In the News

Behl task force discovers body in Mathews County

A Richmond Police task force investigating VCU student Taylor Behl’s disappearance Wednesday found the remains of an unidentified body in a rural county about 50 miles east of Richmond. The remains of a body were discovered in a shallow grave behind a barn in Mathews County.

The area was identified in pictures that were seized earlier in the investigation.

Although Richmond courts summoned a grand jury Wednesday morning, early reports suggest that the tip leading to the body did not come from the hearings.

Republicans, Democrats alike conflicted over Miers nomination to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON-President Bush’s decision to make White House counsel Harriet Miers his second Supreme Court nominee is causing some strange friction on Capitol Hill, with some Republicans unsure about her conservative credentials and some Democrats seemingly supporting her.

The mixed signals create some uncertainty about how Miers will be received in the Senate as the Judiciary Committee prepares for another round of confirmation hearings before the end of the year.

Bush portrayed Miers, who never has been a judge, as a strict constructionist, someone who “will strictly interpret our Constitution and laws.”

“She will not legislate from the bench,” the president said as the 60-year-old former private attorney stood with him in the Oval Office.

Miers immediately began visiting senators in the Capitol, meeting with Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, all of whom had words of praise for her.

Democrats said Miers, with no judicial record, will need to answer more questions than John Roberts did during his confirmation hearing.

Texas grand jury indicts Rep. Tom DeLay

on money laundering charges

AUSTIN, Texas-Rep. Tom DeLay was indicted for a second time in less than a week by a Texas grand jury looking into campaign contributions, a development the former U.S. House majority leader called “an abomination of justice.”

The latest indictment, for one count of conspiring to launder money and one count of money laundering, was brought hours after DeLay’s lawyers attacked on technical grounds another indictment handed down last week.

District Attorney Ronnie Earle did not return repeated phone calls from The Associated Press, but legal experts say the new charges from the Democratic prosecutor were likely filed to head off a potential problem with the previous charge.

It was unclear when DeLay would appear in court to face the new charges.

DeLay, 58, is the highest-ranking member of Congress to face criminal prosecution. The initial charge, conspiracy to violate the election code, forced DeLay to step down from his GOP leadership post last week.

If convicted, the money laundering charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison. The charge of conspiracy to launder money is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The initial conspiracy charge carries a punishment of up to two years.