Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including the House Jan. 6 committee voted to have the Justice Department prosecute Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection; Washington state leaders said they will ask lawmakers to ban military-style assault weapons; Actress Amber Heard settled her high-profile defamation case with ex-husband Johnny Depp, and more.

National

Trump referred for criminal prosecution by House Jan. 6 committee

Marking the first time in U.S. history that a former president has faced such a referral, House lawmakers who have been investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol voted on Monday to have the Department of Justice prosecute former President Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection.

Former President Donald Trump gives a speech from Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Trial of Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio opens with jury selection

Jury selection began Monday for five members of the Proud Boys group, including their leader, Enrique Tarrio, who are charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys and smokes a cigarette at a rally in Delta Park in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 26, 2020. (Allison Dinner/AP)

Amber Heard drops appeal, settles defamation case with Johnny Depp

Actress Amber Heard on Monday announced a settlement that ends her appeal in the high-profile defamation case brought against her by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.

Actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, watch the jury arrive in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., Tuesday, May 17, 2022. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool photo via AP)

Shooter threat won’t increase prison time for R. Kelly manager

R. Kelly’s former manager received a one-year prison sentence Monday for calling in an active-shooter threat that halted the premiere of “Surviving R. Kelly,” a Lifetime documentary series that detailed the R&B star's decadeslong history of sexually, physically and emotionally abusing women and minors.

R. Kelly's ex-manager Donnell Russell leaves federal court on July 20, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Regional

Washington state sets sights on gun control in next legislative session

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Governor Jay Inslee said Monday they will ask lawmakers to ban military-style assault weapons and require gun manufacturers and dealers to take reasonable steps to prevent their products from getting into the hands of dangerous individuals.

This 2013 file photo shows craftsman Veetek Witkowski holding a newly assembled AR-15 rifle at the Stag Arms company in New Britain, Conn. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

International

Sicilian town unites for an ancient ritual: Making olive oil

In an age-old ritual, Italian towns can brim with country life when a good olive harvest arrives. Such was the picture this autumn in a Sicilian town where families spent their days together laying nets, climbing ladders and picking olives.

A variety of table olives are for sale at the town market in Castelbuono, Sicily, in November 2022. Olive harvests are a joyous time in Mediterranean towns like Castelbuono. (Cain Burdeau/Courthouse News)

Science

Dying planet is spiraling into its sun, giving a glimpse of Earth’s fate

An exoplanet is spending the next 3 million years inching towards its final goodbye.

An artist's concept of the Kepler-1658 system. Kepler-1658b, orbiting with a period of just 3.8 days, was the first exoplanet candidate discovered by Kepler. (Gabriel Perez Diaz/Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias)

Opinion

Told you so

Keep your money under your mattress. You can't sleep on cryptocurrency.

An advertisement for the cryptocurrency bitcoin is displayed on a building in Hong Kong on Nov. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

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