Laser beam lands US dad in hot water

Wired News reports that although the FBI acknowledged David Banach\'s actions were not related to terrorism, they said they put the lives of innocent civilians in jeopardy. Banach was accused of interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle. He could get up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500 000. Similar incidents of beams being pointed at aircraft have been reported in several states. Last month, the security agencies sent a memo to law enforcement agencies saying there was evidence that terrorists had explored using lasers as weapons. But federal officials have said there is no evidence the current string of incidents represents a terrorist plot. Banach\'s lawyer said her client used the handheld device to look at stars with his daughter on the family\'s deck. She said Banach bought the device on the internet for $100 for his job testing fiber-optic cable. Full report in Wired News