Volkswagen Executive Arrested for Alleged Role in Emissions a Conspiracya

Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt was arrested by the FBI on Saturday for his alleged role in the company's suspected "scheme" to cheat emissions standards, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday. Schmidt, who led the automaker's U.S. environmental regulatory compliance office from 2012 to 2015, allegedly conspired with other VW employees to defraud the federal government - and American consumers - by concealing the installation of a device designed to cheat emissions tests.

Walters: Reasons why Ziegler wona t face April challenge

There are several reasons why Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler, a member of the court's five-justice conservative majority, will not be challenged in the April 4 election for a second 10-year term. She will be the first justice in 11 years to be unopposed.

Another leading Alabama Democrat endorses Jeff Sessions

Sue Bell Cobb, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has endorsed Sen. Jeff Sessions in a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Montgomery Advertiser describes Cobb as "one of Alabama's most prominent Democrats."

Judge refuses to release 4 accused of beating disabled youth

A Chicago judge refused to allow four black people caught on cellphone footage taunting and beating a mentally disabled white man to post bail and leave jail, saying they are accused of such "terrible actions" that they are a danger to society. "Where was your sense of decency?" Cook County Circuit Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil asked them on Friday during their first court appearance, sounding baffled that the suspects could be charged with such cruelty toward the 18-year-old victim.

Anti-white hate crimes make up 10.5 per cent of U.S. incidents: FBI stats

Four people were charged with hate crimes Thursday in connection with a Facebook live video showing a man being beaten and taunted, threatened with a knife and forced to drink from a toilet. The horrific beating of a mentally disabled white man in Chicago by four black assailants broadcast on social media is highlighting anti-white hate crimes at a time of increased racial strife in the United States.

Sessions’ record a source of different depictions of senator

Senators at next week's confirmation hearing will confront competing versions of Jeff Sessions, the Alabama senator who is President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. His supporters will frame the 70-year-old Republican, who grew up in the segregated South before a career as a local GOP leader, prosecutor and elected official, as an unyielding but fair-minded conservative.

Advocates of hate crimes law prepared to try again

When advocates for a hate-crimes bill took their case to the Legislature last year, their cause was quickly overshadowed by a separate effort to expand the state's civil rights law to include LGBT protections. The latter measure, which ultimately failed, became known derisively as the "bathroom bill" with opponents who claimed, falsely, that it would allow predatory men to sneak into women's restrooms.

Sherriff Joe Arpaio is leaving office with mixed legacy

The full-throated bravado that made Sheriff Joe Arpaio a household name in debates over illegal immigration and the treatment of jail inmates was missing as he started his last news conference in a law enforcement career that spanned a half-century. After being charged with a crime and booted from office by voters, the 84-year-old Arpaio looked tired and dispirited as he defended his investigation of President Barack Obama's birth certificate - a debunked controversy that critics say Arpaio exploited to raise funds from his supporters.

The new 2017 laws you need to know

Completely hands free, drivers now face up to a $200 ticket if caught holding their cell phone while operating their vehicle. Officials said cell phone must be mounted on the dashboard, windshield or console and drivers can only swipe, or tap once to activate or deactivate a feature or function.

Cruel bully or modern-day Wyatt Earp? Sheriff’s mixed legacy

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2009, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, left, orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together and moved into a separate area of Tent City, for incarcerati... PHOENIX - The full-throated bravado that made Sheriff Joe Arpaio a household name in debates over illegal immigration and the treatment of jail inmates was missing as he started his last news conference in a law enforcement career that spanned a half-century.

Advocates of hate crimes law ready to try again

When advocates for a hate-crimes bill took their case to the Legislature last year, their cause was quickly overshadowed by a separate effort to expand the state's civil rights law to include LGBT protections. The latter measure, which ultimately failed, became known derisively as the "bathroom bill" with opponents who claimed, falsely, that it would allow predatory men to sneak into women's restrooms.