NATIONAL BRIEFS

CALIFORNIA

Raúl's daughter on exiles

The daughter of President Raúl Castro had some blunt words for Cuban-Americans who support economic and travel restrictions between the United States and Cuba, saying "a Cuban Mafia" made up of émigrés "who have no scruples" are holding the American people hostage. Mariela Castro was in San Francisco on Wednesday for a visit devoted largely to meeting with gay and transgender rights advocates and attending an academic conference where she will chair a panel on sexuality. She is an outspoken gay rights advocate in Cuba. She made the comments about exiles who oppose her father's regime and that of her uncle, former President Fidel Castro,through a translator.

3 teens accused of plot

Chris Stalinski heard screams and couldn't imagine what was happening in the mobile home next door, where a mother lived with her teen daughter. When Stalinski learned what law enforcement officials unraveled, it was hard to comprehend: The mother's 13-year-old daughter and two friends allegedly tried to kill her in her bed. Law enforcement officials now suspect it was the third time in a matter of hours the two girls and a boy had tried to kill the mother, possibly because she was strict with a curfew and critical of the girl's friends. "It was just because of problems at home," sheriff's Deputy Osvaldo Pelayes said. The mother did not seek medical attention after the other attacks, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Rose. The mother acknowledged having a troubled relationship with her daughter.

NORTH CAROLINA: Edwards jury's 4th day

John Edwards tried to make eye contact with each juror as they filed into the courtroom day before heading home after a fourth day of deliberations without a verdict in his campaign finance trial. A former trial lawyer, Edwards is familiar with the old courtroom adage that jurors who return the defendant's gaze with a quick smile or a nod may be leaning toward acquittal, whereas those who turn away could be signaling guilt.