Category Archives: US crime

Donald Trump pushes for live broadcast of his trial over election subversion

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Ex-president’s attorneys request live coverage of proceedings, but a rule prevents broadcasting of federal trials

Donald Trump’s attorneys have requested authorization for live, in-courtroom television coverage of his trial on charges that he conspired to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss so that the former commander-in-chief can publicly argue that the proceedings are unfair.

The legal filing late on Friday, citing unsubstantiated allegations that Trump is the victim of persecution by the Biden White House, supports efforts by news organizations to provide live television coverage from inside the trial, which is scheduled to begin in March 2024.

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Suspect in killing of Samantha Woll released from custody without charges

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Investigators are reportedly still looking into ‘ambiguous’ statement made by suspect in death of Detroit Jewish leader

A suspect in the deadly stabbing of Detroit synagogue leader and leftwing political adviser Samantha Woll was released from custody on Friday without being booked with a crime after police had detained the man for three days.

The man’s attorneys, Allison Kriger and Mark Kriger, confirmed their client’s release to the Detroit News, which nonetheless cited four law enforcement sources who said investigators were continuing to examine “an ambiguous statement the suspect made to police” about Woll’s 21 October killing.

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Son of top Hollywood agent in custody after woman’s torso found in dumpster

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Sam Haskell, whose father represented Dolly Parton and George Clooney, suspected of murder of wife and her parents in LA

The 35-year-old son of a Hollywood talent agent whose clients included Dolly Parton, George Clooney and a British prince, has been taken into custody in Los Angeles after a bloody torso authorities say probably belongs to his wife was discovered in a strip-mall dumpster.

Sam Haskell, who was booked on suspicion of murder on Wednesday, is also suspected of killing his wife’s parents who are missing, detectives have said.

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Former top Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby convicted of perjury

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Mosby, best known for failed prosecution of police in Freddy Gray’s death, was accused of improperly accessing retirement funds

A former top prosecutor for the city of Baltimore was convicted on Thursday of charges that she lied about the finances of a side business to improperly access retirement funds during the Covid pandemic, using the money to buy two Florida homes.

A federal jury convicted former Baltimore state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby of two counts of perjury after a trial that started on Monday.

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Owner of Colorado funeral home and his wife arrested after 189 bodies found

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The decaying corpses were discovered after reports of ‘abhorrent smells’ inside company’s rundown building last month

The owner of a Colorado funeral home and his wife were arrested on Wednesday after the decaying remains of at least 189 people were recently found at his facility.

Jon and Carie Hallford were arrested in Wagoner, Oklahoma, on suspicion of four felonies – abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering and forgery – the district attorney, Michael Allen, said in a news release after at least some of the aggrieved families were told.

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Muslim Stanford student hospitalized in suspected hate crime hit-and-run

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University says incident being investigated as possible hate crime after Abdulwahab Omira suffered non-life-threatening injuries

An Arab Muslim student at Stanford University was hospitalized after being struck in a hit-and-run that authorities are investigating as a hate crime, amid rising threats against Arab and Muslim people across the US.

The student, Abdulwahab Omira, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after being struck by an SUV. “The driver is reported to have made eye contact with the victim, accelerated and struck the victim and then driven away while shouting ‘fuck you and your people’ out the lowered window of the vehicle,” according to the university’s department of public safety.

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Was crypto on trial with Sam Bankman-Fried?

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Binance and Coinbase are under investigation – but Bitcoin was trading at highest value in a year as FTX founder convicted of fraud

As the trial of the former crypto star and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried began last month, headlines declared cryptocurrency was on trial too.

But when Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts of wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy Thursday evening, after less than five hours of jury deliberations, Bitcoin was trading at its highest price in a year.

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Virginia teacher shot by six-year-old can go ahead with $40m lawsuit, judge rules

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Abby Zwerner was hospitalized for two weeks after the January shooting and is suing school administrators for negligence

A teacher who was shot by her six-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her $40m lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled Friday.

The surprise decision by the Newport News circuit court judge Matthew Hoffman means that Abby Zwerner could get much more than just workers’ compensation for the serious injuries caused by January’s classroom shooting.

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Memphis police officer pleads guilty in fatal beating of Tyre Nichols

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Desmond Mills Jr is one of five officers charged in the beating death of the Black man who called for his mother as he was attacked

A former Memphis police officer pleaded guilty on Thursday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, becoming the first of five officers charged to reverse course, with prosecutors recommending up to 15 years in prison.

Desmond Mills Jr entered his plea during a hearing at the Memphis federal courthouse as part of a larger agreement to settle charges in state court as well. It was not immediately clear if any of the other officers would follow suit.

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Maine gunman’s family alerted sheriff five months before shootings

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Concern over Robert Card’s mental health dated back to last summer after a training facility episode sparked an evaluation

Five months before the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the New England state of Maine, the gunman’s family alerted the local sheriff that they were becoming concerned about his deteriorating mental health while he had access to firearms, according to authorities.

After the alert, the Sagadohoc county sheriff’s office reached out to officials of Robert Card’s army reserve unit, which assured deputies that they would speak to Card and make sure he got medical attention, sheriff Joel Merry said.

