Shoe Bomber Strikes Deal With Prosecutors

British prosecutors have agreed to shave two years off the sentence of convicted would-be shoe bomber Saajid Muhammed Badat, in exchange for testimony against alleged would-be New York City subway bomber Adis Medunjanin, they announced today, in what the New York Post calls an "unprecedented deal." Badat had planned to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight on the same day as his pal Richard Reid, but he, ahem, got cold feet.

"We considered very carefully the merits of entering into this agreement with a convicted terrorist," one prosecutor said, but they determined that "the administration of justice internationally" benefits. Badat's sentence will be shortened from 13 years to 11. Medunjanin's trial begins today in Brooklyn, and his lawyers argue that because Badat is a terrorist, his testimony can't be trusted. Medunjanin has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, but two alleged co-conspirators are cooperating with prosecutors. (More Adis Medunjanin stories.)