By James B. Kelleher

(Reuters) – Actor George Lindsey, who played bumbling Goober Pyle on the 1960s TV series “The Andy Griffith Show,” died on Sunday. He was 83.

Lindsey died in Nashville, Tennessee, after a brief illness, according to a statement from the Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – An Iowa man was convicted on Friday of mailing pipe bombs and threatening letters to investment companies in a failed bid to get the firms to artificially drive up the value of certain stocks.

A jury in federal court in Chicago found John Tomkins, a 47-year-old machinist from Dubuque, guilty of one count of using a destructive device while mailing a threatening communication, two counts of possessing an unregistered destructive device, and nine counts of mailing a threatening communication.

By James B. Kelleher

(Reuters) – Kentucky’s top judge announced plans on Wednesday to temporarily shut down the state’s court system to cope with what he characterized as “deep cuts” in the judiciary’s budget.

John Minton Jr., the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, said 3,700 workers, including more than 400 judges and circuit court clerks, would be furloughed without pay for three days between August and October, forcing courthouses statewide to close.

CHICAGO, April 2 (Reuters) – Last month was the warmest
March on record across half of the United States with
summer-like temperatures providing some welcome news to the
country’s farmers and clothing retailers, a weather expert said
on Monday.

Forecasters predicted April could be another
warmer-than-normal month, though they said temperatures were
likely to fluctuate in a more seasonal pattern in the first half
of the month and that fewer records would be shattered.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Two members of the Midwest militia group Hutaree pleaded guilty to charges of possessing machine guns and temporarily walked out of jail on Thursday, two days after a judge rebuked prosecutors and dismissed more serious charges that the Hutaree plotted to attack the U.S. government.

David Brian Stone Sr., the leader of the militia and his son Joshua Stone, each pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun before Judge Victoria Roberts in federal court in Detroit.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Two days after a federal judge dismissed a massive conspiracy case charging seven members of a Midwest militia group with plotting to wage war against the U.S. government, the group’s leader and one of his sons pleaded guilty Thursday to one weapons charge each. David Brian Stone Sr., the leader of the group called the Hutaree, and his son Joshua Stone each pleaded guilty before Judge Victoria Roberts in federal court in Detroit to possession of a machine gun.

The seven were arrested two years ago this week following a long undercover operation by the FBI and charged with plotting a violent revolt against the U.S. government using weapons of mass destruction.

DETROIT (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed conspiracy charges against seven members of a U.S. militia group known as the Hutaree, saying prosecutors failed to prove that they were doing more than talking about their hatred of the government.

The seven were accused of plotting to kill law enforcement officers as a way to incite a wider rebellion against the U.S. government.

DETROIT (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday acquitted seven members of a U.S. Midwestern militia group of all major sedition and conspiracy charges against them, two years after the FBI began arresting them following a long undercover surveillance operation.

The seven, members of a group known as the Hutaree, were accused of plotting to kill law enforcement officers as a way to incite a wider rebellion against the U.S. government.

By James B. Kelleher

(Reuters) – Kentucky’s Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction on Thursday of a man accused of killing his girlfriend, saying trial testimony from a woman who had once seen him shoot a toy gremlin between the eyes had prejudiced the jury against him.

Richard Gabbard was convicted of wanton murder in 2007 for the shooting death of his long-time girlfriend, Michelle Krystofik, the previous year. Gabbard admitted he shot Krystofik but said it was an accident that occurred while he was cleaning his gun.

By James B. Kelleher and Brendan O’Brien

(Reuters) – The unseasonably warm weather giving many residents an early taste of summer has raised the danger of wildfires in some northern parts of the country where such fires are unusual, officials warned on Wednesday.

In Wisconsin, where several grassfires over the past week claimed hundreds of acres and were blamed for two deaths, the Department of Natural Resources issued a high and very high fire danger alert for half the state.