TRUMP SIGNS SPENDING BILL
President Donald Trump on Friday signed a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and keep the federal government running through Dec. 22.
The president signed the two-week spending measure in private at the White House.
Police: Gunman disguised himself as student.
A 21-year-old gunman who disguised himself as a student to get into a New Mexico high school where he killed two students had caught the attention of U.S. investigators more than a year ago, authorities said Friday.
William Atchison, a former student at small-town Aztec High School, had legally purchased a handgun at a local store a month ago and planned the attack, authorities said. He left a message on a thumb drive found on his body that detailed his plan.
Polish gov defies EU over courts.
Polish lawmakers overwhelmingly approved two bills Friday that give the ruling party greater power over the judiciary despite blunt warnings from European Union officials and others that the laws contravene democratic norms.
Supporters in the ruling conservative Law and Justice party said the changes would make Poland’s courts more efficient and more accountable to citizens by giving elected representatives a role in choosing judges.
Opponents said the ruling party, led by leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was violating international law and Poland’s Constitution by infringing on judicial independence and the separation of powers.
Appeals court judge accused of sexual misconduct.
Six women — all former clerks or externs — have accused Judge Alex Kozinski, former chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals or the 9th Circuit, of inappropriate sexual conduct or comments. Two former clerks said the judge asked them to view porn in his chambers that was unrelated to any case.
In a statement, Kozinski said, “I would never intentionally do anything to offend anyone and it is regrettable that a handful have been offended by something I may have said or done.”
U.N. peacekeepers killed in Congo.
At least 14 United Nations peacekeepers have been killed by suspected rebels in an attack on their base in Congo’s North Kivu region, the U.N. said on Friday, adding that 53 others were wounded.
Five Congolese troops were killed when suspected members of rebel group the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo attacked the base.
Anti-Trump conservatives spend $500,000 on antiMoore ads.
Stand Up Republic, a 501(c)4 group co-founded by former independent anti-Trump presidential candidate Evan McMullin, is spending $500,000 on digital and TV ads that ask Alabama conservatives to reject Republican nominee Roy Moore’s Senate bid.
In two 30-second spots, the group presents Moore as an unacceptable choice for conservatives — but does not suggest a particular alternative.
Anti-Moore conservatives, in Alabama and nationally, have been divided between supporting Jones, backing a write-in candidate, or suggesting voters just sit out the election.
Former priest gets life in prison for 1960 killing.
A jury on Friday sentenced an 85year-old former priest to life in prison for the 1960 killing of a schoolteacher and former beauty queen who was a member of the parish he served.
The same jurors in Hidalgo County in South Texas found John Bernard Feit guilty of murder Thursday night. Prosecutors asked jurors Friday for a 57-year prison term — one year for each year he had walked free since killing Irene Garza after she went to him for confession at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas.