NATIONAL BRIEFS

WASHINGTON: U.S. accuses North Korea

The United States is calling North Korea a criminal state and saying the North is trying to steal South Korean TV signals of World Cup soccer matches. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Tuesday that North Korea could have a normal, lawful relationship with its neighbors. But he says it chooses instead to "try to steal or pirate a World Cup signal" for the matches in South Africa. The South Korean company that owns broadcast rights for the Korean peninsula questions how North Korea secured the footage. Asia's broadcasting union said it was providing North Korea with free live coverage of matches.

ILLINOIS: A crook, or naive?

Was Rod Blagojevich a crook? Or was he merely a bumbler, a goof - naive, trusting and played for a fool by cynical campaign fundraisers and political fixers? Some will have trouble swallowing the idea of Blagojevich, a veteran lawmaker who was elected Illinois governor twice, as the all-American chump. But a defense theme at his racketeering and fraud trial in Chicago is that he simply didn't know what was going on around him. Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to scheming to profit from his power to fill President Barack Obama's old Senate seat, and to running a racketeering scheme in the governor's office.

CALIFORNIA: Cardinal's stance on abuse

Cardinal Roger Mahony didn't call Los Angeles police in 1986 after a priest admitted to molesting two boys, and he didn't warn parishioners because the priest told him the children were illegal immigrants who had returned to Mexico, according to court documents released Tuesday. Mahony, 74, said he didn't take stronger action against the Rev. Michael Baker because he didn't know the victims' identities and because Baker told him the abuse happened outside the parish. Mahony testified that he also did not ask his staff to search for the boys but instead sent Baker to a residential center in New Mexico for treatment and later placed him on restricted ministry. The testimony released by the court marked the first time the cardinal gave a sworn deposition about his actions as head of the Los Angeles archdiocese. It was part of a sex abuse lawsuit that was recently settled for $2.2 million.

Money woes in slaying

A man who shot his wife to death and critically wounded his 3-year-old son before killing himself had money troubles and the family home was in foreclosure, Anaheim police said Tuesday. Money problems, and marital troubles that may have stemmed from Wayne Zickefoose's financial situation, were being investigated as possible motives in Sunday night's shootings, Sgt. Rick Martinez said. The 3-year-old boy, who hid behind a trash can in the backyard for more than 12 hours before he was rescued Monday, was in critical but stable condition with wounds to his hip, shoulder and torso, Martinez said. Zickefoose, 51, shot his wife Herminia, 39, and tried to kill his two sons, police said. A shot aimed at his 5-year-old brother missed.