Banned for life

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American Airlines permanently banned a passenger after a flight attendant was injured. The Justice Department reached an $88 million settlement with Charleston church shooting victims. And a new DNA technique proved a man's relation to Sitting Bull.

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American Airlines bans passenger for life after flight attendant injured

An American Airlines flight from New York to Orange County, California, was forced to divert to Denver Wednesday after the airline says a passenger "physically assaulted" a female flight attendant. American Airlines offered support to the injured flight attendant and banned the passenger from ever flying with the airline again. "We will not be satisfied until he has been prosecuted to the full extent of the law," the airline said in a statement. It wasn't clear what prompted the incident, but witnesses reported seeing blood on the flight attendant's face mask afterward. The passenger was arrested after the plane landed in Denver.

In this picture made available Friday, April 26, 2013, a passenger airplane is about to land at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, thereby passing the moon which is clearly visible at night.
In this picture made available Friday, April 26, 2013, a passenger airplane is about to land at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, thereby passing the moon which is clearly visible at night.

Criminal complaint filed against Cuomo

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was hit with a misdemeanor criminal complaint Thursday in connection with an alleged incident of forcible touching at the Executive Mansion that helped lead to his downfall. The Albany County Sheriff's Office filed a complaint accusing the governor of reaching under the blouse of a woman and grabbing her left breast in the late afternoon of Dec. 7, 2020. The complaint, filed Thursday by investigator Amy Kowalski, accuses Cuomo of "knowingly and intentionally" committing the crime of forcible touching, a class A misdemeanor. The accuser has publicly identified herself as Brittany Commisso, 33, an executive assistant to the governor. Cuomo resigned Aug. 23, three weeks after state Attorney General Letitia James' office released a bombshell report that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, nine of whom were state employees.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares to board a helicopter after announcing his resignation on Aug. 10, 2021, in New York.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares to board a helicopter after announcing his resignation on Aug. 10, 2021, in New York.

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Biden's latest budget offer

President Joe Biden outlined details of his revamped $1.75 trillion social and climate spending package on Thursday, hailing it as a "historic economic framework" even as it remained unclear whether he had enough votes in Congress to pass it along with a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill tangled up in negotiations. The scaled-back framework deal includes universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, expansion of the child tax credit for one year, increased health care spending and $555 billion in climate change provisions, among other economic programs. Read the latest here.

President Biden walks with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 28, 2021, during a visit to meet with House Democrats. Biden is pushing his revised domestic policy bill and a related bipartisan infrastructure plan with fractious House Democrats after days of prolonged negotiations over his ambitious social and climate policies and how to pay for them.

$88M settlement reached in Charleston church shooting

The Justice Department announced an $88 million settlement Thursday with families of victims of a Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting in 2015. The 14 plaintiffs filed civil cases against the FBI over accusations the agency was negligent in failing to prohibit the sale of the firearm to a self-proclaimed white nationalist, who murdered nine people inside Mother Emanuel AME Church. The settlements range from $6 million to $7.5 million for families of people who were killed and $5 million for survivors. Dylann Roof was convicted and sentenced to death for killing nine congregants during a Bible study program June 17, 2015.

Worshippers embrace following a group prayer across the street from the scene of a shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Wednesday, June 17, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside the historic Black church, killing multiple people, including the pastor, in an assault that authorities described as a hate crime.

Real quick

New DNA technique proves man is Sitting Bull's great-grandson

For years, people questioned whether Ernie LaPointe was the great-grandson of Sitting Bull, the Lakota Sioux leader, despite having birth and death certificates, a family tree and historical records. A new DNA technique using autosomal DNA confirmed LaPointe was Sitting Bull's relative and can finally quiet the naysayers, marking the first time ancient DNA was used to confirm familial relationships in living people. Sitting Bull's hair that was used for the test had degraded after sitting in the Smithsonian museum for more than a century before it was returned to LaPointe in 2007. It took researchers 14 years to find a usable piece of DNA in the hair. Researchers hope the new technique will open more doors to testing ancient DNA.

A new DNA technique has confirmed that Ernie LaPointe was the great-grandson of Sitting Bull, the Lakota Sioux leader.
A new DNA technique has confirmed that Ernie LaPointe was the great-grandson of Sitting Bull, the Lakota Sioux leader.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight attendant assaulted, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Charleston church shooting settlement. It's Thursday's news.