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  • Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges | CNN

    Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    For the first time, Alex Murdaugh has pleaded guilty to crimes.

    The disgraced former South Carolina attorney, who was convicted in March of murdering his wife and son, pleaded guilty to nearly two dozen fraud and money laundering charges Thursday morning in a federal courtroom in Charleston.

    The plea is related to a scheme in which Murdaugh and a bank employee allegedly defrauded his personal injury clients and laundered more than $7 million of funds, according to an indictment. Murdaugh was accused of using the settlement funds for his “personal benefit, including using the proceeds to pay off personal loans and for personal expenses and cash withdrawals.”

    Murdaugh cried as he told the judge he was pleading guilty of his own free will. He said he was doing so because he was guilty of the crimes, but also so his son, Buster, could see him taking responsibility for his actions, as well as to help his victims heal, according to three attorneys present during the proceedings.

    Murdaugh agreed to plead guilty to 22 charges in all: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud; one count of bank fraud; five counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and 14 counts of money laundering.

    The majority of the charges carry a maximum federal sentence of 20 years, though four of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years.

    US District Court Judge Richard Gergel accepted and signed the plea agreement between Murdaugh and federal prosecutors. Gergel will determine federal sentencing for Murdaugh at a later date.

    “Alex Murdaugh’s financial crimes were extensive, brazen, and callous,” US Attorney Adair F. Boroughs said in a statement. “He stole indiscriminately from his clients, from his law firm, and from others who trusted him. The US Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and SLED committed to investigating and prosecuting Murdaugh’s financial crimes when they first came to light. Today marks our fulfillment of that promise.”

    The agreement says that if Murdaugh cooperates and complies with the conditions of the plea agreement, the government attorneys agree to recommend to the court that any federal sentence he receives for these charges “be served concurrent to any state sentence served for the same conduct.” The agreement does not have a sentence recommendation included in it, as written.

    Notably, the agreement requires Murdaugh – who admitted under oath that he had previously lied to the police – to tell the truth.

    “The Defendant agrees to be fully truthful and forthright with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies by providing full, complete and truthful information about all criminal activities about which he/she has knowledge,” the agreement reads.

    If he is found in any way to break this portion of the agreement, the agreement would be voided.

    Much of the agreement is focused on Murdaugh working with the government to repay victims and locate missing assets. The agreement says Murdaugh must pay restitution to his victims and requests he forfeit a total of $9 million in assets. Further, he must submit to a polygraph test, if requested by the government, and could be called to testify before other grand juries or in future trials.

    Attorney Justin Bamberg, who represents several of Murdaugh’s victims in the financial crimes, criticized the plea agreement in a statement.

    “Given the severity and callousness of his crimes, Alex Murdaugh should never receive any incentive-based deal from the government, be it federal or state, and we respectfully disagree with the federal government’s voluntary decision to concede to a concurrent sentence in exchange for his guilty plea and agreement to ‘cooperate,’” he said.

    “We trust that the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will remain steadfast in its commitment to hold Murdaugh accountable and will give him no breaks and offer no incentives; that ship sailed years ago,” he added. “Murdaugh’s victims are looking forward to seeing him receive the individual sentences he earned via his own individual criminal conduct towards each of them under South Carolina law.”

    The fraud charges are just the latest legal problems for Murdaugh, the scion of a prominent and powerful family of local lawyers and solicitors in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

    Murdaugh was convicted in March of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in 2021 at their sprawling estate, and he was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Days after his conviction, Murdaugh’s lawyers began the appeals process. However, earlier this month, his defense team filed a court motion to suspend the appeal, so they could request a new trial. The motion included bombshell allegations that the Colleton County Clerk of Court tampered with the jury.

    The South Carolina attorney general has asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate the claims.

    Last week, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson asked the court to order Murdaugh’s defense team to correct their motion due to several “procedural defects.” The prosecutor’s office didn’t directly dispute the motion but noted the ongoing investigation has already “revealed significant factual disputes” that undermine the credibility of Murdaugh’s claims.

    Murdaugh’s attorney’s responded to the state’s request on Thursday, accusing prosecutors of attempting to delay the appeal suspension and prevent the defense from requesting a new trial. The defense attorneys argued the “procedural defects” raised by prosecutors are not relevant to the filing and asked the court to “expeditiously grant” a new trial.

    The South Carolina Court of Appeals has not yet issued a decision.

    In addition, the disbarred attorney remains entangled in several other state and federal cases in which he faces more than 100 other charges.

    Murdaugh is set to stand trial in November on charges related to stolen settlement funds from the family of the Murdaughs’ late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.

    They are the first of dozens of state charges he faces in alleged schemes to defraud victims of millions. The financial crimes he is accused of in the case include embezzlement, computer crime, money laundering and tax evasion.

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  • Suspect in Illinois killings and passenger dead after fiery crash following police chase in Oklahoma, authorities say | CNN

    Suspect in Illinois killings and passenger dead after fiery crash following police chase in Oklahoma, authorities say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A woman and a suspect in the killings of four members of the same family in Romeoville, Illinois, died after a police chase and vehicle crash, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said.

    The vehicle – believed to be driven by suspect Nathaniel Huey, Jr. – crashed on Interstate 44 in Catoosa, Oklahoma, at the end of a police pursuit.

    “(An officer) approached the vehicle and removed a female passenger, who was transported to a local hospital. She later succumbed to her injuries,” the bureau said in a statement.

    Officers heard what were believed to be gunshots as they approached the wrecked vehicle. Both the woman and driver, believed to be Huey who died at the scene, had a gunshot wound, police said.

    Authorities have not released the name of the woman or explained her connection to Huey. “The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine positive identification and cause of death for both individuals,” the statement said.

    Huey was named as a suspect in the murders of a family of four found shot to death in their home in Romeoville, about 30 miles southwest of Chicago, on Sunday.

    The slain family members – Alberto Rolon, 38; Zoraida Bartolomei, 32; and their two boys, ages 7 and 9 – were found with gunshot wounds in the home Sunday night after a relative reported one of them didn’t show for work, authorities said.

    Hours after discovering their bodies, police identified Huey as a suspect in the case and an unnamed female as a “person of interest,” Romeoville Deputy Police Chief Chris Burne said at a news conference Wednesday.

    Evidence revealed a connection between the suspect and the victims, as well as a “possible motive,” Burne said, without elaborating.

    The female person of interest was reported missing and endangered by family members on Tuesday evening. She was then entered into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, a police communications and information network, Romeoville police said.

    Later that night, Romeoville police released a statewide bulletin to law enforcement agencies that said Huey was a “credible suspect in the investigation,” Burne said.

    On Wednesday morning, police in Catoosa – roughly a 650-mile drive southwest of Romeoville – received a license plate reader alert notifying them that Huey’s vehicle was in their jurisdiction, according to Romeoville police.

    Catoosa police spotted the vehicle and “attempted to conduct a traffic stop,” but the driver tried to flee, and the vehicle crashed and caught fire, Burne said.

    Officers on the scene then heard “two noises believed to be gunshots,” Burne said.

    The investigation is active and evolving, Burne said.

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  • World must learn from Bosnian war in dealing with sexual violence in Ukraine conflict, report says | CNN

    World must learn from Bosnian war in dealing with sexual violence in Ukraine conflict, report says | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The world must learn from the mistakes made after the war in Bosnia to avoid putting Ukrainian victims of rape and conflict-related sexual violence through decades of trauma, a new expert report has warned.

    Ukrainian prosecutors and independent investigators from the United Nations and other international organizations have said there is mounting evidence that Russian troops are using rape and sexual violence as part of their campaign of terror in Ukraine – similar to the systematic use of rape by the Bosnian Serb army during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s. Russia has denied the allegations.

