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Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, right, arrives at federal court with his attorney, Henry Asbill, left, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Richmond, Va.  The defense continues to present it's case in the McDonnell's corruption case.
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, right, arrives at federal court with his attorney, Henry Asbill, left, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Richmond, Va. The defense continues to present it's case in the McDonnell's corruption case.

McDonnell testifies in corruption trial

RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell took the stand Wednesday in his own defense, testifying at his public corruption trial about his sometimes volatile relationship with his wife, Maureen.

McDonnell, a Republican, said he got an inkling the day after his 2009 victory that his wife had reservations about being first lady.

"I could tell she was not as happy as I was about the result," he testified on the fourth day of his defense.

At one point, she was upset and yelling at him, but he reassured her that she would do a good job, he said.

The McDonnells are accused of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for using their office to promote his tobacco-based supplement, Anatabloc. The former governor's lawyers have suggested that Maureen McDonnell acted largely on her own to promote Anatabloc.

Defense lawyers say the McDonnells sought to promote all sorts of Virginia-based businesses, including Star Scientific, at every opportunity as part of an economic development agenda. Prosecutors say the McDonnells' special treatment of Williams' company included setting up meetings for him and hosting an event at the mansion.

Perry waives hearing, pleads innocent

AUSTIN, Texas -- Republican Gov. Rick Perry has formally pleaded innocent to criminal charges of leveraging his power to try to oust a Democratic district attorney convicted of drunken driving, according to court documents obtained Wednesday.

The governor, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, entered his plea in a Travis County court filing. He also waived an arraignment that had been set for Friday.

The waiver was no surprise given that Perry has signaled no intention of letting the felony charges interrupt a busy travel schedule to court GOP voters elsewhere. Perry was set to discuss immigration at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington today, followed by a two-day stop in New Hampshire.

Perry's plea was filed with the court late Tuesday, shortly after the longest-serving governor in Texas history was fingerprinted and had his mug shot taken. He tweeted a picture of himself stopping for vanilla ice cream on the way back from his booking.

Sullivan is GOP's Senate pick in Alaska

FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- A Republican former state attorney general, Dan Sullivan, defeated two challengers in Tuesday's primary election, including a candidate supported by the Tea Party, and will face Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat, in November in a closely watched race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Sullivan was backed by national political groups that ran ads attacking Begich and mostly ignoring the other contenders in the primary race: Joe Miller, a Tea Party favorite who came in second, and the state's lieutenant governor, Mead Treadwell, who came in a distant third.

Begich's outside backers in turn mostly went after Sullivan, with an exchange of salvos that set the template for the battle now heading toward the general election in November.

With most of the votes counted, Sullivan had about 40 percent of the ballots cast, to 32 percent for Miller and 25 percent for Treadwell, who conceded a few hours after the polls closed. Miller won the U.S. Senate primary in 2010 against Sen. Lisa Murkowski but lost to her in the general election after she ran a write-in campaign.

Evacuation order lifted in California fire

KERNVILLE, Calif. -- A wildfire northeast of Bakersfield burning in steep terrain destroyed eight homes and 10 other structures, authorities said, but residents of some 200 homes under evacuation orders were allowed to return home Wednesday evening.

The blaze near Lake Isabella was 15 percent contained after scorching about 5 square miles, Kern County Fire Capt. Derek Tisinger said. Firefighters working in drought conditions continued building containment lines after stopping the spread of the flames, but danger remained.

"There's still huge potential here, especially with the dry weather," Tisinger said. "We're not out of the woods yet."

However, all evacuation orders and road closures were canceled at 4 p.m. Wednesday, the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement.

The cause of the fire about 50 miles northeast of Bakersfield was under investigation.

To the north, the remaining residents evacuated because of a wildfire near Yosemite National Park were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday.

A Section on 08/21/2014

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