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Show World&Hation -Friday, Dec. 7, 2007 Page 13 Jeffs resigns as leader after prison sentencing I A PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY SHOW ISRAELI ARCHEOLOGISTS at WOrk On the 2,000-year-old remains of a building just outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City Wednesday, Dec. 5. AP photo Archeologists discover 2,000 yr. old mansion • A JERUSALEM (AP)-Israeli archaeologists uncovered a 2,000-year-old mansion believed to have been home to Queen Helene of Adiabene, whose clan ruled a region now in Iraq. T The remains of the building jjvere unearthed just outside the | walls of Jerusalem's Old City, jiinderneath layers of a more (recent settlement that was hidfden until recently under the [asphalt of a small parking lot in jeast Jerusalem. L Israel captured east Jerusalem {from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast iWar. Palestinians see the eastern ji>art of the city as capital of a out ure state. jThe dig site is in the Arab [neighborhood of Silwan, built Ion a slope that houses the most [ancient remnants of settlement in Jerusalem and is known, to . scholars as the City of David. The building, which includes storerooms, living quarters and ritual baths, is by far the largest and most elaborate structure discovered by archaeologists in the City of David area, which was home 2,000 years ago almost exclusively to the city's poor. Jewish historian Josephus Flavius mentions just one wealthy family living there — the family of Queen Helene. There is a "high probability" the mansion belonged to Helene's family, Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Doron Ben-Ami told reporters Wednesday. "This amazing structure was destroyed with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.," Ben-Ami said. Built when Jerusalem was capital of the Roman-ruled territory of Judea, the building was destroyed along with the temple and the rest of the city when Roman legions quelled a Jewish revolt nearly two millennia ago, he said. Diggers at the site said the massive stones of the second flo6r were toppled onto the arches ol the first, causing the house to collapse. In the ruins they found ceramic shards and coins dating to the time of the Jewish revolt against Rome. The queen came from a royal clan that ruled Adiabene, a region now in northern Iraq, and converted along with her family to Judaism. They came to Jerusalem in the first half of the first century A.D. In texts she was praised for her generosity to Jerusalem's poor, and for making contributions to the Second Temple, the center of the Jewish faith, near her house. She was buried in an elaborate tomb not far away. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -Warren Jeffs, the leader of a polygamous-sect for five years, resigned his position as president of his church on Nov. 20 — the same day he was sentenced prison for convictions on two counts of rape as an accomplice, his attorney said Wednesday. Information about Jeffs' resignation as head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints came in a statement from defense attorney Wally Bugden that was faxed to media outlets. The statement says Jeffs wanted the information released to reporters and church members. An assistant at Bugden's law office said no one would be responding to questions from media. It's unclear if that means Jeffs also surrendered his religious authority as the faith's prophet. In January, a despondent Jeffs attempted to hang himself after telling his brother he was "not the one to be the prophet." He later renounced the statement and has continued to pass spiritual and practical messages to church members through visi- tors. On Tuesday, lawyers asked a 5th District Court judge to grant Jeffs a new trial, claiming "errors and improprieties" occurred during the four-day trial in September. Court documents gave no specifics, but defense attorneys have contended that Jeffs' prosecution was a form of religious persecution and was politically motivated by state officials who disapprove of polygamy. A telephone message left by The Associated Press for Brian G. Filter, a deputy Washington County attorney, was not immediately returned. A jury found Jeffs guilty of two counts of accomplice to rape for his role in the 2001 marriage of 14-year-old Elissa Wall to her 19-year-old cousin. Wall, now 21, said Jeffs used his church authority to coerce her into the marriage and sex by threatening her eternal salvation. Jeffs was sentenced last month to two consecutive prison terms of five years to life and is in the Utah State Prison near Salt Lake City. Jeffs, 52, took over the FLDS church in 2002 after the death of his father, Rulon Jeffs. The insular southern Utah-based sect practices polygamy in arranged marriages. Jeffs' lawyers argue during the trial that Jeffs did not arrange Wall's marriage, nor was he ever told the girl was being forced into sex. Jeffs allowed the union to dissolve in 2004 after Wall became pregnant with another man's child. She has left the church and remarried. The Associated Press does not generally identify people who say they were sexually assaulted, but Wall has repeatedly used her maiden name in public. She and her lawyer have declined to say what name she uses now. Prosecutors charged her onetime husband, Allen Steed, with rape the day after Jeffs' conviction. Jeffs is now facing two criminal trials in Arizona on similar charges. His Utah accuser is also an alleged victim in one of the cases. The church leader is also under federal indictment for flight to avoid prosecution. Bush plans to freeze interest rates for many homeowners WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of strapped homeowners could get some relief from a plan negotiated by the Bush administration to freeze interest rates on subprime mortgages that are scheduled to rise in the coming months. "There is no perfect solution," President Bush said Thursday as he announced an agreement hammered out with the mortgage industry. "The homeowners deserve our help. The steps I've outlined today are a sensible response to a serious challenge." Bush has been accused of moving too slowly to address a crisis that has spread to the broader financial market. But he also was careful not to sound as if he were imposing a government solution and violating his free-market principles. He billed his plan as a voluntary, privatesector arrangement that involves no government money. "We should not bail out lenders, real estate speculators or those made the reckless decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford," Bush said after meeting with industry leaders at the White House. "But there are some responsible homeowners who could avoid foreclosure with some assistance." Bush said 1.2 million people could be eligible for help. But only a fraction will be subject to the rate freeze. Others would get assistance in refinancing with their lenders and moving into loans secured by the Federal Housing Administration, Bush said. PROVIDENCE LOCATION Come to Macey's for all of your Holiday party needs. Dole 1 Ib. Iceberg Lettuce $129 Sunny Delight 64 oz. Apple Orange Drin Cinnamon . Bread $199 i , Western Family 18 pk. 30 oz. (I IT Fuji 8.2 Megapixel Christmas Popcorn Ti h*& • i J. Digital Camera "1! Q While Large Western Family 21b. Swanson 14.5 ox. j Chicken or Beef Broth Powdered or Brownjugar \ Stouffor's 52.8S-57 oz. Western Family 12 oz. 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