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In the Nation

Odor described in Anthony's car

ORLANDO, Fla. - The rancor among lawyers heated up Friday as the prosecution introduced key testimony and evidence during the fourth day of testimony in the murder trial of a Florida woman accused of killing her daughter.

The manager of a towing yard where Casey Anthony's car was kept for more than two weeks during the summer of 2008 testified that he smelled an odor coming from her car consistent with decomposing bodies he had smelled in the past.

Simon Birch was easily the strongest prosecution witness to date and went largely unchallenged under defense cross-examination. The state also showed a series of videos of Anthony going on a shopping spree over several days in late June and early July 2008.

Prosecutors are portraying Anthony as carefree and cheerful in the weeks after the child, Caylee, was last seen in June 2008, hanging out with friends and hitting the clubs. Caylee Anthony was reported missing a month later, and her remains were found that December. Anthony, 25, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

- AP

Blagojevich tells of political scrum

CHICAGO - Rod Blagojevich, testifying Friday for a second day, switched his focus from a virtual monologue about his wholesome youth to describing a rough-and-tumble political world where even his best friends were scheming behind his back.

A less-animated Blagojevich offered details to jurors in his corruption retrial about the legislative process and the necessity of political fund-raising. Gone were the gestures, laughs, and tears that punctuated his first-day testimony about his upbringing, meeting his wife, and his early career.

Blagojevich, 54, once again did not get to the most explosive allegation - that he tried to sell or trade President Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or a top job. He is set to return to the stand Tuesday after the Memorial Day holiday, and his attorneys said they might not address the Senate seat charge until late next week.

- AP

Winter ignores calendar in West

DENVER - Ski resorts are bustling with activity. A key highway into Yellowstone is closed because parts of the road have seen more than 25 feet of snow. And campgrounds are feverishly removing snow from campsites to clear the way for visitors.

Welcome to Memorial Day weekend in much of the West. The traditional kickoff of the summer season will have a decidedly wintry feel in the Rocky Mountains, as well as California's Sierra Nevada, because of a lingering record snowfall. Rocky Mountain National Park's popular Trail Ridge Road is closed because of 17-foot snow drifts.

Epic snowpack in parts of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and California is forcing many tourists to abandon the annual rites of launching their summer holidays with a camping trip. Others plan to take advantage of prolonged skiing and snowshoeing this strange spring. - AP