GOP, Democratic senators back bill to bolster FBI gun checks

WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic senators have joined forces on legislation to strengthen the FBI database of prohibited gun buyers after the Air Force failed to report the criminal history of the gunman who slaughtered more than two dozen people at a Texas church.

Congress has taken no steps on guns in the weeks after deadly shootings in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs, Texas. The bill, which has the backing of the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, would ensure that federal agencies, such as the Defense Department, and states accurately report relevant criminal information to the FBI.

The Air Force has acknowledged that the Texas shooter, Devin P. Kelley, should have had his name and domestic violence conviction submitted to the National Criminal Information Center database.

The bill would penalize federal agencies that fail to properly report required records and reward states that comply by providing them with federal grant preferences.

Cornyn said agencies and state governments have for years failed to forward legally required records without consequences.

Radio anchor says Franken groped, kissed her without consent

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Sen. Al Franken apologized Thursday and faced a likely Senate ethics investigation after a Los Angeles radio anchor accused him of forcibly kissing her during a 2006 USO tour. Fellow Democrats as well as Republican colleagues called for an investigation.

Leeann Tweeden also accused Franken of posing for a photo with his hands on her breasts as she slept, while both were performing for military personnel two years before the one-time comedian was elected to the Senate.

Tweeden posted the allegations, including the photo, on the website of KABC, where she works as a news anchor for a morning radio show.

Tweeden said Thursday that Franken was persistent, and “every time I see him now, my hands clench into fists.”

Still, she said she has no reason not to accept his apology, and is not calling for an ethics investigation or for Franken to resign. She told a news conference in Los Angeles that she came forward hoping to inspire others to tell their stories.

Moore defiant as GOP braces for extended clash in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With President Donald Trump standing on the sidelines, Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore and his allies on the ground in Alabama are bracing for an extended conflict — not with Democrats, but with their own party in Washington.

The divide between the state and national GOP reached new depths Thursday after more allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against Moore, an outspoken Christian conservative. Already, the Republican National Committee, the Senate GOP campaign committee and the party’s leading voices in Congress have called on the 70-year-old former judge to quit the race.

Ever defiant, Moore and his supporters lashed out at his accusers in a Thursday press conference in which he refused to answer any questions.

He called the allegations “unsubstantiated,” ”unproven” and “fake.”

“They’re not only untrue, but they have no evidence to support them,” he declared.

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New Jersey senator’s bribery trial ends in a hung jury

NEWARK, N.J. — The federal bribery trial of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez ended Thursday with the jury hopelessly deadlocked on all charges, a partial victory for him that could nevertheless leave the case hanging over his head as he gears up for re-election to a sharply divided Senate.

U.S. District Judge William Walls declared a mistrial after more than six full days of deliberations failed to produce a verdict on any of the 18 counts against the New Jersey politician or his co-defendant, a wealthy Florida eye doctor accused of buying Menendez’s influence by plying him with luxury vacations and campaign contributions.

Prosecutors would not say whether they plan to retry Menendez. But on the political front, forces were already mobilizing against him, with GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately calling for an ethics investigation of him.

Outside the courthouse, a choked-up Menendez fought back tears as he blasted federal authorities for bringing the case and thanked the jurors in the 2½-month trial “who saw through the government’s false claims and used their Jersey common sense to reject it.”

“Certain elements of the FBI and of our state cannot stand, or even worse, accept that the Latino kid from Union City and Hudson County could grow up to be a United States senator and be honest,” said the 63-year-old son of Cuban immigrants.

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Menendez avoids ‘political grave,’ but cloud still looms

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez exited his federal bribery trial after a mistrial Thursday with an eye on a 2018 re-election effort, but with him neither acquitted nor convicted, the cloud from the investigation remains.

The mistrial gave Democrats hoping to hold onto the seat in next year’s midterm elections cause for optimism and spurred Republicans to keep the pressure up. The stakes are high given that Republicans have a narrow 52-48 Senate majority and head into the midterm election under a historically unpopular Republican president.

Menendez, himself, was buoyed by the decision.

“To those who were digging my political grave so they could jump into my seat, I know who you are and I won’t forget you,” Menendez said.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday called on the Ethics Committee to investigate Menendez for possible violations of the public trust and the Senate code of conduct.

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California rampage puts spotlight on homemade ‘ghost guns’

LOS ANGELES — The gunman who killed his wife and four others in a rampage in Northern California this week found an easy way around a court order prohibiting him from having guns: He built his own at home.

Kevin Neal, 44, was armed with what authorities believe were two high-powered rifles that he made himself when he opened fire Tuesday on homes, cars and an elementary school around his tiny hometown of Rancho Tehama Reserve. A deputy finally shot and killed him.

It is the latest case of homemade semi-automatic weapons being used in a crime, and it comes as federal authorities try to draw attention to the dangers posed by these “ghost guns,” which contain no registration numbers that can be used to trace them. In Baltimore, a man used a homemade AR-15-style rifle to shoot at four police officers in July 2016. They returned fire, killing him.

It’s legal to build a gun in a home or a workshop, and advances in 3-D printing and milling have made it easier to do so. Kits can be purchased legally for $450 to $1,000 from hundreds of websites without the kind of background check required for traditional gun purchases.

“The more restrictive the laws become for people to purchase firearms, we’re going to see those criminal elements build their own,” Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said. “That’s what they do.”

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Children quieted others at California school as gunman fired

RANCHO TEHAMA RESERVE, Calif. — Teacher Jennifer Bauman threw herself against a classroom door that wouldn’t lock right, terrified that the gunman shooting outside her small Northern California elementary school would barrel in and find the children huddled under desks.

Shooter Kevin Neal, 44, bypassed their door, taking out a window before he went on to attack a kindergarten class in another portable building.

Despite her terror, Bauman, who teaches first and second grade, couldn’t stop praising the pupils who stayed calm. She said fourth- and fifth-graders quieted the younger ones, and let her know which ones had been slightly wounded by flying glass.

“I braced myself against the door. I didn’t even think twice. I don’t feel like a hero. I did what I was supposed to do,” she said. “The kids are the heroes.”

Authorities credited the quick action of school personnel, who jumped into lockdown mode as soon as they heard gunshots Tuesday morning, for saving dozens of students at Rancho Tehama Elementary School. The school has about 100 students and is about 130 miles north of Sacramento.

Regional summit expected to formalize terms of Mugabe exit

HARARE, Zimbabwe — In the first round of negotiations over how President Robert Mugabe will leave power, the Zimbabwean leader met Thursday with the army commander who put him under house arrest and mediators, including South African Cabinet ministers and a Catholic priest.

Meanwhile, an emergency summit of heads of state of regional countries was called by the 16-nation Southern African Development Community and is expected to formalize the terms of Mugabe’s exit.

The summit puts regional leaders who have worked with the 93-year-old Mugabe for decades into the difficult position of either supporting what appears to be a coup or keeping the unpopular president, the world’s oldest head of state, in office.

In the first images of Mugabe after the military moved in earlier this week, Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper published photos of him smiling and shaking hands with army commander Constantino Chiwenga. The photos also showed South African Cabinet ministers and a Catholic priest whom Mugabe has used as a mediator before.

First lady Grace Mugabe was not pictured, however, amid speculation over the future of a woman whose rapid political rise had alarmed many who feared she could succeed her husband after he fired his longtime deputy last week.

By wire sources