National News at a Glance

Larry Nassar Sentencing: ‘I Just Signed Your Death Warrant’

After an extraordinary seven-day hearing that drew more than 150 young women to speak out publicly about sexual abuse they said was committed by Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar, the former team doctor for the U.S. gymnastics team, a judge sentenced him on Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison. He had faced a minimum term of 25 to 40 years. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who had opened her courtroom to all the young women who wanted to address Nassar directly, handed down the sentence, saying to him, “You’ve done nothing to deserve to walk outside a prison again.”

Embattled Michigan State President Resigns

Lou Anna Simon, the president of Michigan State University, resigned Wednesday night after coming under increasing pressure to do so over the school’s ties with Lawrence G. Nassar, the former team doctor for the U.S. gymnastics team sentenced on Wednesday for multiple sex crimes. Simon’s departure ends a career at the university that has spanned more than four decades. The university has maintained that no Michigan State officials knew about allegations against Nassar until a newspaper reported them in 2016.

Trump Says He Is Willing to Speak Under Oath to Mueller

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was willing and eager to be interviewed by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. “I’m looking forward to it, actually,” Trump said of talking to Mueller, answering months of speculation over whether he was willing to submit to questions from the special counsel, who is also believed to be looking into whether the Trump campaign aided Moscow’s effort and whether the president sought to thwart the inquiry itself. Trump suggested that his efforts to defend himself against damaging allegations had been unfairly misinterpreted as wrongdoing.

Trump Says He Is Open to a Path to Citizenship for ‘Dreamers’

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is open to a possible path to citizenship after 10 to 12 years for hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children, days after rejecting a bipartisan plan with that as its centerpiece. Trump once again seemed to undercut his administration’s message, telling reporters at the White House that he would allow these young immigrants to “morph into” citizens over a period of time. The reporters had gathered for a briefing detailing the administration’s plans to stick to a restrictive immigration agenda when the president dropped in unprompted.

Campaign Donor Pleaded Guilty to Trying to Bribe Mayor de Blasio

A campaign donor to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio secretly pleaded guilty in federal court in 2016 to bribery, admitting that he used his contributions to try to win favorable lease terms for a restaurant he owned on city property, newly unsealed court records show. While the court papers included no charges against de Blasio or other city officials, a federal document in the case makes it clear that the donor, Harendra Singh, got something in return. Last March, federal prosecutors who had investigated de Blasio’s fundraising decided not to bring criminal charges against the mayor.

Judge Acquits Sen. Menendez of Several Charges

A federal judge on Wednesday acquitted Sen. Robert Menendez and his co-defendant of seven of the 18 corruption charges they faced, less than a week after prosecutors said they intend to retry the case. The judge, William H. Walls, filed the opinion in response to a motion to acquit the men on all charges after their trial ended in a mistrial in November. Menendez, D-N.J., and his co-defendant, Dr. Salomon Melgen, still face 11 charges, including six bribery charges alleging that Melgen provided the senator with lavish gifts and flights on his personal jets in exchange for political favors.

Yes, They’ve Cloned Monkeys in China.

Researchers in China reported on Wednesday that they have created two cloned monkeys, the first time that primates have been cloned with the technique that produced Dolly the sheep more than 20 years ago. The long-tailed macaques, named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, were made from fetal cells grown in a petri dish. The clones are identical twins and carry the DNA of the monkey fetus that originally provided the cells, according to a study published in the journal Cell. They were born at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.