Nation briefs 12/1/2015

$1.5 million bond set for Chicago cop

CHICAGO -- A judge on Monday set bond at $1.5 million for a white Chicago police officer charged with murder after a squad-car video caught him fatally shooting a black teenager 16 times. Officer Jason Van Dyke has been locked up since Nov. 24, when prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. On the same day, authorities released the dashcam video that showed McDonald -- armed with a small knife and walking down a street on the city's southwest side -- being shot repeatedly by the 37-year-old Van Dyke.

Texas rescuers find flooded car, body

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Firefighters searching for a 76-year-old woman swept away in fast-moving floodwaters found a submerged car with a body inside. The Fort Worth Fire Department said the car was found Monday a mile downstream from where Zenola Jenkins' vehicle washed off a highway bridge Friday. Department spokesman Kyle Clay said firefighters believe the car belongs to Jenkins, who lived nearby in Burleson, Texas, and the body inside is hers. A deputy swept away during an attempt to rescue Jenkins survived by clinging to a tree.

Former New York speaker convicted

NEW YORK -- Former state Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted Monday in a $5 million corruption case that took down one of New York's most powerful politicians and stunned a capital that had become accustomed to scandal. The jury verdict came after a three-week trial in which federal prosecutors claimed the 71-year-old Democrat traded favors to enrich himself, then lied about it. The defense countered the government was trying to criminalize the longtime routines of Albany politicians. Silver, who remains free on bail until a sentencing date not yet set, plans to appeal.

Dozens hurt when bus overturns

RICHMOND, Va. -- A charter bus carrying college students to three Virginia campuses overturned, leaving one person seriously injured and 35 others aboard with minor injuries near the close of the holiday weekend. Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said there were no reported fatalities after the bus overturned Sunday evening on an exit ramp of the Powhite Parkway in North Chesterfield County just south of Richmond, the state capital. State police stated the driver lost control on a curve on the ramp, and the bus overturned on its side. About 34 of the passengers and the driver were taken to Richmond-area hospitals to be treated for minor injuries, while one passenger was treated for serious injuries, authorities said.

Sanders undergoes hernia surgery

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders underwent an elective outpatient hernia repair procedure Monday. In a brief, one-paragraph statement, the Vermont senator's office said he had the procedure done at George Washington University Hospital in the district. His office said Sanders, 74, will resume his Senate duties today.

-- From wire reports