1. PUBLIC LANDS:
Deaths of looting suspects generate political blowback for agencies

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar details charges against 24 individuals accused of looting American Indian artifacts from federal lands. Law enforcement officers from the Interior Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals participated in the two-year investigation leading up to the arrests.

What began early this month as a high-profile federal crackdown on illegal looting and selling of American Indian artifacts from public lands has morphed into an embarrassing episode for the Interior and Justice departments, which now face pointed questions over federal agents' handling of looting suspects and the apparent suicides of two of those charged.

While many acknowledge the importance of cracking down on illegal grave robbers in the Four Corners region, where federal authorities estimate 90 percent of sacred Indian sites have been plundered, a growing chorus of critics has questioned the heavy-handed way in which the 150 FBI and Bureau of Land Management officers carried out the arrests.

"You were dealing with 24 people who were not rapists, murderers or drug lords," said Bruce Adams, chairman of the San Juan County Commission. "The federal agents came in with a show of force as if they were dealing with violent criminals."

Other critics include Utah's U.S. Senate delegation, which last week sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting information about the methods law enforcement officers used when rounding up suspects. Go to story #1