Documents: 9/11 bomb plot suspect had mental illness history

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – A Florida man accused of helping an undercover FBI agent posing as a terrorist plan a bombing at a 9/11 commemoration has a long history of mental illness, according to court documents unsealed Monday. A mental competency evaluation performed by a federal prison psychologist shows Joshua Goldberg, 20, had been diagnosed […]

New federal data shows nearly 3 percent rise in child abuse

NEW YORK (AP) – The number of U.S. children victimized by abuse and neglect increased by nearly 3 percent in the latest annual reporting period, according to new federal data. According to the report released Monday by the Department of Health and Human Services, the estimated number of victimized children in the 2014 fiscal year […]

Democratic senator blocks Obama’s pick to head FDA

WASHINGTON (AP) – A Democratic senator said Monday he is blocking President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration as he pressures the agency to be tougher on abuse of opioid painkillers. Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey said in a statement that he has put a hold on the nomination of Dr. Robert […]

Committee passes bill that would ban nearly all abortions

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A House committee passed a bill Monday that would ban nearly all abortions in Florida, but even backers of the bill say its chances of passage, or of surviving a court challenge if it became law, likely are slim. House Bill 865 defines human life as beginning at conception, and would […]

Sea creatures wash ashore SWFL beaches by the thousands

SANIBEL, Fla.- Piles of sea creatures, like sea urchins and starfish, are lining the Sanibel shoreline. Holly Milbrandt, an environmental biologist with the City of Sanibel, says high winds and surf shook up the Gulf floor, sending the creatures onto the sand across Southwest Florida beaches. “This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity, it’s just fantastic,” […]

Mystery surrounds body found in Charlotte County wooded area

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.- Crime scene investigators are still processing the area where a teenager found a body in a wooded area near Narango Drive in Charlotte County. The south Punta Gorda neighborhood, off Tuckers Grade, has few homes among the dirt roads. Neighbors say they’re shaken up after the body of a woman was mysteriously found on Saturday. A teenager fishing at […]

Ex-prosecutor to spearhead investigation into Flint water

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – A former prosecutor and a retired head of the Detroit FBI will play key roles in an investigation into Flint’s lead-tainted water as part of the effort to seek answers while also preventing conflicts of interest, Michigan’s attorney general announced Monday. Republican Bill Schuette said Todd Flood, a former assistant prosecutor […]

Grand jury indicts leader behind Planned Parenthood videos

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A Houston grand jury investigating undercover footage of Planned Parenthood found no wrongdoing Monday by the abortion provider but instead indicted anti-abortion activists involved in making the videos that provoked outrage among Republican leaders nationwide. David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, was indicted on a felony charge of […]

Ex-cop pleads guilty to killing woman, ditching body

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A former suburban Milwaukee police officer pleaded guilty to killing an Oregon woman and ditching her body in a suitcase along a highway on Monday, the same day his trial was set to begin. Steven Zelich pleaded guilty in the death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez, of Cottage Grove, Oregon, whose body was […]