SACRAMENTO — A California judge on Wednesday set a May hearing to decide if prosecutors have enough evidence to go to trial against a man suspected being the notorious "Golden State Killer" who eluded capture for decades. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Steve White ordered the preliminary hearing for Joseph...
Watchdog: White House Violated Law in Freezing Ukraine Aid
WASHINGTON — The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump's impeachment, a federal watchdog agency said Thursday. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget violated the law in holding up...
Nunes: 'After Today, House Intel Committee Ceases to Exist'
Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, continued his full-throated defense of President Donald Trump on Thursday. The Tulare Republican spoke during the debate before Democrats powered through the ground rules for their impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump on a 232-196 vote. "It's clear that since the Democrats took...
GOP Stands by Trump, Gingerly, After Diplomat's Testimony
WASHINGTON — They pleaded ignorance, saying they'd not read the diplomat's damning statement. They condemned the Democrats' tactics as unfair. They complained that the allegations against President Donald Trump rested on second- or third-hand evidence. Wednesday was a day of careful counterargument by congressional Republicans, the day after America's top envoy in...
Man in Madera Jail Arrested in 2002 Rape of 16-Year-old
A man wanted in the 2002 rape and kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl was arrested after DNA linked him to the crime, Sonoma County authorities said Monday. Juan Lopes, 39, of Santa Rosa was in custody in Madera County Jail for public intoxication last month when he was linked to...
California Must Finally End the Backlog of Unprocessed Rape Kits. Here’s How
After a sexual assault, survivors undergo an incredibly invasive procedure, typically involving being examined, swabbed and photographed for several hours. The specific purpose is to collect DNA and other evidence used to identify the perpetrator. It is the ultimate injustice to discover that thousands of sexual assault evidence kits collected...
US Contractor Sentenced in Iraq Shooting Seeks New Trial
WASHINGTON — A former State Department contractor sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2007 shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians is asking for a new trial because of what he says is newly discovered evidence. Lawyers for former Blackwater employee Nicholas Slatten said they received a State...
John Dillinger Relatives Doubt Body in Grave Is the Gangster
INDIANAPOLIS — Relatives of notorious 1930s gangster John Dillinger who plan to have his remains exhumed say they have "evidence" the body buried in an Indianapolis cemetery beneath a gravestone bearing his name may not be him and FBI agents possibly killed someone else in 1934. The Indiana State Department...
Mystery of Racist Photo in Governor’s Yearbook Left Unsolved
NORFOLK, Va. — The mystery of whether Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was in the racist yearbook photo that nearly destroyed his career remains unsolved. A months-long investigation ordered up by Eastern Virginia Medical School failed to determine whether Northam is in the picture published in 1984 of a man in...
FBI Chief: No Evidence of Illegal Spying on Trump Campaign
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Chris Wray said Tuesday that he does not consider court-approved FBI surveillance to be "spying" and said he has no evidence the FBI illegally monitored President Donald Trump's campaign during the 2016 election. His comments at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing broke from Attorney General William Barr,...