WASHINGTON (AP) — In the final months of his life, Aaron Alexis complained of hearing voices talking to him through a wall and of microwave vibrations that he said entered his body and prevented him from sleeping. His delusional belief that he was being bombarded by extremely low-frequency radio waves escalated to the point that, before embarking on a murderous rampage that killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard, he left behind this note:

"Ultra-low frequency attack is what I've been subject to for the last 3 months, and to be perfectly honest that is what has driven me to this," read an electronic document FBI agents recovered after the shooting.

The FBI revealed that note from Alexis on Wednesday, along with peculiar notations on the shotgun he used, as evidence of a man in the throes of profound paranoia and delusions. Investigators have found no evidence that the September 16 shooting was inspired by a workplace conflict, saying he picked his victims at random and appears to have been driven by an unchecked mental illness.

The attack, which ended with Alexis shot dead by a police officer, came one month after he complained to police in Rhode Island that people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of his hotel room and sending microwave vibrations into his body to deprive him of sleep. His shotgun, which he purchased two days before the shooting from a gun shop in Virginia, was etched with messages including "My ELF Weapon!" — an apparent reference to extremely low-frequency waves — and "End to The Torment!"

The ELF frequency range has historically been used for submarine communications, but some conspiracy theorists believe it allows for government monitoring and mind control of citizens, said Valerie Parlave, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington field office.

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Flowers, flags and a child's drawing are pictured at a makeshift memorial outside the Navy Yard two …

Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist and computer technician for a government contractor, used a valid badge to get into the Navy Yard, entered a fourth-floor bathroom with a bag and emerged with a Remington shotgun with a sawed-off barrel and stock. He killed 12 workers, civilian employees and contractors ranging in age from 46 to 73, before being killed by a U.S. Park Police officer during a rampage and shootout that lasted more than an hour, the FBI said.

"There are indicators that Alexis was prepared to die during the attack and that he accepted death as the inevitable consequence of his actions," Parlave said.

Surveillance video released by the FBI on Wednesday shows Alexis pulling his rental car into a garage, entering the building with a bag and then moving through a corridor with the shotgun, ducking and crouching around a corner and walking briskly down a flight of stairs. The video does not show the shots he fired.

A timeline issued by the FBI shows Alexis started the rampage on the building's fourth floor and then moved down to the third and first floors. He ultimately returned to the third floor, where he was killed around 9:25 a.m. FBI Director James Comey has said there's no evidence that Alexis shot down into the atrium despite earlier accounts from witnesses at the scene.

Alexis had started a job as a contractor in the building just a week before.

Navy Yard Shooter Caught on Tape Before RampagePlay video."

Although there was a "routine performance-related issue addressed to him" on the Friday before the Monday morning shooting, "there is no indication that this caused any sort of reaction from him," Parlave said.

"We have not determined there to be any previous relationship between Alexis and any of the victims," she said. "There is no evidence or information at this point that indicates he targeted anyone he worked for or worked with. We do not see any one event as triggering this attack."

Defense officials have acknowledged that a lot of red flags were missed in Alexis' background, allowing him to maintain a secret-level security clearance and access to a Navy installation despite a string of behavioral problems and brushes with the law.

He worked for The Experts, a Florida-based computer firm that was a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor. Hewlett-Packard said Wednesday that it was severing ties with The Experts, accusing the company of failing to respond adequately to Alexis' mental problems.

The Experts said it was disappointed in the decision.

Officials Reveal Chilling Video, Details in D.C. N …Play video."

"The Experts had no greater insight into Alexis' mental health than H-P, particularly given that an H-P site manager closely supervised him," the company said in a statement.

At the Pentagon, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the department will review base safety procedures and the security clearance process.

"Bottom line is, we need to know how an employee was able to bring a weapon and ammunition onto a DoD installation, and how warning flags were either missed, ignored or not addressed in a timely manner," Carter said.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has recommended that the department require that all police reports — not just arrests or convictions — be included in background checks.

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This image from video provided by the FBI, shows Aaron Alexis' backpack that was found hanging on th …

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Jack Gillum contributed to this report.

Deal reached on UN resolution on Syria weapons

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The five permanent members of the deeply divided U.N. Security Council reached agreement Thursday on a resolution to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons, a major step in taking the most controversial weapon off the battlefield of the world's deadliest ongoing conflict.

The draft resolution's demands that Syria abandon its chemical stockpile and allow unfettered access to chemical weapons experts are legally binding. But if Syria fails to comply, the council will need to adopt a second resolution to impose measures under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for military and nonmilitary actions to promote peace and security.

