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ALBANY, Ga. (AP) — Jurors have begun deliberations in the federal trial of the owner of a Georgia peanut plant linked to a deadly salmonella outbreak five years ago.
The jury started weighing evidence for a short time Friday before adjourning with no verdict.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis W. Sands told jurors they won't return until Thursday because scheduling conflicts will require the court to recess the first part of next week.
Former Peanut Corporation of America owner Stewart Parnell has been on trial since Aug. 1 on charges related to the outbreak that killed nine Americans and sickened 714.
He and his brother, food broker Michael Parnell, are charged with shipping tainted food and faking lab tests for salmonella. The plant's quality control manager, Mary Wilkerson, is charged with obstruction of justice.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of salmon are making their way from the ocean up the Columbia River this month, a windfall for salmon eaters and tribal and recreational fishermen in the Pacific Northwest.
It's one of the largest runs since dam construction blocked river passage for fish. The run is forecast at 1.5 million salmon by year's end — though fish managers say the final number may turn out to be lower.
More than 460,000 adult chinook have already passed over the Bonneville Dam on their way to spawning areas in native streams. That's the first dam salmon cross in their migration upriver.
Monday's 67,521 chinook were the largest single-day return since the dam was built in 1938.
Fish managers attribute the large run to good ocean conditions and improved habitat.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials continue to withhold $14 million worth of payments for Idaho's education broadband program. If the money isn't restored soon, state lawmakers will be asked to fork over another multimillion dollar bailout when they convene in January for the 2015 Legislature.
The Idaho Statesman reports that the federal government had agreed to pay for three-fourths of the program's costs. However, it cut off the payments after launching an investigation over a disputed contract with one of the Idaho high school broadband project's vendors.
To keep the program afloat, Idaho lawmakers agreed to provide an $11.4 million bailout, which funds the program until February.
If federal payments don't return by then, state lawmakers will be asked for an additional $2.4 million to cover the program until June.
NAMPA, Idaho (AP) — The attorney for a southwest Idaho man accused of supplying a gun used to kill a 25-year-old Nampa man wants an in-custody interview with police thrown out.
The Idaho-Press Tribune reports in a story on Friday that Joshua Wasserburger's attorney filed the motion that could lead to charges of aiding and abetting first-degree murder being dismissed. Wasserburger has pleaded not guilty.
Attorney Ed Yarbrough says Wasserburger requested an attorney during a police interview but didn't get one.
Investigators previously said Wasserburger contacted James Whitewater to help him deal with a man they believed had broken the jaw of a female acquaintance.
James Whitewater is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery in the death of Pedro Martin Jr., who died after being shot in his torso.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — An eastern Idaho charter school is closing after deciding not to appeal a decision by the state's Public Charter School Commission to revoke its charter.
Odyssey Charter School officials in Idaho Falls announced the decision Thursday to close the school for good at 5 p.m. Friday.
The commission on Wednesday revoked the school's charter after deciding the school lacked the ability to reach its accreditation standards.
The revocation came after the school failed three accreditation readiness visits.
School officials decided not to appeal.
The school had about 200 students.
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — A Friday morning fire has severely damaged an historic building in Old Town Pocatello in eastern Idaho.
Firefighters say the Monarch Building that is on the National Register of Historic Places was fully involved in flames when they arrived after receiving a 6:40 a.m. call.
Authorities say evacuations in the area are in progress but it's believed everyone is out. Firefighters late Friday morning were still battling the blaze.
The three-story building made of red brick opened as a hotel in 1909 and most recently was being used as an apartment building.
Officials haven't said what caused the fire or given a damage estimate. There are no reports of injuries.
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — An eastern Idaho judge has ordered a Pocatello man accused of killing a 25-year-old woman a decade ago to be held in the Bannock County Jail without bail.
The Idaho State Journal reports that 39-year-old Brad Scott Compher appeared confused during the hearing Thursday in 6th District Court and expressed concern about missing work.
Police say DNA evidence and fingerprints link Compher to the killing of Nori Jones. Her body was discovered Sept. 28, 2004, by co-workers when she didn't report for work.
Compher is charged with first-degree murder. Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog says he might seek the death penalty.
Jones had moved to Pocatello in 1999 and worked for the Idaho Department of Labor. At the time of her death she was engaged to be married.
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A south-central Idaho man accused of stealing about $60,000 in lottery tickets from his employer and then cashing them to gamble on slot machines and card tables in Jackpot, Nevada, is facing charges.
The Times-News reports in a story on Thursday that 35-year-old James Michael Adam of Twin Falls is charged with nine counts of prohibited lottery acts and one count of grand theft.
Police say Adam stole the lottery tickets from a convenience store that discovered in an audit that the losses occurred from January to June.
Investigators say Adam told police he scanned the tickets to find winners that he cashed. He also told police a severe gambling problem led to his actions.
Adam is scheduled to appear in a Twin Falls court on Sept. 19.
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Prosecutors have rested their case in the first-degree murder trial of a northern Idaho man accused of strangling his estranged wife and dumping her body into the Snake River.
The Lewiston Tribune reports that prosecutors rested their case Thursday in 2nd District Court and defense attorneys for Charles Capone are scheduled to start presenting their case Friday.
The 53-year-old Capone is accused of killing 40-year-old Rachael Anderson from Clarkston, Washington, in April 2010. The body of the mother of four hasn't been found.
A co-defendant earlier this week testified that he witnessed Capone kill Anderson and then helped dispose of the body.
Fifty-one-year-old David Stone made a deal with prosecutors to have a murder charge against him dropped in exchange for testifying against Capone.
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