Crimes and Trials News

PORTLAND, Ore. - Former Vice President Al Gore was cleared Friday of allegations he groped and assaulted a masseuse in a luxury Portland hotel room in 2006, closing a case that could have tarnished the Nobel prize winner's reputation. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - A prosecutor sprang a surprise claim Friday that Anna Nicole Smith was a co-conspirator in the actions that have brought her two doctors and lawyer-boyfriend to trial for over-prescribing and obtaining massive amounts of prescription drugs. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for convicted U.S. Ponzi schemer Tom Petters on Friday asked an appeals court to send the case back for a new trial, saying they were not able to fully present arguments against some of his accusers. Full Story »

RENO, Nev. - A former Reno man who fled to the Caribbean in 1988 after he was convicted of kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl is finally headed to a Nevada prison. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - The case of an emerald the size of a boulder will roll into a courtroom in September, accompanied by a small army of lawyers representing those who have laid claim to the 840-pound rock as it traveled a circuitous route from Brazil to Los Angeles. Full Story »

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada's highest court refused on Friday to grant a new trial for serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton, who was convicted of killing drug addicts and prostitutes and butchering their remains at his pig farm. Full Story »

KAMPALA (AFP) - A Ugandan court on Friday charged three Kenyans with 76 counts of murder, the first such cases opened against suspects in the July 11 suicide attacks in Kampala which targeted football fans watching the World Cup final. Full Story »

PATTAYA, Thailand (AFP) - A Thai court on Friday extended bail granted to Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev, who has been charged with raping a 14-year-old boy, his lawyer said. Full Story »

HONOLULU - A federal prosecutor said Thursday a former B-2 bomber engineer helped China design a stealth cruise missile to raise money to pay the $15,000-a-month mortgage on the mansion-like home he built on Maui's north shore. Full Story »

EDINBURG, Texas - A jury sentenced a south Texas man to death on Thursday, four days after convicting him of capital murder for beheading his common law wife's three children in 2003. Full Story »

SALT LAKE CITY - Defense lawyers for the man charged with kidnapping Elizabeth Smart argued Thursday that the case should be moved out of Utah so he can get a fair trial. Full Story »

PHOENIX - The showdown over Arizona's immigration law played out in court and on Phoenix's sun-splashed streets on Thursday, as the state sought to reinstate key parts of the measure and angry protesters chanted that they refused to "live in fear." Dozens were arrested. Full Story »

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - President Barack Obama has signed a bill he says will address the unique public safety challenges facing American Indian tribes. Full Story »

Lawyers for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to reverse a judge’s decision to block key portions of SB 1070, the state’s controversial immigration law. Full Story »

DENVER - Nearly a fifth of Colorado's medical marijuana dispensary operators could be forced out of business in coming weeks because of new state rules barring some convicted felons from the pot business, federal drug authorities say. Full Story »

SALINAS, Calif. - Authorities say two teens were killed and two wounded in three separate shootings in the central California city of Salinas over a span of about 13 hours. Full Story »

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - A man whose northeastern Pennsylvania property contained as many as 12 corpses will be tried on double-murder charges this fall. Full Story »

NEW YORK - The judge in the Brooke Astor case has denied a motion to overturn the convictions of the New York philanthropist's son and his co-defendant. Full Story »