‘Rust’ shooting: Prosecutors withdraw appeal of dismissed case against Alec Baldwin
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico prosecutors won’t pursue an appeal of a court’s decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie, the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office announced Monday. Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey...
Mega Millions jackpot nears $1 billion for Christmas Eve drawing
LOS ANGELES — Christmas could come early this year for anyone playing Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot worth an estimated $970 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302 million, according to lottery organizers, and the last jackpot was won in Texas on Sept. 10 for $810 million....
Man dies after large wave traps him under debris on California beachVideo
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A man died Monday after a large wave trapped him beneath debris on a California beach, likely related to the storm pummeling the West Coast that brought high surf and flooding to central California, officials said. First responders were called to Sunset State Beach, a state...
Judge rules Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians is unconstitutional
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A federal judge on Monday struck down key parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks found that elements of the law are unconstitutional. “I respect the court’s ruling...
Officer fatally shot in a North Carolina supermarket, suspect in custody, police sayVideo
GREENSBORO, N.C. — A police officer responding to a report of a man with a gun inside a North Carolina supermarket was fatally shot Monday and a suspect was later taken into custody, authorities said. Police announced the death of Greensboro police officer Michael Horan at a news conference, saying...
Bill Clinton hospitalized with a fever but in good spirits, spokesperson says
WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington after developing a fever. The 78-year-old was hospitalized in the “afternoon for testing and observation,” Angel Urena, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, said in a statement. “He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates...
Texas Rep. Kay Granger missed majority of U.S. House votes this year
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, missed more than half of the votes in the House of Representatives this year, exceeding the number of votes she missed in her entire first decade in Congress. Granger, 81, missed 279 of the House’s 517 votes in 2024, more than the 278 votes...
Joe Biden notches 1 more first-term federal judicial confirmation than Donald Trump
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will leave office with more lifetime judicial confirmations than his predecessor and a legacy of diversifying the federal bench, a win for Democrats in the final days of the 118th Congress. Senate Democrats on Friday notched the 235th lifetime judicial confirmation during the Biden administration,...
Elon Musk’s preschool is next step in his anti-woke education dreams
Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture,...
Man faces murder charges in the death of a woman who was lit on fire in New York City subway
A man is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday. The suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, was taken into custody hours...
UN publishes new death toll for massacre of older people and Vodou religious leaders in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The United Nations raised the death toll of a recent massacre in which dozens of older people and Vodou religious leaders were killed by a gang in Haiti, and called on officials to bring the perpetrators to justice. The U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti said in a...
Nebraska governor’s prognosis is good after falling from a horse
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was in intensive care at an Omaha hospital Monday after undergoing a medical procedure to treat an injured spleen suffered when he was bucked off a horse. The governor was in stable condition, with doctors saying his prognosis was positive despite seven rib fractures, a minor...
Ecuador’s president promises answers and no ‘cover up’ after 4 children disappear
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — Under pressure from human rights organizations and fellow Ecuadorians, President Daniel Noboa on Monday said his government will not cover up for anyone involved in the disappearance of four children who were last seen running away from a military convoy. Noboa, in an interview with a local...
How faith communities can be welcoming of believers with disabilities this holiday season and beyond
The Rev. Shannon Blosser sees how his son loves church — the music, the singing, the communion. But the United Methodist pastor said his family hasn’t always felt like 11-year-old Noah, who is autistic, has been welcome. At one point, Blosser’s wife and the couple’s two sons stopped attending in-person...
An ex-police officer is convicted of lying about leaks to the Proud Boys leader
WASHINGTON — A retired police officer in the nation’s capital was convicted Monday of lying to authorities about leaking confidential information to the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson convicted former Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond of obstructing justice and making false...
Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — First it was Canada, then the Panama Canal. Now, Donald Trump again wants Greenland. The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding to the list of allied countries with which he’s picking...
House Ethics Committee accuses Matt Gaetz of paying for sex, including with 17-year-old girlVideo
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee on Monday accused Matt Gaetz of “regularly” paying for sex, including once with a 17-year-old girl, and purchasing and using illicit drugs as a member of Congress, as lawmakers released the conclusions of a nearly four-year investigation that helped sink his nomination for attorney...
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder and weapons charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s deathVideo
NEW YORK — The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty on Monday to state murder and terror charges while his attorney complained that statements coming from New York’s mayor would make it tough to receive a fair trial. Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and...
FDA says decongestant in many cold medicines doesn’t work. So what does?
WASHINGTON — Changes are coming to the cold and cough aisle of your local pharmacy: U.S. officials are moving to phase out the leading decongestant found in hundreds of over-the-counter medicines, concluding that it doesn’t actually relieve nasal congestion. Phenylephrine is used in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other...
Trump wants mass deportations. For the agents removing immigrants, it’s a painstaking process
NEW YORK — The immigration officers sat in their vehicles before dawn near a two-story building. A New York subway line rumbled overhead, then an officer’s voice crackled over the radio. After watching for about two hours, he said, “I think that’s Tango,” using a term for target. “Gray hoodie....
Germans mourn Christmas market attack victims as fears swirl of deeper social divisions
MAGDEBURG, Germany — Mourners laid flowers near the scene of the deadly Christmas market attack on Monday as investigators puzzled over the motive of the suspect and fears swirled that the rampage could deepen divisions in German society. The Johanniskirche, a church a short walk from the scene of the...
What a merger between Nissan and Honda means for automakers and the industry
BANGKOK — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance...
Biden gives life in prison to 37 of 40 federal death row inmates before Trump can resume executionsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. The move spares the lives...
Texas launches billboard campaign in Mexico, Central America to warn migrants
DALLAS — Texas is launching a $100,000 billboard campaign in Mexico and Central America to highlight the risks of crossing into the state illegally — including incarceration and sexual assault. “We’re here to expose the truth to immigrants who are thinking about coming here. The truth about the traffickers who...
Trump threatens to try to take back the Panama Canal. Panama’s president balks at the suggestion
PHOENIX — Donald Trump suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans....
