NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Amtrak derailment: The fight to reinstate criminal charges against the engineer in a deadly 2015 Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia will carry over into next year. A judge on Wednesday told prosecutors that she will review Brandon Bostian’s case, and she set a hearing for February where prosecutors may have the chance to argue that the engineer should be held criminally accountable for the derailment. A different judge in September threw out involuntary manslaughter and other charges after finding evidence pointed to an accident. Eight people died and more than 200 people were injured when the train rounded a curve at more than twice the speed limit and derailed.
2 Tie vote: A court has now declared a tie in a Virginia legislative election that one day earlier appeared to have gone to a Democrat by a single vote, the latest dramatic twist in a contest likely to decide control of the state House. A three-judge panel certified the 94th District in Newport News as tied at 11,608 to 11,608 on Wednesday, a day after a recount appeared to give Democrat Shelly Simonds the victory over Republican David Yancey. Virginia Board of Elections Chairman James Alcorn said the board would have to pick a winner at random, likely picking a name from a bowl.
3 Murder charge: A former Michigan State Police trooper was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder in the death of a Detroit teenager who crashed an all-terrain vehicle after being shot with a stun gun. Mark Bessner had no “legal justification” to fire his Taser from his moving patrol car while trying to stop 15-year-old Damon Grimes, Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy said. Damon was driving an ATV at 35 to 40 mph on a Detroit street when he crashed on Aug. 26. Since the teen’s death, state police no longer conduct high-speed chases in Detroit unless they’re investigating a major crime.
4 Trump poll: Only onethird of Americans would vote for President Trump if he runs for re-election in 2020, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday. A scant 18 percent of people surveyed said they would “definitely” support Trump if he runs in 2020. Another 18 percent said they would “probably” vote for him, while 38 percent said they would vote for someone else.
5 Standoff trial: A U.S. judge declared a mistrial in the case against a Nevada rancher accused of leading a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents in a cattle grazing dispute. Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed the jury Wednesday in Las Vegas and faulted prosecutors for what she called “constitutional due-process violations” and failing to properly turn over evidence to the defense. The decision in the case against Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and another man is the latest in a string of failed prosecutions in Nevada and Oregon against those who have opposed federal control of vast swaths of land in the American West.