Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Prosecution rests in Jackson case

Compiled from wire reports The Spokesman-Review

Santa Maria, Calif. Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday in the Michael Jackson trial after more than two months of dramatic testimony in which they sought to prove that the pop star molested a teenage cancer patient and conspired to hold his family captive at his fairy-tale estate.

The defense immediately filed a motion for a judgment of acquittal on grounds the prosecution did not prove its case. Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville said the motion would be heard first thing today.

District Attorney Tom Sneddon closed his case pending the judge’s decisions on whether to admit various items that had been shown to the jury but had not yet been formally entered into evidence. The judge said the prosecution could reopen its case later depending on his decisions.

The prosecution closed its case with witness Rudy Provencio, who talked about hearing a phone discussion in which the singer’s associates talked with Jackson about response to a damaging documentary about him.

Junior Miss pageant to end this summer

Mobile, Ala. America’s Junior Miss pageant will crown its last winner this summer after an almost half-century run because of problems attracting sponsors and a major television contract, pageant officials said Wednesday.

The board that governs the pageant in which high school seniors compete for college scholarships voted Tuesday to end the event after the June 25 show.

The 48-year-old program once had big-name sponsors such as Coca-Cola. It produced future celebrities such as TV newswoman Diane Sawyer (America’s Junior Miss 1963).

The pageant said that “to attract a sizable viewing audience in these times” would require it to compromise its commitment to promoting a wholesome image. Young women compete in categories such as talent, scholastics and fitness – but not in swimsuits.

With sponsors dwindling, the program increasingly turned to local and state governments for money.

The Mobile Register reported that the pageant’s figures showed almost 40 percent of its annual budget of slightly more than $1 million was coming from public coffers.

The show, a spinoff from a local Jaycee scholarship program, was launched in 1957.

Applicant’s background gets police attention

Amherst, Ohio It wasn’t Laurie Ralston’s resume that got the attention of police. It was her record.

Ralston applied for a job as a dispatcher with the Amherst Police Department. When they did a background check, police quickly found out she has 17 traffic convictions, including seven speeding tickets and two citations for driving without a license.

Ralston was called in Friday for what she was told would be an interview. Instead, she was arrested and charged with failing to appear in court and driving without a license.

Ralston said she had no idea police were after her.

“It was just a little excessive to have that type of background and try to get a shot at this type of job,” Lt. Joseph Kucirek said.

Boys, 3 and 5, joy ride in their mother’s van

Rochester, Ind. For Chase and Chandler Bright, a recent weekend day began as usual with the brothers watching cartoons at their Indiana home. But things took a turn for the worse when they took their mother’s van for a joy ride.

The boys, ages 3 and 5, got the keys from their mother’s purse and took off, their family said. Both sat in the driver’s seat to steer the vehicle.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, No! This cannot be happening,’ ” said their mother, Heather Bright.

The youngsters said they wanted to visit their grandfather, according to a police report. The boys drove about 5 miles during their adventure, crossing a four-lane highway and driving through a fertilizer business’s fence before crashing into a pile of dirt.

They emerged without a scratch; the van had a flat tire and minor damage.

Heather Bright, who wondered how they reached the vehicle’s pedals, said her home is now “locked down like Fort Knox.”

“I’m going to have to sleep with the keys around my neck now,” she said.