Nonetheless, after 2 1/2 years of inaction and paralysis, the agreement represents a breakthrough for the Security Council and rare unity between Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, and the United States, which backs the opposition.

Russia and the United States jointly introduced the text to the 10 non-permanent council members Thursday night, supported by the other permanent members, Britain, France and China. A vote on the resolution depends on how the full council responds to the draft, and on how soon an international group that oversees the global treaty on chemical weapons can adopt a plan for securing and destroying Syria's stockpile.

The Russia, U.S. and British ambassadors said the executive board of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons may meet Friday in The Hague, Netherlands to agree on a document setting out its exact duties. This would enable the Security Council to possibly vote late Friday at the earliest, the ambassadors said.

The U.N. resolution will include the text of the OPCW's declaration and make it legally binding, so the OPCW must act first.

The spark for the recent flurry of diplomatic activity was the Aug. 21 poison gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians in a Damascus suburb, and President Barack Obama's threat of U.S. strikes in retaliation.

After U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Assad could avert U.S. military action by turning over "every single bit of his chemical weapons" to international control within a week, Russia quickly agreed. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed an agreement in Geneva on Sept. 13 to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control for later destruction, and Assad's government accepted.

"Just two weeks ago, tonight's outcome seemed utterly unimaginable," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters after the Security Council meeting. "Two weeks ago the Syrian regime had not even acknowledged the existence of its chemical weapons stockpiles."

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In this image taken from Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013, video obtained from the Sham News Network, Syria …

She said the resolution's adoption would mark the first time since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011 that the council has imposed binding obligations on Syria of any kind.

"If implemented fully, this resolution will eliminate one of the largest previously undeclared chemical weapons programs in the world," Power said.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant and a senior U.S. State Department official described the draft resolution as "binding and enforceable."

But the draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, makes clear there is no trigger for enforcement measures if Syria fails to comply. The Russian, U.S. and British ambassadors confirmed that this would require a second resolution. But Lyall Grant said the strong language in the text — that the council "decides" that the Security Council will "impose measures under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter" in the event of non-compliance — requires members to act.

Negotiations on the draft resolution were tough, especially on the Chapter 7 issue. Russia and China have vetoed three previous Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to end the violence, but the chemical weapons attack proved to be a turning point.

Lyall Grant called the draft "a groundbreaking text" because for the first time it would make a determination that "use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace and security," which sets a new international norm.

In a clear reference to Russia, he added, "if Assad thought he could hide behind certain members of the Security Council, he will have to think again."

Lyall Grant said there were compromises and Britain would have liked much stronger language on the abuse of human rights by the regime and a decision by the council to refer perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks to the International Criminal Court to be prosecuted for war crimes. Diplomats said this was discussed but Russia objected.

As a result, the draft says only that the Security Council "expresses its strong conviction that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic should be held accountable."

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In this Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013 photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian Pre …

The draft resolution would ban Syria from possessing chemical weapons and condemn "in the strongest terms" the use of chemical weapons in the Aug. 21 attack, and any other use. It also would ban any country from obtaining chemical weapons, or the technology, or equipment to produce them from Syria.

It authorizes the U.N. to send an advance team to assist the OPCW's activities in Syria. It asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to submit recommendations to the Security Council within 10 days of the resolution's adoption on the U.N. role in eliminating Syria's chemical weapons program.

The council would review compliance with the OPCW's plans within 30 days, and every month after that.

The draft resolution strongly backs a political transition in Syria.

It would for the first time endorse the roadmap for a transition adopted in June 2012 in Geneva by key nations, and call for an international conference to be convened "as soon as possible" to implement it.

The roadmap for a political transition starts with the establishment of a transitional governing body by mutual consent with full executive powers and ends with elections — but there has been no agreement on how to implement ends with elections, but there has been no agreement on how to implement it, which would require Assad to relinquish power at some point.

The draft also calls on "all Syrian parties to engage seriously and constructively" at a new Geneva conference and be committed "to the achievement of stability and reconciliation."

A new Geneva conference has been stalled by difficulties in uniting the opposition and getting a Syrian delegation to the negotiating table, but Russia's U.N. Ambassador said "the work on that track is continuing very actively."

Lyall Grant said as soon as this resolution is adopted, Britain will push very hard for council action to demand improved access to Syria for humanitarian agencies and workers.

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Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Mike Corder in Leidshendam, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Scientists can now say with extreme confidence that human activity is the dominant cause of the global warming observed since the 1950s, a new report by an international scientific group said Friday.

