R&B singer Chris Brown was praised by a Los Angeles judge on Thursday for making "extremely favorable" progress following his sentence for assaulting ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

Judge rules ex-sailor granted conditional pardon can be retried in rape, murder case. Prosecutors can retry an ex-sailor who received a conditional pardon from Virginia's governor after spending 11 years in prison for the rape and murder of a fellow sailor's wife, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Texas inmate executed after governor rejects clemency recommendation from parole board. Inmate Robert Lee Thompson was executed Thursday evening for his part in a fatal Houston store holdup after the Texas governor rejected a parole board's recommendation to spare him because he wasn't the gunman.

U.S.-trained scientist and al-Qaida suspect says she's innocent and will boycott NY trial. A U.S.-trained scientist accused of shooting at FBI agents and helping al-Qaida vowed Thursday to boycott her January trial.

Plea deal reached for 1 of 7 suspects in Pa. steel town's series of arsons. A former assistant fire chief accused of setting two small fires in an arson-plagued steel town near Philadelphia has worked out a plea bargain freeing him from jail.

Closing arguments were to begin Friday in the trial of American student Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of her British housemate in the Italian university town of Perugia.

Los Angeles man who claimed disability spotted on TV show, sentenced for tax, insurance fraud. California tax officials say an interior designer's false disability claim was uncovered when he was spotted on a home improvement television show.

Closing arguments were to begin Friday in the trial of American student Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of her British housemate in the Italian university town of Perugia.

In a landmark decision, Israel's supreme court has thrown out a law allowing privately-run prisons, arguing that running jails for profit would be a "grave" violation of inmates' human rights.

Closing arguments were to begin on Friday in the trial of American student Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of her British housemate in the Italian university town of Perugia.

Prosecutors on Friday began closing arguments in the trial of American student Amanda Knox for the gory murder of her British housemate in the Italian university town of Perugia two years ago.

Actor Wesley Snipes to appeal 3 tax convictions to federal appeals court in Atlanta. Actor Wesley Snipes is set to ask a federal appeals panel to overturn his three federal tax convictions.

Ohio moderates' budget fix meets immovable forces in conservatives, Democratic governor. A few moderate Ohio senators trying to craft a compromise to fix Ohio's budget gap are being thwarted by two opposing forces: the majority of Republican senators who adamantly oppose any portion of Gov. Ted Strickland's tax cut delay, and the Democratic governor's outright rejection of the compromise.

Prosecutors on Friday began closing arguments in the trial of American student Amanda Knox for the gory murder of her British housemate in the Italian university town of Perugia two years ago.

PARIS (Reuters) - Roman Polanski will not agree voluntarily to being extradited to the United States over a 1970s child sex case, the film director's lawyer said in an interview with French daily Le Figaro published on Friday.

Swiss authorities said Friday that they had ordered some 350 million dollars of assets to be seized from the son of the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha for graft.

Actor Wesley Snipes appeals 3 tax convictions, prison sentence to federal court in Georgia. Wesley Snipes' attorneys asked a federal appeals court Friday to review an "unreasonable" three-year prison sentence for the film star, who was convicted a year ago on federal tax charges.

Indianapolis man convicted in slayings of 7 gets life sentence, compares self to Christ. An Indianapolis man convicted of killing three children and four adults during a home invasion robbery three years ago has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Prison official: Man released after 17 years in prison on now-overturned NYC murder conviction. A prison system official says a New York City man is free after spending nearly two decades behind bars for murder before a judge declared him innocent.

Florida officers behind national junk fax scam face sentencing in Kansas courtroom. The president of a Florida consulting firm convicted in a massive fax blast scam blinked back tears Friday as he was sentenced to 68 months in prison for his role in defrauding thousands of small business owners across the United States, Mexico and Canada.