    The report by the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, a US-based think tank, is set to be released and discussed in a debate in the UK Parliament on Thursday.

    It says that if the world wants to avoid the repeat of the trauma faced by the victims in Bosnia, it needs to focus on the victims first in Ukraine. Many in Bosnia have waited for decades before coming forward and the vast majority of sexual crimes committed there have gone unpunished.

    “Rape was one of the main aspects of the war in Bosnia and yet when we look at the Dayton Peace Accords, there were no women around the table, there were no survivors of conflict-related sexual violence,” said Emily Prey, one of the report’s lead authors, referring to the 1995 agreement that ended the Bosnian war.

    “They didn’t have a say in the peace (negotiations), and so instead of a real, sustainable, lasting peace, the Dayton Accords actually only froze the conflict,” she told CNN.

    Prey said that when considering survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, it is crucial to put aside biases and stigma and make sure everyone who is impacted is included.

    “We often think sexual violence is a crime that only happens to women, but it’s a crime that happens to everyone. Women and girls, men, boys, people with diverse gender identities,” Prey said.

    “Men who were victims of conflict-related sexual violence in the Bosnian war are only just coming forward to say that they survived this crime, and so they have gone decades without receiving the support that they need. And we’re seeing this in Ukraine as well.”

    Prey added that children born of wartime rape are often forgotten as well. Between 2,000 and 4,000 children were born just from the documented cases of wartime rapes in Bosnia, although the real number is likely much higher.

    “If we don’t really think about conflict-related sexual violence enough, then we especially don’t think about children born of wartime rape. In Bosnia, they were called the ‘Invisible Children’… and they have been fighting for years to get recognition because they’ve faced barriers and difficulties throughout their lives,” she added.

    The report also says it will be crucial for Ukraine’s allies to be ready to prosecute perpetrators on behalf of Ukraine. This can happen either under the UN’s Genocide Convention or in national courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national or international courts to prosecute individuals for crimes against international law committed in other territories.

    Prey said a recent case of a Bosnian Serb soldier charged with murder and rape that was transferred from Bosnia to Montenegro, where the accused was living, was a good example of this mechanism working well.

    The International Criminal Court has already issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and launched an investigation into alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Several countries including Lithuania, Germany, Sweden, and Spain have all opened their own investigations into alleged Russian atrocities.

    However, Prey said these cases could be costly and lengthy, which means there needs to be an extra focus on providing immediate help to the victims, including psychological and social support, free health care and free legal aid.

    “They might not see any conclusion to a court case for 10 or 20 years,” she said. “And survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, they deserve more than that. They deserve justice for themselves, accountability, but they also need to live, they need to take care of their families, they need to pay their bills and they need the support for this.”

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  • Suspect arrested in the ambush killing of Los Angeles deputy pleads not guilty to murder charge | CNN

    Suspect arrested in the ambush killing of Los Angeles deputy pleads not guilty to murder charge | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The 29-year-old man accused of killing a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in an ambush-style shooting last week entered dual pleas Wednesday of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

    Kevin Cataneo Salazar is charged with murder with special allegations in the shooting of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, who was waiting at a red light in his patrol car on Saturday when he was attacked.

    The deputy, who got engaged just four days before he was killed, was found fatally wounded by a civilian around 6 p.m. near his sheriff’s station in Palmdale, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles, police have said.

    Cataneo Salazar denied all special allegations in the complaint, which accuses him of intentionally killing the deputy with a .22 caliber revolver “by means of lying-in-wait,” referring to an ambush-style killing.

    Cataneo Salazar’s attorney, George Rosenstock, declined to comment on the case when contacted by CNN.

    “Deputy Clinkunbroomer was a peace officer who was intentionally killed while engaged in the performance of his duties,” says the complaint against Cataneo Salazar. It also states the defendant “knew and reasonably should have known” Clinkunbroomer was on duty as a law enforcement officer.

    If convicted, the suspect will face a sentence of “life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

    Judge Scott Yang ordered Cataneo Salazar to remain held without bail and issued a protective order on discovery, preventing details of the case from being made public.

    Cataneo Salazar’s mother and two sisters were in the observation room with reporters. One sister appeared to be crying. It appeared his mother was not able to see her son from the vantage point where she was sitting and spent most of the hearing staring at the floor.

    Nearly a dozen uniformed sheriff’s deputies sat in the jury box during the proceeding.

    During a news conference later on Wednesday, Clinkunbroomer’s fiancée, Brittany Lindsey, called the deputy “the best guy I ever met.”

    “He was so thoughtful and caring and everyone who met him or knew him loved him. I’m so happy I was able to love him. It was not long enough. I couldn’t wait to start our lives together. We were just engaged, planning to get married and start a family,” Lindsey said through tears. “Ryan, I miss you and I love you so much. I don’t know how to live without you and I didn’t ever want to imagine it.”

    A preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled for November 7 at 11:30 a.m.

    Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake said during Wednesday’s news conference police believe the suspect “did purchase a firearm in the weeks before the crime,” but did not elaborate further.

    The suspect’s sister, Jessica Salazar, publicly apologized for her brother’s actions and said he was not in the right state of mind.

    “It wasn’t him. It was the sickness. It was the sickness controlling him,” Salazar told CNN affiliate KABC.

    Suspect Kevin Cataneo Salazar

    Salazar said her brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. “He would feel persecuted, voices talking to him. He tried committing suicide once or twice,” she told KABC.

    But the status of the suspect’s mental health might not bring comfort to the deputy’s grieving family, Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said.

    “Whether mental health is a factor or not, think about this: If I had to go to your family and tell them you were not coming home and you were just murdered, does it matter what the person was thinking or their condition?” Luna said.

    Investigators will be working to obtain medical records as they look into “unconfirmed reports” the suspect may have a mental health history, Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian said Wednesday.

    Clinkunbroomer was a beloved member of the sheriff’s department and “was just starting his life,” Luna said. The deputy’s father and grandfather both served in the sheriff’s department, Luna said.

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  • Search continues for former NFL player Sergio Brown as police investigate his mother’s homicide. Here’s what we know | CNN

    Search continues for former NFL player Sergio Brown as police investigate his mother’s homicide. Here’s what we know | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The search continues for former NFL player Sergio Brown after his mother was found dead with assault injuries near a creek behind her suburban Chicago home, according to the Maywood Police Department.

    The body of 73-year-old Myrtle Brown was discovered on Saturday after relatives alerted authorities that they’d been unable to find or contact her or her son, the department said in a news release.

    Her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. It’s unclear what led up to her death and authorities have not provided any information on a possible suspect in the case.

    As the investigation continues, the grieving family has asked for help finding Sergio Brown.

    “My brother Sergio is still missing,” Nick Brown wrote on Instagram. “If anyone knows where he is I want him to know that I love you and please come home.”

    Sergio Brown, 35, played for Notre Dame before signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played seven seasons in the NFL as a member of the Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.

    Here’s what we know about the death investigation and the search for Sergio Brown:

    Police found Myrtle Brown’s body near a creek behind her home on Saturday, according to the department.

    The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she had died from injuries related to an assault, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide, according to spokesperson Natalia Derevyanny.

    The coroner’s office did not share details on the nature of the mother’s injuries.

    Both mother and son reported missing Saturday

    Family members of Sergio Brown and his mother told police on Saturday they had been unable to find or contact either of them, according to Maywood police.

    “Maywood Police Officers initiated a missing person report and began making attempts to locate both individuals,” police said in a news release.

    Relatives were also out looking for Myrtle, neighbor Carlos Cortez told WBBM.

    “Her family came and knocked on the door and was looking for her because they put out a police report because she was missing for 72 hours. So, we tried to help them as much as possible,” Cortez said.

