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Tag: Indictments

  • A Chief Judge Warns Minnesota’s Top Prosecutor and ICE: Obey Court Orders or Face Contempt

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    ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The chief federal judge for Minnesota issued a stern warning Thursday to the chief federal prosecutor for the state, as well as to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, warning them that they must comply with court orders or they risk criminal contempt charges.

    Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush and is seen as a conservative, took issue with an email he received Feb. 9 from U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, in which the prosecutor accused the judge of overstating the extent of ICE’s noncompliance with court orders arising from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota.

    His order filed Thursday was just the latest in a series of critical and sometimes scathing statements and rulings by federal judges in Minnesota and elsewhere across the country against how the Trump administration has attempted to conduct mass deportations of immigrants, often citing violations of due process and standards for humane treatment.

    In a filing by a different judge Thursday, Rosen, the head of his civil division and ICE representatives were ordered to appear for a contempt hearing Tuesday over failures to comply with court orders for the return of detainees’ property.

    Schiltz had previously described ICE as a serial violator of court orders related to the enforcement surge. In a Jan. 28 order, he expressed “grave concerns” after federal judges in Minnesota identified 96 orders that ICE had violated in 74 cases. In Thursday’s order, Schiltz said the government’s response “was not to do a better job complying with court orders, but instead to attack the Court.”

    Rosen told Schiltz his office’s own review of a “statistically strong sample” of 12 of those 74 cases found a high compliance rate, and complained that the tally by the judges “was far beyond the pale of accuracy for an order that would be wielded so publicly and so sharply. The lawyers in my civil division didn’t deserve it.”

    Schiltz wrote in a new order that he filed Thursday that he then asked his judges and law clerks to review the numbers. While he said they discovered some mistakes, which cut both ways, they concluded that ICE violated 97 orders in 66 of the cases referred to in his earlier order.

    “Increasingly, this Court has had to resort to using the threat of civil contempt to force ICE to comply with orders,” he wrote. “The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt — again and again and again — to force the United States government to comply with court orders.”

    The chief judge also attached a list that documented 113 additional order violations in 77 additional cases, mostly since the original tally.

    “The judges of this District have been extraordinarily patient with the government attorneys, recognizing that they have been put in an impossible position by Rosen and his superiors in the Department of Justice,” Schiltz wrote, noting the wave of resignations that has left Rosen’s office shorthanded. “What those attorneys ‘didn’t deserve’ was the Administration sending 3000 ICE agents to Minnesota to detain people without making any provision for handling the hundreds of lawsuits that were sure to follow.”

    Neither Rosen nor ICE officials immediately responded to a request for comment.

    Rosen acknowledged at a news conference Wednesday — his first since taking office in October — that his staff of prosecutors has fallen dramatically. He bristled when it was pointed out that at least two criminal cases have been dropped in recent days due in part to the losses. Rosen said the office had 64 assistant U.S. attorneys on the last day of his predecessor’s term; 47 as of Rosen’s first day; and was now down to 36. But he also insisted he was hiring new prosecutors at a “good clip” and that his office still has the capacity to prosecute major crimes.

    The chief judge ended with a blunt warning:

    “This Court will continue to do whatever is required to protect the rule of law, including, if necessary, moving to the use of criminal contempt,” he wrote. “One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court’s orders.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Buffalo Probes Death of a Nearly Blind Myanmar Refugee Dropped at a Doughnut Shop

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    A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who disappeared after U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Buffalo doughnut shop was found dead five days later, prompting a police investigation and complaints from city officials that he’d been abandoned without care for his safety.

    Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, was detained by Border Patrol agents on Feb. 19 after his release from a county jail, but was let go that same day after federal authorities determined he wasn’t eligible for deportation.

    The agents brought him to a Tim Hortons restaurant north of Buffalo’s downtown and dropped him there, authorities and advocates said. His family, which had initially expected him to walk out of jail, began searching for him after being informed of the drop-off and reported him missing.

    Shah Alam was found dead Tuesday night near the downtown sports arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres play. It was unclear how he got there from the Tim Hortons, several miles away, or when he died.

    The county medical examiner determined the cause of death was “health related in nature” and ruled out exposure or homicide, according to the Buffalo Police Department. Detectives were investigating the events leading up to his death, first reported by the Investigative Post.

    Buffalo’s mayor, a Democrat, blamed the death at least partly on a “dereliction of duty” by federal agents, saying they shouldn’t have left him alone, miles from his home.

