THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Former gov. asks for null conviction By Michael Tarm ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER CHICAGO Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has asked a judge to nullify the lone conviction in his mostly deadlocked corrup tion trial, saying the jury's deci sion was underpinned by errors at trial and misconduct by prose cutors. Trial Judge James Zagel should override jurors' verdict and acquit Blagojevich of lying to the FBI or set it aside and try him again on that charge, defense attorneys said in a motion filed at the U.S. District Court in Chicago. "The fact is that the govern ment knew and ln•►ows that Blagojevich was not lying to the FBI," says the motion, filed late Monday. "The conviction in this case is not legally sound." If Zagel refuses to toss the con viction which many legal observers say is likely then the multiple arguments in the filing could lay the groundwork for any appeal to a higher court. Blagojevich's trial lasted two and a half months. At its end, jurors convicted the impeached governor on just one Eiffel Tower bomb threat reportedly false alarm By Angela Doland ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER PARIS Paris' Eiffel Tower and its immediate surroundings were evacuated Tuesday evening after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat, but a police search turned up nothing suspi cious, French media reported. Officials evacuated about 2,000 people and combed through the 324-meter (1,063-foot) tower, a Paris police spokesman said. By midnight, people were walking around and riding bikes under neath France's most popular tourist spot again. The tower itself, which had 6.6 million visi tors last year, usually closes at 11 p.m. Media reported that the scare was a false alarm. Paris police did not immediately return calls seek ing information. French media also said parts of Food On The Go Pita Pit Canyon Pizza Ginger Best Pizza Bell's Greek Pizza Papa Johns Best Italian Rote i Pizza Mario & Lqigis Best Asian Food Unc e Chen's Fuji & Jade Garden Best Sushi Fuji & Ja • e e Maki Yaki Best Subs/Hoagies Boots Sub Shop Are U Hungry of 24 counts against him. Prosecutors told the judge they will try Blagojevich again on the deadlocked charges, a retrial that is expected to start in January. Among the charges jurors couldn't agree on was that the twice-elected governor attempt ed to sell or trade an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat President Barack Obama was vacating in exchange for a lucrative job or campaign donation. The charge of lying to the FBI was considered the least serious of them all, carrying a prison sen tence of up to five years. Other charges, including racketeering, could result in a 20-year prison term. Blagojevich, 53, has denied any wrongdoing. Also in the filing, Blagojevich's attorneys allude to his financial straits, - saying a legal fund he drew on has run dry. One conse quence, they claim, is that he can't even foot the bill to secure all official trial transcripts ren dering his lawyers' work more dif ficult. But the primary focus of the fil ing is the sole conviction. Prosecutors accused Blagojevich of lying in a March 2005 FBI interview during his ini- a second tourist hub the Saint- Michel subway station near Notre Dame Cathedral were briefly evacuated following a similar threat. The station was the target of a terrorist attack in 1995 that killed eight and injured scores of people. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the threats. But it comes after the head of France's counterespionage agency was quoted this weekend as saying that the risk of a terror ist attack on French soil has never been higher. Bernard Squarcini told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper that France's history as a colonial master in North Africa, its military presence in Afghanistan and a bill aimed at banning burqa-style Muslim veils in public all make the country a prime target for certain radical Islamist groups. Earlier Tuesday, the ban on Man rea Pasta Best Late Ni •ht Fwd arden NATION & WORLD Associated Press photo Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich talks to the media in Chicago after a jury found him guilty of one count of lying to fed eral agents. tial term as governor first when he asserted he kept a "fire wall" between political cam paigns and government work; and second when he insisted he did not "track" campaign contri butions. Jurors only agreed he lied about not tracking donations. But the motion argues they should have been told they had to agree on both before they could convict on the single count of lying. It also says the meaning of `track,' in the context of the charge, was unclear face-covering Islamic veils passed its final hurdle in parliament, but there was no immediate indica tion the threats were linked to the proposed ban. The proposal drew the indigna tion of the No. 2 of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, who said the drive to ban the veil amounted to discrimination against Muslim women. Bomb threats are frequent in Paris, a city that has also experi enced terrorism firsthand. Algerian Islamic insurgents bombed the Saint-Michel station on July 25, 1995. That attack killed eight people and injured 150. It was the first attack in a cam paign of violence that terrorized Paris subway commuters. Gas cooking canisters loaded with nails, sometimes hidden in garbage cans, were used in many of the bombings. S Best Restaurants for 2009 Fastest Deliver Wings Over Happy Valley Uncle Chen's Best Ta eout Wings Over Happy Fresh Harve - si kafe Bet Di Rote i Pizza %m Chili's Grill Best Deliver Wings Over Happy Uncle Chen's Wings Over appy Va Are U Hungry Fastest Asian Deliver Unc e C en's Hunan Wok Best Ba n Wings Over Happy Va Canyon Pizza Best Wings Wings Over Happy Valley Canyon Wings 4177 '11;1 For Your Buck Strong winds could fan flames in Colo. wildfire By Dan Elliott ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER LOVELAND, Colo. Firefighters were trying to gain ground on a wildfire in the north ern Colorado foothills Tuesday ahead of strong winds expected to move in, potentially spreading the flames. The fire, the second major blaze to break out on the Front Range in a week, has burned nearly 1,000 acres, or about 1 1 / 2 square miles, of tinder-dry grass and trees in steep terrain just west of Loveland. The fire, which has destroyed two homes, was 20 percent con tained. Terry Krasko, a spokesman for the team coordi nating more than 400 firefighters, said the containment figure is expected to be higher by the end of the day. "The fire's looking very, very good," Krasko said. Earlier, incident team manag er Jim Thomas said the next 36 hours are pivotal for crews to make headway because of the wind in the forecast. Thomas said the fire wasn't moving toward populated areas but gusts of up to 20 mph were possi ble Tuesday and winds of up to 28 Paris' Eiffel Tower and its immediate surroundings were evacuated Tuesday evening after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat. alley Best Cheesesteaks Bra ey's Stea s & Hoagies Boots Sub Shop alley .. ~t WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010 I 7 mph were expected Wednesday "We're going to go out and pound on it," said Thomas, who also led the fight against a wild fire near Boulder last week that destroyed at least 166 homes. The northern Colorado fire prompted the evacuation of a four-mile radius, but some resi dents were being allowed into the evacuation area Tuesday to check on their homes, escorted by sheriff's deputies. Sheriff's officials said they want the residents to spend only about 30 minutes in their homes before they are escorted out again. Officials said earlier they expected some people would stay, even if the return was supposed to be temporary. It wasn't clear what deputies would do if anyone resisted leaving. Authorities don't know exactly how many homes and residents are in the evacuation area. The Red Cross said 76 evacuees have registered with the agency. Sheriff's investigators believe the fire was started Sunday by two people burning leaves and tree branches at a home. They plan to turn their findings over to prose cutors to determine whether criminal charges should be filed. 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