The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals says sentencing juvenile convicted killers to life in prison without parole is not unreasonably harsh.

Chris Joshua Meadoux was 16 at time of a 2007 double slaying in San Antonio.

A jury sentenced the Hurricane Katrina evacuee to life in prison without parole for his capital murder conviction in the killing of 17-year-old Johnny You and 19-year-old Luis Martinez during a fight.

Meadoux and You were friends in Slidell, La., before their families evacuated after the 2005 hurricane.

The Austin American-Statesman reports an appeals court said Wednesday that juveniles may be less morally culpable, but some actions justify the penalty.

A Russian labeled the "Merchant of Death" by those who claim he fueled some of the world's deadly Third World conflicts over the last decade with powerful weapons has arrived in the United States. He faces charges he supported terrorists trying to overthrow the government of Colombia and shared their hatred for Americans.

Viktor Bout arrived late Tuesday at Westchester County Airport, in White Plains, N.Y., before he was brought to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan to await an initial court appearance expected Wednesday afternoon. A news conference with federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration was to occur in late morning.

Bout, 43, a former Soviet military officer and air cargo executive, was flown from Bangkok, Thailand, to suburban New York on a chartered U.S. plane just four days before an extradition order would have expired, permitting him to be freed and returned home to his native Moscow.

Instead, he was taken in manacles and a bulletproof vest as Russian diplomats made a final outraged push to persuade Thailand to release him, according to current and former U.S. officials.

The California Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty sentence for the killer of two Riverside County deputies in 1997.
Timothy Russell was sentenced 11 years ago for the ambush killings of 41-year-old James Lehmann Jr. and 33-year-old Michael Haugen. The deputies had responded to a domestic violence call in a remote desert area east of Cabazon when Russell opened fire with an M-1 carbine.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise says attorney's for Russell, who is now 50, claimed his death sentence should be overturned because the amount of time he was hiding, waiting for the deputies, was not enough duration to indicate he was trying to ambush them.

But the justices any time period of lying in wait was sufficient to warrant a death sentence.

The man who halted the morning commute on the Bay Bridge for two hours last week and claimed to have pipebombs in his vehicle, is set to make his first court appearance today.

Authorities say the Antioch man stopped his SUV on the upper deck last Thursday morning, dialed 911 and threatened to blow up the span. Police say he also waived a pellet gun and threatened to kill himself.

His 16-year-old daughter, who was in the SUV, managed to escape during the standoff.

Carlos-Valentino ultimately surrendered. He told officers he was angry and suicidal because of marital problems.

A medical examiner says two Detroit-area toddlers probably drowned before their bodies were scalded with hot water.

Dr. Carl Schmidt says the deaths of 13-month-old Johnathan Sanderlin and 15-month-old Ella Stafford were not an accident. He testified Monday at a court hearing to determine if their father, Steven Nicholson of Allen Park, will go to trial on murder charges.

Police say Nicholson drowned them on Oct. 19. Defense attorney William Winters III claims it was a "horrible accident," not a crime.

Schmidt says Johnathan had burns on 80 percent of his body while Ella had burns on 25 percent.

Friends and family told Nicholson they love him as he entered court. The judge immediately warned against any additional outbursts.

A federal appeal court is reconsidering a decision that reversed former Florida Senate President W.D. Childers' bribery conviction.

In a rare move, the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal vacated the 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel Wednesday. The full 11-judge panel now will rehear Childers' appeal.

Childers had already completed a 3 1/2-year prison term before the appeal court ruled in June.

The conviction stemmed from Childers' actions as an Escambia County commissioner after the Pensacola Republican left the Senate due to term limits in 2000.

A state court jury found him guilty of bribing a fellow commission to vote for a county land purchase.