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the detonation of an explosive device.
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In surprise move, woman charged in lover's slaying in Arizona testifies in murder trial
PHOENIX (AP) -- A soft-spoken and calm Jodi Arias laid out the story of her life in painstaking detail, beginning with the day she killed her lover.
She went on to recount a series of tumultuous -- and sometimes bizarre -- events from her upbringing: An abusive childhood at the hands of her parents. A high school boyfriend who believed in vampires and tried to strangle her. Dropping out of high school to support herself. A belief in the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. Deceit, lies, sex and naοvetι.
"Did you kill Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008?" asked her defense attorney Kirk Nurmi.
"Yes I did," Arias replied softly. "He attacked me and I defended myself."
Arias took the witness stand Monday in a surprise move aimed at bolstering her case that the killing was self-defense. She told jurors of her childhood and explained the path that brought her to Alexander's home on the day she killed him.
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Q&A: What's the deal with federal charges against Standard & Poor's and the financial crisis?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. government is readying civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services for improperly giving high ratings to toxic mortgage bonds before the financial crisis, the company says.
It would be the government's first big enforcement action related to a credit rating agency's actions in the lead-up to the 2008 crisis. S&P on Monday denied any wrongdoing and said any lawsuit would be without merit.
So what's the big deal? And what did the bond-analysis shops have to do with the financial crisis?
Here are some questions and answers about the expected charges against Standard & Poor's:
Q: The government brings civil charges against financial companies all the time. What's so important about this case?
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