U.S. News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers on Wednesday defeated for another year campaign finance reform legislation that would have prohibited elected officials from spending political donations on personal expenses such as mortgages, vacations or gym memberships. Virginia — which allows unlimited donations from individuals, corporations and special interest groups — is a national outlier for lacking such a ban, and …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden compareció el miércoles para un interrogatorio a puertas cerradas con legisladores, en momentos en que la investigación lanzada por los republicanos sobre los negocios de la familia del presidente estadounidense Joe Biden parece estar al borde del colapso. La investigación, que lleva ya 14 meses, se centra en el hijo de Biden y su trabajo …

When gun accessories known as bump stocks first hit the market more than a decade ago, the U.S. government initially concluded the devices did not violate federal law despite enabling semi-automatic weapons to spray bullets at the rapid-fire rate of a machine gun. That changed after a gunman with bump stock-equipped rifles killed 60 people and wounded hundreds more at …

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — When Lilly Miller was in elementary school, teachers told her parents they needed to immediately sign up their youngest daughter, who has Down syndrome, for a wait list so the state would pay for a day program when she grew up. The teachers predicted a six-year wait. The Millers have been waiting 10 years. Lilly is …

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A judge has rejected a second proposed settlement for improving Maine’s system for providing attorneys for residents who cannot afford them, and she won’t be waiting for a third try. Justice Michaela Murphy gave the ACLU of Maine until March 8 to file a new civil complaint to include new claims as part of a two-step …

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Democrats in the Maine Legislature unveiled sweeping gun violence measures on Wednesday including a 72-hour waiting period for most gun purchases, adding to firearm bills and mental health spending already proposed by the governor after the deadliest shooting in the state history. Senate President Troy Jackson said lawmakers are not interested in taking away guns but …

Is Michelle Troconis a murderous conspirator who wanted her boyfriend’s estranged wife dead and helped him cover up her killing? Or was she an innocent bystander who unwittingly became ensnared in one of Connecticut’s most enduring missing person and alleged homicide cases? A state jury heard two different tales of the 49-year-old Troconis as the prosecution and defense made their …

WEST OLIVE, Mich. (AP) — An embattled public health officer in Michigan will get to keep her job, after a lengthy legal fight with county commissioners over pandemic-era mask mandates concluded Tuesday with the board bowing to the will of a court-ordered arbitrator. The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners voted 11-0 Monday to retain Adeline Hambley as county health officer, …

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis suburb where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of operating a so-called debtors’ prison. The legal nonprofit ArchCity Defenders announced the settlement Tuesday with the city of Ferguson, Missouri. The preliminary agreement calls for the money …

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have taken over the case against a northern Virginia man arrested last year on suspicion he was about to embark on a mass shooting at a megachurch. Local prosecutors in Prince William County on Tuesday dropped charges against Rui Jiang, 35, of Falls Church, including a charge of attempted aggravated murder against multiple persons. …