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Conflict & Security158 outlets ran this2 min read

Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence

Jury selection was set to begin this week for the case involving the 1988 bombing.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence

What this story says

  • A U.S. federal judge postponed the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, charged in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
  • The postponement was granted because defense attorneys need time to examine newly discovered evidence.
  • Jury selection was scheduled to begin on Wednesday for the trial in Washington, D.C.
  • The 1988 bombing killed 270 people, including 190 Americans and 43 from the United Kingdom.

Who covered it

Left 40%(56)Centre 47%(65)Right 13%(18)

Percentages are shares of the 139 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 19 of the 158 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

20/100

158 sources · methodology

Missing from the right

Only 18 of the 139 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

A federal judge has postponed the U.S. trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is charged in connection with the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The trial was scheduled to begin with jury selection on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The judge cited the discovery of new evidence that defense attorneys require time to investigate.

The bombing on December 21, 1988, killed 270 people when the aircraft exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Among the victims were 190 Americans and 43 individuals from the United Kingdom. Al-Marimi faces charges of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death.

Disagreement on trial start date

While most reports state jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday, the digest from CFJC Today Kamloops states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from KXL states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from WKMG states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Ckpg Today states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from meadowlakeNOW states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Battlefords NOW states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from The Seattle Times states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from The Independent states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from SooToday.com states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Elora Fergus Today states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Sudbury states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Orillia Matters states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Thorold Today states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Rocky Mountain Outlook states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Bay Today states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Winnipeg Free Press states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohamm. The digest from Washington Top News states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in Washington, D.C. The digest from Associated Press News states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in Washington, D.C. The digest from Chicago Tribune states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in Washington, D.C. The digest from NBC Dallas-Fort Worth states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in Washington, D.C. The digest from The Hamilton Spectator states jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in Washington, D.C.

What the coverage left out

None of the left- or centre-rated reports printed below mention the specific nature of the newly discovered evidence that led to the trial postponement. The full reports from Washington Top News and Associated Press News state that the judge's order did not specify the nature of the evidence.

Tags:#LockerbieBombing#PanAmFlight103#Terrorism#InternationalLaw#USCourts

Coverage settled. We checked this 49 times and stopped on 30 Aug 2026, 12:15. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

56 rated outlets

  • Left-rated reports led with the postponement of the trial for Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, charged in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. These reports stated the delay was due to new evidence defense attorneys need to examine. They noted that jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the trial in Washington, D.C. The number of people killed in the bombing, 270, including 190 Americans and 43 from the United Kingdom, was also reported. The Associated Press, which provided full reports for two left-rated outlets, detailed that Al-Marimi is charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. These reports also mentioned that prosecutors allege Al-Marimi and others carried out the bombing at the direction of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The full reports included details about the flight's path, the location of the explosion, and the fact that 35 Syracuse University students were among the passengers.

Centre

65 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports focused on the postponement of the U.S. trial for Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who is charged in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. These reports indicated the delay was caused by the discovery of new evidence requiring examination by defense attorneys. The scheduled start of jury selection on Wednesday for the trial in Washington, D.C. was also noted. The number of fatalities, 270, including 190 Americans and 43 from the United Kingdom, was reported. Some digests from centre-rated outlets, such as Chicago Tribune and Washington Top News, provided more detail, including that Al-Marimi is charged with two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death.

Right

18 rated outlets

  • All three right‑rated outlets reported that a federal judge postponed the United States trial of a Libyan man charged with the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, stating that newly discovered evidence prompted the delay. Each digest identified the case as the Lockerbie bombing that destroyed the aircraft over Scotland.
  • The Washington Times digest added that defence lawyers sought to review the newly found material, a detail absent from the other two. The West Australian digest explicitly noted that the aircraft exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, while the Daily Jefferson County Union digest provided no further context. None of the right‑rated digests referenced a cost estimate or quoted officials.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence?
Of the 139 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 40% are rated left, 47% are rated centre, 13% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 158. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 139 rated outlets on this story, 40% are rated left, 47% are rated centre, 13% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence biased?
Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence is one event reported by 158 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Judge postpones Pan Am Flight 103 trial over new evidence?
158 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why was the trial for the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing postponed?
The trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, charged in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, was postponed because new evidence was discovered. Defense attorneys stated they need time to examine this evidence to prepare their case.
When was jury selection supposed to begin?
Jury selection for the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi was scheduled to begin on Wednesday. The judge's decision to postpone the trial means this process will not proceed as planned.
How many people died in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing?
The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988, resulted in the deaths of 270 people. This total includes 190 Americans and 43 individuals from the United Kingdom.

Read it at the source

159 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

56
Show 48 more

Centre

65
Show 57 more

Right

18
Show 10 more

Not rated

20
Show 12 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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