WASHINGTON, D.C.

Congress extends cold case review

Congress has sent legislation to President Obama that would continue federal reviews of racially motivated killings in the civil rights era that are now cold cases. The legislation passed by voice vote at the end of the congressional session early Saturday. It would indefinitely extend a 2007 law that calls for a full accounting of race-based deaths, many of which had been closed for decades. More than 100 cases from the 1960s and earlier have been checked out so far, with one conviction. The bill is named after Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy killed in 1955 after whistling at a white woman. (AP)

LOUISIANA

GOP’s Kennedy wins Senate runoff

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana voters Saturday chose to send Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy to the US Senate, filling the nation’s last Senate seat and giving the GOP a 52-48 edge in the chamber when the new term begins in January. Kennedy had always been the runoff election’s front-runner in a state that overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump. Voters also filled two open US House seats Saturday, choosing Republican Clay Higgins in the 3rd District and Republican state Representative Mike Johnson in the 4th District. (AP)

PENNSYLVANIA

Recount ruling is due Monday

PHILADELPHIA — US District Judge Paul S. Diamond said he will rule Monday on a request by Green Party candidate Jill Stein to recount Pennsylvania’s paper ballots and examine election computer systems for signs of hacking. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by about 44,000 votes in the state. On Friday, a federal judge allowed Wisconsin’s presidential recount to move forward and the Michigan Supreme Court turned down an appeal by Stein to restart a vote recount in the state. Stein’s lawyers argue that Pennsylvania could be a prime target for hackers because of its heavy use of paperless machines. (AP)

FLORIDA

Mother charged in fatal crash

FERNANDA BEACH — A Florida mother has been charged with driving under the influence after a crash that killed her two boys, officials said. Tonya Capallia-Eason, 33, was arrested Saturday on two counts of causing death while driving under the influence.

The Highway Patrol said Capallia-Eason had alcohol in her system when she struck a utility pole last October. Police said the SUV she was driving overturned, killing Nehemiah Capallia-Bird, 8, and Nicholai Capallia, 9. Five other children were injured. (AP)

OHIO

Cancer removed from oldest gorilla

POWELL — A mass that was removed from the oldest known gorilla living in a zoo was cancerous, officials at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said. The tumor was removed from under an arm of the gorilla named Colo on Dec. 3, but surgeons said it was removed with wide margins and there is no indication the cancer had spread. No additional treatment is planned. Colo, who will turn 60 on Dec. 22, is the first gorilla born in a zoo and has surpassed the usual life expectancy by two decades. (AP)