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US woman charged with hosting parties with alcohol for teens and encouraging sexual assault

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Seventeen alleged victims testified at grand jury hearing, where Shannon Marie O’Connor was indicted on 63 charges

A woman accused of hosting parties for her teenage son and his friends in northern California where she encouraged them to drink and sexually assault intoxicated girls was charged on Monday with more than five dozen felony and misdemeanor counts.

Shannon Marie O’Connor, 49, was indicted by a grand jury in Santa Clara county on 63 charges including child endangerment for furnishing alcohol to minors and aiding and abetting sexual assault, the Mercury News reported.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.

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Sam Bankman-Fried denies messy hair part of ‘tech genius’ persona during trial

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Disgraced former CEO of crypto exchange FTX admits to disparaging regulators on third day of testimony

Sam Bankman-Fried testified in his own blockbuster crypto trial again Monday, with prosecutors grilling the one-time crypto mogul about the many discrepancies between his public and private claims about crypto-exchange FTX.

Bankman-Fried appeared to have had a haircut over the weekend, just in time for prosecutors to start their cross examination and question whether his famously unkempt hair was part of a deliberate, anti-style “tech genius” persona.

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‘We will heal together’: Maine residents relieved as shooter found dead

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After three days of lockdown, fear and grief, residents of Lewiston and Lisbon prepare to move forward as manhunt ends

The terrified residents of Lewiston, Maine, were afforded a sense of relief amid their shock and grief on Saturday after the “armed and dangerous” gunman who had kept them on lockdown since killing 18 people on Wednesday was found dead.

The body of suspected shooter Robert Card, 40, was found on Friday evening near a recycling area 10 miles from Lewiston, with what the authorities confirmed on Saturday was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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New York animal control officer arrested in yorkie dognap plot

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Hope the purloined pooch was returned to Jeannine Staller after she was told by Scott Casterline that her dog was dead

A New York state animal control officer was arrested after selling a stolen pet and telling the owner that the animal had died, authorities have said.

Scott Casterline, 51, was arrested on Thursday and charged in connection with stealing the dog, a nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier called Hope, and later selling it while working as an animal control officer, according to a press release from the Steuben county sheriff’s office.

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Maine shootings: ‘more and more concern’ as search for suspect goes on

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Shelter in place order for the region rescinded almost 48 hours after the shooting even as ban on hunting continues on

Maine authorities continued a massive manhunt on the second day of their intensive search for an army reservist accused of fatally shooting 18 people and wounding 13 at a bowling alley and a bar in the town of Lewiston.

People scoured the woods and searched hundreds of acres of family-owned property. They event sent dive teams with sonar to the bottom of a local river and scrutinized a possible suicide note as they hunted for Robert Card who disappeared shortly after the massacre.

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George Santos pleads not guilty to new fraud charges

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Republican accused of making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to campaign donors

US congressman George Santos pleaded not guilty on Friday to revised charges accusing him of several frauds, including making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to some of his campaign donors.

The New York Republican appeared at a courthouse on Long Island to enter a plea to the new allegations. He had already pleaded not guilty to other charges, first filed in May, accusing him of lying to Congress about his wealth, applying for and receiving unemployment benefits, even though he had a job, and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses like designer clothing.

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An avid bowler, a beloved manager: details emerge of Maine shooting victims

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Eighteen people were killed in Wednesday’s shooting, the largest mass shooting of 2023 so far

The mass shooting in Maine left 18 people dead in attacks at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston on Wednesday night.

Law enforcement is still searching for shooting suspect Robert Card, 40, who is considered armed and dangerous. So far this year, the US has witnessed the second-highest number on record of mass killings to this point in a single year. Only 2019 had more mass killings.

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Maine shootings: at least 16 people dead and dozens injured, police say

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Local authorities say agencies are investigating ‘two active shooter events’ as police warn residents to shelter in place

At least 16 people were killed in Wednesday night shootings at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, police say, sending the state’s second-largest city into despair.

It appeared there were incidents at two locations and that the shooter remained at large late into the evening as the city was on lockdown.

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Chunk of change: four charged with stealing millions of US dimes from truck

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Defendants allegedly left coins scattered across parking lot after breaking into truck and taking 10-cent pieces worth $234,500

Robberies in the US are a dime a dozen, but one in particular had investigators perplexed. Now, more details about a scandal involving the theft of dimes by the million, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, have been released by federal authorities.

A newly unsealed indictment charges that on the evening of 13 April, four Philadelphia men made off with $234,500 – made up of more than 2m dimes – after breaking into a tractor-trailer carrying the coins. The truck driver, who had pulled into a parking lot to sleep at the time of the heist, had picked up the dimes from the US Mint and was headed to Miami. There was $750,000 worth of dimes in the truck before the robbery – a shipment that weighed about six tons and cost a pretty penny.

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No evidence of hate crime in synagogue president’s killing, say Detroit police

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Authorities have confirmed no motives and are ‘just short’ of naming one person a suspect in murder of Samantha Woll

Detroit police officials on Monday reiterated their belief that the killing of synagogue president Samantha Woll over the weekend does not appear to be a hate crime – but have yet to describe any theory or motivation for her murder.

“Right now the evidence doesn’t take us there,” said Detroit’s police chief, James White, at a press conference on Monday. “When we talk about hate crimes, there are certain tracks they take. We’re confident that we don’t have any indication of that at this point.”

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