The nation in brief

— QUOTE OF THE DAY

“In perfect candor,

your honor, I have no interest in wasting the taxpayers’ time or money.”

Former U.S. Rep.

Jesse Jackson Jr., who waived his right to a trial and pleaded

guilty to federal charges relating to the misuse of campaign funds

Article, this pageEx-senator admits son out of wedlock

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

  • Former Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico fathered a son outside his marriage more than 30 years ago with the then-24-year-old daughter of a Senate colleague, the retired Republican has acknowledged.

Domenici and Michelle Laxalt sent statements to the Albuquerque Journal identifying their son as Nevada lawyer Adam Paul Laxalt. They said they decided to go public with their decades-old secret because they believed someone was about to reveal the information in an attempt to smear Domenici.

“I deeply regret this and am very sorry for my behavior,” Domenici, 80, said in his statement, published in the Journal’s Wednesday editions.

“I hope New Mexicans will view that my accomplishments for my beloved state outweigh my personal transgression.”

Domenici, who declined to seek a seventh Senate term in 2008 after he was diagnosed with an incurable brain disorder, fathered eight children with his wife, Nancy.

Domenici and Michelle Laxalt agreed to keep his fatherhood secret because he and her father, Paul Laxalt of Nevada, were U.S. senators at the time she gave birth.

Plea is innocent

in bribery case

NEW ORLEANS - Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges he accepted more than $200,000 in bribes plus free trips and other gratuities in exchange for helping contractors secure millions of dollars in work for the city.

U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan set Nagin’s bail at $100,000 during his arraignment on charges that include bribery, wire fraud and filing false tax returns. She also set a preliminary trial date of April 29.

The charges against Nagin, 56, are the product of a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor.

Nagin served two terms as mayor. Term limits prevented a third.

Shootings probe: No signs of drugs

TUSTIN, Calif. - A sheriff’s official said Wednesday that investigators found no signs of illegal-drug use by a California gunman who shot three people to death in an unexplained rampage.

Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said no drugs were found in the Ladera Ranch home 20-year-old Ali Syed shared with his parents.

Authorities said Syed killed a 20-year-old woman in the home early Tuesday. He killed two more people during carjackings, injured at least three more and shot up cars zooming down a busy freeway interchange before committing suicide as police closed in.

A 12-gauge shotgun used in the killings belonged to Syed and was purchased by his father about a year ago, Amormino said.

The first victim was identified as Courtney Aoki, 20, of Buena Park. Beyond her name, officials said much about her was still a mystery, including why she was at Syed’s home.

Syed’s parents did not recognize her, said Lt. Paul Garaven, a Tustin police spokesman.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 02/21/2013

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