Bought 2 killers' rifles, man admits
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Enrique Marquez Jr., 25, pleaded guilty in federal court to buying the rifles used in the San Bernardino, Calif., terror attack in December 2015.
Marquez is the only person criminally charged in the attack that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a meeting of San Bernardino County employees. Husband-and-wife assailants Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik were killed in a shootout with authorities later that day. Marquez is to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal on Aug. 21 and faces up to 25 years in prison under a plea deal.
In addition to purchasing the weapons, Marquez pleaded guilty to conspiring with Farook to draft earlier mass killing plots targeting a community college and a Southern California freeway. Authorities said the pair researched bomb-making and bought materials to make explosives, but never carried out those attacks.
Judge: Christie case can proceed
HACKENSACK, N.J. -- A New Jersey judge ruled for the second time that a criminal complaint against Gov. Chris Christie can go forward, saying Thursday that there's evidence to establish that the Republican had reason to believe lane closings at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 were more than just a routine traffic study and failed to take action to stop it.
Municipal Judge Roy McGeady's ruled that there is probable cause to charge Christie with official misconduct for failing to act to stop the lane closures and the subsequent traffic gridlock, part of an alleged political retribution scheme against a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse Christie.
The judge set a March 10 date for Christie to answer the criminal summons.
Christie's office called McGeady's ruling "a complete non-event."
Abortion-law stay in Florida stands
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Predicting that a legal challenge to Florida's 24-hour abortion waiting period likely will succeed, the state Supreme Court said Thursday that it will leave in place an order preventing.
Florida's constitution, which establishes the right to "be let alone and free from governmental intrusion" in one's private life, has been used to strike down other laws restricting access to abortion. The court said there's a likelihood that the waiting period, passed in 2015, also will be found unconstitutional.
A Section on 02/17/2017