LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s riddled with constitutional problems. And this is what happens when the government tries to take over health care and tries to interfere with your religious beliefs.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,
on a revised birth control mandate Article, this page
Man faces trial in scuba death
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - An Alabama man who already served prison time in Australia after pleading guilty to a reduced charged in the death of his bride goes to trial today, accused of murdering her for insurance money. Tina Thomas Watson drowned during a scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef just days after her wedding in October 2003.
Gabe Watson is charged with capital murder - which normally is punishable by death - but faces life in prison without parole if convicted because of a deal the state made years ago with Australian officials to guarantee his return to the U.S.
Watson, 34, and Tina met in college. They wed and went to Australia to dive - a trip prosecutors claim Watson meticulously planned so he could kill the 26-year-old woman and make it seem like an accident.
Watson is accused of killing Tina Watson by turning off her air supply and bear-hugging her as she drowned while diving on a shipwreck in 2003.
Don Valeska, an assistant state attorney general handling the case, argues Watson killed the woman believing he could collect on a modest life insurance policy.
Killer’s map leads
to more remains
SAN FRANCISCO - Authorities searching with the help of a convicted serial killer found more human remains Saturday - the first bones discovered at an abandoned well on a cattle ranch where a death row inmate claimed 10 or more victims may be buried, authorities said.
The discovery marked the third-straight day that remains were found with a map prepared by Wesley Shermantine.
Authorities believe he and his childhood friend, Loren Herzog, killed as many as 15 victims.
Two sets of remains had been found Thursday and Friday near property once owned by Shermantine’s family about 60 miles south of Sacramento.
The latest remains were found after crews dug slowly through 30 feet of soot and debris at the well near Linden, Calif., said San Joaquin County sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Les Garcia.
It was not clear whether they belonged to one or more people, and Garcia said they had not yet been identified.
Occupy Nashville debates next step
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Occupy Nashville protesters are considering a temporary withdrawal from their encampment at Legislative Plaza.
The idea was among four discussed Saturday during a meeting about the group’s future. The proposal comes as state lawmakers work to evict them.
D.J. Hudson, who was arrested in October when the state first tried to oust the group, said she thinks protesters should return to their homes for the winter and regroup in the spring, according to The Tennessean.
Others ideas under consideration include staying on state-owned land, moving to city-owned property or moving to private property, protester Lindsey Krinks said. All of the ideas got mixed reactions, but some lively discussion focused on possibly moving to city-owned property - with or without permission.
Hudson said she opposed asking the city.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 02/13/2012