ATHENS (AP/Staff) - A jury in Athens has turned in a capital murder conviction of 48-year-old Randall Wayne Mays, blamed for the 2007 shooting deaths of two Henderson County deputies. Paul Steven Habelt and Tony Price Ogburn were shot and killed after responding to a domestic disturbance call at the Mays house. Mays, who did not testify, was convicted over the killing of Ogburn. The next step is the penalty phase. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The shootout, last May 17 near Payne Springs, also left a third deputy injured.

EAST TEXAS -- Local elections take place Saturday in a number of East Texas communities. Tyler residents will select a new mayor and pick members of the Tyler school board and Tyler Junior College Board of Trustees. Voters in Tyler's city limits will decide if the private club membership for local clubs and restaurants will be eliminated. Voters in Longview's City Council District 3 (Southeast Longview) will head to the polls to choose who will represent them on the Council. You can go to
http://www.smith-county.com and http://www.CityofLongview.com for additional election information.

TYLER -- Tyler club and restaurant owners pushing for Saturday's local option proposition want to alleviate confusion about what it entails. Roger Lumley of Papacita's says if the measure passes, drinkers in clubs and restaurants will no longer have to flash a Unicard or buy a private club membership when buying a drink. Besides the customer convenience, Lumley adds that the change would eliminate a large amount of costly paperwork for him and his colleagues. Lumley hopes authorities will continue to enforce other drinking laws. He notes that the club and restaurant owners are against underage drinking and over-drinking

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Louie Gohmert's Space Shuttle Memorial Study Act has been signed into law. The measure directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to study at least four areas of East Texas land to determine the feasibility of such a memorial. The land to be studied is in Lufkin, Nacogdoches, San Augustine, and Hemphill, where large amounts of shuttle debris fell. The shuttle exploded over East Texas in 2003, killing all on board. Gohmert calls the signing "a tremendous step" in honoring the Columbia crew, their families, and East Texans who helped in recovery efforts. He's also lauding Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for helping the legislation through the Senate.

FREDERICKSBURG (AP) - Governor Rick Perry used an event in Fredericksburg to emphasize he'll run for re-election in 2010. The Republican leader was on hand for groundbreaking for an expansion at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Perry says he's like the leader of a prosperous company who should stay on board. According to the governor, if Texas were a corporation, it would be one of the most efficient and successful in the world.

HOUSTON (AP) - Many oil and gas industry executives surveyed by the auditing firm KPMG expect prices to fall significantly by year's end. About 55 percent of 372 executives surveyed said they think the price of a barrel of crude will drop below $100 by the end of the year. About 21 percent of respondents predicted a barrel of oil will end the year between $101 and $110. Fifteen percent forecast the year-end price to be between $111 and $120 a barrel.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Records kept by a bishop of a polygamist sect are helping unravel the web of family relationships at the sect's West Texas commune. Texas officials removed more than 460 children were removed last month from the Yearning For Zion ranch near Eldorado amid questions over whether the children were abused. They're now in foster care. An AP analysis shows that by the time a girl reached 16, she was more likely to be married than to live as a child in her father's home.

McALLEN (AP) - A man convicted of being a middle manager of the notorious Gulf drug cartel in Mexico has reached a deal with prosecutors over what to do with two pieces of his jewelry. Terms haven't been disclosed. Carlos Landin Martinez was sentenced to life in prison last month on drug trafficking charges. In a separate case, federal prosecutors sued for the forfeiture of a thick gold chain and gem-studded pendant Landin was wearing when he was arrested in McAllen last year.

LUBBOCK (AP) - The cost of tuition at Tech Tech won't be going up next fall. Regents meeting in Lubbock voted to hold steady when it comes to students paying for tuition. Tech administrators will instead use about $2 million from reserves to offset the estimated $5.6 million loss in potential revenues.

TOMBALL (AP) - Preparations for a science experiment at Tomball High School sent at least 17 staff and students to a hospital today when a chemical spilled. Authorities say 15 people were treated and released. Two others remained at a hospital as a precaution. A school district spokeswoman said a science teacher preparing the experiment for class spilled the undetermined chemical.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A Brownsville man faces trial Tuesday in Arkansas over a November bus crash that left four people dead. Bus driver Felix Badillo Tapia is facing four counts of negligent homicide. The victims were three bus passengers and a pickup driver.