Justice Department program to target areas with most violent crime

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a directive Thursday that refocuses federal prosecutors on violent crime cases and requires each U.S. Attorney's Office to develop a localized plan that targets areas plagued by the most violence. The Justice Department will "reinvigorate" the Project Safe Neighborhoods programs first developed in 2001, and require its federal prosecutors to provide feedback every six months on their progress.

Seven men charged with illegal re-entry to U.S.

Seven men in Franklin, York counties charged with illegal re-entry to U.S. The men were found in Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin and York counties. Check out this story on publicopiniononline.com: http://ponews.co/2yK3L2w Here are the top stories for Thursday, October 5th: Las Vegas shooter remains a mystery to investigators; Republicans plan budget vote on road to tax overhaul; "The Remains of the Day" author wins Nobel; Diamondbacks victorious in NL Wild Card.

Rexit: Tillerson hangs on to job, but for how long?

Trump has at times appeared to undercut Tillerson's message on some of America's most sensitive national security challenges, including Iran and North Korea The moment was as remarkable as it was unprecedented: a sitting US secretary of state took to the microphone to pledge his fealty to the president - despite his well-documented unhappiness in the job and the growing presumption in Washington that he is a short-timer. Rex Tillerson said Wednesday he would stay as long as US President Donald Trump wants him to , and Trump said he has "full confidence" in the former ExxonMobil chief executive.

Steve Bannon backs ex-con Grimm in NY Republican race

Former White House senior adviser and conservative firebrand Steve Bannon may once again shakeup the Republican Party by supporting and functioning as an outside adviser for a controversial candidate to defeat an establishment Republican congressman in a district that covers the New York City borough of Staten Island, FOX Business has learned. Bannon met Wednesday in Washington, D.C., with former Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican who held the New York's 11 congressional district seat that covers most of Staten Island until 2015, when he was sentenced to seven months in federal prison on tax evasion charges.

Peter Levashov and Alexander Vinnik, Russians charged in U.S. cyber cases, cleared for extradition

Courts in Spain and Greece separately ruled within hours of each other this week to extradite two Russian men wanted by U.S. prosecutors in connection with unrelated federal cybercrime probes amid worsening relations between Washington and Moscow . Russian citizens Pyotr "Peter" Levashov, 36, and Alexander Vinnik, 37, were arrested earlier this year while vacationing in Spain and Greece, respectively, spurring separate but similar extradition battles at the center of this week's rulings.

Immigrant deportations as a humanitarian crisis

The number of illegal immigrants seeking asylum status across the Canadian border north of Plattsburgh will this month likely exceed 4,000, including Haitians whose temporary asylum here following hurricane devastation and epidemic in Haiti is now ending. Immigrant children born in the United States are citizens of this country and may therefore be separated from their families and sent to orphanages in the U.S. as their parents are forced back across the border.

Las Vegas shooter’s girlfriend back in US; FBI to question her

The girlfriend of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock arrived back in the United States Tuesday evening and was met by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents eager to hear whatever she might know about the motive behind his slaying of 58 people and wounding of more than 500 in the worst mass shooting in US history. Although the FBI wants to talk to her, Marilou Danley, 62, is not in custody - she is classified as a "person of interest" to investigators - and is free to go wherever she wants, US media reported.

California congressman’s father released from prison

The father of a California congressman has been released from federal prison after serving most of his sentence for illegally funneling nearly $270,000 in contributions to his son's campaign. Babulal Bera was released Thursday, seven weeks shy of his full sentence of one year and one day behind bars.

Why Are NCAA Recruiting Violations a Crime–Let Alone a Federal One?

When I first heard the University of Louisville basketball program was involved in some recruiting scandal, I was shocked-shocked!-because an ethical cloud hangs around its coach Rick Pitino like Pig-Pen of Peanuts fame. Then I heard that the FBI had been investigating multiple schools for similar violations and I thought two things: I'm again shocked-shocked!-that shamateurism prevails in the NCAA, and why does any law enforcement agency care? Here's what allegedly happened: An executive at sportswear manufacturer Adidas named James Gatto funneled significant sums of money to high school basketball players who then committed to Louisville.

Trial to open for suspected mastermind of Benghazi attacks

A trial of the suspected mastermind of the 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attacks will unfold this week in a federal courtroom in Washington, three years after he was captured by U.S. special forces in Libya and brought to the U.S. on a 13-day trip aboard a Navy ship. Opening statements will take place Monday in the case against Ahmed Abu Khattala, whom prosecutors describe as the ringleader of the attacks at a diplomatic compound that killed four Americans and became a political flashpoint given its timing weeks before President Barack Obama's re-election.