Nation briefs 3/29/16

Supreme Court nixes Blagojevich appeal

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday rejected former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's appeal of his corruption convictions that included his attempt to sell the vacant Senate seat once occupied by President Barack Obama. The justices let stand an appeals court ruling that found Blagojevich crossed the line when he sought money in exchange for naming someone to fill the seat. Blagojevich, 59, is serving a 14-year sentence at a federal prison in Colorado. A federal appeals court last year threw out five of his 18 convictions, and Blagojevich was hoping the Supreme Court would consider tossing the rest. His lawyers argued in an 83-page November filing the line between the legal and illegal trading of political favors has become blurred, potentially leaving politicians everywhere subject to prosecution.

Volcano erupts in southwest Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A remote and active volcano on Alaska's Aleutian Islands erupted, sending ash 20,000 feet into the air, scientists said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the Pavlof Volcano, about 600 miles southwest of Anchorage and about 40 miles from the nearest community, erupted at 4:18 p.m. local time Sunday. Alaska State Troopers could not say whether there were any reports of injuries. The USGS said the eruption also led to tremors on the ground. The agency has raised the volcano alert to its highest level, which warns of hazards both in the air and on the ground.

Feds: Risk of 2016 quakes increases

WASHINGTON -- The ground east of the Rockies is far more likely to shake this year with damaging but not deadly earthquakes, federal seismologists reported in a new risk map for 2016. Much of that is a man-made byproduct of drilling for energy. Parts of Oklahoma match northern California for the nation's most shake-prone. One north-central Oklahoma region has a 1 in 8 chance of a damaging quake in 2016, with other parts closer to 1 in 20. Overall, 7 million people live in areas where the risk has jumped for earthquakes caused by disposal of wastewater, a byproduct of drilling for oil and gas. That is mostly concentrated in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado and Arkansas. Earthquake risk also increased around the New Madrid fault in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Illinois. The increase in the New Madrid area remains a mystery, Mark Petersen, chief of the National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project, said, but "it's higher than it's been in several years."

-- From wire reports