to a number of people who are interested, as I am, in a change of leadership,” Eidsness, 60, told the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “There are a lot of disaffected Republicans in the region who feel the party has left us. I’m trying to reclaim my party.”
Eidsness, who was appointed by President Reagan as assistant administrator for water in the Environmental Protection Agency, said he plans to form an exploratory committee within a few weeks and will decide whether to run this fall.
He is the second moderate Republican to consider a primary challenge to Musgrave. In June, former state Rep. Bill Kaufman of Loveland said he planned to decide by mid-September whether to run.
Musgrave, of Fort Morgan, has not formally announced her re-election bid but has put her gay-marriage ban measure on hold while she campaigns.
She won her second term last year by one of the narrowest margins among House incumbents. She is ranked as one of the 10 most-vulnerable members of Congress by the Retain Our Majority Program, a committee set up by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to help incumbents finance their campaigns.
She has dismissed the ranking.
Democrats considering running for their party’s nomination are state Reps. Angie Paccione of Fort Collins and Wes McKinley of Walsh.
Wyo. man’s body found in wilderness
Rescuers have recovered the body of a Wyoming man who apparently died of hypothermia in the Alaska wilderness after losing his way.
Steven Lynch, 54, of Cody was wearing a cotton sweat shirt, jeans and a light rain jacket when he spent the night in chilly temperatures and rain over the weekend. Troopers and U.S. Air Force personnel recovered his body Tuesday afternoon about 50 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
“He probably just planned to go out for a few hours from the camp,” said Alaska State Trooper Michael Potter. “He was wearing all cotton, which is the worst fabric for cold, wet weather. … The weather just got the best of him.”
Temperatures in the area were hovering at about 40, the trooper said.
