Author: Grace Thompson

After having called more than 30 witnesses, the prosecution in themanslaughter trial of Daniel Penny, who is charged in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, rested its case Monday. Penny, a former Marine, is also charged with criminally negligent homicide in the May 1, 2023, killing of Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness. Neely had screamed threats, including about wanting to go back to jail for life, and talked about being hungry and thirsty when he boarded an uptown F train that day. Some witnesses testified that they were afraid of him. Penny put him in a chokehold that lasted about six minutes, prosecutors have said and evidence presented at trial has shown. Penny s attorneys have said he acted to protect himself and other subway riders from a seething, psychotic...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday ordered election officials in the state tostop counting mail-in ballotsmarked with the wrong date or missing dates from their outer envelopes. Thecourt orderspecifies that Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, where Republicans argue that officials have opted to count mail-in ballots with errors on their outer envelopes, must adhere to the high court's earlier rulings, which saidundated ormisdated mail-in ballotsshould not be counted. The directive is a courtroom victory for Republican Dave McCormick, who holds a narrow lead over Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in a razor-thin Senate race that isheadedto a recountthis week. Elizabeth Gregory, a spokesperson for McCormick's campaign, called the ruling "a massive setback to Casey s attempt to count i...

Nebraska s Dan Osborn is returning to work Tuesday as a steamfitter after his unsuccessful Senate run, but his political career isn t over. Osborn, who ran as an independent, is launching a political action committee, called the Working Class Heroes Fund, to support working-class candidates of all parties. And he isn t ruling out another run for office after his loss to GOP Sen. Deb Fischer. That is definitely something we re taking a look at, Osborn said in a phone interview Monday when he was asked whether he is considering running for the Senate again in two years. GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts won a special election this month to serve out the final two years of former Sen. Ben Sasse s term and is up for a full term in 2026. Osborn previewed a possible case against Ricketts, a wealthy former...

During a landmark visit to theAmazon rainforestSunday, PresidentJoe Bidenhighlighted his climate legacy, declaring that no one can reverse America s green transition as President-electDonald Trumps fossil-friendly policies loom large. Biden is the first sitting U.S. president to visit the world s largest tropical rainforest, which plays a vital role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but is under growing threat fromclimate change. During an aerial tour from his Marine One helicopter, Biden saw dried-up riverbeds, eroded shores and plumes of smoke from the Amazon s worst forest fires in two decades, which have burned millions of acres this year and greatly disrupted life for its Indigenous communities. Speaking afterward at the Museum of the Amazon in Manaus, Brazil, Biden said ...

Missing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals might matter less now as retailers pepper bargain hunters with discounts for months heading into the holidays. But planning ahead to take advantage of them is getting harder, and that s largely thanks to Amazon. NBC News Holiday Price Check istracking the online prices of five gift items, each in a popular product category, to determine when the best deals hit. Already, it s clear that Amazon is often setting the pace. Not only does the e-commerce giant most frequently offer the lowest price, but when it holds a sale on a specific item, other major retailers follow suit. What s more, the flurry of discounts often occurs outside of heavily advertised sales events. It s like a race, it s a game, shopping expert Trae Bodge said. Stumbling onto a s...

WASHINGTON The top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee said Monday that the panel's report into GOP former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump s pick for attorney general, should be made public. The bipartisan Ethics Committee had been investigating Gaetz, of Florida, off and on since 2021, probing allegations of sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts. But the committee lost jurisdiction over Gaetz whenhe resigned from the Houseon Thursday and has not released any public report on its probe. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., the ranking member on the Ethics Committee, said the report should be released, a sentiment echoed by another committee member, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md. It absolutely should be released to the public. And, well,...

CAMARILLO, Calif. Al and Phyllis Nordquist lived in the same home on Garrido Drive for 53 years. It s where the couple raised their three kids and became empty nesters, grandparents and then great-grandparents. It was just so peaceful. We thought this is where we want to spend the rest of our life, said Phyllis, 87. But all of it was gone within minutes when theMountain Firetore through their neighborhood. The couple rushed to evacuate after a neighbor alerted them that the flames were closing in on their home. I said, Well, let me get my Volvo out, Al, 89, recalled. He said, No. He says, Now. It s going to hit. And he was right. The Mountain Fire in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, started Nov. 6 andrapidly grew to nearly 20,000acresbecause of winds. On Monday, it was ...

President-electDonald Trumpon Monday named former congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy as his pick for transportation secretary in the next administration. Duffy is the second Fox host Trump has tapped for a Cabinet post after he said last week that he would nominate Fox News personalityPete Hegsethto lead the Defense Department. Hegseth left Fox News after Trump's announcement. In astatementannouncing him, Trump described Duffy, R-Wis., as "a tremendous and well-liked public servant." "During his time in Congress, Sean was a respected voice and communicator in the Republican Conference, advocating for Fiscal Responsibility, Economic Growth, and Rural Development," Trump said. Trump said Duffy would use his experience in Congress "to maintain and rebuild our Nation s infrastructure...

Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Australia, bashed her cousinRobert F. Kennedy Jr.this week over his views on vaccinations, calling them dangerous. In response to a question at the National Press Club of Australia on Sunday, Caroline Kennedy said her cousin, President-elect Donald Trump s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is out of step with mainstream America when it comes to vaccines. I think Bobby Kennedy s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don t think that most Americans share them, she said in remarks previously reported byThe New York Times. She added that the American public is just getting to know Robert Kennedy but that she grew up with him and has known about his views for a long time. I would say that our family is united in terms of the p...

Aknife-wielding assailantkilled two menand a woman during an hourslong, seemingly "unprovoked" stabbing spree through the streets of New York City on Monday, authorities said. The two slain men attacked near 444 W. 19th St. at 8:22 a.m. ET and then by 500 E. 30th St. at 10:27 a.m. were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, officials said. Then a woman was stabbed in the shadow of the United Nations, near East 42nd Street and First Avenue, at 10:55 a.m., leaving her in critical condition. A New York City police spokesperson said Monday night that the woman died. A "person of interest" was captured a short time later at 46th Street and First Avenue, said police, who are not searching for anyone else in connection with the stabbings. Ramon Rivera, 51, was identified...