NATIONAL BRIEFS

PENNSYLVANIA: 2 held in threats to Palin

A man and his son were arrested Thursday on charges of harassing Sarah Palin's family and lawyers in a case a prosecutor said went beyond "merely creepy to truly threatening." Craig Christy, 47, and son, Shawn, 19, were being held by the FBI in Allentown, having been indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday in Alaska. U.S. Magistrate Judge Arnold Rapoport ruled that the two would be sent to Alaska to face charges. They are said to have made hundreds of threatening calls.

WASHINGTON: Wide review of deportations

The Obama administration said Thursday it will allow many illegal immigrants facing deportation the chance to stay and apply for a work permit, while focusing on removing from the United States convicted criminals and those who might be a national security or public safety threat. That will mean a case-by-case review of about 300,000 illegal immigrants facing possible deportation in federal immigration courts, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. Advocates for an immigration overhaul have said the administration has failed to live up to its promise to deport only the "worst of the worst."

CALIFORNIA: Iraqi-Mexican drug bust

Federal officials said Thursday they've busted a drug trafficking ring involving Mexico's most powerful cartel and members of an Iraqi immigrant community in the United States who were caught selling drugs, assault rifles and grenades. About 60 Iraqis, many of them Chaldeans, were arrested after a six-month investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and police in the city of El Cajon, east of San Diego.