    Cortez, who said he provided police with his Ring doorbell footage, said he last saw the Browns on Thursday, WBBM reported.

    Myrtle Brown, the mother of former NFL player Sergio Brown, was found dead in a creek behind her home outside Chicago. Her death has been ruled a homicide.

    Sergio Brown’s brother on Sunday took to Instagram to ask for help in finding him as he thanked community members for the condolences.

    “If you have any information on Sergio’s whereabouts please send them to the Maywood Police Department,” Nick Brown said.

    Nick Brown asked people to avoid approaching the family’s property as the investigation continues.

    The residential street in Maywood – about 11 miles from the heart of Chicago – could be seen in video cordoned off with police tape as officers responded, video from CNN affiliate WBBM shows.

    “People, please don’t approach the property, this is still an ongoing investigation by the Maywood Police Department,” he wrote.

    Neighbors described Myrtle as a sharp dresser, outgoing person and someone who loved to go dancing.

    “Just a lovely lady. Very soft-spoken, outgoing. Always on the go,” neighbor Kevin Grayer told CNN affiliate WLS. “Just a happy person. Her personality was just wonderful.”

    “She didn’t deserve that. She was too good of a person to die like that. That’s just sad,” Grayer said.

    Her son, Nick Brown, said his last conversation with his mother gave him hope.

    “It’s a sad but hopeful time, and we will all get through this together. Mom always told me, ‘tough times don’t last’ and our last conversation about tough times being temporary is my beacon of hope,” he said.

    “Mom, thank you for being strong, caring, diligent, fancy, funny, and for saving my art. I won’t let you down.”

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  • A Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot inside his patrol car, officials say | CNN

    A Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot inside his patrol car, officials say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy died after he was shot inside his patrol car Saturday evening, authorities said.

    Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was found unconscious by a civilian in his patrol car around 6 p.m. near the sheriff’s station in Palmdale, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Palmdale is about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

    The deputy, who was in uniform and on duty when he was shot, was pronounced dead at a local hospital, Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference.

    No suspect description was provided and it’s unclear who opened fire on the deputy. The department is asking the public to come forward if they have video that may have captured the shooting.

    “We really need your help. We need to get this guy off the street – guy or guys. He’s a public safety threat. He ambushed and killed – murdered – one of our deputies. We need your help to get him off the street,” Luna said.

    Luna said it appears to have been a targeted shooting.

    “I think it was a targeted act based on what we know now, but we’re still in the extremely early stages of this investigation,” Luna said.

    “He was just driving down the street and for no apparent reason – and we’re still looking into the specific reasons – somebody decided to shoot and murder him. … That to me is sickening. “

    Clinkunbroomer, who transferred to the Palmdale sheriff’s station in 2018, was a field training officer. His father and grandfather both served in the sheriff’s department, Luna said. He had just gotten engaged four days ago.

    “He was just starting his life,” the sheriff said.

    Saturday’s shooting comes three years after two Los Angeles deputies were shot ambush-style at a train station while sitting in their patrol vehicle. Surveillance video from the incident showed a gunman walking up to the passenger door of their squad car, opening fire and running away.

    There have been 83 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement in 2023, resulting in 101 officers shot – 15 of them fatally, according to a September 5 report from the Fraternal Order of Police.

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  • Protests erupt in Iran, one year after Mahsa Amini’s death | CNN

    Protests erupt in Iran, one year after Mahsa Amini’s death | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Protests erupted throughout Iran on Saturday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old women who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly.

    Video obtained by CNN showed demonstrations throughout multiple cities in Iran, including capital city Tehran, Mashad, Ahvaz, Lahijan, Arak, and the Kurdish city of Senandaj.

    Many of the protesters chanted, “Women, Life, Freedom” – a popular rallying cry used after nationwide protests erupted following Amini’s death last year.

    Some protesters also chanted death slogans against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

    Authorities deployed armed guards in many cities as a show of force and police officers were seen chasing protesters in the northern city of Lahijan.

    Rallies commemorating Amini’s death were held in other cities around the world like Paris, Brussels and Berlin.

    Many said they felt the need to raise their voices when so many in Iran could not.

    Hundreds gathered in London on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary. “We just wanted to let everyone know that this is not going to finish,” a female protester told CNN.

    “Our battle has started and we are not going to stop until freedom for Iran, until a revolution, until we kick the mullahs out of the power.”

    Protest organizer Ellie Borhan was also seen in videos cutting her hair on stage in front of the crowd.

    Iranians march outside the White House on Saturday.

    ‘Detention and persecution’ of family members

    The news comes after Iranian journalists and rights groups said Amini’s father Amjad had been detained by authorities on Saturday.

    Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, also the founder of the IranWire activist outlet, told CNN that Amjad Amini had been regularly summoned by security officers in the months following his daughter’s death.

    He was detained “for a few hours” on Saturday, Bahari said.

    The family had visited her grave in the western Kurdish city of Saqqez on Friday, the eve of the one-year anniversary, IranWire reported on Saturday.

    Helicopters were seen hovering over the Aichi cemetery with numerous military personnel and police officers also stationed throughout the area, IranWire added.

    Amjad was detained by authorities the following day for three to four hours, along with his son – who was warned that he would be banished to a remote village if he encouraged people to attend ceremonies marking the anniversary of Amini’s death, Bahari told CNN.

    Amini’s uncle Safa Aeli, who lives in the city of Saqqez, was also arrested by authorities earlier this week, according to a family member and reports by the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

    Responding to claims by Iranian journalists and rights groups, authorities strongly denied reports of Amjad Amini’s detention, claiming instead they had prevented “an assassination attempt” – reported the IRNA state media news outlet.

    The Political, Security, and Social Vice Governor of Kurdistan arrested several members of “a terrorist group” who wanted to assassinate Amini, IRNA said in a post on Telegram, describing the claims by Iranian journalists and rights groups as “false”.

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  • South Carolina attorney general cites ‘factual disputes’ with Murdaugh jury tampering claims, asks defense to refile motion requesting a new trial | CNN

    South Carolina attorney general cites ‘factual disputes’ with Murdaugh jury tampering claims, asks defense to refile motion requesting a new trial | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The South Carolina attorney general has asked an appeals court to order convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh’s defense team to correct and refile their motion requesting a new trial, while also noting an ongoing investigation has raised significant doubts about the disgraced attorney’s claims of jury tampering.

    Murdaugh, a disbarred personal injury attorney, is appealing his conviction for murdering his wife and grown son. However, last week his attorneys requested that appeal be suspended as they seek a new trial for Murdaugh based on jury tampering allegations.

    In a five-page response filed Friday afternoon, State Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office is asking the state court to give Murdaugh’s team 10 days to refile a corrected motion. It lists several “procedural defects” in Murdaugh’s original court motion submitted on September 5, arguing it did not meet the requirements necessary to suspend his appeal and allow his motion for a new trial to proceed in the circuit court.

    Last week, the attorney general asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate the claims in Murdaugh’s motion for a new murder trial, according to a joint statement from Wilson and the investigative agency.

    “The state’s only vested interest is seeking the truth,” the September 7 joint statement reads. “As with all investigations, SLED and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office are committed to a fair and impartial investigation and will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead.”

    The state’s response Friday doesn’t directly dispute the allegations of jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill included in the original motion from the defense. But it does note the investigation is ongoing and has already “revealed significant factual disputes” that undermine the credibility of Murdaugh’s claims.

    Murdaugh’s attorneys claimed Hill “tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.”

    CNN has reached out to Murdaugh’s defense team for comment.

    In their motion for a new trial, the state said Murdaugh’s defense team failed to show the evidence in question was discovered since the trial or demonstrate the evidence could not have been discovered before the trial, which lasted for six weeks between January and March this year. The response also said the original motion is missing a required affidavit from Murdaugh himself.

    The state also argues conflicting remarks were made during press conferences and media interviews by Murdaugh’s attorneys about when evidence of the alleged jury tampering was first discovered, stating they must be explained and clarified. In the new motion, Murdaugh must establish exactly when and how he first learned about the allegations he raised, the state said.

    If the defense files a new motion that meets the legal standard, the credibility of Murdaugh’s claims will be under the discretion of Judge Clifton Newman, who, in March, handed down the two life sentences the disbarred attorney is currently serving in a South Carolina state prison, according to the state’s response.

    In a separate case, Murdaugh is scheduled to appear before a federal court judge next week, where he is expected to plead guilty to nearly two dozen charges related to fraud and financial crimes, pending a cooperation agreement, according to Murdaugh’s defense team.

    Murdaugh is also set to stand trial in November on charges related to stolen settlement funds from the family of the Murdaughs’ late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. It is the first of 101 state charges related mostly to accusations of stealing from his clients’ legal settlements, with victims’ alleged total losses amounting to almost $8.8 million, according to prosecutors.

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  • Escaped Pennsylvania killer Danilo Cavalcante has been captured. Here’s what happens next | CNN

    Escaped Pennsylvania killer Danilo Cavalcante has been captured. Here’s what happens next | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The convicted murderer who escaped a Pennsylvania prison late last month is once again behind bars, now facing additional charges, after a nearly two-week manhunt that captured national attention and put the surrounding community on edge.

    Danilo Cavalcante, 34, was sleeping when police found him in the woods of South Coventry Township on Wednesday morning, lying on top of a rifle he had stolen from a nearby resident days earlier, a law enforcement source told CNN.

    A helicopter flying above the search area had picked up on a heat signal on the ground, and a tactical team swooped in after a storm cleared out. Cavalcante tried to flee by crawling through thick underbrush with the rifle in hand, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.

    A police dog was released on him, biting him and preventing him from using the rifle before police took him into custody, capping a dramatic dayslong manhunt, according to Bivens.

    Cavalcante is now being held in a Pennsylvania maximum security prison, State Correctional Institution – Phoenix, in Montgomery County, where he’s to serve a life sentence for his previous murder conviction.

    He now also has been charged with felony escape, and is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on September 27, court records show.

    An attorney has not been listed on court documents for Cavalcante and the public defender’s office declined to comment at this time. Pennsylvania authorities updated the spelling of Cavalcante’s first name to Danilo in court documents Wednesday.

    The inmate, who was convicted last month of first-degree murder for the killing of his former girlfriend and sentenced to life in prison, escaped from Chester County Prison in a rural area some 30 miles west of Philadelphia on August 31.

    He managed to evade authorities for 13 days, hunkering down in wooded areas, moving at night, and in the early days, surviving off stream water and a watermelon he found at a farm, authorities said.

    During his time on the run, Cavalcante slipped through search perimeters, was spotted inside homes, stole a dairy van, changed his appearance, showed up at the doorsteps of people he knew years ago, stole a firearm and got shot at by a homeowner.

    When he was captured in South Coventry Township – roughly 20 miles from the facility he escaped from – Cavalcante had the appearance of someone who was in the woods for an extended period of time, and looked to have been stressed, Bivens said Wednesday.

    “Which is exactly what we were trying to do all along,” Bivens said. “The whole point was to keep him stressed, keep him moving, and keep him off his game.”

    More than 20 officers in tactical gear and camouflage uniforms took Cavalcante into custody Wednesday, escorting him to an armored vehicle. He was handcuffed with blood on his face and wearing a Philadelphia Eagles hoodie, video showed.

    His capture came as he planned to leave the country, according to Robert Clark, supervisory deputy US marshal for Pennsylvania’s eastern district.

    “His endgame was to carjack somebody and to head north up to Canada and he intended to do that in the next 24 hours,” Clark told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday.

    Clark, who did not speak with Cavalcante, cited what deputy marshals told him about an interview that the prisoner had with law enforcement officials after his capture.

    “He said the law enforcement presence where he was, was immense and he felt that he needed to leave,” Clark said.

    About 500 law enforcement officers – including members of the Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and US marshals – had set up a perimeter in South Coventry Township this week to search for Cavalcante from the ground and the air.

    Clark told CNN Cavalcante was forthcoming with investigators after his capture, and “answered everything that was given to him” and “had no hesitation.”

    “Everything we thought about Cavalcante in his flight, was true,” Clark said. “He was a desperate man, he was actively avoiding apprehension.”

    Escaped inmate Danilo Cavalcante is shown after being captured on Wednesday

    Cavalcante left the prison by “crab-walking” between two walls, scaling a fence and traversing across razor wire and then disappeared into the forest.

    Police faced challenges finding him within the initial search perimeter in the densely wooded area, even after he was sighted several times in the area of a botanical garden and elsewhere in Chester County.

    “Shortly after he escaped from the prison, he had hunkered down in an area that was very, very secluded, very, very wooded and he didn’t move for the first couple days,” Clark said, citing Cavalcante’s post-capture interview with investigators. “He survived on a watermelon that he found at a farm, he drank stream water, he was hiding his fecal matter under leaves and foliage so that law enforcement couldn’t track him.”

    But officers came close to him several times.

    Cavalcante told investigators that officers searching for him nearly stepped on him three times – or came within yards of him – as he hid in the woods, Clark said without indicating when these near-encounters happened.

    “Three times, he described that law enforcement officials almost stepped on him within 7 or 8 yards,” Clark said. “That just proves to you how thick the vegetation and the foliage was.”

    Cavalcante decided to leave that area when he saw the increasing law enforcement activity there, Clark said.

    He had been surveilling the locations where he stole a truck from a dairy farm on Saturday, as well as a property where he stole the rifle this week, Clark said.

    The rifle Cavalcante took from an open garage Monday night added a heightened sense of danger to the search, and prompted authorities to urge residents to stay inside and lock their doors.

    “Our nightmare is finally over,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said Wednesday morning.

    Ryan said one of the first calls she made after Cavalcante’s capture was to the family of the woman he killed, 33-year-old Deborah Brandão. Prosecutors say Cavalcante stabbed Brandão 38 times in front of her two young children in Pennsylvania in April 2021.

    Her family had been “barricaded inside their homes not feeling safe anywhere” since his escape, Ryan said.

    “They were shrieking with joy and happiness that he’s incarcerated,” Ryan said. “They have lived their own personal nightmare.”

    Brandão’s sister, Sarah Brandão, said in a typed statement after Cavalcante’s capture that her family is “profoundly grateful for the support and hard work performed” by law enforcement.

    The escape and days that followed evoked the feeling of losing her sister again, Sarah said.

    “The past two weeks were extremely painful and terrifying, as they brought back all the feelings of losing my sister and the idea that this criminal could hurt us again,” the statement, which was translated into English, reads.

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  • A 4-year-old police dog named Yoda detained fugitive Danilo Cavalcante, bringing an end to the exhaustive, nearly 2 week-long manhunt | CNN

    A 4-year-old police dog named Yoda detained fugitive Danilo Cavalcante, bringing an end to the exhaustive, nearly 2 week-long manhunt | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Moments after law enforcement officials spotted convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante’s head peeking through the underbrush, they released a police dog who bit and subdued Cavalcante, leading to his apprehension nearly two weeks after he escaped prison, officials said.

    The dog, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois male named Yoda, was from one of two tactical teams that moved in on Cavalcante at around 8 a.m. in a wooded Pennsylvania area, ending an intensive manhunt that drew hundreds of law enforcement officials to the area without any shots fired during the arrest.

    Yoda was a significant force in the takedown, preventing Cavalcante from using a stolen rifle in his possession that lay within arms-reach, said Lt. Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police during a news conference Wednesday.

