Jeffs had alleged that his religious rights were being trampled on and that God would seek revenge if the trial continued. He faces up to life in prison. The sentencing phase of the trial was starting after the verdict, and Texas' attorney general said it could take three days.
Prosecutors used DNA evidence to show that Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl, and they played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old. - AP
Wu said he'd quit House; now he has
WASHINGTON - Embattled Rep. David Wu had said he would leave office as soon as the debt-ceiling crisis was resolved. Wednesday night, the Oregon Democrat was true to his word, officially resigning as of 11:59 p.m.
Wu, 56, has been accused of an unwanted sexual encounter with the 18-year-old daughter of a campaign donor. Once the allegations surfaced last week, he said he would soon depart.
Earlier this week, Oregon's two Democratic senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, told Wu after the president signed the debt-ceiling compromise bill to get on with the business of getting out. A special election to replace Wu may not be held until early next year. - Tribune
Washington Bureau
F-16s cut off plane flown by pilot, 75
SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. - Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted a plane flown by a 75-year-old woman when it entered restricted airspace during President Obama's Chicago visit.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command confirmed to the Daily Herald that the jets were summoned Wednesday afternoon from Toledo, Ohio. The jets intercepted Myrtle Rose's Kitfox Model 2, and she turned around, a NORAD spokesman, Lt. Michael Humphreys, said.
Police said Rose, of the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, was flying by herself and wasn't aware she was in restricted airspace. They said she was surprised but didn't seem shaken. Obama was in Chicago for a fund-raiser marking his 50th birthday. - AP
Elsewhere:
President Obama will speak Aug. 28 at the unveiling of the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall in Washington, the White House said. He'll be part of a ceremony capping a week of events in tribute to the civil rights leader.
The American Bar Association will vote next week on a resolution urging Congress to reject any changes to the Constitution that would eliminate the automatic grant of citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