Calling man-made warming "extremely likely," the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change used the strongest words yet on the issue as it adopted its assessment on the state of the climate system.

In its previous assessment, in 2007, the U.N.-sponsored panel said it was "very likely" that global warming was man-made.

One of the most controversial subjects in the report was how to deal with a purported slowdown in warming in the past 15 years. Climate skeptics say this "hiatus" casts doubt on the scientific consensus on climate change.

Many governments had objections over how the issue was treated in earlier drafts and some had called for it to be deleted altogether.

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Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), during the …

In the end, the IPCC made only a brief mention of the issue in the summary for policymakers, stressing that short-term records are sensitive to natural variability and don't in general reflect long-term trends.

"An old rule says that climate-relevant trends should not be calculated for periods less than around 30 years," said Thomas Stocker, co-chair of the group that wrote the report.

Many scientists say the purported slowdown reflects random climate fluctuations and an unusually hot year, 1998, picked as a starting point for charting temperatures. Another leading hypothesis is that heat is settling temporarily in the oceans, but that wasn't included in the summary.

Stocker said there wasn't enough literature on "this emerging question."

The IPCC said the evidence of climate change has grown thanks to more and better observations, a clearer understanding of the climate system and improved models to analyze the impact of rising temperatures.

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French Michel Jarraud, left, Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization, WMO, and Rajend …

"Our assessment of the science finds that the atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amount of snow and ice has diminished, the global mean sea level has risen and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased," said Qin Dahe, co-chair of the working group that wrote the report.

The full 2,000-page report isn't going to be released until Monday, but the summary for policymakers with the key findings was published Friday. It contained few surprises as many of the findings had been leaked in advance.

As expected, the IPCC raised its projections of the rise in sea levels to 10-32 inches (26-82 centimeters) by the end of the century. The previous report predicted a rise of 7-23 inches (18-59 centimeters).

The IPCC assessments are important because they form the scientific basis of U.N. negotiations on a new climate deal. Governments are supposed to finish that agreement in 2015, but it's unclear whether they will commit to the emissions cuts that scientists say will be necessary to keep the temperature below a limit at which the worst effects of climate change can be avoided.

Using four scenarios with different emissions controls, the report projected that global average temperatures would rise by 0.3 to 4.8 degrees C by the end of the century. That's 0.5-8.6 F.

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Media representatives follow the U.N. IPCC climate report presentation, in Stockholm, Friday Sept. 2 …

Only the two lower scenarios, which were based on significant cuts in CO2 emissions, came in below the 2-degree C (3.6 F) limit that countries have set as their target in the climate talks to avoid the worst impacts of warming.

"This is yet another wakeup call: Those who deny the science or choose excuses over action are playing with fire," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. "Once again, the science grows clearer, the case grows more compelling, and the costs of inaction grow beyond anything that anyone with conscience or common sense should be willing to even contemplate."

At this point, emissions keep rising mainly due to rapid growth in China and other emerging economies. They say rich countries should take the lead on emissions cuts because they've pumped carbon into the atmosphere for longer.

Climate activists said the report should spur governments to action.

"There are few surprises in this report but the increase in the confidence around many observations just validates what we are seeing happening around us," said Samantha Smith, of the World Wildlife Fund.

A U.N. report concludes with more certainty than ever that humans are the dominant cause of climate change.
How much temps could rise

Official says Kenyan forces caused mall collapse

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's military caused the massive collapse of three floors of Nairobi's Westgate Mall during the terrorist siege in which at least 67 people died, a top-ranking government official told The Associated Press.

When asked Friday if military action against the hostage-takers caused the collapse, the official answered: "Yes."

The official also confirmed that Kenyan troops fired rocket-propelled grenades inside the mall, but would not say what was used to cause the collapse. The official insisted on anonymity because he was sharing sensitive intelligence information that has not been publicly released.

The top official's confirmation backs up information given to AP by another official on Wednesday, who said soldiers were responsible for the collapse which created a gaping hole in the mall's roof. That official said fired RPGs caused the collapse.

Four huge explosions rocked the mall Monday followed by dark smoke pouring from the shopping center, the likely time that the floors collapsed. The government has not publicly explained what caused the floors to collapse. One official earlier suggested it was caused by a mattress fire inside the Nakumatt department store.

It is believed the collapse of the floors helped to bring an end to the four-day siege at the mall, but it may have killed hostages still inside.

The official who spoke on Friday said autopsies on bodies under the rubble will show if those people were killed by the building collapse or had been slain earlier by the terrorists. The official said bodies are expected to be found after excavation of the roof collapse begins.

