December 24, 2024 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee’s long-awaited report into Rep. Matt Gaetz documents a trove of salacious allegations of misconduct, including sex with an underage girl, that tanked the Florida Republican’s nomination to lead the Justice Department. Citing text messages, travel receipts, online payments and other evidence, the committee painted a picture of a lifestyle in which Gaetz and others connected with younger women for drug-fueled parties, events or trips, with the expectation the women would be paid for their participation. Gaetz, who had filed a last-minute lawsuit to try to block the report’s release Monday, slammed the committee’s findings. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted he never had sex with a minor.
December 24, 2024 5:12 am
A man is facing murder 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 on Monday said the man, identified as 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta, had been taken into custody as a person of interest in the case hours after the woman died. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Jeff Carter said he is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after he had been previously removed in 2018. Transit police apprehended the man hours after the fatal fire.
December 24, 2024 5:10 am
CONNEAUT LAKE, Pa. — Multiple people were rescued while canoeing on a lake in western Pennsylvania. The Conneaut Lake Volunteer Fire Department said at around 5:30 a.m., crews were dispatched for a reported water rescue in the area of Lake Front Street just south of Hotel Conneaut in Conneaut Lake, Crawford County. The initial report said three people were in a canoe and one person was in the water, officials said. The person in the water was able to get back onto the canoe. The scuba team utilized the hovercraft to reach the people on the water and bring them back to shore safely, with the last rescue happening at 6:36 a.m.
December 24, 2024 5:04 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – An internet outage that delayed T rail cars and threw several of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s systems offline last week was related to a ransomware attack. Adam Brandolph, spokesperson for PRT, said the attack was first detected on Thursday, Dec. 19. Upon discovering the incident, PRT immediately launched an investigation, activated its Cyber Incident Response Team, notified law enforcement and engaged nationally recognized third-party cybersecurity and data forensics experts. While rail service experienced temporary disruptions on Thursday morning, transit services are currently operating as normal, Brandolph said. However, some other rider services remain negatively impacted, including PRT’s Customer Service Center, which is temporarily unable to accept or process Senior and Kid’s ConnectCards. PRT will continue to provide updates as appropriate, Brandolph said.
December 23, 2024 3:55 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee has 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. The 37-page report was released Monday by the bipartisan panel after a nearly four-year investigation that helped sink his nomination for attorney general. The report includes explicit details of sex-filled parties and vacations that Gaetz took part in while representing Florida in the House. Congressional investigators concluded that he violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office. Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing and he filed a lawsuit Monday trying to block the report’s release.
December 23, 2024 10:16 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare has pleaded not guilty to murder and terror charges in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution. The Manhattan district attorney formally charged Luigi Mangione last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism. That case will run parallel to his federal case. His court appearance was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for his state charges is life in prison without parole.
December 23, 2024 6:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment mere weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. In a statement issued Monday, Biden says, “These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. In a reference to Trump, who campaigned on expanding the use of capital punishment, Biden adds, “In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”
December 23, 2024 5:13 am
The battles over abortion in the U.S. are increasingly focusing on the pills that are now the most common way pregnancies are ended. Texas sued a New York doctor this month over a prescription to a Texas resident. It could become the first test of a shield law that New York and some other Democratic-controlled states have passed to protect medical providers who make that kind of prescription via telehealth. There’s also a lawsuit aimed at rolling back federal approval for one of the drugs. And states are considering laws to make them harder to obtain for abortion.
December 23, 2024 5:12 am
PHOENIX (AP) — That Donald Trump failed to achieve central goals in the government shutdown fight alongside Elon Musk seemed unimportant to many speakers and attendees at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest. Speakers and attendees in Phoenix hailed Trump and Musk for initially scuttling a bipartisan agreement to keep the federal government open. They jeered House Speaker Mike Johnson and his willingness to engage with Democrats, disregarding Johnson’s close alliance with Trump and frequent appearances at Trump’s side. Interviews with people at AmericaFest illustrated that the new right in America is defined philosophically by anti-establishment sentiment, staunchly conservative social mores and vocal declarations of patriotism.
December 23, 2024 5:09 am
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda have announced plans to work toward a merger that would catapult them to a top position in an industry in the midst of tectonic shifts as it transitions away from reliance on fossil fuels. The two companies said they signed an agreement on integrating their businesses on Monday. Smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors agreed to join the talks. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month. Japanese automakers face a strong challenge from their Chinese rivals and Tesla as they make inroads into markets at home and abroad.
