NATIONAL
January 30, 2010 | By Richard A. Serrano and Tina Susman
Reacting to rising criticism from New York officials and both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, the Justice Department on Friday began considering sites for the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other top Al Qaeda operatives away from the shadow of the toppled World Trade Center. The alternative locations include an Air National Guard base and a federal penitentiary near Manhattan, both considered safe and secure facilities. Two months ago, the Obama administration had pledged to try Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept.
NATIONAL
January 30, 2010 | By Robin Abcarian
In a trial that never became the referendum on abortion that some abortion foes wanted, Scott Roeder, a 51-year-old airport shuttle driver, was convicted Friday of murdering George Tiller, one the nation's few physicians who performed late-term abortions. When he was slain in the vestibule of his church last May 31, Tiller became the eighth doctor since 1993 to be killed by antiabortion extremists. In June, his family announced that his clinic would close permanently. The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for only 37 minutes before finding Roeder guilty of premeditated murder.
NATIONAL
January 29, 2010 | By Robin Abcarian
Before shooting him point-blank in the forehead at church last spring, Scott Roeder considered many ways of killing Wichita physician George Tiller. He thought about ramming his car into Tiller's car, shooting him sniper-style with a high-powered rifle at his clinic, or slicing off Tiller's hands with a sword. He opted against maiming Tiller, he said, because if Tiller survived, he would probably continue to instruct other doctors on how to perform abortions. The problem was, Tiller was hard to get to. He lived behind high walls, traveled in a custom armored car, often with a bodyguard, and wore a bulletproof vest.
WORLD
January 29, 2010 | By Devorah Lauter
French judges on Thursday acquitted former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on charges of conspiring in a campaign to slander French President Nicolas Sarkozy and prevent his victory in the 2007 presidential election. The ruling was expected to boost De Villepin's position as the conservative most capable of challenging Sarkozy's near monopoly of the moderate right that now dominates French politics. "It's been a nasty birthday for Sarkozy," said Gael Sliman, political commentator and deputy director of France's BVA polling institute.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 28, 2010 | By Maura Dolan
Testimony in the historic federal same-sex marriage trial ended Wednesday, with ebullient attorneys for two gay couples expressing confidence and defenders of Proposition 8 conceding they may have to wait for victory from a higher court. Analysts who followed the trial anticipate that Chief U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker is likely to rule for the challengers of Proposition 8. Walker, a Republican appointee with libertarian views, made it clear from the start that he wanted a full-blown examination of the social and political controversies surrounding gay marriage.
NATIONAL
January 28, 2010 | By Robin Abcarian
Scott Roeder, the abortion foe accused of the premeditated murder of Dr. George Tiller, is expected to explain to a jury today why he killed the late-term abortion specialist, who had survived years of protests, physical attacks and criminal prosecution before being shot in the head in church last May. "He's enthusiastic, he's eloquent, he's ready to make his case," said Roeder's friend David Leach, who met with Roeder on Tuesday at the county jail....
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 27, 2010 | By Maura Dolan
The head of a think tank on marriage and family testified at the Proposition 8 federal trial Tuesday that same-sex marriage would weaken marriage and possibly lead to fewer heterosexual marriages, more divorces and "more public consideration of polygamy." But under cross-examination, David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values, acknowledged that he wrote in a book in 2007 that the U.S. would be "more American on the day we permit same-sex marriage than we were on the day before."
NATIONAL
January 27, 2010 | By Robin Abcarian
Prosecutors on Tuesday methodically reconstructed Scott Roeder's movements in the days leading up to the killing of Dr. George Tiller, including three visits to a gun shop to purchase a handgun, a visit to a second gun shop to purchase new ammunition when the gun didn't fire properly, and a morning of target practice the day before the shooting. Tiller, one of the few doctors in the U.S. who performed late-term abortions, was killed with a .22-caliber bullet, shot point-blank into his forehead as he worked as an usher in the foyer of his church on May 31. For years, his clinic and his church were the sites of antiabortion protests.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 27, 2010 | By Lisa Girion
Kristen Spears started getting Botox injections at the age of 6 -- not to smooth furrows in her brow, but to calm spasms in her legs. The girl was born with severe cerebral palsy, and Botox, best known as a face-lift-in-a-syringe, can relax contorted muscles and sometimes help young patients walk without surgery. Instead, Kristen's mother alleges, an overdose of the drug killed her. Opening arguments in a negligence lawsuit by Dee Spears against Botox manufacturer Allergan Inc. are set for today in Orange County.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 27, 2010 | By Harriet Ryan
When he stepped off a plane 16 months ago, David Jassy, a rapper and record producer from Stockholm, planned to make it big in American pop music. On Tuesday, he finally captured the attention of an important audience, but the stage -- a downtown L.A. courtroom -- was one he never wanted. Jassy, 35, took the stand at his murder trial and spoke directly to jurors who will decide whether he spends perhaps the rest of his life in a California prison or returns to Sweden, where he has a successful career, a child and a fashion model girlfriend.