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A poster seeking information about the campus shooting suspect is seen on the campus of Brown University, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

How 1 anonymous tipster cracked the Brown University shooting case

Kimberlee Kruesi, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 1:07 AM CST

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Information from a tipster who had a strange encounter with another man on a sidewalk outside Brown University was key to police identifying the suspect they believe killed two students at the school and then two days later gunned down a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

Known only as “John” in a Providence police affidavit, the source is being hailed by investigators as the key figure who gave law enforcement the details needed to determine who was behind the Brown shooting, as well as the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who was shot in his Brookline home Monday.

Ever since a shooter unloaded more than 40 rounds inside a Brown engineering building, anxiety and frustration has plagued the Providence, Rhode Island, community as police appeared no closer to identifying the person.

Yet on the sixth day of the investigation, the case gathered steam, ending with police announcing late Thursday they had found the suspected gunman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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Advocates raise alarms after Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan found guilty of obstruction

Todd Richmond And Scott Bauer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Advocates raise alarms after Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan found guilty of obstruction

Todd Richmond And Scott Bauer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 10:08 AM CST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Defenders of a Wisconsin judge found guilty of felony obstruction for helping a Mexican immigrant evade federal officers raised alarms Friday about judicial independence and said they hope the conviction will be overturned on appeal.

But the Trump administration hailed the conviction, which is punishable by up to five years in prison, as a sign that no one is above the law.

A jury found Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan guilty on Thursday night after a four-day trial and six hours of deliberation. The jury found her not guilty of a misdemeanor concealment charge. No sentencing date had been set as of Friday morning.

The verdict was a victory for President Donald Trump, whose administration filed the charges and touted Dugan's arrest, posting photos of her being led away in handcuffs.

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Updated: 10:08 AM CST

This courtroom sketch depicts Judge Hannah Dugan during the closing arguments at her trial in court, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Adela Tesnow via AP, Pool)

3 killed in Taiwan knife attack, with the suspect later falling to his death from a department store

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

3 killed in Taiwan knife attack, with the suspect later falling to his death from a department store

The Associated Press 2 minute read 10:14 AM CST

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A man with a knife and a smoke grenade attacked crowds indiscriminately in Taiwan's capital on Friday evening, killing at least three people and injuring nine others, according to the national news agency and the city government. The suspect later fell to his death from a department store building.

Police said that the suspect was declared dead at a hospital after jumping from the building's sixth floor, the Central News Agency reported.

The suspect, identified as a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen, threw a smoke grenade near an underground exit of the Taipei Main subway station, close to the city's main train station, sending pedestrians running, according to local media reports.

He then headed north to a popular shopping district, where he stabbed multiple people on the first and fourth floors of the Eslite department store, primarily in the neck, the news agency said, citing police.

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10:14 AM CST

Taiwan police cordoned off the scene after a knife attack in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

The Kennedy Center starts work to add Trump’s name onto the building

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press 1 minute read Preview

The Kennedy Center starts work to add Trump’s name onto the building

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press 1 minute read 9:42 AM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kennedy Center started the work of adding Donald Trump's name to the building on Friday, a day after the president's handpicked board voted to do so.

Several blue tarps were hung in front of the institution early Friday to block views of the work underway. A large letter D was seen on the exterior before the final tarps went up, along with workers on scaffolding at the center, which was named for John F. Kennedy, a Democratic president.

The board voted to rename The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Trump, a Republican, is chairman of the board.

Critics of the vote, including Democratic members of Congress who are ex-officio board members, as well as some historians, insist that only Congress can change the name.

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9:42 AM CST

Tarps are installed in front of the sign on the Kennedy Center on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

States faces a choice on whether to embrace Trump’s tax cuts on tips, overtime and more

David A. Lieb, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

States faces a choice on whether to embrace Trump’s tax cuts on tips, overtime and more

David A. Lieb, The Associated Press 6 minute read 9:11 AM CST

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — To tax tips or not? That is a question that will confront lawmakers in states across the U.S. as they convene for work next year.

President Donald Trump’s administration is urging states to follow its lead by enacting a slew of new tax breaks for individuals and businesses, including deductions for tips and overtime wages, automobile loans and business equipment.

In some states, the new federal tax breaks will automatically apply to state income taxes unless legislatures opt out. But in many other states, where tax laws are written differently, the new tax breaks won't appear on state tax forms unless legislatures opt in.

