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The nation in brief
Compiled from Times wires Yosemite slayings suspect convictedSAN JOSE, Calif. -- A former motel handyman was convicted Monday of the 1999 slayings of three Yosemite park tourists in a crime that shattered the serene image of one of America's treasured places. Cary Stayner, 41, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and additional felonies, and could face the death penalty. Defense lawyers had conceded that Stayner killed Carole Sund, 42, her daughter, Juli, 15, and Silvina Pelosso, 16, but they said he was insane and asked jurors to convict him of second-degree murder, a verdict that would have spared him the death penalty. Autopsy identifies set of remains as those of second missing Oregon girlOREGON CITY, Ore. -- A body found in a barrel buried under a concrete slab has been identified as one of two girls who vanished last winter. Oregon City police Chief Gordon Huiras said Monday that the 12-year-old girl, Ashley Pond, had been identified through dental records. Her remains were found Sunday, one day after authorities found the body of 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis in a shed. The suspect, Ward Weaver, had been jailed since Aug. 13 on an unrelated rape charge, and hasn't been charged in the girls' deaths. However, chief deputy district attorney Greg Horner said Monday that he would present the case to a grand jury in hopes of getting an indictment. FBI investigators returned to Weaver's property Monday with high-tech equipment, a backhoe, shovels and pickaxes to search for evidence that might be hidden. Elsewhere . . .NASA PLANS "CONTOUR' REPLACEMENT: There is little hope of salvaging the $159-million comet-chasing spacecraft Contour that broke apart Aug. 15, scientists said Monday in announcing they seek to launch a replacement as early as 2006. A replacement mission could be readied for launch by April 2006 at a cost $10-million to $20-million less than the original, mission members said. ARTIFICIAL HEART RECIPIENT DIES: James Quinn, 52, the world's fifth recipient of a self-contained artificial heart, died Monday after suffering a stroke last week, hospital officials said. ACT ADDS ESSAY: The maker of the nation's second-most widely used college entrance test, the ACT, said Monday it will include an optional essay on its exam which students can take depending on the admissions requirements of the colleges where they're applying. Two months ago, the makers of the SAT said they would add a mandatory essay. JUROR WITH HIGH BILL SETTLES: A Texas computer software consultant who responded to a jury summons by demanding $100 an hour -- $16,800 -- for his services showed up for duty Monday, after a judge's warning compelled him to lower his rate. David Williamson, like everyone else in the jury pool, will get $40 a day, plus mileage.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
