U.S. National News

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich departs his Chicago home carrying a folder labeled 'Health/Capital/Budget,' Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008. Blagojevich left his North Side home, and his vehicle was later seen parked outside the offices of a high-profile defense attorney. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
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AP

Illinois officials weighing options for Obama seat

AP - 19 minutes ago

CHICAGO - Illinois officials say they're trying to figure out how to ensure that the process of choosing the person to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat is not tainted by that state's political scandal.

  • James Steele, fire chief for the Central Mat-Su Fire Department stands outside of the fire damaged Wasilla Bible Church in Wasilla, Alaska Saturday Dec. 13, 2008. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's home church was badly damaged in an arson fire. No one was injured in the fire, which was intentionally set while people, including two children, were inside. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
    Chief: Gov. Palin's home church damaged by arson AP - Sat Dec 13, 8:25 PM ET

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin's home church was badly damaged by arson, leading the governor to apologize if the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" from her failed campaign as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

  • This 1960's file photo provided by the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., shows Obama with his mother Stanley Ann Dunham. The Kansas-born mother, the Kenyan-born father, Barack Obama Sr., met at the University of Hawaii. They marriage, and Barack, 'blessed' in Arabic, was born on Aug. 4, 1961. (AP Photo/Obama Presidential Campaign, File)
    Obama's true colors: Black, white ... or neither? AP - Sun Dec 14, 12:27 AM ET

    A perplexing new chapter is unfolding in Barack Obama's racial saga: Many people insist that "the first black president" is actually not black.

  • Rolling paper giant sues over NYC firm's T-shirts AP - Sun Dec 14, 1:45 AM ET

    NEW YORK - A prominent cigarette paper maker with drug-culture cachet is accusing a T-shirt company of stealing its distinctive style for a design celebrating President-elect Barack Obama's victory.

  • Attorneys Stephen Weiss, left, of Seeger Weiss LLP and Brad Friedman of Milberg LLP each representing dozens of clients of Bernard L. Madoff arrive at Manhattan federal court Friday, Dec.12, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)
    List of potential victims grows in NY fraud case AP - 2 hours, 9 minutes ago

    NEW YORK - Investors who put their fortunes in the hands of arrested New York money manager Bernard Madoff are waiting to hear how much of their stake is left.

  • President George W. Bush, right, walks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, in Baghdad. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
    Bush: Work in Iraq has been hard; needed for peace AP - 9 minutes ago

    BAGHDAD - President George W. Bush says the work in Iraq has been hard, but is necessary for U.S. security and world peace.

  • In this July 10, 2008, file photo, Brian Nichols looks toward the prosecution table as jury selection got underway in his trial in Atlanta. Superior Court Judge James Bodiford sentenced Nichols on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008, to multiple life sentences in the killings of four people in a courthouse escape in March 2005. (AP Photo/John Spink, File)
    Judge sentences Ga. courthouse shooter to life AP - Sun Dec 14, 1:06 AM ET

    ATLANTA - After more than three years and a tangled trail of frustrating legal delays, the man who killed four people in a brazen courthouse escape was sentenced Saturday to prison for life without parole and hundreds of years more.

  • Former Judge Brocton Lockwood gives his thoughts on corruption in Illinois government, at his home in Harrisburg, Ill., Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. More than 25 years ago, Lockwood, then a visiting small-town judge, stashed a tape recorder in his cowboy boot and came away with shocking evidence of bribe-taking and bagmen in Chicago's courts. Lockwood was part of an unprecedented FBI sting operation in the Cook County courts called 'Operation Greylord' that uncovered judges, lawyers and clerks taking cash, fixing cases and engaging in other brazen judicial corruption. (AP Photo/The Southern Illinoisan, Thomas Barker)
    Illinois corruption: deep roots, tough to weed out AP - Sat Dec 13, 6:05 PM ET

    CHICAGO - More than 25 years ago, a visiting small-town judge stashed a tape recorder in his cowboy boot and came away with shocking evidence of bribe-taking and bagmen in Chicago's courts.

