Most memorable filibusters in modern American history

The most famous example of an American filibuster was, ironically, fictional - Jimmy Stewart's epic stand on the Senate floor for hours before collapsing from exhaustion in the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

But several real senators put up historic roadblocks by filibustering for hours on the floor. Sen. Rand Paul, who on Wednesday filibustered against CIA nominee John Brennan over concerns about the drone program, is just the latest.

Here are some examples throughout American history:

The late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., holds the record for the longest filibuster. In 1957, Thurmond spoke for just over 24 hours straight in an effort to block the Civil Rights Act. Thurmond eventually ran out of things to say and began reading from a telephone book.

In 1992, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato seized the floor to protest Smith Corona's decision to shift typewriter manufacturing jobs from New York to Mexico.

In 2010, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., protested the president's tax proposal, speaking for eight hours and 37 minutes.

The Sanders blockage, though, was not a true filibuster as the Senate was in a quiet period. There was no pending business and Sanders was not blocking others from speaking or holding up matters.

Perhaps the last true filibuster occurred in 2003, when Sen. Harry Reid began reading from his book "Searchlight" for roughly nine hours. It was an effort to hold up the GOP from approving some judicial nominations made by President George W. Bush.

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Most memorable filibusters in modern American history

The most famous example of an American filibuster was, ironically, fictional - Jimmy Stewart's epic stand on the Senate floor for hours before collapsing from exhaustion in the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

But several real senators put up historic roadblocks by filibustering for hours on the floor. Sen. Rand Paul, who on Wednesday filibustered against CIA nominee John Brennan over concerns about the drone program, is just the latest.

Here are some examples throughout American history:

The late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., holds the record for the longest filibuster. In 1957, Thurmond spoke for just over 24 hours straight in an effort to block the Civil Rights Act. Thurmond eventually ran out of things to say and began reading from a telephone book.

In 1992, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato seized the floor to protest Smith Corona's decision to shift typewriter manufacturing jobs from New York to Mexico.

In 2010, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., protested the president's tax proposal, speaking for eight hours and 37 minutes.

The Sanders blockage, though, was not a true filibuster as the Senate was in a quiet period. There was no pending business and Sanders was not blocking others from speaking or holding up matters.

Perhaps the last true filibuster occurred in 2003, when Sen. Harry Reid began reading from his book "Searchlight" for roughly nine hours. It was an effort to hold up the GOP from approving some judicial nominations made by President George W. Bush.

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Confronting evil history of US prosecutor killings

The killings of two Texas prosecutors have raised fresh questions about the safety of those who confront evil for a living. In fact, the murders of prosecutors have been relatively rare, with motives varying widely.

Over the last century, 14 prosecutors have been killed, according to news reports and statistics kept by the National District Attorneys Association. At least eight of them were targeted in the line of duty. At least several were slain in incidents unrelated to their jobs, apparently random acts of violence.

Details of 13 of the deaths have been compiled by The Prosecutors Memorial at the University of South Carolina, which counts about 40,000 state and local prosecutors nationwide. The Associated Press reviewed a 14th case, the 2008 killing of a prosecutor in Colorado, which the district attorneys group says it is considering for inclusion.

Here is a look at the slain prosecutors, whom the memorial calls "Ministers of Justice, messengers of truth, peaceful warriors for good who gave all":

— District Attorney Mike McLelland of Kaufman County, Texas, and his wife were found shot to death Saturday inside their home. Authorities continued to search Monday for a suspect and motive.

— Two months earlier, on Jan. 31, Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was gunned down as he was walking to the courthouse. McLelland, Hasse's boss, had raised the possibility a white supremacist gang killed his colleague. McLelland said his office has prosecuted several cases against racist gangs, which are active in the state.

— In Denver, Chief Deputy District Attorney Sean May was gunned down in his backyard in August 2008. The killing remains unsolved.

— Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Messer was shot to death during a robbery as he was walking to a training seminar in Columbia, S.C., in August 2001. Four teenagers were convicted in his death and received prison sentences ranging from 35 to 47 years.

— Eddie Vaughn burst into Kentucky Commonwealth's Attorney R. Fred Capps' home in June 2000, hours before Capps was set to try him on sexual abuse charges. Capps grabbed his .357 Magnum revolver and a shootout ensued. Capps and Vaughn killed each other in the exchange.

— Gil Epstein, an assistant district attorney in Fort Bend County, Texas, had just left Houston's Jewish Community Center after playing basketball in September 1996 when a robber confronted him. According to a witness, the robber shot Epstein after he saw Epstein's prosecutor's badge in his wallet. Epstein's killer, Marcus Cotton, was convicted of murder in 1997.

— A hooded gunman killed Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Paul R. McLaughlin as McLaughlin was walking to his car in September 1995. McLaughlin, who was working with Suffolk County's first anti-gang violence unit, was killed the night before he was scheduled to prosecute gang leader Jeffrey Bly for the third time. Bly was sentenced to life in prison.

— George Lott opened fire in a Tarrant County, Texas, courtroom in July 1992, killing Assistant District Attorney C. Chris Marshall as well as wounding two judges and another assistant district attorney. Lott killed another lawyer in a stairwell. He fled to a television station, where he said he wanted to draw attention to the wrongs inflicted upon him in his divorce and through a child-molesting charge his ex-wife filed against him. Lott was convicted of two counts of capital murder. He was executed in September 1994.

— Sean A. Healy, an assistant district attorney in the Bronx in New York City, was killed inside a grocery store a block from the courthouse in August 1990. He was buying a box of doughnuts when a car pulled up outside and its occupants fired seven or eight shots as part of drug turf war. Jose Diaz was sentenced to 15 years to life for second-degree murder; Ernesto Garcia got 4 to 12 years for manslaughter.

— Malcolm Schlette walked into former Marin County, Calif., District Attorney William O. Weissich's private law office in 1986 and shot Weissich at point-blank range, killing him. Weissich had prosecuted Schlette for arson in 1955. Schlette killed himself as police surrounded him. He left a note saying he wanted revenge on five people he believed were responsible for sending him to prison, including Weissich.

— Florida prosecutor Eugene C. Berry was home with his wife in Charlotte Harbor in 1982, when he answered the doorbell and was shot by Bonnie Kelly, the wife of a man Berry had prosecuted on drug trafficking charges. Kelly was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 25 years.

— Victor C. Breen was serving as district attorney of New Mexico's 10th Judicial District in 1971 when he was shot to death as he got into his car to drive to his office. The assailant, Jose Resendo Garcia, had been committed to the New Mexico Mental Hospital on Breen's recommendation. The district attorney was considering having Garcia recommitted when he was killed. Garcia was sent back to the mental hospital and never brought to trial.

— Georgia prosecutor Floyd Hoard was mortally wounded in August 1967, when he turned on the ignition in his car, detonating up to a dozen sticks of dynamite connected to the vehicle's electrical system. In April 1969, A.C. (Cliff) Park, 77, was convicted a second time of hiring assassins. He was sentenced to die in the electric chair.

— William M. Foster was working as commonwealth attorney in Hillsville, Va., in 1912 when he successfully prosecuted notorious outlaw Floyd Allen. Allen was sentenced to one year in prison, then stood up and announced "Gentlemen, I ain't a goin.'" A gun battle broke out in the courtroom as members of Allen's family and police fired more than 50 shots. Foster, Judge Thornton Massie and Sheriff Lewis F. Webb were among five people killed. Allen was wounded and arrested the next day. He and his son were electrocuted a year later.

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AP Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this story.

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Montana puts up dud in most lopsided NCAA tournament loss in school history, 81-34 to Syracuse

SAN JOSE, Calif. –  After all that talk about improving on last year's NCAA tournament dud, Montana played even worse in its return trip.

