No Cheers: The weeklong emotional Texas trial...

No Cheers: The weeklong emotional Texas trial full of conflicting testimony is ending. Closing arguments are scheduled today in Houston in the case against Wanda Holloway, 37, accused of seeking a hit man to enhance her daughter’s chances of becoming a high school cheerleader by killing the mother of another girl. Holloway faces life in prison for allegedly asking her ex-brother-in-law to hire a hit man to kill the neighbor.

Tax Relief: Twin Playboy models may have been given $1 million by an elderly man, but a Chicago appeals court ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict 36-year-old Lynnette Harris and her twin, Leigh Ann Conley, of failing to pay taxes on the largess. The women testified at trial that the money was a gift from David Kritzik, who died in 1989 at age 89. Harris said she had a five-year sexual relationship with Kritzik.

Digging the Dirt: There’s a lot of dirt available on former President Jimmy Carter. And it’s selling for $200 a pinch. The dirt was dug from Carter’s front yard in Plains, Ga., sealed in 400 plastic jewelry boxes and attached to notarized certificates of authenticity. A Plains historical trust is selling the soil to help pay renovation costs for a school that was designated a national historic site and is due to reopen as a museum.

Cheers: Former President Ronald Reagan told thousands of chanting Amway distributors in Charlotte, N.C., that they may have a role in Eastern Europe. “Democracy and the free enterprise system face formidable obstacles in many countries; we must help as teachers, not preachers,” Reagan said Saturday night during an appearance at an Amway convention.