The bodies of two adolescent girls were found seven years ago outside the small Indiana town of Delphi, close to a hiking route. For years, the case remained unresolved, and officials have not disclosed many details to the public regarding the reasons behind the suspected killings of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, also known as Libby and Abby, by Richard Allen, a former drugstore employee. On November 11, Allen, 52, was found guilty of the deaths of the teenagers. On Friday, he was found guilty on four charges of felony murder—murder for intentionally killing Abigail, murder for knowingly killing Liberty, and felony murder for killing Abigail while attempting to kidnap her—and was sentenced to 130 years in prison. Allen's attorneys have maintained his innocence and asserted ...

Holiday travel may be affected, but holiday shipments will be unaffected if the government closes a few days before Christmas. Following President-elect Donald Trump's stifling of a bipartisan funding package on Wednesday, lawmakers were still frantically trying to come to an agreement by Friday morning that would prevent a government shutdown in the United States at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. Under the Trump administration, there hasn't been a government shutdown since 2019. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the U.S. economy lost $3 billion as a result of that 35-day budget standoff. Watch live coverage of the government shutdown. If a new shutdown were to take place in the next few days, it would be difficult to predict how long it would last. However, major services would cont...

Millions of government workers would not be paid if the federal government shuts down this weekend, and activity at many agencies that need federal funding will either slow down or cease completely. However, Social Security payments would continue to be made. The shorter-term continuing-resolution measures that have kept the government running in recent years amid political stalemate in Washington do not pay Social Security, which is regarded as a necessary program. Watch live coverage of the government shutdown. Social Security benefits are paid to over 72.8 million people each month. Retirees receive the majority of such payments, but disabled individuals and the dependents of dead pensioners also receive them. Benefit checks will continue to be sent, but if SSA staff start to be furloug...

Placekicker for the Los Angeles ChargersEast Coast residents who get up early and those who watch linear TV likely missed Cameron Dicker's 57-yard free-kick field goal on Thursday. Dicker's unimpeded field goal at the end of the first half of Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" kicked off a resurgence that saw the Chargers overcome a deficit to defeat the visiting Denver Broncos 34-27. It was the first successful field goal on a free kick in 48 years in the NFL. In the final seconds of the second quarter, Denver was forced to punt on fourth-and-12 from its own 16-yard line as the Broncos led 21-10. At his own 38-yard line, L.A. punt returner Derius Davis was in position to make a fair catch.A kick receiver who signals that he will reel in the boot and give up any possibility of a retur...

The bodies of two adolescent girls were found seven years ago outside the small Indiana town of Delphi, close to a hiking route. For years, the case remained unresolved, and officials have not disclosed many details to the public regarding the reasons behind the suspected killings of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, also known as Libby and Abby, by Richard Allen, a former drugstore employee. On November 11, Allen, 52, was found guilty of the deaths of the teenagers. On Friday, he was found guilty on four charges of felony murder—murder for intentionally killing Abigail, murder for knowingly killing Liberty, and felony murder for killing Abigail while attempting to kidnap her—and was sentenced to 130 years in prison. Allen's attorneys have maintained his innocence and asserted ...

Nearly eight years after the bodies of two middle school girls were discovered next to a hiking trail, Richard Allen, an Indiana man convicted of their murder in 2017, was sentenced to 130 years in prison on Friday. Following a four-week trial, Allen, 52, was found guilty of murder in November for the deaths of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. The murders of the girls, who were close friends, remained unexplained for years until their remains were discovered on February 14, 2017, adjacent to a hiking trail. Allen was taken into custody by Indianapolis State Police in October 2022. Following what the state police superintendent described as a "long-term and complex investigation," he was charged with murder. According to the prosecution, Allen met the girls on the Monon High Br...

The bodies of two adolescent girls were found seven years ago outside the small Indiana town of Delphi, close to a hiking route. For years, the case remained unresolved, and officials have not disclosed many details to the public regarding the reasons behind the suspected killings of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, also known as Libby and Abby, by Richard Allen, a former drugstore employee. On November 11, Allen, 52, was found guilty of the deaths of the teenagers. Four counts—felony murder for the killing of Abigail while attempting to kidnap, felony murder for the killing of Liberty, murder for intentionally killing Abigail, and murder for knowingly killing Liberty—will be tried against him on Friday. Allen's attorneys have maintained his innocence and asserted that the mur...

Elon Musk was among the many creatures stirring throughout the House during Washington's government shutdown season. Congressmen were anticipating a smooth transition to the holidays. They struck a bipartisan agreement that would keep the government afloat and send them all back to their districts in joy. However, with Musk, the richest man in the world, controlling a significant portion of the political process and Donald Trump back in the White House, they were given a preview of what the next four years might hold. For live coverage, follow along. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., drafted a 1,500-page funding package that was full with the byproducts of the conventional horse-trading that typically characterizes congressional dealmaking. Trump, with Musk's assistance, successfully kill...

Washington Unless Congress devises a plan and takes immediate action, the U.S. government will shut down this weekend. After entrepreneur Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump blew up their original bill and then a backup plan failed to pass Thursday night, congressional Republicans are starting over as federal funding ends at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. Watch live coverage of the government shutdown. Government operations that people depend on and the salaries of millions of federal employees are at risk while Congress considers a course ahead. The following information will help you understand what a government shutdown is and how it can impact you: What is a government shutdown? Since Congress has the power of the purse under the Constitution, nearly all decisions on government fi...

Holiday travel may be affected, but holiday shipments will be unaffected if the government closes a few days before Christmas. Following President-elect Donald Trump's stifling of a bipartisan funding package on Wednesday, lawmakers were still frantically trying to come to an agreement by Friday morning that would prevent a government shutdown in the United States at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. Under the Trump administration, there hasn't been a government shutdown since 2019. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the U.S. economy lost $3 billion as a result of that 35-day budget standoff. If a new shutdown were to take place in the next few days, it would be difficult to predict how long it would last. However, major services would continue to operate normally, and these are some of ...