Texas actress has appeal dealing with ricin letters sent to Obama, Bloomberg

TODAYShannon to Richardson and her husband, Nathanial RichardsonAn actress of Texas accused of sending letters ricin cords Nueva York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors, according to federal court documents.Shannon Richardson, 36, whose career included minor television roles, had tried to blame her husband for sending letters in May that test positive for the presence of ricin, according to prosecutors.The agreement was presented Thursday at the District Court of United States for the Eastern District of Texas. Richardson's Attorney, Tonda Curry, could not immediately reached is to detail the terms of the agreement of guilt.Richardson was detained in June and a federal grand jury accused in an indictment of three threads to send letters to Obama, Bloomberg and Mark Glaze, the director of mayors against illegal guns, a group founded by Bloomberg that lobbies for stricter gun laws.Ricin, a highly toxic substance, is found naturally in Castor seeds, but it takes a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exhibition that even a small amount can be fatal and there is no known antidote exists.The new Boston, Texas, woman is accused of a charge of making a threat against the President of the United States and two counts of mailing threatening communications. He faces up to five years in prison each if convicted.They read the cards, in part: "will have to kill me to my family and before you get my weapons. Nobody wants to come to my house soar in the face, "according to court documents.-Reuters

Rod Blagojevich corruption appeal to be heard by US appeals court

a  Charles Rex Arbogast / AP fileFormer Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich pictured in 2012 on his way to prison in Colorado.By M. Alex Johnson, Staff Writer, NBC NewsThe case of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be back in court next month after a federal appeals court agreed Friday to hear arguments over whether to toss out his 2011 corruption conviction.In a brief ruling filed Friday in 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Chicago, the court set Dec. 13 for oral arguments on Blagojevich's contention that it should overturn his 14-year sentence to a federal penitentiary in Englewood, Colo.The mop-haired former politician has argued that he was simply engaging in standard political horse-trading when he was recorded wheeling and dealing for money and possibly a Cabinet position in return for appointing Valerie Jarrett to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate in 2008."It's a f---ing valuable thing," he was heard saying in a recording of a phone call played in court. "You just don't give it away for nothing." "If I don't get what I want ... I'll just take the Senate seat myself," he was recorded saying.Neither Jarrett — a senior adviser in the Obama White House — nor Obama have been accused of wrongdoing.Blagojevich eventually ended up appointing Roland Burris. After a legal battle, the appointment was upheld, and Burris served a little less than two years in the Senate. Blagojevich was impeached and later prosecuted.In an exhaustively detailed 169-page filing opposing Blagojevich's motion (PDF), Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Riggs Bonamici wrote that the "evidence was overwhelming" that Blagojevich broke the law by seeking to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder.She also noted that evidence at Blagojevich's trial showed that he had also been offered $1.5 million in campaign contributions from supporters of then-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., if he would appoint Jackson to Obama's seat. "Blagojevich led, organized, and directed substantially more than five government and fundraising employees and outside consultants, whom he used to assist him in exchanging official acts for personal benefits," Bonamici wrote.Related:Former Illinois Gov. Blagojevich appeals corruption conviction, sentence