Thousands turn out to pay respects to Ray Charles

Thousands turn out to payrespects to Ray Charles
LOS ANGELES -- With his trademark dark glasses on and a baby grand by his side, Ray Charles was mourned by thousands who walked a long red carpet past his open coffin.
Many of the more than 5,000 people who attended Thursday's public viewing for the Grammy-winning musician stopped outside to sign guestbooks or write a message on a large poster of Charles in performance.
The music was all Charles, who died last week at 73, singing such favorites as "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Born to Lose."
His initials were spelled out in a giant R and C made from white chrysanthemums and carnations, and one of Charles' colorful jackets rested on the empty piano bench.
Stevie Wonder, B.B. King and Willie Nelson were among the stars set to bid the blind musician goodbye at a private ceremony today at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles.
The Rev. Charles Peters, 71, of Gardena, attended the viewing with a robotic doll of Charles that moves and sings while the hands tap on a small piano.
"He made a lot of people happy," the Rev. Mr. Peters said of Charles, known for the cheerfulness of his songs such as "Georgia On My Mind" and "What'd I Say."
Peterson murder trial
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Prosecutors tried to establish a monetary motive for Scott Peterson to want his pregnant wife dead through testimony about valuable jewelry Laci Peterson inherited in the months before she disappeared.
Laci Peterson, with other family members, had inherited more than $100,000 worth of jewelry from her grandmother before she vanished Dec. 24, 2002, witnesses have testified. On Thursday, prosecutors in Scott Peterson's murder trial questioned a jewelry store clerk who said she remembered Laci Peterson bringing in various items to be appraised.
Mary Anna Felix testified that Laci Peterson told her it was Peterson's husband who wanted to know how much the jewelry was worth -- and when Felix estimated the jewelry to be worth more than $100,000, "she said that he would be very happy."
Felix also said Laci Peterson wore a diamond pendant, and told her she never took it off, even when she slept, for fear of losing it.
Prosecutors showed a picture of the pendant sitting atop a dresser in the Petersons' home. The photo was taken after Laci Peterson vanished.
Rangers spot climber'sbody on Mount Rainier
TACOMA, Wash. -- The body of a climber was spotted Thursday at the 9,000-foot level of Mount Rainier and a second climber was missing, a Mount Rainier National Park ranger said.
Rangers in a helicopter saw the climber, lying motionless and face-down on the 14,411-foot peak's north side, supervisory climbing ranger Mike Gauthier said Thursday night.
Rangers had been searching for two Montana men, in their 20s, who had been expected back Monday from a climb begun last Friday up the mountain's dangerous Liberty Ridge route.
Heavy snowfall and winds of more than 100 miles per hour pummeled the mountain all weekend, Gauthier said, destroying tents at some of the high camps. Avalanche danger was extreme.
The Montana climbers were described as experienced. One was 29, the other was described only as in his 20s, the ranger said.
Rangers were unable to reach the body Thursday but planned to fly to the site early today to check the body and search for the missing man, Gauthier said.
Bush, Florida officialsrestore felons' rights
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Thousands of ex-felons will be able to vote, serve on juries and take a job with state-licensed firms after having their civil rights restored by Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet, sitting as Florida's clemency board.
Bush announced Thursday that state officials completed a review this week of 125,000 cases included in a lawsuit filed against the state on behalf of felons released from prison between 1992 and 2001.
About 22,000 of them were found to be eligible to have their rights automatically restored. Of those, about 11,000 have already regained their privileges.
Of the remaining 103,000, about half probably will be able to get their rights restored if they go through a hearing process, although it's not clear how many will seek to do so.
Many of the remaining 50,000 or so won't be eligible to have their rights restored for a variety of reasons.
"Some are back in prison, some have committed other crimes that make it such that they can't get their rights back," Bush said. Many others may have died or moved out of state.
Associated Press