In states that don't conform to the federal tax changes, workers who receive tips or overtime — for example — will pay no federal tax on those earnings but could still owe state taxes on them.

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9:11 AM CST

President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing regarding marijuana in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Former New York state prison guard sentenced to up to life in prison in inmate’s death

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Former New York state prison guard sentenced to up to life in prison in inmate’s death

The Associated Press 3 minute read 9:55 AM CST

UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A former New York state prison guard convicted of murder for his role in the brutal beating of an inmate that was captured on body-camera footage was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison.

David Kingsley also received a 25-year sentence for a manslaughter conviction in the case. He is the only former guard convicted of murder in the death of Robert Brooks, who was pummeled by corrections officers on the night of Dec. 9, 2024, at Marcy Correctional Facility. Five other guards charged in the 43-year-old Black man’s death have pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Video footage of Brooks in handcuffs being punched and stomped by guards triggered widespread shock and calls for reform in New York's prisons.

Six guards were indicted by a grand jury for murder charges brought earlier this year by the special prosecutor, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who also charged four others with lesser crimes. Three of the defendants charged with murder later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.

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9:55 AM CST

FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows body camera footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File)

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash

Allen G. Breed And Gary D. Robertson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash

Allen G. Breed And Gary D. Robertson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:50 PM CST

STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane's return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.

Federal Aviation Administration records show Biffle was rated to fly helicopters and single and multi-engine planes. It wasn't clear if Biffle was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:50 PM CST

This screengrab made from video provided by WSOC shows firefighting crews responding to a reported plane crash at a regional airport in Statesville, N.C., erupting in a large fire, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2025. (WSOC via AP)

Syria welcomes the permanent repeal of sweeping US sanctions

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Syria welcomes the permanent repeal of sweeping US sanctions

The Associated Press 4 minute read 9:48 AM CST

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s government and its allies on Friday welcomed the final lifting of the most draconian sanctions imposed on the country in recent decades.

The U.S. Congress imposed the so-called Caesar Act sanctions on Syria’s government and financial system in 2019 to punish then-President Bashar Assad for human rights abuses during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war that began in 2011.

After Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024, advocates — including some who had previously lobbied for the imposition of the sanctions — pushed to have the penalties removed. They argued that the sanctions were preventing international investors from launching reconstruction projects and blocking Syria from rebuilding its battered economy and infrastructure.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who had previously lifted the penalties temporarily by executive order, signed off on the final repeal late Thursday after Congress passed it as part of the country’s annual defense spending bill.

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9:48 AM CST

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, greets people as he attends celebrations marking the first anniversary of the ousting of former President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) I

Ford recalls more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles due to roll-away risk

The Associated Press 1 minute read Preview

Ford recalls more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles due to roll-away risk

The Associated Press 1 minute read 9:36 AM CST

Ford is recalling more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. because of a parking function problem that could lead to them rolling away.

The Detroit automaker said that the recall includes certain 2022-2026 F-150 Lightning BEV, 2024-2026 Mustang Mach-E, and 2025-2026 Maverick vehicles. At issue is the integrated park module, which may fail to lock into the park position when the driver shifts into park.

Ford said that it will implement a park module software update for free.

Vehicle owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 for additional information.

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9:36 AM CST

Tennessee governor pardons country star Jelly Roll, who has sought redemption from criminal past

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Tennessee governor pardons country star Jelly Roll, who has sought redemption from criminal past

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:23 PM CST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's governor pardoned country star Jelly Roll on Thursday for his criminal past in the state, acknowledging the Nashville native's long road back from drugs and prison through soul-searching, songwriting and advocacy for second chances.

The rapper-turned-singer whose legal name is Jason Deford has spoken for years about his redemption arc before diverse audiences, from people serving time in correctional centers to concert crowds and even in testimony before Congress.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee issued the pardon after friends and civic leaders of the Grammy-nominated musician joined in an outpouring of support.

