KRGV.com

LIBERTY, Texas (AP) A man who was a fugitive for nearly two weeks after fleeing his sexual assault trial a day before being convicted has been formally sentenced. Eric McGowen returned to a courtroom in southeast Texas today and was told by a judge that a jury had sentenced him to 99 years in prison. McGowen was silent during the brief court hearing in Liberty. McGowen was apprehended Tuesday in Houston.

KEENE, Texas (AP) Police say a North Texas officer followed policy by yanking a 77-year-old woman from her SUV when she refused to provide identification. A review by Keene (KEEN) police found no wrongdoing by Sergeant Gene Geheb (guh-HEEB'). The August 19th incident captured on police videotape was made public Wednesday. An attorney for Lynn Bedford says the officer overreacted.

ANDREWS, Texas (AP) Andrews County and the state have gotten their first payments from the company operating a radioactive waste disposal site in West Texas. A Waste Control Specialists spokesman says today that the Dallas-based company paid $630,000 to Andrews County and about $3.4 million to Texas earlier this month. The disposal site is about 375 miles west of Dallas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) The retired space shuttle Endeavour is passing through Houston's Ellington Field en route to California. At sunrise Monday, Endeavour will depart NASA's Kennedy Space Center for California, with stops in Texas. The retired shuttle will be bolted to the top of a modified jumbo jet for the four-day trip to Los Angeles.