    “A vulnerable man — nearly blind and unable to speak English — was left alone on a cold winter night with no known attempt to leave him in a safe, secure location. That decision from U.S. Customs and Border Protection was unprofessional and inhumane,” Mayor Sean Ryan said in a statement posted online.

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection defended its actions in a prepared statement.

    “Border Patrol agents offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop, determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address, rather than be released directly from the Border Patrol station,” according to the statement. “He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance.”

    During the days Shah Alam was missing, temperatures in Buffalo fell below freezing and light snow fell.

    Shah Alam arrived in the United States with his wife and two of his children in December 2024 in search of opportunity for his family, said Imran Fazal, who knows the family and founded of the Rohingya Empowerment Community. He had worked in construction for many years previously in Malaysia.

    Buffalo police arrested Shah Alam a year ago after an incident that resulted in minor injuries to two officers. He was initially indicted on charges of assault, burglary and criminal mischief, according to Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane.

    Fazal said the arrest was a misunderstanding based on the language barrier and cultural differences, and that Shah Alam had been taking shelter from the snow near a house at the time. Shah Alam ultimately pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to misdemeanor charges of trespassing and possession of a weapon and was scheduled to be sentenced in March.

    Keane, the district attorney, said he had offered Fazal a reduced plea “in the interest of justice.” One factor in the decision was avoiding the mandatory deportation that would result from a felony conviction, he said.

    Fazal said the family was able to post bail and went to the county jail Thursday expecting Shah Alam to be released.

    “The family was waiting in the waiting room,” Fazal said. “They were thinking he was just coming out.”

    But since federal Border Patrol had lodged an immigration detainer after his arrest, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office followed standard practice and informed the federal agency about his pending release. The Border Patrol arrived at the jail before the release was finalized, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

    Shah Alam’s family searched for him after his attorney was notified about the Thursday night drop off at a Tim Hortons, but could not locate him, said Fazal.

    “He should not be dropped off in a location where he doesn’t know anybody,” Fazal said. “He doesn’t speak English.”

    Fazal called it “a complete failure of the system.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Former ‘American Idol’ contestant charged with murder, staging crime scene in wife’s slaying in Ohio

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    Authorities in Ohio have arrested and charged a former contestant on “American Idol” with shooting and killing his wife and staging the crime scene to mislead investigators.

    Caleb Flynn, 39, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of murder, assault and tampering with evidence.

    “I just want to take care of my daughters. I’m not a risk,” he told Judge Samuel Huffman in a video of his arraignment from jail.

    The judge set his bond at $2 million.

    Ashley Flynn, 37, was found dead Monday after officers received a report of a burglary and shooting at a Tipp City home, according to a news release by Tipp City Police. Her husband and two children were inside the home when officers arrived.

    In a 911 call released by authorities, a frantic Caleb Flynn tells a dispatcher someone broke into his home and killed his wife. He says she was shot multiple times in the head and he doesn’t know whether the intruder was still there.

    “There’s blood everywhere, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” he says.

    His attorney, Patrick Mulligan, said in a statement on Saturday he and Flynn were “disappointed and concerned about the short timeline and seeming rush to judgment in this case.” Police arrested Flynn on Thursday.

    “When the government runs out of leads or can’t develop leads and looks at a surviving spouse in cases such as these, the chance of a wrongful conviction increases,” the statement said.

    Tipp City Police Chief Greg Adkins defended the investigation, saying in an email on Saturday that it had “not moved fast.”

    “Rather, it has progressed at a pace dictated by a thorough and deliberate investigative process,” he said.

    Ashley Flynn was a middle school volleyball coach and substitute teacher, Tipp City Schools said on its Facebook page.

    “She was known for her beautiful smile, warmth, kindness, and the positive impact she had on so many—both in and out of the classroom and on the court,” the post said.

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  • Shia LaBeouf used homophobic slurs while assaulting New Orleans bar patrons: Police

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    NEW ORLEANS — Actor Shia LaBeouf faces battery charges and is accused of repeatedly using homophobic slurs while hitting multiple people at a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras, according to a police report.

    The New Orleans police report obtained by The Associated Press via a public records request states that LaBeouf, 39, “became irate and aggressive throughout the night” and struck multiple people with a closed fist at the Royal Street Inn & R Bar, near the historic French Quarter.

    Jeffrey Damnit, a well-known local entertainer who police identified as Jeffrey Klein in the incident report, said he was one of the people attacked by LaBeouf.

    “He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times,” Damnit said.

    LaBeouf “just got nuts” trying to start fights and telling the entertainer and others that he would beat them up, Damnit said. He added that LaBeouf had pushed him from behind at the bar earlier in the night, shouting homophobic slurs and threatening his life.

    Damnit was wearing eye makeup and lipstick and said he believes his appearance motivated LaBeouf’s attack.

    “That’s just somehow something that set him off, angered him and gave him a direction for his anger,” Damnit said. “This guy wants me to be dead because I wear makeup. It’s a screwed up thing.”

    A video shows a shirtless LaBeouf shoving one person to the ground and hitting another person in the face, “causing his nose to possibly dislocate,” according to the police report.

    Damnit and others subdued LaBeouf and tried to get him to leave the area, but he would not leave and became more aggressive, according to Damnit and the police report.

    Police arrived at the bar around 12:45 a.m. on the morning of the city’s famous Fat Tuesday revelry.

    Another video recorded by Damnit and shared with the AP shows LaBeouf looking at the camera and appearing to mouth a homophobic slur while police detained him. He continued to repeat the slur throughout the arrest, the police report stated.

    “These f–––––s put me in jail,” LaBeouf said, and then told police he’s Catholic, according to the report.

    “I didn’t shove nobody, I never touched nobody,” LaBeouf tells New Orleans police officers in the video recorded by Damnit.

    Representatives from LaBeouf did not immediately respond to request for comment. In the early morning hours of Feb. 18, LaBeouf wrote “Free me” on his X account.

    A New Orleans magistrate judge ordered LaBeouf to be released from custody on Tuesday without a bond requirement, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gary Scheets. LaBeouf faces two counts of simple battery.

    Videos later show LaBeouf dancing throughout the French Quarter and appears to show him waving his jail release papers.

    Damnit, a member of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, says he is worried that he will face ramifications in his professional career for pressing charges against LaBeouf.

    This isn’t the first time LaBeouf has faced legal troubles. He was sent to court-ordered rehabilitation after being arrested in New York in 2017 for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, which was captured on livestream video.

    While on location in Georgia filming “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” later that year, he was arrested for public drunkenness and accused of disorderly conduct and obstruction and sentenced to probation.

    In 2020, he was charged with misdemeanor battery and petty theft in Los Angeles.

    That year, the English singer and actor FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, also filed a lawsuit alleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship, which they settled in July.

    Barnett said LaBeouf put her in a constant state of fear and humiliation, once slammed her into a car, tried to strangle her and knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease.

    LaBeouf apologized in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. He also denied the accusations in the lawsuit in a 2021 filing, saying any injuries done or damages incurred by Barnett were not his doing.

    The 39-year-old first gained acclaim as a child for his role on the Disney Channel series “Even Stevens,” and continued working steadily into adulthood. He is perhaps best known for his roles in 2007′s “Transformers” and in 2008′s “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.”

    LaBeouf shares a daughter, born in 2022, with actor Mia Goth.

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    AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr and AP Writer Juan A. Lozano contributed to this report.

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    Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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  • Judge dismisses charges against 3 officers accused of mistreating paralyzed prisoner

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    A Connecticut judge on Friday dismissed criminal charges against three current and former New Haven police officers who were accused of mistreating prisoner Richard “Randy” Cox after he was paralyzed in the back of a police van in 2022.

    Judge David Zagaja dropped the cases against Oscar Diaz, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera after granting them a probation program that allows charges to be erased from defendants’ records, saying their conduct was not malicious. Two other officers, Betsy Segui and Ronald Pressley, pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor reckless endangerment and received no jail time.

    Cox, 40, was left paralyzed from the chest down on June 19, 2022, when the police van, which had no seat belts, braked hard to avoid an accident, sending him head-first into a metal partition while his hands were cuffed behind his back. He had been arrested on charges of threatening a woman with a gun, which were later dismissed.

    “I can’t move. I’m going to die like this. Please, please, please help me,” Cox said in the van minutes after being injured, according to police video. He later was found to have broken his neck.

    Diaz, who was driving the van, brought Cox to the police department, where officers mocked Cox and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to surveillance and body-worn camera footage. Officers dragged Cox out of the van and around the police station before placing him in a holding cell before paramedics brought him to a hospital.

