Bill Pryor

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was suspended Friday pending an ethics inquiry into his refusal to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state Judicial Building. The state's Judicial Inquiry Commission -- a body akin to a grand jury in criminal proceedings -- issued a formal complaint against Moore following a closed-door session earlier in the day.

The Internal Revenue Service "made me a widow," a North Carolina woman tearfully told a Senate subcommittee Friday, contending that a long-running tax fight with the IRS drove her husband to commit suicide. Kay M. Council of High Point, N. C., testified that she and her husband, Alex, a 49-year-old real-estate developer, became "caught up in the middle of a big IRS screw-up" that led her husband to kill himself.

Saying he didn't want to hurt Alabama, Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman gave up his bid for a second term Monday and conceded the nation's last undecided governor's race to Republican Rep. Bob Riley. Riley, 58, will become just the third Republican governor in Alabama since Reconstruction when he is inaugurated in January. The GOP now holds a 26-24 advantage over Democrats in governorships.

One could almost hear the glee of the Washington money-changers when a federal judge determined last week that the government's $280-billion civil racketeering suit against tobacco manufacturers could proceed. Sans rhetorical flourishes, the idea behind the lawsuit is to re-create on the federal level the same sort of payday that the states have enjoyed since they cut a deal with the tobacco industry in 1998.

In other nonleague games: El Camino 14, USDHS 3--The No. 1 Wildcats (3-0) piled up 386 yards of total offense, 356 on the ground, but fumbled three times, missed one field goal and had another blocked, while the Dons (1-2) had no turnovers. Seth Morrison (5-137 rushing) scored on an 82-yard run. Bryant Westbrook's 60-yard run produced the other El Camino score. Mike Flanagan added 160 yards on 24 carries.

Tree owners will undoubtedly be grateful to Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.). As the narrowly divided Senate Finance Committee neared its showdown over capital gains taxes earlier this week, Pryor was a crucial swing vote. Because he represents a state where timber interests carry a lot of political clout, lawmakers seeking to woo him used an appropriate bait--tax breaks worth hundreds of millions to timber owners.

They took down tobacco for a shattering $206 billion. Shook up the sweepstakes and drug industries. Spooked the gun industry with talk of a crackdown, and looked at the Internet's trouble protecting privacy. State attorneys general, working together, pushed their way onto the national stage in recent years. But while the AGs' activism has raised their profile, it's also created a rift, with conservatives worried that their colleagues have overstepped their bounds.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- After finding Shonelle Jackson guilty of murdering a man while stealing his car stereo, jurors recommended unanimously that the 19-year-old's life be spared. However, trial Judge William Gordon overruled the 12-member panel. Instead of placing Jackson in prison for life without possibility of parole, Gordon ordered him to the electric chair.

Point Loma 17, Mira Mesa 3--Point Loma handed Mira Mesa (2-5, 0-2) its fifth consecutive loss, marking the first time the Marauders have lost five games in a season since going 1-8 in 1981. Rantie Harper (16 carries, 54 yards) scored on an eight-yard run, Jose Fernandez kicked a 32-yard field goal and Jacques Ballard returned an interception 46 yards to provide the scoring for the Pointers (4-3, 1-0). Brett Hall's fourth-quarter 22-yard field goal kept Point Loma from its second shutout.