During the penalty phase of Juan Alvarez's trial, jurors cried openly as survivors of the dead came forward to describe the anguish of their losses and the emptiness of their lives since the accident in 2005 robbed them of spouses, sisters, fathers and mothers.

Superior Court Judge William Pounders, who has presided over many high profile trials in a long career on the bench, admitted outside the jury's presence that he also had been affected by the survivors' testimony.

"I've never been so emotionally affected by evidence," said Pounders, who does not have the option to increase the penalty to death at the sentencing hearing Wednesday.

The prosecution described Alvarez as a remorseless, smirking defendant who didn't think of the case as a tragedy.

The defense painted the 29-year-old as a mentally disturbed man who was almost aborted by his mother, was shaped by a childhood of horrific abuse and became a methamphetamine addict. They said he drove his sport utility vehicle on the railroad tracks in a misguided attempt to get the attention of his estranged wife. They said he changed his mind at the last minute but it was too late to get the vehicle off the tracks.

The state wants to remove the girl, now 14, and an 11-year-old brother from the mother's care, saying she has refused to guarantee the girl won't have contact with men accused of being involved in underage marriages. The girl's father allegedly blessed her marriage to Jeffs and the underage marriages of at least two sisters.

The hearing was initially delayed while lawyers in that case and three others tried to negotiate settlements. Later, Texas Ranger Nick Hannah helped Child Protective Services introduce into record dozens of marriage records, photos and church records outlining family relationships that were seized from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado.

The girl's mother refused to answer roughly 50 questions asked by attorneys for the child welfare agency, including what constituted abuse, the names of her children and her relationship with their father.

The state wants to remove the girl, now 14, and an 11-year-old brother from the mother's care, saying she has refused to guarantee the girl won't have contact with men accused of being involved in underage marriages. The girl's father allegedly blessed her marriage to Jeffs and the underage marriages of at least two sisters.

The hearing was initially delayed while lawyers in that case and three others tried to negotiate settlements. Later, Texas Ranger Nick Hannah helped Child Protective Services introduce into record dozens of marriage records, photos and church records outlining family relationships that were seized from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado.

The girl's mother refused to answer roughly 50 questions asked by attorneys for the child welfare agency, including what constituted abuse, the names of her children and her relationship with their father.

About 40 protesters outside the courthouse in Pottsville have been told to keep quiet or they'll be forced to move. The protesters are from workers and immigrants' rights groups.

A defense attorney complained about the distraction and the hearing was recessed for several minutes until the protesters quieted down. There have been no arrests.

Luis Ramirez was attacked July 12 when he crossed paths with a group of teens in the town of Shenandoah, about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

A judge is deciding if there is enough evidence against the three to send the case to trial.

The move by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan was unusual not only because the full circuit assembles for a case only once or twice a year, but because Maher Arar's attorneys had yet to even ask for a full hearing.

The court notified lawyers Wednesday that the full panel of 13 judges will rehear Arar's case, which a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit dismissed in June. Arguments are scheduled for Dec. 9.

"We never even considered the possibility they would do it before we asked," said Maria LaHood, a Center for Constitutional Rights senior attorney representing Arar. "They certainly decided it was important enough on their own."

The Syrian-born Arar was detained in 2002 after switching planes at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he returned to Canada from vacation. Federal authorities say he had been wrongly listed as an al-Qaida member.

His office also reviewed a draft friend-of-the-court brief offered by the chemical giant.

But the draft was used for reference only, said administration spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg, and the brief Manchin ultimately filed urging the state Supreme Court to hear DuPont's appeal was his own.

"Here, the proposed draft was provided, we politely reviewed it, said 'Thanks, but no thanks,' and ultimately decided to go another way," she said.

The court is in summer recess and has not yet decided whether to take the case.

The revelation about communication between the governor's office and the chemical giant is the latest twist in a complex class-action lawsuit involving nearly 8,000 people exposed to toxic chemicals that spewed for decades from a zinc-smelting plant in Spelter.

While the case centered on medical and liability issues, the plaintiffs also argued that close ties to DuPont made environmental regulators and other state officials complicit in allowing a 112-acre waste pile tainted with arsenic, cadmium and lead to sit in the center of town until 2001.

After a five-week trial in county circuit court last fall, jurors convicted DuPont of wanton, willful and reckless conduct and ordered it to pay punitive damages to deter future misconduct. Total damages were $382 million.