Nation

Former GOP Ohio speaker, lobbyist guilty in $60 million bribery scheme

By Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press

Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former state Republican chair Matt Borges have been convicted in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history.

Virginia judge rules human embryos are ‘chattel’ based on centuries-old slave laws

By Matthew Barakat, Associated Press

The preliminary opinion by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner is being criticized by some for wrongly and unnecessarily delving into a time in Virginia history when it was legally permissible to own human beings.

Authorities receive apology letter after abduction, deaths of U.S. citizens in Mexico

By Alfredo Peña, Associated Press

A letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel blamed for abducting four Americans and killing two of them condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible.

Ex-Goldman Sachs banker sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1MDB fraud

By Bobby Caina Calvan, Associated Press

Roger Ng was convicted last April by a U.S. District Court jury in Brooklyn. He was sentenced on Thursday. He continues to deny charges that he conspired with two other people to launder money and violate two anti-bribery laws.

Medicaid coverage for new moms gains support in GOP-controlled states

By Amanda Seitz, Associated Press

After years of refusing to expand Medicaid benefits for new mothers, Republican officials in more than a half-dozen states are reversing course.

Maine vegan’s ‘tofu’ license plate ensnared in state’s vulgarity crackdown

By David Sharp, Associated Press

A handful of motorists in Maine are appealing to keep their custom license plates after the state cracked down on naughty words, including unabbreviated expletives.

‘Extraordinary’ congressional health data breach could expose lawmakers and staff, House leaders say

By Lisa Mascaro, Frank Bajak, Associated Press

Hackers have broken into a Washington, D.C. health insurance marketplace and stolen sensitive personal data including Social Security numbers and home addresses of members of Congress, their employees and family members.

Hepatitis C is ‘not something you wish on anybody.’ Biden has a plan to end it

By Laura Santhanam

There’s no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C infections, which often go undetected for years – experts say the virus’ stealthy nature and inadequate access to testing mean that many more people likely have hepatitis C and don’t even know it.

Lawsuit against Fox reveals push to influence elections for top Republicans

By Nicholas Riccardi, David Bauder, Associated Press

Thousands of pages of documents in a recent lawsuit show that Fox News' top executives sometimes were actively involved in politics rather than simply reporting or offering opinions on it.