NATION BRIEFS

MICHIGAN/Juror punished for Facebook post

A Detroit-area woman who was removed from a jury for commenting about the ongoing case on Facebook has a longer writing task ahead: a five-page essay about the constitutional right to a fair trial. A judge ordered the essay Thursday for Hadley Jons, three weeks after she wrote on Facebook that it was "gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're GUILTY." The trial, however, wasn't over. The post was discovered by the defense team Aug. 11 - before the defense had even started its case - and Jons was removed from the jury the next day. Jons must submit an essay about the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and pay a $250 fine. Jons was a juror in a criminal case against Leann Etchison, who was charged with resisting arrest. She was eventually found guilty.

HONOLULU/6 accused in forced labor

Federal authorities are accusing six people of luring 400 laborers from Thailand to the United States and forcing them to work in what the FBI calls the largest human-trafficking case ever charged in U.S. history. The indictment unsealed Thursday charges six people in a scheme involving Los Angeles-based recruiting company Global Horizons Manpower Inc. They each face maximum sentences ranging from 10 years to 70 years in prison. The indictment alleges four Global Horizons executives and two Thailand-based recruiters lured the workers with false promises of lucrative jobs and kept them working with threats of economic harm.

CALIFORNIA/Court won't force Prop 8 appeal

A California court has refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a ruling that overturned the state's gay marriage ban. The 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento on Wednesday denied a conservative legal group's request to force the officials to defend Proposition 8 in court. The court did not give a reason why it turned down the request by the Pacific Justice Institute. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional last month.

NATIONWIDE/Bone drugs tied to cancer risk

People who take many bone-strengthening drugs for several years may have a slightly higher risk of esophageal cancer, a new study says. British researchers analyzed the records of nearly 3,000 people with esophageal cancer and compared each case to five other similar people who didn't have the disease. The paper did not show the osteoporosis drugs caused cancer. Previous studies have been divided over whether the risk is real.