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NEW YORK (AP) — Joan Rivers, known for her sharp-tonged late-night talk-show comedy and her blunt red-carpet commentary, has died at the age of 81. She was hospitalized last week after going into cardiac arrest at a doctor's office in New York. Her daughter says she died today, surrounded by family and close friends. Rivers was one of the first women to crash the male-dominated realm of late-night talk shows. She had insults ready for nearly everyone -- including herself. Her daughter says her "greatest joy in life was to make people laugh."
NEW YORK (AP) — New York's state health department says it's investigating the circumstances surrounding Joan Rivers' cardiac arrest last week. It happened during an outpatient procedure. A spokesman says the department is looking into "the whole matter," but isn't discussing specifics.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, have been convicted in a public corruption case that accused them of conspiring to use his office to promote a businessman's product in exchange for gifts. A federal jury in Richmond returned the verdicts after a five-week trial and deliberating for three days. McDonnell had been widely considered a possible running mate for presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012. He was charged with doing favors for a wealthy vitamin executive in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans.
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — City officials in Ferguson, Missouri, are pledging their full cooperation with a federal civil-rights investigation into their police department following the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the investigation. Officials in Ferguson issued a statement saying they'd be "transparent and forthright" as they try to earn back the trust of the city's residents and neighbors. Brown, who was black and unarmed, was shot and killed on Aug. 9 by a white officer.
CHICAGO (AP) — A U.S. appeals court in Chicago has ruled that gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana are unconstitutional. The decision by a three-judge panel bumps the number of states where gay marriage will be legal from 19 to 21. The decision was unanimous. During oral arguments in August, one judge appointed by a Republican compared bans on same-sex marriage to laws that once barred interracial marriage. The states argued the prohibitions helped foster a centuries-old tradition.
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