Investigators have recovered a vehicle believed to have been used by the terrorists who led the attack at the mall, a top Kenyan government official said Friday.

They are also building the profile of a man who warned a pregnant woman at the mall to flee for her own safety moments before Saturday's attack, he said.

Investigators are tracing the car's ownership after it was retrieved outside the mall, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to reveal such details while the investigation is ongoing. Investigators are looking at more vehicles that may have been used by the attackers, he said, but gave no more details.

An Associated Press reporter saw a group of Kenyan and foreign investigators inspecting a silver car parked about 20 meters (yards) from the mall's main entrance on Thursday afternoon. The car's trunk was open as the investigators took pictures and notes, but it was impossible to determine what exactly they were seeing.

Kenyan police have given little information since the attack that shocked this East African nation, saying the investigation has only just begun into the storming of the mall on Saturday by Islamic militants throwing grenades and shooting assault rifles.

It will take investigators at least seven days to comb through the rubble of the mall, where some bodies are believed to be buried, Joseph Ole Lenku, Kenya's interior minister said Wednesday.

The al-Qaida-linked Somali Islamic extremist rebel group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Kenya is a legitimate target because it has sent its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

FBI agents —along with investigators from Britain, Canada and Germany —have been dispatched to investigate the crime scene. There have been no details on what the international team has found so far in the bullet-scarred, scorched mall.

It is possible that some of the attackers escaped during the mass evacuation of civilians from the mall in Nairobi's Westlands neighborhood, the high-ranking Kenyan official told AP Friday.

Kenyan authorities have since increased surveillance at border crossings and at the Nairobi airport, he said. No bodies have been retrieved from under the rubble since Kenya's military secured the building on Tuesday, he said, adding that police are also investigating if the attackers stored ammunition inside the mall hours or even days before the attack.

The Kenyan Red Cross says 61 people remain missing and many worry their bodies may be buried in the destroyed part of the mall — though the government has insisted few victims are believed to still be inside.

The government says at least 67 people were killed in the assault by 12 to 15 al-Shabab militants, including 61 civilians and six security forces. Five militants also were killed, but questions remained about the fate of the remaining attackers and fears persisted that some had managed to escape.

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Associated Press reporter Ben Curtis in Nairobi contributed to this report.

Kenyan forces caused mall collapse

An official says the military caused part of the Westgate shopping center to cave in and used RPGs.
Eyeing man, car used in attack

An undated aerial handout photo shows the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland. REUTERS/NSA/Handout via Reuters

By Alina Selyukh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least a dozen U.S. National Security Agency employees have abused secret surveillance programs in the past decade, most often to spy on their significant others, according to the latest findings of the agency's internal watchdog.

In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican, Charles Grassley, NSA Inspector General George Ellard outlined 12 instances of "intentional misuse" of the agency's intelligence gathering programs since January 1, 2003.

Grassley had asked the NSA internal watchdog to report on "intentional and willful" abuse of the NSA surveillance authority as public concerns mount over the vast scope of the U.S. government's spying program.

The agency's operations have come under intense scrutiny since disclosures this spring by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that the U.S. government collects far more Internet and telephone data than previously publicly known.

Many members of Congress and administration officials staunchly defend the NSA surveillance programs as a critical defense tool against terrorist attacks, but privacy advocates say the spying agency's authority has grown to be too sweeping.

Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the reported incidents of NSA employees' violations of the law are likely "the tip of the iceberg" of lax data safeguards, but that the laws guiding the NSA's spying authority in the first place are a bigger issue.

"If you only focus on instances in which the NSA violated those laws, you're missing the forest for the trees," he said. "The bigger concern is not with willful violations of the law but rather with what the law itself allows."

The NSA inspector general, in the letter dated September 11, detailed 12 investigations that found the NSA's civilian and military employees used the agency's spying tools to search for email addresses or try to snoop on phone calls of current or former lovers, spouses and relatives, both foreign and American.

In one instance, a military member queried six email addresses of a former girlfriend, an American, on the first day of having access to the data collection system in 2005.

In another instance, a U.S. government-employed foreign woman suspected an NSA civilian employee, who was her lover, of listening to her phone calls. An investigation found the man abused NSA databases from 1998 to 2003 to snoop on nine phone numbers of foreign women and twice collected communications of an American.

In at least six of the 12 instances reported by the inspector general, the matters were referred to the Department of Justice. In several instances, the violators resigned or retired from their jobs before being disciplined.

(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; editing by Christopher Wilson)

NSA workers abused spy program, says watchdog

You might think these people would be off-limits, but for some employees, they were anything but.
Internal discipline