Recently in National News Category

By Brett Stolpestad

New York City police arrested a man Wednesday for the murder of Ki-Suck Han, the man who was pushed onto the tracks of a New York City subway and hit by an oncoming train, the New York Times reported.

Police charged Naeem Davis, 30, with murder Wednesday after pushing 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han infront of a oncoming subway train, the New York Times reported. Davis had been taken into custody Tuesday and was sentenced after being identified by witnesses.

A freelance photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, reported that he had seen Han being pushed onto the tracks. Abbasi said that he was running toward the oncoming train with his camera, trying to get the train to stop. But the train could not stop in time and Han was crushed to death before he could climb back onto the platform, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Abbasi, on NBC's the "Today" show, said he was shocked that other people closer to the victim did not attempt to help him back onto the platform, the Washington Post reported.

Abbasi managed to take a photograph of Han moments before his death, showing him with his head toward the train and his arms reaching for the platform, the Washington Post reported.

The chilling photograph was later published in the New York Post and has prompted much discussion and controversy.

By Brett Stolpestad

Two lucky ticket holders from Arizona and Missouri won the record Powerball jackpot of almost $579.9 million Thursday, the Washington Post reported.

The lucky numbers for Wednesday night's drawing were 15,16,22,23,29 and the Powerball 6. In addition the the two winners who had all six matching numbers, 8,924,123 other players also won smaller prizes, the Washington Post reported.

According to Powerball officials, Wednesday's ticket holders won almost $587.5 million, the second-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history, the Star Tribune reported.

The convenience store outside of Kansas City will be awarded $50,000 for selling the winning ticket, the Star Tribune reported.

According to the executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, Chuck Strutt, Powerball players across the country bought their tickets at a rate of almost 7.8 million tickets an hour. That's almost $15.6 million an hour, the Washington Post reported.

There had not been a Powerball winner since Oct. 6 and the jackpot had been rolled over 16 consecutive times, pushing the jackpot even higher, the Star Tribune reported.

The $656 million jackpot for a Mega Millions drawing in March maintains the record for largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, the Star Tribune reported.

By Brett Stolpestad

General John R. Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has been pulled into to the expanding scandal revolving around former General David Petraeus's extramarital affair, the New York Times reported.

The Washington Post reported that General Allen is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with regards to his "inappropriate communication" with Jill Kelley, a woman from Tampa, Fla. who made reports of harassment from Petraeus's mistress.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta released a statement Tuesday saying that the F.B.I. referred to the Pentagon "a matter involving" General Allen, the New York Times reported. The Inspector General of the Pentagon then conducted an investigation into the 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, mostly emails, between General Allen and Kelley.

The Pentagon did not make a statement on the nature of the relationship between Kelley and General Allen, both of whom are married, but another senior official close to Allen expressed that they were not having an affair, the Washington Post reported.

Adultery can be considered a crime under military law, but the U.S. senior official assured investigators that the emails between Kelley and Allen were about "routine stuff," the Washington Post reported.

By Brett Stolpestad

President Barack Obama's reelection Wednesday may have sparked a new sense of urgency for congress to figure out a new budget deal for the United States, the New York Times reported.

House speaker John Boehner spoke Wednesday of a possible compromise, saying that Republicans in congress are willing to accept a new budget deal that would involve raising federal revenue, the New York Times reported.

Boehner said that the "new revenue" compromise is aimed at cutting the national debt and avoiding the "fiscal cliff" in January which would involve tax increases and spending cuts, the Washington Post reported.

Boehner also said that Wednesday's election results represented a plea from voters for party leadership to stop the stand-still and come to an agreement, the Washington Post reported. Republicans will be willing to except a "new revenue" deal under the right conditions for the purpose of forging a bipartisan agreement, Boehner said.

The conditions under which this deal will be made may include a tax code reform that closes loop holes, eliminates or reduces deductions, and lowers income tax, the New York Times reported.

By Brett Stolpestad

Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the mid-Atlantic region Monday, causing immense flooding and wide-spread power outages, the New York Times reported.

