Ingested Articles

A judge has denied a defense request to return to a grand jury the case against a St. Louis couple accused of waving guns at racial injustice protesters last year. A St. Louis grand jury indicted Mark and Patricia McCloskey in October on felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence. Their attorney filed a motion this month seeking to remand the case to the grand jury to determine if the couple should have been indicted in the first place. Special Prosecutor Richard Callahan said that Circuit Judge David denied the motion on Friday and set trial for Nov. 1. 

The women’s world hockey championship has been rescheduled for late August, but the International Ice Hockey Federation has yet to determine a site. The IIHF announced it's working with Hockey Canada to evaluate potential hosts for the tournament that's now scheduled to begin Aug. 20. The 10-nation event was previously set to be held in Nova Scotia in May before it was abruptly canceled by the province at the last minute due to COVID-19 concerns. It’s unclear whether Nova Scotia again will be considered to host the tournament. 

Exxon Mobil has reported profits of $2.73 billion in the first quarter after a tumultuous year led to major spending reductions. The oil giant brought in $59.15 billion in revenue, up 5% from the same quarter last year. Its smaller rival Chevron reported a $1.4 billion profit in the first quarter, down from $3.58 billion at the same time last year, due to the pandemic and the impacts of winter storms. The oil industry has been struggling with massive losses after the global coronavirus pandemic curtailed demand for fuel. Some economists are projecting that demand for oil may never return to pre-pandemic levels. Investors are pressuring oil and gas companies to find different sources of revenue. 

Tony Kanaan will make his IndyCar season debut this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, where the series will race a doubleheader. Kanaan was expected to retire after last season but was disappointed when the pandemic kept fans from his final races. He got an opportunity to split a car this year with Jimmie Johnson and will race the four ovals on the IndyCar schedule. IndyCar is racing three consecutive weeks to open the season, including Saturday and Sunday at Texas. It is the first oval on the schedule. Scott Dixon is the defending race winner. 

LONDON (AP) — AstraZeneca said Friday that it intends to seek U.S. authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in the “coming weeks," acknowledging a delay in the much-anticipated filing that had been expected by mid-April. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker revealed the new…

The U.S. will restrict travel from India starting on May 4, the White House says, citing a devastating rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and the emergency of potentially dangerous variants of the coronavirus. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that President Joe Biden’s administration made the determination on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With 386,452 new cases, India now has reported more than 18.7 million since the pandemic began, second only to the United States. The U.S. action comes days after Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the growing health crisis in his country and pledged to send assistance.

Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois says she will not seek reelection next year. She is stepping aside after playing a lead role in 2020 elections that unexpectedly saw her party nearly lose House control. Bustos was first elected to her largely rural district in 2012 and became chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2020 campaign. She had argued that Democrats needed to do more to appeal to voters in the heartland who supported Donald Trump and other Republicans in 2016. Instead, she drew fire from fellow Democrats last fall after guiding the DCCC to a near-disastrous Election Day. 

The former acting U.S. attorney in Washington, who was under investigation over an interview to CBS’ “60 Minutes” about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, has left the Justice Department and can no longer be subject to any potential disciplinary action for the interview. A Justice Department spokesman said Michael Sherwin is no longer an employee at the agency. Sherwin, who until recently was leading the investigation into the Jan. 6 riot, suggested during the interview that some of the rioters could face rarely used sedition charges. Days before the interview aired in March, Sherwin was replaced as the top prosecutor in the nation’s capital.

Former reality TV star Josh Duggar has been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. Federal prosecutors on Friday announced the indictment against Duggar, who was arrested in northwest Arkansas by U.S. Marshals a day earlier. Prosecutors say Duggar possessed the material in May 2019 and some of it depicted the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12. The 33-year-old Duggar pleaded not guilty at a hearing Friday. His attorneys say they plan to defend his case “aggressively and thoroughly.” Duggar starred on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” until it was pulled from the network in 2015 over revelations Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter.

Federal authorities investigating Rudy Giuliani are seeking information related to a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was ousted from her job two years ago on orders of then-President Donald Trump. Robert Costello, a lawyer for Trump, confirmed via text message that a search warrant served this week on Giuliani made reference to Marie Yovanovitch. She was a central player in the first impeachment case against Trump and detailed a smear campaign by Giuliani and other Trump allies that preceded her 2019 removal from the job. Giulaini has denied wrongdoing.

An Olympic silver medalist who is one of Belarus’ most lauded athletes says he is going on a 10-day hunger strike to support victims of political repression in his country. Andrei Krauchanka medaled in the decathlon at the 2008 Games in Beijing. He said Friday that along with the hunger strike, he is selling his European indoor decathlon gold medal from 2011 to help the families of political prisoners. Protesters in Belarus spent months last year calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to resign, following an allegedly rigged August election that gave him a sixth term in office. Krauchanka was among the thousands of people detained and beaten by police. 

LONDON (AP) — British actor-director Noel Clarke said Friday he would be seeking professional help to “change for the better,” after 20 women accused him of sexual harassment, intimidation and bullying. Clarke, who starred in “Doctor Who” and created the…

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has sent another message to Vatican-based cardinals and bishops that he intends to hold them accountable for criminal misconduct: He removed the procedural obstacles that had spared them from being prosecuted and judged by the…