Law

TikTok would be banned from most U.S. government devices under a government spending bill Congress unveiled early Tuesday, the latest push by American lawmakers against the Chinese-owned social media app.

Congress is about to ban TikTok from U.S. government phones

9:47pm December 20, 2022

by Bobby Allyn

A ban on Chinese-owned TikTok for government devices is in a new spending bill. It will not affect most of the 100 million U.S. users of the app, but it is a major anti-TikTok escalation by the U.S.

Morning news brief

5:17am December 20, 2022

The House panel probing the Jan. 6 attack held a final hearing. Pandemic border restrictions are extended by the Supreme Court. Harvey Weinstein is found guilty of rape in a trial in Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles trial verdict: Harvey Weinstein found guilty on 3 of 7 charges

5:05am December 20, 2022

Once a powerful man in Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of three of seven charges in his second sex crimes trial. He is already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York.

Attendees applaud after New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul announced actions to combat hate crimes at her office in New York City in November 2022. Hochul has formed a new unit to combat hate and bias across the state that will focus on education, early detection and mobilizing support in areas where a bias-related incidents have occurred.

New York residents have mixed feelings about yet another statewide anti-bias program

5:01am December 20, 2022

by Jonathan Franklin

The new unit is a broader effort by Gov. Kathy Hochul to address hate crimes and violence across the state in response to Buffalo's deadly mass shooting that killed 10 Black people.

Dr. Esgar Guarín with his mobile vasectomy clinic parked at a Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, Mo.

Fewer abortions, more vasectomies: Why the procedure may be getting more popular

5:00am December 20, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

In response to growing abortion restrictions, many health care providers report a rising number of patients seeking vasectomy care.

Actress Amber Heard departs the Fairfax County Courthouse on June 1 in Fairfax, Virginia.

Arts

Amber Heard said she has decided to settle Johnny Depp's case against her

8:44pm December 19, 2022

by Merrit Kennedy

"I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder," Heard said on Monday morning.

For more than a month, witnesses gave graphic testimony of how former film producer Harvey Weinstein would lure women to private meetings in hotel rooms that quickly turned violent.

Harvey Weinstein found guilty on 3 of 7 charges in Los Angeles

7:32pm December 19, 2022

by Mandalit del Barco

Weinstein's legal trouble is far from over. In London, he faces criminal charges of indecent assault of a woman in 1996.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent instructs immigrants who had crossed the Rio Grande into El Paso, Texas on Dec. 19, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Over the weekend, El Paso declared a state of emergency, one week after a surge of asylum seekers began crossing the border, quickly overwhelming federal immigration and city authorities.

U.S. Supreme Court extends border restrictions just before they were set to end

7:08pm December 19, 2022

by Joel Rose

Pandemic border restrictions known as Title 42 will continue, at least for now, after the Supreme Court granted a stay to Republican state attorneys general as many migrants wait to cross the border.

Politics & Government

Jan. 6 panel to vote on criminal referrals against former President Trump

7:19am December 19, 2022

Ahead of the House Jan. 6 committee meeting Monday, NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to law professor Kim Wehle about the importance of this moment for American democracy.

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In this image from video, Anderson Aldrich surrenders to police at a home where his mother was renting a room in Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 18, 2021.

National

A judge had warned that the Club Q mass shooting suspect posed a potential threat

11:42am December 17, 2022

by The Associated Press

A judge dismissed a kidnapping case against the Colorado gay nightclub shooter even though she had raised concerns about the defendant stockpiling weapons and explosives and planning a shootout.