San Jose mayor indicted over garbage pact

Mayor Ron Gonzales was booked on fraud, bribery and conspiracy charges Thursday after a grand-jury probe into a secretly negotiated garbage contract that cost taxpayers more than $11 million.

Gonzales was released on a $50,000 bond after being indicted on six counts. He denied any wrongdoing and rejected calls to step down.

Joe Guerra, an aide to the mayor, faces charges of fraud, conspiracy and misappropriating public money.

It was not clear which counts Norcal Waste Systems faced, but lawyer Bill Goodman said there were four charges and the company denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutors would not comment on the indictment, which was filed under seal. A news conference was scheduled for today.

Jury seated in second Yates trial

A jury was seated Thursday to hear the second trial of Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who claims she was insane when she drowned her five young children in a bathtub in 2001. Opening statements in the case were scheduled to begin Monday.

As in her first trial, Yates, 41, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Yates' earlier conviction was thrown out because a key prosecution witness had mistakenly testified about an episode of the "Law & Order" television series depicting a woman who drowned her children in a bathtub and was acquitted by reason of insanity.

The witness, a psychiatrist and consultant on the show, said the episode aired before the Yates children were killed, but attorneys later learned that no such episode existed.

Fire crews battle 3,260-acre blaze

Fire crews burned away vegetation and used hand tools to scratch out firebreaks along a canyon as planes dropped retardant Thursday in hopes of keeping a 3,260-acre wildfire north of this scenic Arizona community from spreading.

Crews also were standing by to protect roughly 460 homes and businesses in nearby Oak Creek Canyon, which was evacuated when the blaze was sparked Sunday by a transient's campfire.

Officials said the fire was 15 percent contained. No buildings had burned.

Also

Independent gubernatorial candidates Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn have collected enough voter signatures to make it onto the November ballot. The announcement Thursday by Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams sets up a crowded race for the fall election among the two independents, Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democrat Chris Bell.

Compiled from The Associated Press