Judge halts California labor law as it relates to truckers

Woman pleads guilty to poisoning husband with eye drops

YORK, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina woman pleaded guilty to fatally poisoning her husband by putting eye drops into his water for days. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Lana Sue Clayton, 53, pleaded guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter and tampering with a food or drug, news outlets reported. York County detectives... Read More

Lana Clayton

Ex-US rep’s fate rests with judge in insider trading case

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge must decide the fate of former U.S. Rep. Christopher Collins after his lawyers and prosecutors disagreed over how he should be punished for conspiring in an insider trading scheme. U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick in Manhattan will sentence the 69-year-old Republican on Friday afternoon. Collins’ lawyers said he is... Read More

Criminal Justice News, Finance, News

Christopher Collins

Organizers appeal ban on arms at upcoming Virginia gun rally

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A gun-rights group has filed an emergency appeal of a judge’s ruling upholding the Virginia governor’s ban on firearms at a pro-gun rally that’s expected to draw thousands of gun activists to the state Capitol on Monday. The Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America sought an injunction against... Read More

Criminal Justice News, Guns, News

Human Trafficking, Jim Farmer

Former NBA player to plead not guilty to human trafficking

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — A grand jury has brought charges in a sex trafficking case against former NBA player and one-time University of Alabama basketball standout Jim Farmer, who was caught up in an undercover law enforcement sting last October. Farmer, 55, of Franklin, Tennessee, was arrested again after being indicted by the Rutherford County... Read More

Criminal Justice News, News, Sports

Judge revokes bail for Avenatti, cites new crime evidence

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California judge revoked attorney Michael Avenatti’s bail Wednesday, forcing a delay of his New York extortion trial set for next week after prosecutors said he was hiding assets from creditors to live lavishly. U.S. District Judge James Selna said Avenatti, best known as the brash lawyer for porn actress... Read More

Michael Avenatti

Man who challenged deportation to Iraq wins, can stay in US

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit-area man who was locked up for months and became the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit challenging U.S. deportations to Iraq has won his immigration case and is on a path to citizenship, lawyers said Wednesday. An immigration judge found that Usama “Sam” Hamama of Oakland County had rehabilitated himself... Read More

Usama “Sam” Hamama

Judge halts Trump’s order allowing states to block refugees

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that gave state and local officials the ability to shut the door on refugees, and ignited a fierce debate in communities about how welcoming the United States should be. U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte in Maryland said in his... Read More

Criminal Justice News, Immigration, News

Judge refuses to toss ex-coal CEO Blankenship’s conviction

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal judge in West Virginia on Wednesday refused to toss the misdemeanor conviction of former coal CEO Don Blankenship for conspiring to violate mine safety laws. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger in Beckley rejected a recommendation from a federal magistrate judge. Berger ruled that despite the prosecution’s failure to disclose... Read More

Business, Criminal Justice News, News

Don Blankenship

Jeremy Holmes, Phillip Morris

Red flag petition filed against officer in fatal shooting

DENVER (AP) — A woman whose son was killed by Colorado State University police in 2017 is trying to have the guns of one of the officers involved confiscated under the state’s new red flag law, a move the sheriff calls a classic example of how the controversial law can be abused. In her Jan.... Read More

Criminal Justice News, Guns, Law Enforcement, News

Weinstein lawyers: ‘Circus’ atmosphere, juror tweets unfair

NEW YORK (AP) — As if picking a jury for Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial wasn’t complicated enough, some potential jurors have been posting on social media about their involvement in the case, violating court rules that could land them behind bars, the judge said Wednesday as the selection process stretched into a seventh day. Meanwhile,... Read More

Criminal Justice News, Entertainment, News, Sexual Abuse

Harvey Weinstein

Gerald Goines, Steven Bryant

Murder indictments handed down in deadly Houston drug raid

HOUSTON (AP) — A grand jury has indicted two former Houston police officers — including one who is facing murder counts — for their roles in a deadly January 2019 drug raid that killed a couple, prosecutors announced Wednesday. The indictments follow similar charges that were filed in August by the Harris County District Attorney’s... Read More

Criminal Justice News, Drugs, News

Lawyer says prosecutors intentionally scuttled Bundy case

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors deliberately scuttled the 2017 trial of a Nevada rancher and several others involving an armed standoff against U.S. officials, so the government shouldn’t be allowed to revive the case, an attorney told an appeals court set to hear arguments in coming weeks. Attorney Alyssa Bell, representing co-defendant Ryan Bundy, said... Read More

Cliven Bundy, Ryan Bundy