A former Olympic speedskater was accused of illegally obtaining millions in coronavirus relief money and investing part of it in a movie about serial killer Ted Bundy, federal authorities said Thursday.

Allison Baver, 41, was charged with eight counts of making a false statement to a bank and one count of money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah said in a news release.

Baver won a bronze medal for the women’s 3000m relay in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, a win that came roughly one year after she shattered her ankle and broke her leg in a world cup

LOS ANGELES — The oil company accused of negligence this week for failing to properly respond to an October oil spill off the Southern California coast is set to begin permanent repair work, according to leaked documents reviewed by NBC News, but critics say approval of the work appears rushed.

As early as Friday morning, divers will descend about 160 feet below the surface to begin placing what documents describe as a “steel patch” over a cracked area of pipe that was temporarily repaired in the wake of the Oct. 1 spill. 

The patch is designed to allow the pipeline

GREENVILLE, Del. — President Joe Biden on Saturday commemorated the 49th anniversary of the car crash that killed his first wife and infant daughter, visiting their graves at the Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church.

Their deaths occurred just after Delaware voters elected Biden to the Senate in 1972 and the fatal car crash became a defining moment that has shaped his persona and career.

His sons Beau and Hunter, ages 4 and 3 at the time, were seriously injured but survived the crash. His wife Neilia and 13-month-old daughter Naomi died after their car was broadsided while

“Saturday Night Live” outlasted the omicron variant just long enough for one final show of 2021, a year that started with hope and ended with a new pandemic wave impacting weekend laughs again.

“SNL” aired with a limited cast and crew, no live audience, and absent the sounds of scheduled musical guest Charli XCX, who tweeted that her planned performances were not possible with the “limited crew” available.

“Due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, there will be no live audience for tonight’s taping of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and the show

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the next few weeks will see severe stress on hospital systems as the omicron variant is “raging around the world.”

Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, said there is no doubt on omicron’s “extraordinary capability” for transmission on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” Although the latest coronavirus mutation appears to have less severe symptoms in vaccinated people, Fauci warned that its transmissibility counteracts the mildness of the cases.

“Because our hospitals, if things look like they’re looking now, in the next week or two are going to be very stressed with people because again, we have

President Joe Biden on Thursday all but confirmed that Senate Democrats are unlikely to vote on his $1.7 trillion social spending package before Christmas.

Biden said in a statement that he had “a productive call” with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. earlier in the day after meeting with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., but also emphasized the lengthy process that lies ahead.

“It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote. We will advance this work together over

A few weeks after the verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Michelle Garra signed up to volunteer with Court Watch PG, a Maryland-based organization that trains people to monitor trials to keep judges and prosecutors accountable.

Following the proceedings closely, Garra was particularly disturbed by how the judge operated, she said.

“It was surreal watching the judge coddle him like that. I’ve been in court, and they don’t treat people like that,” she said.

Garra, 50, asked herself before she reached out to become a court watcher, “If a high-profile case could play out this way, then what are judges

MAYFIELD, Ky. — Prison inmates, formerly incarcerated people and those simply out of luck were all welcomed at the Mayfield Consumer Products’ candle factory — a last-resort job for many in the unemployment line, several employees said.

The work — packaging and labeling scented candles that wound up in kitchens and bathrooms across America — was easy, some workers said, if you didn’t mind the long hours, low wages and open-door hiring that allowed walk-ins and those previously fired.

“It’s a sweatshop. We’re underpaid. I felt like they weren’t for us,” said David Hollowell, 28, who has been working at