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BOSTON – Prosecutors want panels of the boat in which Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (joh-HAHR’ tsahr-NEYE’-ehv) was found hiding to be brought to court to show jurors what they say is his written confession. But Tsarnaev’s attorneys object to the plan and want the jury instead to go …

RICHMOND, Va. – A newly released court document describes what former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell would have said had she testified in her husband’s public corruption case. The affidavit from her lawyer says she would have testified that she hid vitamin executive Jonnie Williams’ gifts from her husband because …

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A Washington state florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding was fined $1,000 Friday, plus $1 for court costs and fees. Benton County Superior Judge Alexander Ekstrom’s ruling gives Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington, 60 days to pay …

BOSTON – Jury summonses have been flying, police have been deploying and the news media has been scrambling like seldom before as two highly anticipated criminal trials get underway almost simultaneously in Massachusetts. Jury selection in the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev began Jan. …

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four death-row inmates who are suing Ohio officials over a new state law that shields the names of companies providing lethal injection drugs want a federal court to prevent the rules from taking effect in March. Attorneys for the inmates filed the motion in federal court in …

VILNIUS, Lithuania – A baby caiman has found a new home at a Lithuanian zoo after its previous owner tried to sell it online, apparently upon realizing that the pet reptile he was raising in his bathroom wasn’t a harmless lizard. Officials at the Kaunas zoo said authorities confiscated the …

NEW YORK – Ocwen Financial said Thursday that it doesn’t anticipate any material fines, penalties or settlements coming from pending state examinations into alleged misconduct. Company shares rose more than 14 percent in afternoon trading. Ocwen recently reached settlements with New York and California regulators. The states were part of …

LODGE GRASS, Mont. – State livestock officials are among several agencies investigating after up to two dozen horses were shot dead and dumped in a hay field about a mile west of Lodge Grass on the Crow Indian Reservation. Residents looking for their missing horses recently found the dead animals, …

Racist emails released Friday by the city of Ferguson reveal that most were sent by a former city court clerk to two police officers and there is no indication other city officials were involved. The emails were discovered during the investigation into the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael …

JERUSALEM – When Israeli health inspectors spotted a mail truck crossing into Israel from the West Bank, something didn’t smell right. Further examination discovered the source of their suspicion — cheese. The agriculture ministry says the truck contained 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of cheese stuffed into cans, bottles and other …