NATIONAL BRIEFS

WASHINGTON: Day laborer law rejected

The U.S. Supreme Court turned down an appeal by the City of Redondo Beach, Calif., seeking reinstatement of its ordinance that prevented day laborers from gathering on street corners and soliciting work from passing drivers. The law allowed police to arrest men seen motioning to passing motorists and allegedly causing traffic problems. Lawyers for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Los Angeles had sued the city on behalf of two groups of day laborers. Lawyers for Redondo Beach argued that cities should have the authority to regulate persons who use its sidewalks. The high court turned down the appeal without comment.

TEXAS: Man guilty in abduction

A man who abducted his former neighbor and tortured the woman while holding her captive for nearly two weeks was convicted Tuesday in Weatherford. Jeffrey Allan Maxwell, 59, faces up to life in prison after being found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated sexual assault. The victim testified that Maxwell abducted her from her rural home at gunpoint March 1 after beating and shackling her. Then he drove 100 miles away to his Corsicana house, 50 miles south of Dallas. She was rescued 12 days later when authorities went to question him about her disappearance after her house burned down.

Children found tied down

Authorities said Tuesday they removed 11 children from a crowded home where a registered sex offender lives after they found eight confined in a small, dark bedroom with restraints tying some to their beds. Along with the children, 10 adults were living in the one-story, 1,700-square-foot home in Dayton, about 30 miles northeast of Houston. A month after a raid on the house, authorities are still trying to determine if the children are related and why they were there. They ranged in age from 5 months to 11 years. The adults told investigators they tied the children when they slept "for safety." An investigator noted that none of the adults said they saw anything wrong with the arrangement.