Oklahoma

Jury to begin Nichols deliberations

The state jury that convicted Terry L. Nichols of murder in the Oklahoma City bombing will begin deliberating today whether he should die for his crimes.

Prosecutors, in closing arguments Tuesday in McAlester, labeled Nichols a heartless killer; his attorneys called him a bit player, unaware of the scope and specifics of the 1995 attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

After a two-month trial, Nichols, 49, was found guilty on all counts brought by the state — arson, conspiracy to commit arson and 161 counts of first-degree murder. He already is serving a life prison term without possibility of parole for his 1997 federal conviction in the deaths of eight law enforcement officers.

Because prosecutors then were unable to secure a death sentence for Nichols, the significance of the state trial rests largely with the jury’s choice between life and death.

The jury has three choices — life in prison, life in prison without possibility of parole or death by lethal injection.

Georgia

Students found guilty of terroristic threats

Two middle school students accused of plotting a Columbine-style killing spree were found guilty Tuesday of making terroristic threats, but they were cleared of the more serious charge of conspiring to kill a teacher.

The two 14-year-olds hugged their parents and each other after Juvenile Court Judge Kevin Guidry found them guilty of three counts each of making terroristic threats.

The boys, identified only as Adam and Joseph, had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder at their rural school in Winder, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Guidry ordered them confined to house arrest with ankle monitors until social history reports can be completed. He will rule on a punishment after that.

Connecticut

Impeachment hearings for governor open

A special House committee opened hearings Tuesday into whether Republican Gov. John G. Rowland should be impeached over his dealings with wealthy friends and businessmen with lucrative state contracts.

The hearings in Hartford began with evidence that a wealthy businessman, who has received millions of dollars in lease payments and aid from the state, paid inflated rates to rent and later purchase the governor’s Washington condominium.

Some committee members have called the deal one of the most damning matters facing the governor.

Rowland, who also is under federal investigation, is battling a subpoena that would force him to testify before the House Select Committee of Inquiry in the first impeachment proceeding ever begun against a Connecticut governor.

Rowland had no comment about the session Tuesday.

Colorado

Former cadet pleads guilty in rape case

The only cadet to face a court-martial following last year’s rape scandal at the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges.

Douglas L. Meester of Marco Island, Fla., was accused of assaulting a fellow cadet in October 2002 during a night of heavy drinking in a dorm room. He was originally charged with rape, sodomy, indecent assault and providing alcohol to minors.

Those charges were dropped and, in exchange, Meester pleaded guilty to conduct unbecoming an officer, indecent acts and dereliction of duty.

Meester, who had faced a life sentence, received a reprimand and was fined $2,000.

New York City

Yard sale to benefit public school programs

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein on Tuesday announced plans for a yard sale in the city’s biggest yard that could transform the clutter in closets into funds for students.

The citywide donation drive will culminate with a tag sale Oct. 16-17 in Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield, with proceeds earmarked for the Fund for Public Schools, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the city.

Celebrities and corporations will be encouraged to chip in. Sarah Jessica Parker, of “Sex and the City” fame, Tuesday helped kicked things off by donating, among other things, clothes from her character on the show.

The proceeds will be tagged for after-school programs, sports, libraries and literacy programs.

Chicago

Symptoms can point to ovarian cancer

A cluster of three common symptoms in women — a swollen abdomen, a bloated feeling and urgent urination — should raise suspicions of ovarian cancer if they are persistent, severe and began recently, a study says.

The three symptoms are among many that have been associated with ovarian cancer before. But because they also affect most healthy women at some point in their lives, they are often not seen as a tip-off to cancer.

All three symptoms were found in 43 percent of women later diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but in just 8 percent of women without the disease.

The lack of clearly identifiable symptoms has contributed to the relatively poor prognosis for women with ovarian cancer.

While cure rates are high when the disease is detected early, about 75 percent of women are diagnosed when the cancer is in advanced stages.

Nearly 26,000 U.S. women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year and more than 16,000 will die from it, the American Cancer Society estimates.