QUICK HITS

Senator back at work: Sen. Ben

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Ray Luján of New Mexico returned to work in the U.S. Senate, barely a month after a major stroke left him hospitalized for weeks and sent a chill through fellow Democrats clinging to a 50-50 majority.

Ex-illinois politician charged: 2 Michael Madigan, the former speaker of the Illinois House and for decades one of the nation’s most powerful legislators, was charged with racketeering and bribery, becoming the most prominent politician swept up in a federal investigation of government corruption in the state. Madigan, 79, is charged in a 22-count indictment with racketeering conspiracy, using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion. Madigan, who resigned from office a year ago, was the longest-serving state House speaker in modern U.S. history.

3 House backs bill to help vets: A bill that would boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan won approval in the House. The bill’s fate is unclear in the Senate, but if passed into law, it would increase spending by more than $300 billion over the next decade.

Fla. man sentenced to death:

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A judge sentenced a Florida man to death for fatally shooting an Orlando police officer while he was on the run for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend. Jurors in November found Markeith Loyd, 46, guilty in the 2017 death of Lt. Debra Clayton. Loyd is already serving a life sentence for killing Sade Dixon, his former girlfriend, a month before Clayton was

Migrants try to enter Spain:

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Hundreds of people tried for a second day to climb over fences separating a Spanish city in North Africa from Morocco. The Spanish government’s delegation in Melilla said 1,200 migrants attempted to scale a 20-foot barrier and 380 succeeded.