Jelly Roll's convictions include robbery and drug felonies. He has said a pardon would make it easier for him to travel internationally for concert tours and to perform Christian missionary work without filling out burdensome paperwork.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:23 PM CST

FILE.- Jelly Roll arrives at the 60th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas, on May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Warm weather and low snowpack bedevil Western ski resorts

Mead Gruver And Brittany Peterson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Warm weather and low snowpack bedevil Western ski resorts

Mead Gruver And Brittany Peterson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 6:42 AM CST

EDWARDS, Colo. (AP) — Ski resorts are struggling to open runs, walk-through ice palaces can’t be built, and the owner of a horse stable hopes that her customers will be satisfied with riding wagons instead of sleighs under majestic Rocky Mountain peaks. It’s just been too warm in the West with not enough snow.

Meanwhile, the Midwest and Northeast have been blanketed by record snow this December, a payday for skiers who usually covet conditions out West.

In the Western mountains where snow is crucial for ski tourism — not to mention water for millions of acres (hectares) of crops and the daily needs of tens of millions of people — much less snow than usual has piled up.

“Mother Nature has been dealing a really hard deck,” said Kevin Cooper, president of the Kirkwood Ski Education Foundation, a ski racing organization at Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada line.

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Updated: 6:42 AM CST

A gondola hangs in front of snow-scarce mountains Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Avon, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Nodding off is dangerous. Some animals have evolved extreme ways to sleep in precarious environments

Christina Larson, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Nodding off is dangerous. Some animals have evolved extreme ways to sleep in precarious environments

Christina Larson, The Associated Press 6 minute read 7:01 AM CST

Every animal with a brain needs sleep — and even a few without a brain do, too. Humans sleep, birds sleep, whales sleep and even jellyfish sleep.

Sleep is universal “even though it’s actually very risky,” said Paul-Antoine Libourel, a researcher at the Neuroscience Research Center of Lyon in France.

When animals nod off, they're most vulnerable to sneaky predators. But despite the risks, the need for sleep is so strong that no creature can skip it altogether, even when it's highly inconvenient.

Animals that navigate extreme conditions and environments have evolved to sleep in extreme ways — for example, stealing seconds at a time during around-the-clock parenting, getting winks on the wing during long migrations and even dozing while swimming.

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7:01 AM CST

Mystery as YouTube creator’s finance livestream appears on White House website

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Mystery as YouTube creator’s finance livestream appears on White House website

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 8:53 AM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The livestream of a YouTube content creator talking about investments mysteriously appeared to take over a White House website, raising questions about whether the site was hacked.

The livestream appeared for at least eight minutes late Thursday on whitehouse.gov/live, where the White House usually streams live video of the president speaking.

It's unclear if the website was breached or the video was linked accidentally by someone in the government. The White House said in a statement that it was “aware and looking into what happened.”

The video that appeared on the government-run website featured some of a more than two-hour livestream from Matt Farley, who posts as @RealMattMoney, as he answered financial questions.

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Updated: 8:53 AM CST

December 19, 2025

How 1 anonymous tipster cracked the Brown University shooting case

Weather

Advocates raise alarms after Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan found guilty of obstruction

Advocates raise alarms after Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan found guilty of obstruction

3 killed in Taiwan knife attack, with the suspect later falling to his death from a department store

3 killed in Taiwan knife attack, with the suspect later falling to his death from a department store

The Kennedy Center starts work to add Trump’s name onto the building

The Kennedy Center starts work to add Trump’s name onto the building

States faces a choice on whether to embrace Trump’s tax cuts on tips, overtime and more

States faces a choice on whether to embrace Trump’s tax cuts on tips, overtime and more

Former New York state prison guard sentenced to up to life in prison in inmate’s death

Former New York state prison guard sentenced to up to life in prison in inmate’s death

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash

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Syria welcomes the permanent repeal of sweeping US sanctions

Syria welcomes the permanent repeal of sweeping US sanctions

Ford recalls more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles due to roll-away risk

Ford recalls more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles due to roll-away risk

Tennessee governor pardons country star Jelly Roll, who has sought redemption from criminal past

Tennessee governor pardons country star Jelly Roll, who has sought redemption from criminal past

Warm weather and low snowpack bedevil Western ski resorts

Warm weather and low snowpack bedevil Western ski resorts

Nodding off is dangerous. Some animals have evolved extreme ways to sleep in precarious environments

Nodding off is dangerous. Some animals have evolved extreme ways to sleep in precarious environments

Mystery as YouTube creator’s finance livestream appears on White House website

Mystery as YouTube creator’s finance livestream appears on White House website

December 19, 2025

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