Editor’s Note: This listicle is part of a weekly series by The Ball State Daily News summarizing five stories from across the United States. All summaries are based on stories published by The Associated Press.
The helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others, John Bolton’s claims and President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, a testimony in the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault case, a lawsuit against Martin Shkreli and Billie Eilish’s Grammy wins make up this week’s five national stories.
Kobe helicopter tried to climb to avoid clouds before crash
The pilot of the helicopter that crashed near Los Angeles, killing former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and eight others, told air traffic controllers in his last radio message he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer before plunging more than 1,000 feet into a hillside, an accident investigator said. Radar indicated the helicopter reached a height of 2,300 feet Sunday morning before descending, and the wreckage was found at 1,085 feet.
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Trial highlights: Bolton takes center stage from afar
Former national security adviser John Bolton took center stage at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial even though he was nowhere near the Capitol. Bolton’s claims in a forthcoming book — that Trump told him he wanted to withhold security aid from Ukraine until it launched investigations into political rival Joe Biden — ramped up pressure on GOP senators to call him to testify. Trump’s legal team has repeatedly insisted there was no linkage.
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‘I’m being raped:’ Weinstein accuser details alleged sexual assault
Harvey Weinstein accuser Mimi Haleyi testified Monday that weeks after arriving in New York to work for one of his shows, she found herself fighting in vain as the once-revered showbiz honcho pushed her onto a bed and sexually assaulted her, undeterred by her kicks and pleas of, “No, please don’t do this, I don’t want it.” Haleyi was the first to testify of the two women whose allegations led to Weinstein’s New York City criminal case.
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NY, feds sue ‘Pharma bro’ for ‘scheme’ to keep drug price up
State and federal authorities sued imprisoned entrepreneur Martin Shkreli Monday over tactics that shielded a profitable drug from competition after a price hike made the so-called “Pharma Bro” infamous. Shkreli was scorned as the bad-boy face of pharmaceuticals profiteering after he engineered a roughly 4,000 percent increase in the price of a decades-old medication for a sometimes life-threatening parasitic infection.
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Family affair: Billie Eilish, Finneas win big at Grammys
The edgy, avant-pop album siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas created in a small bedroom made a big splash at the 2020 Grammy Awards, winning 11 honors for the musical family. “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” helped Eilish win the top four honors, including album, song and record of the year, along with best new artist. The 18-year-old is the youngest artist to achieve the feat and the first to do so since Christopher Cross did in 1981.
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