St. Thomas provost to step aside amid lawsuit over alleged lewd email

The provost at the University of St. Thomas announced he is stepping aside at the end of the fall semester, three days after a lawsuit challenged his handling of a lewd email allegedly sent by another administrator to him, a female colleague and a priest. Dominic Aquila said he will leave the provost's position at the private Catholic university but will continue to work with home-schooled children and teach as a faculty member.

US convict spared execution after new DNA evidence comes out

With only hours to spare, the governor of the US state of Missouri on Tuesday halted the execution of a man whose lawyers argued new DNA evidence exonerated him of a 1998 murder. Governor Eric Greitens stayed the execution of Marcellus Williams, 48, who was convicted of fatally stabbing a woman more than 40 times during a robbery at her home in the Midwestern state.

Salena Zito

In the minutes that ticked by in the 8 a.m. hour on Monday morning, Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese Jr. was walking through the narrow alley in the shadow of the Jefferson County courthouse when a man got out of his car in the nearby bank parking lot and opened fire. Police say Bruzzese returned fire, and a nearby probation officer stepped in and ultimately killed the suspect.

Phx. police chief: Officers prepared to prevent clashes at Trump rally

Phoenix's top cop promised Monday there are sufficient protections in place for today's Trump rally to prevent a repeat of the violent clashes that happened in Charlottesville. The police chief said Phoenix has a long history of being the site of political hot-button events, rallies and marches.

Google Launches Hate Crime Tracking Tool, Omits Conservative Websites

Google News Lab is developing a new tool powered by machine learning, titled by " Documenting Hate News Ending ," which tracks every hate crime reported across 50 states using data collected from February 2017 onward. The tool is being developed as part of the "Documenting Hate project," which was launched this January by ProPublica.

If Trump pardons Arpaio, GOP can’t claim ‘rule of law’ on immigration

Arizona politicians have invoked the "rule of law" for more than a decade to argue for harsher immigration enforcement. Does it apply to Arpaio? If Trump pardons Arpaio, GOP can't claim 'rule of law' on immigration Arizona politicians have invoked the "rule of law" for more than a decade to argue for harsher immigration enforcement.

Wife no-billed in shooting of Smith County constable wants records expunged

The wife of a Smith County constable charged with shooting him and their 5-year-old granddaughter is seeking to have records of her arrest removed from public record after being no-billed in the case. The request comes after a Smith County Grand Jury in September 2016 declined to indict Meraland Taylor Jackson on two aggravated assault charges related to the April 2016 shooting in the 3200 block of Chandler Highway.

Texas police chiefs start adapting to sanctuary cities law

Even as a new Texas law targeting so-called sanctuary cities remains in legal limbo, police chiefs and sheriffs are making changes to comply, rewriting training manuals and withdrawing policies that prevented officers from asking people whether they're in the United States illegally. The law, known as Senate Bill 4, goes into effect Sept.

Jeff Sessions compares Miami-Dade, ‘sanctuary’ Chicago homicide rates

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, flanked by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez and Tom Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, hailed the Florida county as a place that reversed its "sanctuary" policies for illegal immigrants and lowered ... more > Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a direct challenge to Chicago on Wednesday, saying the high number of homicides is no coincidence for a city that refuses to cooperate with federal deportation authorities, while Miami is cooperating - and reaping the benefits of public safety.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Will Not Investigate Crumbling Concrete Foundations In Connecticut

The U.S. Attorney's office has rejected a complaint filed by homeowners seeking a federal investigation into failing concrete foundations. In a letter dated Aug. 11, Nancy Gifford, Assistant U.S. Attorney, wrote that the office was unable to provide further assistance to the homeowners, but that victims could contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation .

California, San Francisco sue over sanctuary city grants

The state of California and city of San Francisco are suing the U.S. Department of Justice over President Donald Trump's sanctuary city restrictions on public safety grants. In a news conference Monday, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and City Attorney Dennis Herrera, both Democrats, announced the lawsuit, which makes California the first state to challenge the administration on its sanctuary city policy of denying funds to cities that limit cooperation with enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

Peter Lim snubs DOJ drug probe

The Department of Justice started yesterday its preliminary investigation on the drug charges filed against Cebu-based businessman Peter Lim for his alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade in Central Visayas. Lim, however, did not appear in the first hearing and instead sent his lawyers to receive the copy of the complaint and other documents on the charges filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police .

Warranted enforcement

In an important act of civic mercy, masses of New Yorkers who more than a decade ago engaged in nonviolent misbehavior such as drinking alcohol in public, being in a park after dark or biking on the sidewalk - and have committed no crimes since - have just had those warrants shredded. The question henceforth is whether the civil penalties that have replaced criminal ones for such conduct will be enforced with sufficient zeal to stop lower-level disorder from flooding the city again.