The former International Monetary Fund head charged with trying to rape a Manhattan hotel maid formally said he was innocent of the charges Monday in his first court appearance in the case in two weeks.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn pleaded not guilty in a strong voice at the brief proceeding, standing between his defense team as his wife, journalist Anne Sinclair, watched.

State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus went through the formality of telling Strauss-Kahn he needed to appear in court and had a right to be present at his trial, to which the economist said "yes."

The French diplomat appeared in court for the first time since he was released on $6 million in cash bail and bond last month. He has been under house arrest that includes 24-hour monitors and armed guards, first in a downtown Manhattan apartment and now in a deluxe, $50,000-a-month Tribeca town house.

About 50 hotel workers bused in by their union gathered outside the courthouse to jeer Strauss-Kahn, many wearing their work uniforms. They shouted "shame on you" as he arrived, and again as he left in a black sport-utility vehicle.

The driver of a low-cost interstate bus service was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter Friday following a brief court appearance on another charge stemming from this week's crash in Virginia that killed four passengers and injured dozens more.

Kin Yiu Cheung, 37, of Flushing, N.Y., had been free on bond, but he was arrested on the new charges shortly after appearing in Caroline County court Friday morning. Cheung was in court to answer to a misdemeanor reckless driving charge stemming from the Tuesday crash on Interstate 95 about 30 miles north of Richmond.

The new charges are felonies, each carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

"It's never easy to make determinations to bring serious charges, but there was enough evidence to bring the charge," Caroline County Commonwealth Attorney Anthony Spencer said after Cheung's arrest.

Police say Cheung was fatigued when the Sky Express bus he was driving swerved off the highway shortly before 5 a.m., hit an embankment and overturned. It had departed Greensboro, N.C., Monday night bound for New York City with 58 people.

Cheung's lawyer, Murray Janus, called the wreck a "tragic accident," adding he had not had time to talk to Cheung after his latest arrest.

Convicted killer Gayland Bradford was executed Wednesday for the $7 robbery-slaying of a Dallas grocery store security guard almost 23 years ago.

In a final statement, Bradford, 42, thanked friends for being with him "through thick and thin."

"I am at peace," he said. "We have no worries, just as I have no more worries. To the victim's family, may you be at peace also."

As the lethal drugs took effect, he gasped a couple of times, then began snoring, each breath progressively fainter. Nine minutes later, at 6:25 p.m., he was pronounced dead.

Bradford already was on parole for a robbery conviction when he was arrested for gunning down 29-year-old Brian Williams four days after Christmas in 1988. The shooting came on Williams' second day on the job at the market a few miles south of downtown Dallas.

Williams' mother and brother were among the people in the death chamber, watching through a window just a few feet from Bradford.

"We have no anger towards Mr. Bradford and forgive him of his crime against our family," Williams' brother, Gregory, said in a statement released following the punishment. "We now turn our thoughts and prayers to Mr. Bradford's family and friends and pray that God will give them the strength, comfort and understanding as they now grieve the loss of their loved one."

The U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to reconsider an appeal they rejected earlier, clearing the way for Bradford to become the fourth Texas prisoner executed this year. Three more lethal injections are set for this month in the nation's busiest capital punishment state.

Two more Somali men pleaded guilty on Monday to piracy for their roles in the hijacking of a yacht that left four Americans dead, including one who identified which of the 19 men fired at hostages aboard the boat.

Burhan Abdirahman Yusuf and Jilani Abdiali face mandatory life sentences, but as part of a plea agreement they could serve less time than that and eventually be deported to Somalia.

The duo are among 14 people from Somalia and one from Yemen facing charges related to the February hijacking of the yacht Quest. Three of those men have already pleaded guilty to piracy in plea deals.

The owners of the Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., along with friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were shot to death several days after being taken hostage several hundred miles south of Oman.

They were the first U.S. citizens killed in a wave of pirate attacks that have plagued the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in recent years. Prosecutors said the men intended to bring the Americans to Somalia and hold them for ransom there. Pirates typically seek millions of dollars for hostages.

In a statement of facts Yusuf agreed to Monday, Yusuf said the 19 men who had taken control of the yacht would have split 65 percent of the ransom money among themselves and an interpreter. The other 35 percent would be given to a financier. In Abdiali's statement of facts, he said he saw that pirates were making a lot of money and had big houses and cars, so he spoke with a financier about joining a pirate expedition that ultimately led him to board the American yacht.