Updated at 3:56 p.m. ET: John Edwards was a bad husband who lied to his family, but he’s not a criminal, his lawyer told jurors Thursday as the former presidential candidate’s corruption trial wrapped up.

“As many are his moral wrongs,” none of Edwards’ misdeeds was “a legal
one,” lead defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in his closing argument.
Drawing a comparison with the chief prosecution witness, Lowell said:
“John’s conduct is shameful, but it’s human. Andrew Young’s lies on the
stand and the government sponsoring those lies is worse.”

Updated at 9:40 a.m. ET: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Sunday for “friends of democratic Syria” to unite and rally against President Bashar Assad’s regime, previewing the possible formation of a formal group of likeminded nations to coordinate assistance to the Syrian opposition.

Speaking in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia a day after Russia and China blocked U.N. Security Council action on Syria, Clinton said the international community had a duty to halt ongoing bloodshed and promote a political transition that would see Assad step down. She said the “friends of Syria” should work together to promote those ends.

Clinton was bluntly critical of Saturday’s veto by Russia and China at the United Nations blocking action against the continuing violence in Syria. “What happened yesterday at the United Nations was a travesty,” she said.

KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — A Marine accused of hazing a colleague who later committed suicide in Afghanistan was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail and a reduction in rank.

Navy Capt. Carrie Stephens, the judge in Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby’s special court-martial, handed down the sentence after Jacoby pleaded guilty to assault.

Jacoby’s rank will be reduced by one grade to private first class.

Two other Marines have also been accused of hazing Lew and face courts-martial.

Jacoby admitted he punched and kicked Lance Cpl. Harry Lew. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors withdrew charges that Jacoby humiliated and threatened Lew.

LAGOS, Nigeria — Soldiers have barricaded key roads in Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos as the president offered a concession to halt fuel price protests that he said were being stoked by provocateurs seeking anarchy.

Troops and police also blocked entrances to protest venues in Nigeria’s second-largest city of Kano on Monday, including a park near a university and a square in the city center.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Coca-Cola Co. acknowledged Thursday it was the company that alerted federal regulators about low levels of fungicide in its own orange juice and in competitors’ juice, prompting juice prices to rise and increased government testing for the residue.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have said orange juice is safe to drink and the levels found are below levels of concern.

WASHINGTON — When Representative Ed Pastor was first elected to Congress two decades ago, he was comfortably ensconced in the middle class. Mr. Pastor, a Democrat from Arizona, held $100,000 or so in savings accounts in the mid-1990s and had a retirement pension, but like many Americans, he also owed the banks nearly as much in loans.

Today, Mr. Pastor, a miner’s son and a former high school teacher, is a member of a not-so-exclusive club: Capitol Hill millionaires. That group has grown in recent years to include nearly half of all members of Congress — 250 in all — and the wealth gap between lawmakers and their constituents appears to be growing quickly, even as Congress debates unemployment benefits, possible cuts in food stamps and a “millionaire’s tax.”

(CNN) — As North Koreans face an uncertain future without Kim Jong Il, the world’s attention now turns to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, whom the ruling Workers’ Party has dubbed the “great successor.”

“Kim Jong Un’s leadership provides a sure guarantee for creditably carrying to completion the revolutionary cause … through generations,” party said .

But little is known about the deceased leader’s youngest son. Even his age is uncertain to most of the outside world: he is believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s.

Updated at 4 p.m. ET: The government’s transportation safety experts recommended Tuesday to ban all American drivers from using portable electronic devices — including cell phones, even if you use a hands-free device.

The recommendation, which isn’t binding but which is likely to influence the decisions of Congress and state legislatures in writing new safety laws, makes only two exceptions: You could still use GPS navigation devices, and you could use your cell phone in an emergency.

“No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life,” Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference in Washington.

A Seattle woman who is receiving welfare assistance from Washington state also happens to live in a waterfront house on Lake Washington worth more than a million dollars.

Federal agents raided the home this weekend but have not released the woman or her husband’s name because they have not officially been charged with a crime.

However, federal documents obtained by KING 5 News show the couple currently receives more than $1,200 a month in public housing vouchers, plus state and government disability checks and food stamps. They have been receiving the benefits since 2003.

The 2,500 square-foot home, which includes gardens and a boat dock, is valued at $1.2 million. And even though the couple has been receiving the benefits for nearly 10 years, records show that they accurately listed the address of their current home when applying for the state and federal benefits.