NATIONAL BRIEFS

FLORIDA: Teen convicted of murder try

Wayne Treacy, 17, was convicted of attempted murder Monday in a vicious kicking and stomping attack on Josie Lou Ratley, then 15, outside a middle school in 2010, with the jury rejecting his claims of insanity. Treacy could get up to 50 years in prison for the conviction of attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, the steel-toed boots he used to nearly crush the girl's skull. The crux of the case was whether jurors would buy Treacy's defense that he was not responsible because he suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder since his brother's suicide a few months before. The March 2010 attack happened after Ratley sent Treacy a taunting text message about his brother. Experts agreed Treacy has PTSD, but psychiatrists testified that he knew right from wrong and understood the consequences of his actions.

TEXAS: Trial begins in AF sex scandal

The initial flirtations that Staff Sgt. Luis Walker directed at the women he trained at Lackland Air Force Base grew into something more sinister, military officials say: threats and intimidation that eventually led to rape. Walker's court-martial, resulting from a widening sex scandal at the San Antonio base, began Monday. He is among 12 instructors at Lackland being investigated in a scandal that has rocked one of the nation's busiest military training centers. Thirty-one female trainees have been identified as victims. Ten recruits Walker is accused of either sexually assaulting or engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with are expected to testify. Walker faces 28 counts, including rape, aggravated sexual contact and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. He could get up to life in prison and a dishonorable discharge, if convicted.

IOWA: Draining lake for 2 missing girls

Authorities began draining a lake Monday in the search for two girls whose bicycles were found nearby, after a weekend sweep of the area that drew hundreds of volunteers failed to produce significant leads. Elizabeth Collins, 8, and her cousin, Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, were last reported seen Friday leaving their grandmother's house. The bicycles and Elizabeth's purse were found that day near a bike trail at the edge of Meyers Lake in Evansdale.