"23 down, 1 to go."

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on the hung jury that convicted him on one count of lying to federal agents. Federal jurors deadlocked Aug. 17 on 23 other charges, including that he tried to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama's old Senate seat, sparking a mistrial. Blagojevich, 53, who could be retried starting in January, said he wants "full vindication" and won't accept plea deals.

"Patience and faith. God is great and the help of my God is going to make it possible to leave this mine alive."

Trapped Chilean miner Mario Gomez, in a letter to his wife. Gomez, 63, is one of 33 workers trapped in a gold and copper mine and not likely to be rescued before Christmas. Authorities worked to pass supplies to the miners, including games and music, but did not tell them how long they might wait in the 2,300-foot shaft. "Get us out of this hell," their foreman told Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, who spoke to the group Aug. 24.

"New buildings are nice, but when they're run by the same people who've given us a 50 percent dropout rate, they're a big waste of taxpayer money."

Ben Austin, executive director of Parent Revolution and a member of the California Board of Education, on the new $578 million K-12 complex named after Robert F. Kennedy and built on the site of the Ambassador Hotel where he was shot in Los Angeles in 1968.

"Hell, only 15? I've struck out more batters than that in one game."

Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, after a grand jury on Aug. 19 charged him with 15 counts of lying about the use of banned substances. The seven-time Cy Young winner became the third celebrity athlete in three years to receive such charges, and could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.