A rule of thumb in the firearm industry is that when Democrats are in office, gun owners buy more guns because they're worried that politicians will "take their guns away."

But as with so much else in 2020, the last year of President Trump's tenure, that rule did not seem to apply.

The total number of guns purchased each year in the U.S. is ...Read more

CHICAGO — A detective who interviewed Jussie Smollett about an alleged hate crime attack testified Wednesday that Smollett changed part of his story after he realized two people he knew — the Osundairo brothers — were in custody.

Smollett had initially described one of his attackers as white. But about two weeks later, when he came in for...Read more

ATLANTA —A Fulton County resident pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., to assaulting two police officers during the Jan. 6 pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Kevin Douglas Creek, 47, faces between 24 and 30 months in prison, according to the terms of a plea agreement entered before U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The first U.S. case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed in San Francisco, putting California once again at the center of the nation’s pandemic response.

Officials said the infected individual had returned home from South Africa on Nov. 22. A few days after arriving, the person began to feel ill and ...Read more

PONTIAC, Mich. — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has charged 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley with numerous felony counts, including murder and terrorism, in a Tuesday shooting at Oxford High School that killed four students and wounded seven.

McDonald said overall she approved charging Crumbley with one count of terrorism causing death, ...Read more

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ordered airlines to provide the names of passengers arriving in the U.S. who have traveled to southern Africa in recent days as it assesses the potential spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The CDC told carriers that they must provide the information to allow for contact ...Read more

MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin again accused the U.S. and its allies of menacing Russia while top diplomats from the two former Cold War rivals set plans to meet Thursday amid rising tensions around a buildup of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine.

“The threat on our Western frontier is really growing,” Putin told foreign ambassadors in ...Read more

OXFORD, Mich. — A football player, a volleyball striker, a captain of the bowling team and an aspiring artist.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office has identified four students killed in Tuesday afternoon's mass shooting at Oxford High School.

Late Tuesday, authorities said Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16, as the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservatives sounded ready Wednesday to severely restrict a woman’s right to choose abortion and possibly overturn Roe vs. Wade entirely.

The court now has six justices who are deeply skeptical of abortion rights. And during arguments about a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats made their case Wednesday for including temporary immigration protections in their social spending bill — setting the stage for a potential showdown on the party’s last-ditch effort to provide some degree of protection for the undocumented community.

Senate Democrats met with Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The whistleblower who revealed thousands of internal Facebook documents urged Congress on Wednesday to change social media’s business incentives so platforms are forced to consider long-term harms to users and society, rather than just short-term profits.

Speaking before the House subcommittee on technology, Frances Haugen, a ...Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio — More Ohioans were hospitalized for COVID-19 this week than at any time since last winter's surge in cases, a development that could worsen still with more cold weather and holidays approaching.

Statewide,3,988 patients were hospitalized as of Wednesday. The last time more Ohioans were hospitalized was Jan. 12, when 4,000 were...Read more

NEW YORK — Under grueling cross-examination, Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer sought to trip-up the first of four women who accuse Maxwell of recruiting and grooming them to be abused by Jeffrey Epstein and point out significant inconsistencies in accounts she had given of her alleged abuse.

Laura Menninger, one of four attorneys representing ...Read more

NEW YORK — An underage victim of Jeffrey Epstein competed in Donald Trump’s teen beauty pageant in the 1990s after being introduced to the future president by the notorious sex offender, according to testimony Wednesday.

The revelation emerged during the alleged victim’s second day of testimony at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial for grooming ...Read more

PONTIAC, Mich. — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has charged 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley with numerous felony counts, including murder and terrorism in a Tuesday shooting at Oxford High School that killed four students and wounded seven.

McDonald said overall she approved charging Crumbley with one count of terrorism causing death, ...Read more

PONTIAC, Mich. — Before he allegedly carried out a shooting at Oxford High School, the 15-year-old student accused in the rampage took part in a meeting with his parents and school officials over his "concerning" behavior in the classroom, authorities said Wednesday.

Ethan Crumbley and his parents had a face-to-face meeting with school ...Read more

WASHINGTON — With the first U.S. case of the omicron variant detected in California, President Joe Biden is pushing to increase the country's defenses against the coronavirus.

He's expected to announce on Thursday a new plan to mitigate its spread during the winter, including added requirements for international travelers. People entering the...Read more

Former President Donald Trump reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and was suffering symptoms of the disease before his chaotic first debate with then-candidate Joe Biden.

Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, says in his forthcoming memoir that Trump tested positive for the deadly virus the weekend before the debate but then ...Read more