Today's News Headline

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. WASHINGTON (AP) —  Matt Gaetz  withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on the former congressman’s ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. The Florida Republican’s announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.” Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Trump’s pu

WASHINGTON (AP) —  Matt Gaetz  withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on the former congressman’s ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. The Florida Republican’s announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.” Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor  Jussie Smollett’s  conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police. The  state’s highest court ruled  that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County state’s attorney initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for forfeiting his $10,000 bond and conducting community service. The ruling and the appeal did not address Smollett’s continued claim of innocence. Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed two men assaulted him, spouted racial and homophobic slurs and tossed a noose around his neck, leading to a massive search for suspects by Chicago police detectives and kicking up an international uproar. Smollett was on the television drama “Empire,” which filmed in Chicago, and prosecutors alleged he stag

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor  Jussie Smollett’s  conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police. The  state’s highest court ruled  that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County state’s attorney initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for forfeiting his $10,000 bond and conducting community service. The ruling and the appeal did not address Smollett’s continued claim of innocence. Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed two men assaulted him, spouted racial and homophobic slurs and tossed a noose around his neck, leading to a massive search for suspects by Chicago police detectives and kicking up an international uproar. Smollett was on the television drama “Empire,” which filmed in Chicago, and prosecutors alleged he staged the attack because he was unhappy with the studio’s response to hate

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A Venezuelan man has been convicted of murder in the killing of  Georgia nursing student Laken Riley , a case that fueled the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential race. Jose Ibarra was  charged with murder and other crimes  in Riley’s February death, and the guilty verdict was reached on Wednesday by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra, 26, had  waived his right to a jury trial , meaning Haggard alone heard and decided the case. Haggard found Ibarra guilty of all 10 counts against him: one count of malice murder; three counts of felony murder; and one count each of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, evidence tampering and being a peeping Tom. After reading the verdict, the judge said he was ready to proceed with sentencing immediately, but prosecut

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A Venezuelan man has been convicted of murder in the killing of  Georgia nursing student Laken Riley , a case that fueled the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential race. Jose Ibarra was  charged with murder and other crimes  in Riley’s February death, and the guilty verdict was reached on Wednesday by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra, 26, had  waived his right to a jury trial , meaning Haggard alone heard and decided the case. Haggard found Ibarra guilty of all 10 counts against him: one count of malice murder; three counts of felony murder; and one count each of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, evidence tampering and being a peeping Tom. After reading the verdict, the judge said he was ready to proceed with sentencing immediately, but prosecutors asked for a break. The judge said he would proceed after an hour-lon

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors said Tuesday they’ll oppose any effort to dismiss President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction as his sentencing looms, but they expressed some openness to delaying the case until after his impending second term. In a court filing Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Trump’s forthcoming presidency isn’t grounds for dropping a case that was already tried. But “given the need to balance competing constitutional interests,” prosecutors said, “consideration must be given” to potentially freezing the case until after he’s out of office. Trump was  convicted in May  of falsifying business records to cover up a scheme to influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to a porn actor who said they’d had sex. Trump denies the allegations. Juan M. Merchan had given prosecutors until Tuesday to share their thoughts on how to proceed with the case, which had b