National News

The State Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a Conway woman who was found guilty of homicide by child abuse after her stillborn baby tested positive for cocaine. In a unanimous ruling, Chief Justice Jean H. Toal wrote that the woman, Regina D. McKnight, had not received adequate counsel and that other factors could have caused the child’s death. Ms. McKnight’s first trial ended in a mistrial in January 2001. She was convicted in a second trial in May 2001 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi held at Guántanamo Bay, Cuba, whom prosecutors called the ”20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 attacks, his military defense lawyer said. The defendant, Mohamed al-Kahtani was charged in February with murder and war crimes in the 2001 attacks. The authorities said Kahtani missed taking part in the attacks because he had been denied entry to the United States. In reviewing the case, the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford, decided to dismiss the charges against Kahtani and proceed with the arraignment for the other five, said Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles of the Army, the Saudi’s military lawyer.

Dry, windy weather fueled wildfires along the central Atlantic coast, destroying at least three homes and driving out hundreds of residents as the governor declared a state of emergency. The largest fire, a 3,000-acre blaze in Brevard County, destroyed at least two homes. Another fire in nearby Palm Bay destroyed one home. In Daytona Beach, about 800 acres had burned, said Timber Weller, a spokesman for the Division of Forestry. The authorities ordered about 500 homes in the northwest part of Daytona to be evacuated.

In closing arguments, lawyers painted two vastly different pictures of Antoin Rezko, a businessman and former political fund-raiser accused of soliciting kickbacks from companies seeking state business or regulatory approval. Reid J. Schar, an assistant United States attorney, summarized weeks of testimony from dozens of government witnesses that, he told jurors, proved that Mr. Rezko had used his influence to benefit himself and his friends. But Joseph J. Duffy, Mr. Rezko’s chief lawyer, told jurors that the case was not believable because it hinged on Stuart Levine, who has pleaded guilty and was a member of the two state boards central to the case. Mr. Duffy called Mr. Levine a liar who was trying to get a reduced sentence.

The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month, enlisting 2,233 people, which was 142 percent of its goal, the Pentagon said. The Army recruited 5,681 people, 101 percent of its goal. The Navy and Air Force also met their goals, 2,905 sailors and 2,435 airmen. A Defense Department spokesman, Bryan Whitman, said that if the Marine Corps continued its recruiting success, it could reach its goal of growing to 202,000 people by the end of 2009, more than a year early.

Several foam makers have agreed to pay $30 million to settle lawsuits brought by survivors and family members of those who died in a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people, according to court papers. The companies that agreed to settle include Leggett & Platt, based in Carthage, Mo., and Wm. T. Burnett & Company, based in Baltimore. More than $100 million has now been offered to victims of the fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick from several companies, including Home Depot and Clear Channel Broadcasting. The fire was started when a pyrotechnics display for the rock band Great White ignited the flammable foam soundproofing material.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is determined to rack up two victories in the next eight days as she seeks to prove her continued political viability, aides say.

Needing help in Texas, the Clinton campaign paid locals to round up votes, a legal but controversial tool known as “street money.”

On Tuesday, the California Assembly becomes the first state legislative body in the nation to be led by a black woman, Karen Bass.

Since the beginning of his campaign, Senator Barack Obama has combated rumors and e-mails suggesting he was a Muslim or was hostile to Israel.

Leaders of Ewing, in the bluegrass country of northeast Kentucky, are facing a problem any mayor would envy.

Rejected applicants for an ID card meant to guard against acts of terrorism received a letter from a security administration official that warned: “I have determined that you pose a security threat.”

Prosecutors who draw on their professional experiences to write novels and assist screenwriters can breathe a little easier after a pair of rulings issued on Monday by the California Supreme Court.

The case calls attention to the occasionally uncomfortable consequences of justices’ ownership of individual stocks.

The United States Court of Federal Claims is considering whether the government should pay millions of dollars to the parents of some 4,800 autistic children.

Researchers in New York have created what is believed to be the first genetically engineered human embryo, which critics immediately branded as a step toward “designer babies.”

Hoping to hang on to a seat in a tight special election, Republicans are trying to make the vote into a referendum on Barack Obama.

In the biggest workplace immigration raid this year, federal agents swept into a kosher meat plant on Monday in Postville, Iowa, and arrested more than 300 workers.

The Department of Defense has identified 4,069 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war. It confirmed the death of the following American on Monday:.

Senator John McCain called for a limit on greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.