CNN – National

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN Three companies have been accused of illegally discharging about 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast in October, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Oil company Amplify Energy and its subsidiaries Beta Operating Company and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Company “acted negligently in at least six

By Casey Tolan, CNN In a dramatic reversal, a 90-year-old, seriously ill federal inmate serving life in prison for a nonviolent marijuana trafficking crime will go free after a judge granted him compassionate release on Tuesday — overturning his previous order denying release. Horacio Estrada-Elias, who was the subject of a CNN investigative story in

By Ryan Young, Maria Cartaya, Alta Spells and Tina Burnside, CNN A judge in Lafayette, Louisiana, is taking a leave of absence and facing calls for her resignation after a video with racist language recorded at her home surfaced. A lawyer for City Court Judge Michelle M. Odinet told the Acadiana Advocate she feels “humiliated,

By Sahar Akbarzai, CNN A Covid-19 outbreak at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office mainly stemming from an offsite holiday party is causing staff shortages and other disruptions, according to a letter sent to staff by Bonnie Sard, Administrative Assistant for the District Attorney. This recent outbreak follows a national trend of rising Covid-19 cases before

By Amanda Watts, CNN In a new report, a Miami-Dade grand jury overseeing the Surfside condo collapse offered a litany of recommendations to help avoid a similar event, including, most notably, that the county’s 40-year recertification requirement be drastically changed. In its 43-page report, the panel recommended that the certification process should begin much earlier

By Amy Simonson and Tina Burnside, CNN The Broward County public school district will pay more than $26 million to the shooting victims and the families of 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Members unanimously approved two legal settlements at a school board meeting Tuesday. “Following the tragedy that occurred at Marjory

By Kristina Sgueglia, CNN A man identified as homeless has been arrested after swastikas were spray-painted this week on a pillar at New York City Hall and on the Charging Bull statue near Wall Street, the New York Police Department said. The suspect was arrested on five counts of criminal mischief — a hate crime

By Carma Hassan and Ray Sanchez, CNN A policing expert testified Wednesday that Kim Potter was not justified in using deadly force when the former officer fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis. Video of the April 11 shooting shows that officers had pulled over Wright and tried to arrest him

By Emma Tucker, CNN For the first time in the New York Police Department’s 176-year history, a woman will become police commissioner of the nation’s largest police force — leading an agency tasked with combating police misconduct and the recent rise in violent crime, while raising the stakes for departments around the country. New York

By Michelle Watson and Melissa Alonso, CNN The Chicago City Council unanimously approved a $2.9 million settlement Wednesday for Anjanette Young, who was found naked and distraught when police officers mistakenly broke into her home in February 2019. The deal was approved earlier this week by the council’s finance committee and had the backing of

By Paul P. Murphy, Nora Neus and Elizabeth Stuart, CNN A significant rise in Covid-19 cases and concerns over the fast-spreading Omicron variant is forcing at least four more colleges and universities to move the last days of the fall semester online — including final exams. Princeton University announced Wednesday it is shifting all undergraduate