Supreme Court lets Illinois keep ban on sale of some semiautomatic guns for now

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Wednesday that Illinois can, for now, keep in place a new law that bars the sale of certain semiautomatic guns and large-capacity magazines. The high court denied an emergency request from people challenging the law, which bans so-called assault weapons. The law’s opponents had asked the court to put the law on hold while a court challenge continues. The court did not comment and no justice publicly dissented.

2nd escaped inmate captured after breaking out of Philadelphia prison

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal marshals fugitive task force has recaptured the second of two inmates who escaped from a Philadelphia prison earlier this month, a man who had been held on charges in four slayings, authorities said. Ameen Hurst, 18, was taken into custody at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in west Philadelphia, according to Robert Clark, supervisory deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service in the eastern district of Pennsylvania. Authorities had been working with the family since Tuesday evening to have Hurst surrender, but several deadlines for that to happen had come and gone, Clark said.

DeSantis signs bills targeting drag shows, pronouns, bathroom use

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills Wednesday that ban gender-affirming care for minors, target drag shows, restrict discussion of “preferred pronouns” in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms. DeSantis has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his agenda as he prepares to seek the Republican presidential nomination. He signed the bills in front of a cheering crowd at the evangelical Cambridge Christian School in Tampa. The ceremony had a campaign-like feel, with DeSantis tossing Sharpies to a crowd, as opposed to when he privately signed measures on abortion and gun rights.

Grand jury indicts man in 4 University of Idaho stabbing deaths

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a man who was already charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, allowing prosecutors to skip a planned week-long preliminary hearing that was set for late June. Bryan Kohberger was arrested late last year and charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus. At the time, Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at nearby Washington State University, and the killings left the close-knit communities of Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington, reeling.

Man indicted in theft of ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland

(AP) –Federal prosecutors say a man has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of stealing a pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.” The FBI recovered the slippers in a sting operation in 2018.A grand jury indicted Terry Martin on Tuesday with one count of theft of a major artwork, federal prosecutors in North Dakota announced Wednesday. The indictment did not provide any further information about him. The indictment alleges that in 2005, Martin stole an authentic pair of shoes that Garland’s character, Dorothy, wore in the 1939 MGM musical.