    “He was just essential as far as the tracking and searching, as were numerous other K-9s that were here,” Robert Clark, supervisory deputy US Marshal for Pennsylvania’s eastern district, told CNN on Wednesday. “All these K-9 resources were utilized from different tactical teams from the area, and they were just incredible resources.”

    US Marshal describes manhunt that led to escaped inmate’s capture

    Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison on August 31, leaving the surrounding community gripped with fear as he evaded capture despite being spotted numerous times.

    The 34-year-old was convicted last month in the 2021 killing of his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandão. He is also wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, a US Marshals Service official said.

    Cavalcante was captured in Chester County, swarmed by at least 20 law enforcement officers, Bivens said. Yoda joined the search from the US Border Patrol Tactical Unit stationed out of Michigan, Clark told CNN.

    Authorities say it took about five minutes from when authorities began moving in to apprehend Cavalcante, with Yoda’s help.

    Danilo Cavalcante is seen lying in the woods surrounded by officers and Yoda, a US Border Patrol BORTAC K9, on Wednesday.

    The fugitive was sleeping when police finally located him, lying on top of a rifle he had stolen from a nearby resident late Monday night. Officers took Cavalcante by surprise, and he tried to flee by crawling through the thick underbrush with the stolen rifle in hand, Bivens said.

    The tactical teams made the decision to deploy Yoda – knowing Cavalcante was armed – before upgrading to deadly force, according to Clark. Only the crown of Cavalcante’s head was visible when Yoda moved in on him, Clark said.

    Yoda is a “bite and hold” police dog, Clark said, trained to hold down an individual until commanded to release the hold. The dog bit Cavalcante on his scalp and then bit him again in the “lower extremity area” to keep him down, Clark said.

    “When the dog got to him, he then went flat with the dog on him – the dog was able to detain him there,” Bivens said. “I was told the rifle was within arm’s length.”

    Cavalcante then “continued to resist” and was “forcibly taken into custody” by the officers, Bivens said.

    Police dogs play “a very important role” in tracking down and safely capturing an individual, Bivens said during the news conference.

    “Far better that we’re able to release a patrol dog like this and have them subdue the individual than have to use lethal force,” Bivens said.

    Escaped inmate Danilo Cavalcante is shown after being captured on September 13, 2023.

    It’s standard practice for K-9s to move first, going quickly and directly to a suspect on command, Bivens told CNN.

    The dogs are trained to take a person “off guard” to prevent them from escaping or using any weapons in their vicinity. Their training grants officers a few extra seconds to approach the suspect and apprehend them without lethal force, Bivens added.

    “They don’t just keep biting and releasing or trying to cause additional injury,” Bivens said, referring to how K-9 dogs are trained.

    “They simply grab onto and try and hold that person in place until officers can get there,” he added, noting police dogs are not meant to be released at a distance or without supervision. “There are officers close by who can then move in, the handler can Immediately pull the dog back off… and then officers take over from there.”

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  • The MGM Resorts back online after cybersecurity issue | CNN Business

    The MGM Resorts back online after cybersecurity issue | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    MGM Resorts has shut down some of its systems as a result of a “cybersecurity issue,” according to a company social media post on Monday.

    Late Tuesday, the company posted an update, saying that its resorts’ dining, entertainment, and gaming “are currently operational.” The statement also thanked guests for their patience, saying “our guests remain able to access their hotel rooms.”

    However, the statement did not specify the status of its systems, whether these operations were being handled manually, or whether some properties are still accepting cash only.

    As of Tuesday morning, the MGM Resorts website was still offline, with an apology message and a list of phone numbers for guests to reach their specific hotel concierge desk.

    Justin Heath, a guest at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, told CNN on Monday that visitors were unable to charge purchases to their rooms, that digital hotel room keys were not working and that restaurants were taking only cash.

    In MGM’s initial Sunday statement, the company explained that after detecting the cybersecurity issue, “we quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts,” the company said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

    MGM Resorts (MGM) says it’s working with law enforcement and “took prompt action to protect our systems and data, including shutting down certain systems.”

    An FBI spokesperson told CNN they are aware of the incident but declined further comment on the matter.

    CNN has reached out to MGM Resorts for more information. MGM Resorts International manages several properties across the U.S., including Aria, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand Las Vegas, and New York-New York in Las Vegas. Other domestic properties are located in Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York. The company also has resort locations in China.

    It is unclear whether the cybersecurity incident was conducted by threat actors seeking to exfiltrate sensitive information or to cause damage and disruption to MGM systems. For investigators, the nature of the attack is often key to helping identify whether it originated from criminals seeking to steal information for financial gain, or nation-state actors gathering information for intelligence purposes.

    Casinos have been prime targets for both traditional cybercriminal enterprises as well as foreign governments.

    In 2017, researchers announced a North American casino had been the target of data exfiltration by cybercriminals who compromised a fish tank connected to company’s internet connection.

    In 2014, the Sands Las Vegas Corporation fell victim to a damaging cyberattack by the Iranian government, according to the US Director of National Intelligence.

    CNN’s Danielle Sills contributed to this report

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  • A man walked into an FBI office and admitted to killing a woman more than 4 decades ago in Boston, officials say | CNN

    A man walked into an FBI office and admitted to killing a woman more than 4 decades ago in Boston, officials say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Authorities say they were able to solve a Boston cold case from 44 years ago after an Oregon man walked into an FBI office and confessed to killing and raping a woman in 1979.

    John Michael Irmer, 68, was arraigned in a Boston courtroom Monday and charged with murdering 24-year-old Susan Marcia Rose on October 30, 1979, according to a news release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

    In August, Irmer walked into a Portland FBI field office where he revealed to agents he met a woman with red hair at a Boston skating rink around the time of Halloween in 1979 and killed her, the DA’s office said.

    Irmer said they walked into 285 Beacon Street, a building under renovation at the time, grabbed a hammer and hit the woman on the head, killing her. He told FBI agents he raped her after she had died, the news release said.

    After the admission, authorities were able to confirm Rose, who had red hair, was found murdered on Beacon Street, a historic thoroughfare near the heart of the city, the DA’s office said. Her cause of death was ruled to be multiple blunt injuries to the head with fractures of the skull and lacerations of the brain.

    The DA’s office said investigators were able to match a DNA sample from Irmer with samples collected from the murder scene.

    Another man was tried and found not guilty of Rose’s murder in 1981, the press release stated. No information was immediately available about the prior case.

    During Monday’s arraignment, Assistant District Attorney John Verner said that while Irmer was confessing to Rose’s murder, he also admitted to committing another murder in a southern state. Verner said authorities were looking into the admission.

    Additionally, Verner said Irmer told police he had served “about 30 years” in prison for another killing in California.

    Attorney Steven J. Sack, who represented Irmer in court Monday, said he doesn’t contest bail. He said Irmer came to court “without a fight to face these charges.”

    Irmer is in custody and is currently being held without bail.

    “Nearly 44 years after losing her at such a young age, the family and friends of Susan Marcia Rose will finally have some answers,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “This was a brutal, ice-blooded murder made worse by the fact that a person was charged and tried—and fortunately, found not guilty—while the real murderer remained silent until now. No matter how cold cases get resolved, it’s always the answers that are important for those who have lived with grief and loss and so many agonizing questions.”

    The Suffolk County’s Attorney Office told CNN they are not commenting on Irmer’s case at this time.

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  • Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker suspended without pay amid investigation into reported accusation of sexual harassment | CNN

    Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker suspended without pay amid investigation into reported accusation of sexual harassment | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Michigan State University announced Sunday it has suspended head football coach Mel Tucker without pay, less than a day after USA Today reported he has been under investigation about alleged sexual harassment.

    Vice president and director of athletics Alan Haller said at a news conference Tucker is the subject of an ongoing investigation that began in December. An investigative report was submitted in July and a formal hearing will take place the week of October 5, Haller said.

    According to the USA Today report, published Saturday night, Tucker is alleged to have made sexual comments and masturbated while on a phone call with Brenda Tracy, an advocate and rape survivor.

    Tracy reported the call to the university’s Title IX office, USA Today reported. “The idea that someone could know me and say they understand my trauma but then re-inflict that trauma on me is so disgusting to me, it’s hard for me to even wrap my mind around it,” Tracy told USA Today. “It’s like he sought me out just to betray me.”

    In a letter to investigators, Tucker characterized his and Tracy’s relationship as “mutually consensual and intimate,” according to USA Today.

    “I am not proud of my judgment and I am having difficulty forgiving myself for getting into this situation, but I did not engage in misconduct by any definition,” he wrote, according to USA Today.

    CNN has not independently verified the details of the report.

    An attorney for Tracy, Karen Truszkowski, said no police report was filed. She declined to share any documents or comment further.

    “As you can imagine, this is a delicate issue and I have to balance the public interest with protecting my client,” Truszkowski said.

    CNN also reached out to Tucker’s agent following the announcement of his suspension but has not heard back.

    Tracy started the nonprofit Set The Expectation, where she speaks to athletes about ending sexual violence, according to her website. Tracy was raped in 1998 by four college football players, leading to her advocacy.

    She served as an honorary captain for Michigan State’s spring football game in 2022, and the football team posted a photo on Instagram of Tucker and Tracy together.

    “We are excited to welcome (Tracy) back to campus as our honorary captain for Saturday’s spring game!” the team wrote.

    Tucker, a longtime coach in college and the NFL over the past two decades, became Michigan State’s head coach in 2020. In his second season, the team went a sterling 11-2, and he signed a massive 10-year, $95 million contract that made him one of the highest paid coaches in all of college football. Last year, though, the team finished a disappointing 5-7, including blowout losses to rivals Michigan and Ohio State.

    During Tucker’s suspension, secondary coach Harlon Barnett will fill in as acting head coach, Haller announced, and former MSU head coach Mark Dantonio will become an associate head coach. The Spartans play the Washington Huskies at home this Saturday.

    The long shadow of Larry Nassar

    The investigation comes as the university has continued to face scrutiny over its past handling of sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor who abused hundreds of young girls and women.

    At Nassar’s sentencing in Michigan in 2018, dozens of women came forward with stories of his abuse and the ways Michigan State University ignored their claims and enabled his actions. The university agreed to pay $500 million to settle lawsuits brought by 332 victims.

    Nassar was sentenced in Michigan to up to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. A total of 156 women gave victim impact statements in court.

    An attorney for a group of Nassar’s victims sued Michigan State University in July, alleging the school’s board of trustees held “illegal secret votes” to prevent the release of thousands of documents in the case, according to the court filing. A spokesperson for the university declined to comment at the time.

    The university pushed back on comparisons between the two cases.

    “This morning’s news might sound like the MSU of old; it was not,” interim president Teresa K. Woodruff said Sunday afternoon. “It is not because an independent, unbiased investigation is and continues to be conducted.”

    Woodruff made note of counseling resources available for anyone who may be affected by this news and mentioned the Center for Survivors and Office for Civil Rights on campus.

    “If you have heard or experienced or know of behavior that does not seem appropriate, please know that you have the support and resources here at MSU,” Woodruff said.

    Kenny Jacoby, the USA Today reporter who broke the story, told CNN’s Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly on “CNN This Morning” on Monday how the Nassar case has left a long shadow on campus.

    “There is deep mistrust on the MSU campus from students, from employees, from alumni and in the East Lansing community after the betrayal that was the Larry Nassar scandal,” Jacoby said. “They repeatedly missed opportunities to stop one of the most prolific sexual abusers in American history.

    “So when MSU takes this long to suspend the coach without pay – people tend to think of that as they’re covering this up, and that doesn’t sit well with most of these people.”

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  • British PM raised ‘strong concerns’ over Chinese interference after parliament employee arrested | CNN

    British PM raised ‘strong concerns’ over Chinese interference after parliament employee arrested | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he raised his “very strong concerns” to China’s premier regarding potential Chinese interference in British democracy after a parliament employee was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.

    Speaking to journalists at the G20 summit in New Delhi on Sunday, Sunak said he used a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang to raise several concerns including over “any interference in our parliamentary democracy.”

    This comes after two men were arrested under the UK’s Official Secrets Act amid reports that a parliamentary researcher with alleged links to senior Conservative Party politicians including security minister Tom Tugendhat was arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing.

    UK newspaper, The Sunday Times broke the story on Sunday, reporting that the researcher was arrested alongside another man on March 13.

    According to a statement from London’s Metropolitan Police, police arrested a man in his 30s in Oxfordshire, southern England, and a man in his 20s in Edinburgh, Scotland.

    “The investigation is being carried out by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which has responsibility for investigations relating to allegations of Official Secrets Act and espionage-related offences,” the statement said.

    After being brought to a police station in south London, the two men were released on police bail until a date in early October, according to the statement.

    China’s embassy in London denied the spying accusations.

    “The claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is completely fabricated and nothing but malicious slander,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

    “We firmly oppose it and urge relevant parties in the UK to stop their anti-China political manipulation and stop putting on such self-staged political farce,” the statement added.

    According to the Sunday Times reporting, the arrested parliamentary researcher was also linked to the chairperson of the British government’s foreign affairs committee, Alicia Kearns.

    Posting on Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kearns declined to comment on the alleged ties, remarking: “While I recognise the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the authorities is not jeopardised.”

    A cross party group focused on relations with China, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) said in a statement on Saturday on X that it was “appalled at reports of the infiltration of the UK Parliament by someone allegedly acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China.”

    “It is for authorities to reveal the name of the person accused, and IPAC is united in hoping that justice is done expeditiously,” the alliance continued.

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  • Convicted killer who escaped Pennsylvania prison was spotted overnight and changed his appearance, police say | CNN

    Convicted killer who escaped Pennsylvania prison was spotted overnight and changed his appearance, police say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Danelo Cavalcante, the convicted killer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison, was seen overnight Saturday, according to state police, who said the fugitive had “changed his appearance” as the manhunt enters its 11th day.

    “He is now clean-shaven and wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball cap, green prison pants, and white shoes,” Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement early Sunday, adding he was spotted near in northern Chester County near Phoenixville.

    Cavalcante, 34, is also said to be driving a 2020 white Ford Transit van with Pennsylvania plates and a refrigeration unit on top, according to police. The van had been reported stolen by a local dairy farm, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said.

    Nearly 400 officers have joined the round-the-clock search operation for Cavalcante, who fled Chester County Prison on August 31 by “crab walking” between two walls, scaling a fence and traversing razor wire.

    The sighting Saturday is just the latest: Police Lt. Col. George Bivens, who is leading the search, told reporters Friday there had been “probably eight or nine” other credible sightings since Cavalcante’s escape. Two sightings on Friday were confirmed within the general perimeter where tactical teams, K-9 dogs and a helicopter are scouring for any sign of the fugitive, according to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper James Grothey.

    Cavalcante’s escape came about two weeks after he was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2021 killing of his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, 33, in Chester County. Authorities said Cavalcante stabbed Brandão 38 times in front of her two children, who are now in the care of her sister.

    Cavalcante is also wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, his native country, a US Marshals Service official has said.

    The inmate’s escape from the prison about 30 miles west of Philadelphia has instilled fear within his victim’s family and distressed nearby residents like Ryan Drummond, who told CNN he saw Cavalcante in his Pocopson Township home the night of September 1.