  • Rescue workers set up near West Coast Bank where Oregon State Police said a bomb detonated after police arrived to inspect a suspicious device Friday Dec. 12, 2008, in Woodburn, Ore. Newspaper reports said at least one bomb technician and two bank employees were hurt in the Friday night blast The Oregon State Police said there were 'serious injuries.' (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
    Ore. bank blast kills police officer, bomb expert AP - Sat Dec 13, 4:36 PM ET

    WOODBURN, Ore. - A bomb explosion at a bank killed both a police officer and a state bomb disposal technician, and state police do not have any suspects, officials said Saturday.

  • Asad Jilani, of Armonk, N.Y., who approached town officials as he, his family and other Muslim residents thought they should be represented at a local park's public holiday display, stands near the display Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008, in Armonk. When they light the town Christmas tree in Armonk on Sunday, there will be the tree, a Jewish menorah and new this year, an Islamic crescent and star. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
    Star and crescent joins Christmas tree, menorah AP - Sat Dec 13, 5:23 PM ET

    ARMONK, N.Y. - When they light the town Christmas tree in Armonk on Sunday, there will be a Jewish menorah right alongside, as usual. There will also be something new this year — an Islamic crescent and star.

  • Riot, hostage situation ends at West Texas prison AP - Sat Dec 13, 7:18 PM ET

    PECOS, Texas - An uprising at a privately run prison in West Texas ended Saturday morning after two hostages were released, authorities said.

  • HUD nominee pioneered innovative affordable homes AP - Sat Dec 13, 6:56 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Shaun Donovan, the New York official Barack Obama chose to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, has hands-on experience with an issue important to the president-elect: affordable housing.

  • In this Dec. 9, 2008, file photo, Illinois Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn addresses the media in Chicago. Quinn and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan are both considered likely candidates for the state's highest office following Gov. Rod Blagojevich's arrest this week on federal charges that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. (AP Photo/Eric Y. Exit, File)
    Lt. Gov., Atty. Gen. may be looking ahead to 2010 AP - Sun Dec 14, 12:20 AM ET

    CHICAGO - In many ways, Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan couldn't be more different: He has carefully promoted his image as an outsider and reformer; she comes from a powerful political family.

  • In this Nov. 10, 2008 file photo, the Apache County Court House is seen in St. Johns, Ariz. Prosecutors and a defense lawyer in rural eastern Arizona are trying to figure out what to do with an 8-year-old boy accused of shooting his father and his father's friend in early November. (AP Photo/Dana Felthauser, File)
    No clear cut way to handle 8-year-old's case AP - Sat Dec 13, 1:04 PM ET

    FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - What do you do with an 8-year-old boy charged with two counts of premeditated murder?

  • Mark, his words. Twain speaks from beyond AP - Sat Dec 13, 3:44 PM ET

    NEW YORK - It only took a 100 years or so, but the world is finally getting a piece of Mark Twain's mind on the subject of free expression and whether it's safer for your words to be expressed after you're dead.

  • In this photo released by the New England Aquarium, Herb, a rescued 75-pound loggerhead sea turtle, is eager to go as he is loaded into a transport carrier in Boston for his trip to the Riverhead Foundation on New York's Long Island, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008. According to the New England Aquarium, Herb is the largest hypothermic sea turtle rescued from Cape Cod this fall. (AP Photo/New England Aquarium)
    Nearly frozen sea turtle heading to rehab AP - Sat Dec 13, 6:28 PM ET

    BOSTON - His name is Herb, and he was very, very cold when he was found on a Cape Cod beach.

Crimes and Trials News

  • Nichols sentence may lead to death penalty changes AP - Sat Dec 13, 6:16 PM ET

    ATLANTA - A jury's inability to condemn courthouse gunman Brian Nichols to death has re-energized efforts by Georgia lawmakers to allow a judge to consider capital punishment even if there's no unanimous verdict, as a growing chorus of officials says it's time to give the policy another look.

  • Illinois corruption: deep roots, tough to weed out AP - Sat Dec 13, 6:05 PM ET

    CHICAGO - More than 25 years ago, a visiting small-town judge stashed a tape recorder in his cowboy boot and came away with shocking evidence of bribe-taking and bagmen in Chicago's courts.

  • Killer of U.S. judge gets life in jail Reuters - Sat Dec 13, 12:24 PM ET

    ATLANTA (Reuters) - A court in Atlanta sentenced a convicted murderer on Saturday to life in prison after he killed a judge in a courtroom and three other people in stunning escape from custody, prosecutors said.