Armed trucker arrested on way to Capitol
A Maryland man in a delivery truck headed to the U.S. Capitol was arrested Friday after authorities said they spotted an assault-style rifle in the vehicle, according to Capitol police.
Police said officers discovered the rifle at a security checkpoint off Capitol grounds where delivery vehicles are inspected before they are allowed to proceed.
Police also said they have no evidence that the man, identified as Michael Donohue, 57, intended to target Congress or the Capitol complex.
"Still, this serves as yet another reminder that all weapons are prohibited from Capitol grounds," Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said. "I thank our entire team at the off-site screening facility from stopping this gun before it came anywhere near the U.S. Capitol complex."
Police said Donohue was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition and unlawful activity.
The incident occurred shortly after 5 a.m. Police said the firearm was wrapped in a blanket in the back seat of a large Ford pickup. Authorities did not say what the man might have been delivering or if he worked for a company.
China sanctions U.S. lawmaker in spat
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- China sanctioned a United States lawmaker for his visit to Taiwan, saying he violated the "One China" principle that says Beijing has sovereignty over the island.
The mainland's ruling Communist Party says Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 amid a civil war, must be reunited with China, by force if necessary. Beijing says Taipei has no right to conduct foreign relations and views visits by U.S. lawmakers to the island as violating its claims of sovereignty.
The sanctions against Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, include freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organization or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him and denying him a visa to enter the country, according to a statement Thursday from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Being sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party is a badge of honor," McCaul said. "Nothing will deter the United States from supporting free, democratic nations -- including Taiwan."
McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, visited Taiwan on April 6-8 to discuss weapons deals between the U.S. and Taiwan.
Back on job next week, McConnell says
WASHINGTON -- Mitch McConnell announced he'll return to the U.S. Senate next week, more than five weeks after being injured in a fall that sidelined the 81-year-old Republican leader.
"I am looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday," McConnell tweeted Thursday. "We've got important business to tackle and big fights to win for Kentuckians and the American people."
The Senate reconvenes Monday after a two-week spring recess.
McConnell tripped at a dinner event March 8. He was admitted to an area hospital for a concussion and remained there for five days. He then underwent physical therapy at an inpatient rehabilitation facility before being sent home.
While McConnell has been absent from the Senate, he has weighed in via tweet on the stream of news, including sending condolences to those affected by the Army helicopter accident in Kentucky and expressing devastation after the mass shooting in Louisville.
One subject he's remained silent on is the Manhattan indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Trump loses bid for rape-suit trial delay
NEW YORK -- A federal judge has rejected a request to delay former President Donald Trump's trial this month on civil claims that he raped a woman in the mid-1990s, but he granted a request by Trump's lawyers to gather more evidence about who is paying the accuser's lawyers.
Revelations that a major contributor to Democrats helped finance the litigation against Trump by columnist E. Jean Carroll prompted attorney Alina Habba to ask for a one-month delay of the April 25 trial.
Habba said Carroll's lawyers had disclosed for the first time this week that they had received funding from American Future Republic, a social welfare organization funded by Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.
Judge Lewis Kaplan on Thursday said he would allow Trump's lawyers to gather more information and to question Carroll for up to an hour about why she said in an October deposition that her lawyers were relying on a contingency fee and were not receiving other income.
Habba's request was the second time this week that a Trump lawyer sought to delay the trial on Carroll's allegations that Trump raped her in 1996 in an upscale Manhattan department store dressing room.
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina had asked for a one-month delay, saying adverse publicity over Trump's arrest last week on criminal charges in New York state court made a delay necessary.
Trump has denied that he raped Carroll and has accused the former Elle magazine advice columnist and her lawyer of being politically driven.