Hurricane sandy hit the east coast hard Monday with winds gusting up to 80 miles per hour, ripping down trees and power lines, and flooding communities up and down the coast, the New York Times reported.

Atlantic City felt the brunt of the storm as the core of Hurricane Sandy hit the city, the Washington Post reported.

The storm caused flooding in communities on the east coast including major cities. Streets and rivers were flooded in New York and Washington with an unprecedented 9-foot storm surge hitting New York, the Washington Post reported.

Large scale evacuations took place in coastal cities before the storm unexpectedly picked up speed and made landfall, the New York Times reported.

Subways from Boston to Washington were shut down with some of them under four feet of water, the Washington Post reported.

By Brett Stolpestad

A former U.S. intelligence officer pleaded guilty to disclosing the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency Officer covert agent in federal court Tuesday, the L.A. Times reported.

A former C.I.A. intelligence officer, John Kiriakou, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. to one charge of leaking the identity of former colleagues to journalists, the N.Y. Times reported.

Kiriakou faced charges of disclosing the identity of two covert agents who were involved in a C.I.A. program aimed at detention and interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects, the N.Y. Times reported.

Kiriakou faces a 30-month sentence to prison and a $250,000 fine under the plea agreement, the L.A. Times reported.

The case marks another victory for the Obama administration in its effort to crack down on leaks and disclosure of classified government information, the Washington Post reported.

By Brett Stolpestad

Lance Armstrong, caught in the middle of a massive doping scandal that he and his teammates are accused of taking part in, is stepping down as chairman from his cancer foundation, Livestrong, the New York Times reported.

Armstrong announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down as the chairman of the Livestrong Foundation after the United States Anti-Doping Agency publicly revealed evidence against him and his teammates in a widespread doping scandal, the New York Times reported.

Armstrong's deal with Nike will also be terminated after the USADA's evidence was released. However, Nike will continue to support the Livestrong Foundation, the Washington Post reported.

Nike, a company that has stood by several defamed athletes before and that had defended Armstrong through years of accusations, decided to terminate their contract with Armstrong saying that they had been misled for over a decade, the Washington Post reported.

Armstrong said that he stepped down as chairman in order "to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career." the New York Times reported.

By Brett Stolpestad

The recent outbreak of fungal meningitis that has killed 14 people and infected almost 156 other is now being linked to an increased risk of infection due to spinal injection, the New York Times reported.

The steroid spinal injections, targeted for pain relief and used across 75 clinics in the U.S., have been discovered to be contaminated by a fungus, the L.A. Times reported.

The steroids, that have not been approved for epidural injections by the Food and Drug Administration, have also been linked to other complications including nerve damage, paralysis and stroke, The New York Times reported.

The F.D.A is currently working on ways to reduce the risk of infection due the the steroid injections, the New York Times reported.

by Brett Stolpestad

A boarder patrol agent was shot and killed Tuesday in Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico boarder, the New York Times reported.

A second agent was also injured in the shooting when the two agents were on patrol near Naco, Ariz., CNN reported. The second agent sustained injuries that were not life threatening, according to a boarder patrol spokesman.

A third agent, who was not harmed, was also on the horse-mounted patrol when the shooting occurred, the New York Times reported.

The death of the agent is the 14th death among boarder patrol agents since 2008 and the third death this year according to the agency, CNN reported.

Authorities have not identified any suspects and it is not clear wether the agents returned fire, the New York Times reported.

by Brett Stolpestad

The National Football League and the NFL Referees Association reached an agreement Wednesday night giving the NFL officials a new eight-year labor deal and effectively ending the lockout, The New york Times reported.

The new eight-year labor deal was put into writing late last night and the regular NFL officials are to take the field Thursday night in Baltimore according to Commissioner Roger Goodell , The Washington Post reported.

The new labor agreement was made after a three weeks of controversial calls made by the unprepared, unseasoned replacement officials.

The New York Times reported that Goodell temporarily lifted the lockout so the regular referees will be able to officiate Thursday's game in Baltimore. The officials' union will vote to ratify the contract on Saturday.