But Al-Marri's third trip to the area comes under far different circumstances — facing trial on federal charges alleging he supported al-Qaida terrorists. His first court appearance is Monday.

Al-Marri, 43, was arrested in late 2001 while studying at Bradley University in Peoria after federal authorities alleged he was an al-Qaida sleeper agent tied to organizers of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was a legal U.S. resident but became the only "enemy combatant" in custody on American soil.

He was held without charges for more than five years at a Navy brig in South Carolina.

Then, last month, a federal grand jury in Illinois indicted al-Marri on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terror.

The scant Feb. 26 indictment offers no details on the long-awaited charges and federal officials are not discussing al-Marri's case.

Under current law, felons can't vote until they have served their sentences, including the completion of any parole or probation, and paid all restitution and other court fees.

A measure to remove that payment requirement — opponents say it's akin to a modern-day "poll tax" — has passed the House and awaits action in the Senate. If it becomes law, felons could simply re-register to vote once they're no longer in state custody, including any parole or probation.

"The basic unfairness is that our system is currently based on someone paying off their legal obligations," said Rep. Jeannie Darneille, a Tacoma Democrat who sponsored the measure. "If you have money, you can get your rights restored, and if you don't have money, you won't."

Washington's neighbor, Oregon, automatically restores voting rights to felons once they're released from prison. Nearly 40 other states and the District of Columbia also have less onerous restrictions on restoring voting rights to felons.

But others argue Washington state is obligated to make sure felons complete all of their sentence, including all monetary obligations.

"Until they pay their fines and restitution, to me, they haven't carried out their entire sentence," said Rep. Ed Orcutt, a Kalama Republican who opposes the bill. "So their voting rights shouldn't be restored."

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a Seattle Democrat who sponsored a similar measure in the Senate, said felons will still need to pay off their debts, but won't have to wait to vote while they're doing so.

"It's more an issue of fairness," she said. "I don't think the right to vote should be based on one's income."

The question hanging over these proceedings is whether this jury, unlike the one at Spector's first trial 18 months ago, will be able to reach a unanimous verdict. The first panel deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction.

When closing arguments in Spector's retrial begin Monday, prosecutors will attempt to convince jurors that the 69-year-old music producer fired the fatal shot as Clarkson tried to leave his home. The defense will argue that Clarkson, a down-on-her-luck actress approaching middle age, put the gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger.

A change from circumstances presented to the first jury is a ruling Friday by Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler that provides an option to convict Spector of a lesser charge. Fidler instructed jurors that involuntary manslaughter charges could be considered.

If Spector, who became famous for creating rock music's "wall of sound," is convicted of that charge, he could be sentenced to as little as two to four years in prison.

Prosecutors did not charge Spector with involuntary manslaughter, and district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said they would still argue that he is guilty of second-degree murder, a conviction with a prison sentence of 15 years to life.

The Georgia Supreme Court ruling Monday throws out an appeals court's dismissal of the lawsuit and sends it back to a lower court.

Atlanta claims Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia and 14 other online travel companies owe millions in unpaid taxes. Similar challenges have been filed by Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and Branson, Mo.

The lawsuits challenge pricing schemes in which consumers are charged a higher price than what the sites pay hotels for the rooms, allowing the sites to pocket service fees. The taxes are paid on that cheaper rate — and cities say they're deprived of millions in revenues.

Eritrean television showed live coverage of Omar al-Bashir arriving at the airport in the capital Asmara where he was greeted by his counterpart President Isaias Afwerki along with drummers and dancers. The semiofficial Sudanese Media Center confirmed al-Bashir went following an invitation from Eritrea. Sudanese state television later Monday showed live television pictures of al-Bashir returning to Khartoum.

Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told The Associated Press that al-Bashir was accompanied by his heads of security and intelligence and was there to discuss regional security.

The Netherlands-based ICC charged al-Bashir on March 4 of leading a counterinsurgency against Darfur rebels that involved rapes, killings and other atrocities against civilians. His government has been accused of unleashing Arab militiamen known as janjaweed against Darfur civilians in a drive to put down a revolt by ethnic Africans in the region.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly halts a change in regulations issued in the waning days of the Bush administration and orders further review. She set an April 20 deadline for the Interior Department to review the rule and indicate its course of action in response to the injunction.

The rule, which took effect Jan. 11, allowed visitors to carry a loaded gun into a park or wildlife refuge as long as the person had a permit for a concealed weapon and the state where the park or refuge was located allowed concealed firearms. Previously, guns in parks had been severely restricted.

The Obama administration had said it was reviewing the Bush rule but had defended it in court.

Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, said Thursday the department is reviewing the injunction.

The Bush administration issued the gun rule in December in response to letters from half the Senate asking officials to lift the restrictions on guns in parks that were adopted by the Reagan administration in the early 1980s.

The rule went further than a draft proposal issued a year ago and would have allowed concealed weapons even in parks located in states that prohibit the carrying of guns in state parks. Some states allow concealed weapons but also ban guns from parks.