NATIONAL BRIEFS

WILDFIRES: A call to restore forests

Decades of vigorous fire suppression and the waning of the timber industry over environmental concerns has left forests a tangled, overgrown mess, subject to the kind of super-fires now consuming homes and millions of acres. U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell renewed a call to restore forests to a more natural state, in which fire was a part of the landscape and in many instances was less destructive. In southern New Mexico, a lightning-sparked fire raced across more than 34,000 acres in three days, ruining or damaging 224 homes and other structures in mountains outside the resort community of Ruidoso. To the north, smoke from a Colorado fire was blowing into southeastern Wyoming and smudging skies above Cheyenne. That blaze, 15 miles west of Fort Collins, has burned 73 square miles, destroyed 100 structures and forced hundreds out of their homes.

TEXAS: 'Stand-ground' defense fails

A jury convicted a man Wednesday of murdering his neighbor two years ago, rejecting his claim that he was within his rights to fatally shoot the man under Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law. Raul Rodriguez, 47, faces up to life in prison for the killing of Kelly Danaher, 36. Rodriguez, a retired Houston-area firefighter, was angry about noise coming from Danaher's home during a birthday party. In a 22-minute video he recorded, Rodriguez can be heard telling a police dispatcher "my life is in danger and "these people are going to go try and kill me." He then said "I'm standing my ground here," and shot the elementary schoolteacher.

ALABAMA: Suspect to be arraigned

Desmonte Leonard, 22, suspected in a triple fatal shooting near Auburn University, was to appear in court Thursday in Opelika for arraignment on three capital murder charges. Leonard turned himself in Tuesday. The dead included two former Auburn football players.