Trump could avoid trial this year on 2020 election charges. Is the hush money case a worthy proxy?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump faces serious charges in two separate cases over whether he attempted to subvert the Constitution by overturning the results of a fair election and illegally remain in power. Yet it’s a New York case centered on payments to silence...

Trial opens for former Virginia hospital medical director accused of sexual abuse of ex-patients

NEW KENT, Va. (AP) — The former longtime medical director of a Virginia hospital that serves vulnerable children used physical examinations as a “ruse” to sexually abuse two teenage patients, a prosecutor said Monday, while the physician's attorney “adamantly” denied any inappropriate...

Key takeaways from the opening statements in Donald Trump's hush money trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Monday's opening statements in the first criminal trial of a former American president provided a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Donald Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges on multiple fronts. Lawyers...

Man charged with hate crime for vandalizing Islamic center at Rutgers, prosecutors say

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A man accused of vandalizing an Islamic center at New Jersey’s flagship university on the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr has been charged with a hate crime, federal prosecutors announced Monday. Jacob Beacher, 24, of North Plainfield, faces single counts...

No charges yet in weekend crash that killed 2 siblings at Michigan birthday party

BERLIN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Investigators need more time to collect information before charges can be filed in the deaths of two young siblings who were killed by a suspected drunken driver at a child's weekend birthday party, a Michigan prosecutor said Monday. “We expect to...

Russia convicts the spokesperson for Facebook owner Meta in a swift trial in absentia

A court in Russia on Monday convicted the spokesperson of U.S. technology company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison in a swift trial in absentia, Russia's independent news site Mediazona reported. According to...

Celebrity handbag designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags

MIAMI (AP) — A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the “Sex and the City” TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her...

Trump's lawyer tells jurors that the former president is innocent of the charges brought against him in hush money case

2nd former Arkansas officer pleads guilty to civil rights charge from violent arrest caught on video

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A second former Arkansas law enforcement officer has pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of a man he repeatedly punched during a violent arrest in 2022 that was caught on video and shared widely. Former Crawford County sheriff's deputy Levi White...

Recently arrested Morgan Wallen says he's "not proud" of behavior

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music star Morgan Wallen, who faces charges stemming in part from accusations that he threw a chair off the rooftop of a six-story bar, says he’s “not proud” of his behavior and accepts responsibility. The “One Thing at a Time” singer...