    Describing it as an “acute moment of terror,” Drummond said he heard noise in his house and noticed an old French door off the side of their deck was slightly ajar.

    “That’s when my stomach dropped,” he told CNN’s Michael Smerconish.

    Drummond told his wife to call 911, he said, and saw Cavalcante “walking methodically” out of the kitchen into his living room before leaving the house via the French door.

    Cavalcante was seen in or around Chester County’s Longwood Gardens – about 3 miles from the prison – several times last week. On September 2, the fugitive was seen on surveillance video about 1.5 miles from the prison, authorities said. On Monday, a security camera recorded the fugitive at Longwood Gardens, authorities said.

    An area resident then reported seeing Cavalcante on Tuesday in a creek bed on the resident’s property. On Wednesday, a trail camera image showed Cavalcante in or around Longwood Gardens, but officials learned about this sighting Thursday evening, according to Bivens.

    Guests were asked to leave the botanical gardens Thursday as the entire venue closed for the manhunt. Police swarmed the botanical gardens, but did not catch the killer.

    Despite Cavalcante’s elusive streak, Bivens said he is confident the fugitive will be caught.

    “We’ve got a large perimeter secured,” he said Friday. “That is a pretty secure perimeter that we can push hard against with the tactical team.”

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  • Mother charged nearly 40 years after her newborn baby was found dead in remote woods | CNN

    Mother charged nearly 40 years after her newborn baby was found dead in remote woods | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A woman was charged in her newborn girl’s death nearly 40 years after the abandoned baby was found dead in a remote wooded area in New Jersey, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

    On Christmas Eve 1984, officers discovered the baby’s body wrapped in a towel inside a plastic bag off a road in Mendham Township after two boys reported finding her that morning, a news release stated.

    The baby’s umbilical cord was still attached, according to the release issued Thursday. The medical examiner determined the infant, whose death was ruled a homicide, was alive at birth and died less than 24 hours later.

    The girl, whose identity was unknown, was named “Mary” after being baptized by a reverend of St. Joseph Church in Mendham Township, where she was buried, the prosecutor’s office said.

    Investigators were recently able to identify Baby Mary’s biological parents using “new technology, law enforcement networking in three states and old-fashioned police work,” the prosecutor’s office said.

    Baby Mary’s biological mother, who police did not name because she was a juvenile in 1984, was a South Carolina resident when she gave birth to the child, the prosecutor’s office said.

    The biological father died before being identified, and police say there is no evidence he was aware of either the woman’s pregnancy or the baby’s birth and death.

    Authorities filed a juvenile delinquency complaint against the mother in April and charged her with one count of manslaughter, an offense which would be a second-degree crime if committed by an adult, according to the release.

    “This arrest is the culmination of decades of effort, across multiple generations of law enforcement,” Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said.

    “The death and abandonment of this baby girl is a tragic loss and even after nearly 40 years, remains just as heartbreaking,” Carroll said. “Justice may not take the form the public has imagined all these years, but we believe with this juvenile delinquency complaint, justice is being served for Baby Mary. Nothing can right this terrible wrong.”

    Police said New Jersey’s Safe Haven Infant Protection Act, which did not exist at the time of the child’s abandonment, can help parents and families to give up an infant safely, legally and anonymously.

    The act, which allows parents or their representatives to surrender a newborn 30 days old or younger at an emergency room, ambulance, police or fire station, became law in August 2000.

    “I want young parents to know that there is help available,” Morris County Sheriff James Gannon said in the release. “The baby will be accepted with no questions asked.”

    Every Christmas Eve for the past 35 years, community members and law enforcement have held a remembrance service at the Baby Mary’s grave “to ensure she is never forgotten,” Mendham Township Police Chief Ross Johnson said.

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  • Rudy Giuliani files new legal challenge to Georgia election interference case | CNN Politics

    Rudy Giuliani files new legal challenge to Georgia election interference case | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Rudy Giuliani has filed a new legal challenge against the criminal charges he’s facing in Georgia over his attempts to subvert the 2020 presidential election.

    The former Trump attorney on Friday asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to quash the indictment, or at least to set a hearing on the matter. Giuliani argued in the filing that there were “deficiencies” in the indictment that render it invalid, and that prosecutors are violating his rights against “double jeopardy” by how they structured the racketeering conspiracy allegations.

    The indictment is “a conspiratorial bouillabaisse consisting of purported criminal acts, daily activities, and constitutionally protected speech,” the filing argues.

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Giuliani last month with 13 crimes, including violating the state’s racketeering law (known as RICO), soliciting public officials to violate their oath of office, conspiring to commit forgery, and making false statements.

    State prosecutors argue that Giuliani participated in a “criminal enterprise” by peddling false claims about voter fraud to state legislators and by orchestrating the fake electors scheme. He pleaded not guilty, as have the other 18 defendants in the sweeping case.

    In the weeks since his indictment, Giuliani has railed against Willis, saying in a recent podcast that she is “so damn stupid” and “doesn’t even know what the RICO statute is.”

    The former New York City mayor held a fundraiser Thursday to help with his growing legal bills. CNN previously reported that he owes millions of dollars in legal expenses.

    Giuliani also is an unindicted co-conspirator in Trump’s federal election subversion case. And he faces defamation suits from Dominion and Smartmatic, voting technology companies that he falsely said rigged the 2020 election. In a separate case, a judge ruled that he defamed two Georgia election workers, and a jury will decide what he owes damages.

    The Georgia election workers who won a defamation lawsuit against Giuliani for his bogus fraud claims in the 2020 election say they are entitled to another $104,000 in attorneys’ fees stemming from the discovery disputes that arose in the case.

    It will be up to US District Judge Beryl Howell to approve the amount Giuliani must pay.

    The ask would be in addition to the nearly $90,000 in sanctions the judge previously ordered for Giuliani in the case.

    Last month, Howell determined that Giuliani had lost the lawsuit brought by Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss after he failed to provide information sought in subpoenas.

    A trial to determine the amount of damages for which Giuliani will be held liable will be set for later this year or early 2024.

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  • Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in rape case | CNN

    Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in rape case | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Actor Danny Masterson was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years to life in prison after he was convicted on two counts of rape in a Los Angeles courtroom in June, according to Deputy D.A. Reinhold Mueller of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

    CNN has reached out to representatives for Masterson for comment.

    The “That ’70s Show” star, 47, was found guilty in June on two of three counts of rape. The jury was deadlocked on the third count.

    Masterson was taken into custody following the verdict earlier this year, and on Thursday received the maximum penalty for the crimes.

    Masterson had pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003.

    The sentence on Thursday stems from the second trial in the case, which began on April 24 and went to jury on May 17. Masterson was represented by defense lawyers Shawn Holley and Philip Cohen. Deputy D.A. Ariel Anson and Deputy D.A. Mueller prosecuted the case.

    The first trial began in October 2022, and a mistrial was declared the following month after the jury remained deadlocked, the District Attorney told CNN at the time.

    Alison Anderson, the attorney representing two of the three accusers, told CNN in a statement on Thursday following the sentencing that her clients “have displayed tremendous strength and bravery, by coming forward to law enforcement and participating directly in two grueling criminal trials.”

    Masterson is best known for his role as Steven Hyde on “That ’70s Show,” which aired for eight seasons on Fox from 1998 to 2006, and co-starred Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon, Topher Grace and Wilmer Valderrama.

    Kutcher and Masterson also starred in Netflix’s “The Ranch” beginning in 2016, but Netflix and the producers wrote Masterson off the show amid the rape allegations. At the time, Masterson said he was “obviously very disappointed” by the decision in a statement to CNN.

