Julian said the man glared before "maliciously expelling a large amount of saliva" onto a carpet in the courthouse hallway. Earlier in the day, the judge found Malone guilty of failing to obey a stop sign in September. He was ordered to pay a $75 fine.

Malone said he is innocent of the traffic violation and suggested the judge should show mercy because it was Christmas Eve. Julian told Malone there was no excuse for his behavior. Malone was released from jail on Friday.

Seven lawsuits have been filed in connection with the deadly Metrolink commuter train crash in Los Angeles.

The lawsuits were filed Tuesday and Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, on behalf of the victims of the Sept. 12 collision.

Two of the lawsuits allege negligence and wrongful death and seek unspecified amounts in damages. They name the regional rail authority that operates Metrolink, several contract companies and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority as defendants.

The other five negligence lawsuits name Connex Railroad, a contractor that provides engineers who run the Metrolink trains, its parent company Veolia Transportation and the estate of the train's engineer as defendants. Those lawsuits seek a jury trial and general damages.

http://www.rkallp.com/metrolink-disaster-lawyers.html

A judge is scheduled Jan. 9 to sentence 31-year-old Charles McArthur Emmanuel, also known as Chuckie Taylor.

Emmanuel was convicted in October of committing torture and other abuses as head of a paramilitary force in his father's government. It was the first use of a 1994 U.S. law allowing prosecution for torture overseas.

Prosecutors say the lengthy sentence would send a worldwide message against torture. Emmanuel's court-appointed lawyer didn't immediately comment Monday.

Charles Taylor is on trial before a United Nations tribunal for alleged war crimes in Sierra Leone.

Bruce Turnidge, 57, and his 32-year-old son, Joshua, appeared in back-to-back hearings Friday on multiple counts of aggravated murder. A grand jury indictment released Friday alleges that the bomb that exploded Dec. 12 was part of a bank-robbery attempt, but it does not say how the men allegedly intended to get the money.

Authorities had not previously specified a motive for the bombing in Woodburn, about 30 miles south of Portland. Prosecutors have refused to talk about details outside the courtroom.

"As for getting into the specifics, I can't say anything more than what's alleged in the indictment," said Matt Kemmy, a deputy district attorney who's been handling the case.

Investigators previously disclosed that a caller to a Wells Fargo office in Woodburn on Dec. 12 made a threat and said that further instructions would come from a cell phone near a garbage can. Officers said they determined that the phone was not part of an explosive device.

Later in the day, investigators turned their attention to the West Coast Bank office next door, and a green metal box was found outside.

Pelham Chief Edward Fleury owns COPS Firearms & Training, which promoted the October show where Christopher Bizilj (bah-SEEL') shot himself in the head.

Fleury's lawyer, David Kuzmeski, also entered not guilty pleas on Fleury's behalf to four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18. Fleury did not appear at the arraignment in Hampden Superior Court.

Fleury could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter and up to 10 years if convicted of furnishing the weapon to a minor.

"We're very disappointed that he's been indicted," Kuzmeski said after the arraignment. "We're optimistic with our defenses. Of course, everybody is just feeling terrible about this accident. Mr. Fleury's sympathies go out to the family."

The boy, from Ashford, Conn., was killed Oct. 26 when he lost control of the 9mm micro submachine gun as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo. Christopher's father was 10 feet behind him and reaching for his camera when the child fired the weapon.

Pelham has appointed an acting police chief while Fleury remains on sick leave until Jan. 6.

District Attorney William Bennett has said Fleury wrongly assured two men who brought the weapon to Westfield Sportsman's Club that it was legal for children to use under Massachusetts law.

The jury, which was being sequestered, agreed to resume deliberations at 8:30 Sunday morning — an hour earlier than they have been starting.

U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler said the jury gave him a note Saturday saying that it was making progress and getting along.

Earlier in the day, the jury asked for transcripts of testimony for the first time since Wednesday, the first day of deliberations, when they also sought transcripts of some testimony.

The jury appeared to be focusing on the time when suspect Serdar Tatar told a police officer and later an FBI anti-terrorism task force member that a man had asked him for a map of Fort Dix. The man in question was Mahmoud Omar, an FBI informant.

Prosecutors have said Tatar was trying to smoke out an informant, while his defense lawyer said he was concerned about a possible attack.

The five foreign-born Muslims on trial face charges including conspiracy to kill military personnel and attempted murder.

Government prosecutors claimed the men — all of whom lived for years in the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill — were armed and preparing to attack the base in spring 2007. Defense lawyers said the men were manipulated by a government informant and weren't planning anything.