The Morning Wrap

Dead: Rodney King, whose beating at the hands of Los Angeles police officers helped trigger the 1992 L.A. riots, died on Sunday at 47, the Los Angeles Times reports. Information thus far indicates that he died from an accidental drowning.

Guilty: A federal jury in New York on Friday convicted former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta of conspiracy and three counts of securities fraud, The Associated Press reports. The conviction, which came after a wide-ranging investigation done by authorities with wiretaps, would lead to prosecutors more aggressively pursuing financial crime, defense lawyers suggested.

Goodbye: Former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. bid some of his closest supporters goodbye on Friday, less than a week before he is scheduled to report to federal prison for taking $353,000 in taxpayer funds, The Washington Post reports. “I ain’t running for office — that’s not what this is about,” said Thomas, who is set to start his prison term on Wednesday. “This is about a community who has shown its love and support for a family and has forgiven me for what I have been through.”

The Defense: The jury in the Jerry Sandusky trial this week is set to hear from his attorney, Joseph Amendola, as the prosecution rests. Attorneys tell The Legal Intelligencer that the defense should call the former Penn State assistant football coach to testify in the child sex abuse case against him.

Made It: Nik Wallenda on Friday became the first person to cross the Niagara Gorge on a wire in 116 years, The New York Times reports. The man, whose tightrope walk took him from Niagara Falls, N.Y., to Niagara Falls, Ontario, got a key to the Canadian city, a hug from its mayor, his passport stamped and a shirt that said, “Don’t worry — this isn’t the only way to get to Niagara Falls, Canada.”