    News of the allegations date back to March 2017, when journalist and former Village Voice editor Tony Ortega wrote on his site “The Underground Bunker” that Masterson was being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.

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  • Terror suspect on the run after escaping London prison | CNN

    Terror suspect on the run after escaping London prison | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A serving member of the British Army awaiting trial on terror charges escaped from prison in London on Wednesday, the city’s Metropolitan Police said.

    Daniel Abed Khalife went missing from Wandsworth prison, in the southwest of the British capital, shortly before 8 a.m. UK time. He had been awaiting trial for terror offenses and alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

    Khalife is a soldier accused of planting fake bombs at a military base, according to the PA Media news agency.

    “Police are issuing an urgent appeal to the public to help trace a 21-year-old man who has escaped from prison,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

    “Khalife was on remand at HMP Wandsworth, awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences,” it continued. “From our initial enquiries, it is believed he escaped from the prison at approximately 07:50hrs.”

    According to the Met statement, Khalife was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, red and white checkered trousers and brown steel toe cap boots.

    He is of slim build, has short brown hair and is around 6ft 2ins tall.

    Police believe that he most likely remains in the London area at this time, although he may have traveled further afield.

    Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent enquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible.”

    “I also want to reassure the public that we have no information which indicates, nor any reason to believe, that Khalife poses a threat to the wider public, but our advice if you do see him is not to approach him and call 999 straight away,” Murphy added, referring to the UK’s emergency services phone line.

    British airports and ports are also experiencing disruption after counter-terrorism police alerted the country’s airports and ports to Khalife’s escape.

    Manchester Airport was facing delays of up to 30 minutes on Wednesday afternoon after introducing extra security checks, according to PA Media.

    Meanwhile, Port of Dover Travel posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Due to a police matter, there are currently enhanced checks on outbound traffic at the Port of Dover and other portals within the UK.

    “Please be advised this is currently resulting in some delays at the port.”

    UK prison escapes are a rare occurrence. Data from the British government shows that there was just one escape across England and Wales in 2021-22, none in the proceeding period, and only a handful in the years prior to that.

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  • The daughter of the woman killed by Pennsylvania prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante told police he said he was going ‘to do something bad’ to their lives | CNN

    The daughter of the woman killed by Pennsylvania prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante told police he said he was going ‘to do something bad’ to their lives | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The prisoner who is now the subject of a massive manhunt after escaping from a Pennsylvania prison last week had killed his ex-girlfriend in a brutal 2021 stabbing in front of her two young children, authorities say.

    Danelo Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old who was convicted just last month in the killing, escaped from the Chester County Prison some 30 miles west of Philadelphia on Thursday morning, sparking a search involving hundreds of officers.

    Investigators believe he escaped the facility by climbing onto the roof and fleeing from there, a law enforcement source told CNN.

    The manhunt’s range expanded Tuesday morning after he was spotted in trail camera footage in Chester County, just south of the perimeter authorities originally believed him to be in. Two school districts canceled classes amid the search.

    Cavalcante is a Brazil native who is roughly 5 feet tall with long, curly black hair and brown eyes, authorities have said. He is extremely dangerous and desperate not to get caught, officials have warned, and they’ve urged residents in areas near the prison to keep their doors locked, stay inside, check on each other and check their security cameras.

    Cavalcante also is wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, according to the US Marshals Service.

    Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

    Here’s what we know about him.

    Prosecutors say Deborah Brandão, Cavalcante’s ex-girlfriend, was outside her home with her two children on April 18, 2021.

    Cavalcante arrived, grabbed her by her hair, “threw her to the ground, and stabbed her 38 times in virtually every vital organ … causing her to bleed to death,” the Chester County district attorney’s office said in a Facebook post.

    Deborah Brandão is seen here in an undated picture.

    Brandão’s 7- and 4-year-old children ran to neighbors asking for help and Cavalcante fled, the district attorney’s office said.

    The 7-year-old girl told police that when Cavalcante began stabbing Brandão, he said he was going to kill her, court records show.

    He was arrested several hours later in Virginia, prosecutors said. Authorities believe he was attempting to flee to Mexico with the intention of heading later to Brazil, District Attorney Deb Ryan has said.

    Schuylkill Township police were dispatched to the home at roughly 4:17 p.m. on the day of the killing, and found Brandão on the ground “with multiple stab wounds to the chest,” the district attorney’s office said.

    A neighbor attempted lifesaving procedures on Brandão while they waited for emergency medical services to arrive, but she was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after.

    She was 33.

    After the stabbing, Brandão’s 7-year-old daughter told police Cavalcante showed up at their house and “said he was going to do something bad to their lives and pulled two knives out from a black bag that was behind his back,” according to a probable cause affidavit.

    The daughter said she was screaming and Cavalcante threw a rock at her, hitting her leg, police wrote in the affidavit.

    After running to the neighbor for help, the girl looked outside and saw Cavalcante leave in a black car, the documents said.

    Brandão had filed a protection from abuse order against Cavalcante in December 2020, according to the probable cause affidavit. The order alleges he had a history of assaulting Brandão and previously pulled a knife on her.

    “This was a senseless tragedy that has impacted countless people due to the defendant’s cold, calculated, and heinous actions,” Ryan, who led Cavalcante’s prosecution, said last month.

    “Ms. Brandão’s children are now left motherless and she will never have the opportunity to watch her children grow up, finish school, or have families of their own,” the district attorney said.

    Brandão’s daughter testified in the case and “helped obtain justice for her mother,” the district attorney said. The girl also identified Cavalcante in a photograph shortly after the killing and told police, “That’s him, that’s the guy that killed my mom. Please get him and put him in prison,” the affidavit shows.

    On August 16, 2023, Cavalcante was convicted of first-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime in the killing, according to the district attorney’s office. Just days later, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the office said.

    Attorneys for Cavalcante told jurors during the trial that he was provoked and “snapped” when he attacked Brandão, and said he acted in the heat of passion, according to the Chester County newspaper Daily Local.

    Officials are searching for 34-year-old Danelo Cavalcante, who broke out of the Chester County Prison at around 8:50AM Thursday, according to the Chester County District Attorney's office.

    ‘His depravity knows no bounds’: Chester County DA on escaped murderer

    While officers continued their search for Cavalcante over the weekend, authorities urged residents in Pocopson Township, which is next to the prison, to stay in their homes.

    Danelo Cavalcante is seen in this image from surveillance footage released by Pennsylvania State Police.

    “Lock your doors. Lock your cars. He is still considered an extremely dangerous individual,” Ryan, the district attorney, said in a Saturday news conference.

    “People need to be on high alert. … He has killed someone. He’s alleged to have killed another person. So people need to take every precaution possible: Lock your doors, keep your eyes on your kids and keep your eyes on your neighbors and your friends,” Ryan had said a day earlier. “Everyone needs to be on high alert.”

    Since his escape, there have been “several credible sightings” of him in an area within the township, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said in a Tuesday morning news conference.

    Surveillance footage on Monday also captured Cavalcante in Longwood Gardens, a popular tourist attraction just south of the area authorities were searching near the prison, prompting the search area to shift, Bivens said.

    The escapee also appeared to have obtained some items, including a backpack, a “duffel-sling type pack” and a hooded sweatshirt, Bivens said.

    Bivens added that residents in the area should be alert, use caution and be aware of their surroundings.

    “We’re asking them to lock their vehicles, if they don’t ordinarily do that,” he added. “And pay attention to what’s going on, pay attention to your neighbors, anything that’s unusual there. … But really, it’s vigilance that we’re looking for from people right now.”

    “He’s clearly in escape mode, but he’s desperate,” Bivens said. “His history is that he’s a dangerous individual. … If we identify that he’s in a very specific area, my recommendation then would be, ‘Stay in your homes.’”

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