Star guard Will Cherry shot just 1 for 12 and the 13th-seeded Grizzlies had no answers for No. 4 seed Syracuse's zone defense in an 81-34 loss Thursday night.

Montana shot just 20 percent from the field and trailed by at least 10 points for the final 35 minutes of the worst tournament defeat in Grizzlies history, topping a 92-54 loss against Kentucky in 1997.

"They jumped us pretty good and I think our guys maybe panicked a little when shots weren't going in," coach Wayne Tinkle said.

Brandon Triche scored 20 points and C.J. Fair added 13 to help Syracuse earn the most lopsided victory in NCAA tournament history for a team seeded third or lower, breaking a mark set about an hour earlier by fifth-seeded VCU against Akron.

Michael Carter-Williams chipped in four points, eight rebounds and nine assists as the Orange (27-9) raced out to an early lead that grew as big as 50 points and coasted past the Grizzlies (25-7) to their most lopsided tournament win since beating Brown 101-52 in the first round in 1986.

"We knew that we were favored a little bit in this game and as far as our talent level. So we wanted to not give a team like that confidence in thinking that they can win the game," Triche said. "C.J. did a great job for us starting the game off with the first six points or so. He had a mismatch and we tried to go to him early. He kind of jumpstarted us."

Syracuse advanced to play 12th-seeded and local favorite California (21-11) on Saturday for a spot in the East Regional semifinals in Washington, D.C., next week. The Golden Bears beat UNLV 64-61.

The Orange were the lone team from the Eastern time zone to play in San Jose this week, joining five teams from the Western half of the country and Oklahoma State and St. Louis from the Midwest. Syracuse traveled a day earlier than usual to prepare for the game and looked sharp from the start.

The Orange led by 23 points at halftime and then turned it into a laugher with a 17-2 run to open the second half. Trevor Cooney's 3-pointer midway through the second half made it 62-20.

"Coach gave us a great game plan, we just couldn't really execute," said Kareem Jamar, who was tied for the team lead with five points for Montana. "And when we did execute it, we couldn't hit shots."

The Orange were reeling a bit at the end of the regular season, losing four of their final five games capped by a blowout loss at rival Georgetown. Syracuse recovered to win three games and make the final of the Big East tournament, and has now started the NCAAs off with a win for the fifth straight year.

For the second straight season, the Grizzlies won the Big Sky tournament to earn an NCAA bid only to fall flat in their opener. They lost 73-49 to Wisconsin a year ago, shooting 38 percent, including a 3-for-14 performance from Cherry.

He was hoping for a better result this year, especially with the game being played less than an hour from his hometown of Oakland. But he scored just two points and missed 11 of 12 shots.

The Grizzlies, playing without injured leading scorer Mathias Ward, shot just 20 percent (11 for 54), missed 27 of 31 3-pointers and had more turnovers (17) than made baskets.

"We didn't come out how we pictured it," Montana forward Spencer Coleman said. "We came out soft."

Fair handled the early scoring load, scoring nine points in the opening 6 minutes to give Syracuse an 18-4 lead. The Orange made seven of their first nine shots as their superior athleticism and size created easy chances almost every time down the floor.

That size gave Montana problems on the other end against Syracuse's 2-3 zone. The Grizzlies struggled to penetrate the defense and got few easy looks, missing eight straight shots in a span of more than six minutes early in the game to fall into a hole that proved too big to overcome.

"We haven't seen that kind of length and athleticism all season long," Tinkle said. "We knew when we saw their name come up on TV on Selection Sunday that it was a tough matchup for us. But we tried to approach it like upsets happen, let's get after it."

Instead, the Grizzlies trailed 30-11 after James Southerland's 3-pointer with less than six minutes to go in the half. Fair himself had matched Montana's scoring total at that point and the deficit only got bigger at the half when Triche hit a floater and then scored on a breakaway dunk off a block by Baye Moussa Keita to make it 38-15 at the break.

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