    Before pulling him out of the van, Lavandier told Cox to move his leg and sit up, according to an internal affairs investigation report. Cox says “I can’t move” and Lavandier says “You’re not even trying.”

    New Haven State’s Attorney John P. Doyle Jr.’s office said prosecutors and Cox did not object to the charges being dismissed.

    Defense lawyers said that while the officers were sympathetic to what happened to Cox, they did not cause his injuries or make them worse. The three officers whose cases were dismissed were scheduled to go on trial next month.

    “We don’t think that there was sufficient evidence to prove her guilt or any wrongdoing,” said Lavandier’s attorney, Dan Ford. “This is a negotiated settlement that avoids the risk of having go through the emotional toll of a trial.”

    Rivera’s lawyer, Raymond Hassett, called the decision to charge the officers “unjust and misplaced.”

    “The actions of the Police Chief and City Mayor in targeting the officers were a misguided effort to deflect attention from the police department shortcomings in managing the department and ensuring proper protocols were in place and followed,” Hassett said in a statement.

    Attorneys for Cox and Diaz did not immediately return phone and email messages Friday. Cox’s lawyer, Louis Rubano, has said Cox and his family hoped the criminal cases would end quickly with plea bargains.

    New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said city officials disagreed with the judge’s decision to dismiss the charges.

    “What happened to Randy was tragic and awful,” he said in a statement.

    The case drew outrage from civil rights advocates including the NAACP, along with comparisons to the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore. Cox is Black, while all five officers who were arrested are Black or Hispanic. Gray, who also was Black, died in 2015 after he suffered a spinal injury while handcuffed and shackled in a Baltimore police van.

    The case also led to reforms at the New Haven police department as well as a statewide seat belt requirement for prisoners.

    In 2023, the city of New Haven agreed to settle a lawsuit by Cox for $45 million.

    New Haven police fired Segui, Diaz, Lavandier and Rivera for violating police conduct policies, while Pressley retired and avoided an internal investigation. Diaz appealed his firing and got his job back. Segui lost the appeal of her firing, while appeals by Lavandier and Rivera remain pending.

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  • Patriots’ Stefon Diggs to be arraigned and denies assault allegation

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    BOSTON — New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Massachusetts on felony strangulation and other criminal charges stemming from an alleged dispute with his personal chef.

    The arraignment at Dedham District Court was postponed until after Super Bowl LX so Diggs could play in the NFL championship game.

    According to court records, the woman told Dedham officers she and Diggs argued about money he owed her for her work as his private chef. During the Dec. 2 encounter at his home, she said, he “smacked her across the face” and then “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck,” leaving her feeling short of breath.

    Diggs’ arraignment was originally slated for Jan. 23 but was moved to Feb. 13 — five days after the Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks — to accommodate his playing schedule.

    Diggs’ attorney has said he “categorically denies these allegations,” calling them unsubstantiated and motivated by a financial dispute. The Patriots released a statement saying they support him.

    Investigators allege the woman first reported the incident to police on Dec. 16, two weeks after it occurred; she initially hesitated to file charges but later chose to do so, according to court documents.

    The arraignment Friday will be the first court appearance in the case. The judge is expected to address bail conditions and set future hearing dates.

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  • North Carolina Republicans to Question Charlotte Leaders on Crime After Train Stabbings

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    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers are preparing to grill Charlotte-area leaders about crime-fighting tactics and spending, particularly in the wake of two stabbings — one fatal — on the light rail system in the Democratic-led city.

    A state House oversight committee asked Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and others to testify Monday at the Legislative Building.

    The August fatal stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, followed in December by a non-fatal stabbing on the same Charlotte rail system, are among the chief reasons for GOP critiques of area law enforcement. The suspect in each stabbing — which drew comments from President Donald Trump — faces charges in state and federal court.

    In invitation letters to testify, the committee’s cochairmen wrote high-profile crimes in recent years raise “serious concerns” about law enforcement staffing, “prosecutorial practices, and the City’s overall public safety strategy.”

    The committee “has an explicit duty to ensure that local governments receiving and expending public funds are prioritizing the safety and security of North Carolina residents,” the letters read.

    The committee’s public scrutiny has been useful for Republicans earning political points on hot-button issues. The panel can seek more documents and reports from local entities or threaten funding losses — although that couldn’t occur without separate action by the full General Assembly.

    Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused in Zarutska’s death, had more than a dozen prior criminal arrests before the most recent charge, and concerns had been raised about his mental health. Republican lawmakers, as well as Trump and Vice President JD Vance, blamed Democratic leaders in Charlotte and statewide for soft-on-crime policies they allege allowed Brown to stay out of custody.

    Lyles wrote soon after Zarutska’s death that it was a “tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.” She and others have since highlighted additional safety measures for the light rail system.

    Zarutska’s death already resulted in a new state law that barred cashless bail for certain violent crimes and many repeat offenders. It also seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations.

    Democratic Gov. Josh Stein last week issued an executive order designed in part to address mental health treatment for people whom police confront and who are incarcerated.

    The suspect in the second light-rail attack — identified in federal records as Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia and in state court as Oscar Solarzano — is from Central America and had been transported out the country twice since 2018 — having been convicted of illegal reentry into the U.S., according to an FBI affidavit.

    Brown has been jailed due to the charges. A federal court ordered last month that he undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether his legal case can proceed. A similar exam was ordered in state court months ago. Brown’s lawyers for federal court declined comment late last week. His state court lawyer didn’t immediately respond to an email.

    Solarzano is also jailed and an attorney representing him in state court didn’t immediately respond to an email. There is no lawyer listed in his federal case.

    The December stabbing occurred weeks after a federal immigration crackdown in Charlotte and elsewhere in North Carolina, resulting in hundreds of arrests over several days.

    Republicans for years blamed McFadden, who is facing a Democratic primary next month, for failing to cooperate with immigration agents. A recent state law has now made it mandatory for sheriffs to honor requests from federal officials to hold an arrested immigrant so agents can take custody of them.

    The committee meeting was previously delayed while committee leaders received guidance on what they could ask publicly about Zarutska’s death. A federal magistrate judge had granted a request from Brown’s attorneys preventing lawmakers from disclosing what’s inside their client’s case files from local police or the Mecklenburg County district attorney.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Ohio Man Charged With Threatening to Kill Vice President JD Vance and Possessing Child Abuse Files

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    An Ohio man has been charged with threatening to kill Vice President JD Vance while he was visiting his home state last month. But the man’s lawyer said his health makes it unlikely he would have been able to carry out the threat.

    In addition to the charge for threatening Vance, prosecutors also charged Shannon Mathre with possessing digital files depicting child sexual abuse that were discovered during the investigation. That second charge carries a much stiffer potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. The charge related to the threats could lead to a maximum five-year sentence.

    Lawyer Neil McElroy said that Mathre’s health challenges would have been apparent to anyone in the courtroom Friday when he pleaded not guilty to the charges, so he doesn’t think the threat charge makes sense. McElroy said he couldn’t comment on the charge related to the possession of child sexual abuse files because prosecutors haven’t yet provided any details about that at this early stage of the case.

    “Anyone that spends any time in a room with Mr. Mathre or has any knowledge of his condition — physical condition, mental condition — can see that it’s a farce,” McElroy said. He declined to go into detail about Mathre’s health challenges, but the lawyer said that Mathre has “some mental disabilities and a variety of other conditions.”

    Still, the Justice Department and Secret Service took the threat very seriously after Mathre said “I am going to find out where he (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him.”

    The indictment filed in court doesn’t offer many details about the threat or the images he allegedly possessed, but the Secret Service said the investigation went beyond the online threat to also examine Mathre’s actions and behavior. The 33-year-old Toledo man’s Samsung phone was seized on Jan. 21 as part of the investigation.

    “Our attorneys are vigorously prosecuting this disgusting threat against Vice President Vance,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “You can hide behind a screen, but you cannot hide from this Department of Justice.”

    David M. Toepfer, who is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said “hostile and violent threats made against the Vice President, or any other public official, will not be tolerated in our district.”

    The Secret Service agent in charge of the Toledo office, Matthew Schierloh, said there should be zero tolerance for any kind of political violence in this country.

    “The safety and security of those we protect is paramount to everything we do,” Schierloh said. “Thanks to vigilant members of the public and the tenacious work of our special agents, a comprehensive joint investigation was conducted, resulting in the arrest of a defendant for making threats against the Vice President.”

    Mathre is doing back in court on Wednesday for a hearing to determine whether he will remain in custody as the case moves forward.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Former Jets 1st-round pick Darron Lee charged with 1st-degree murder in Tennessee

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    OOLTEWAH, Tenn. — A former New York Jets first-round draft pick was arrested in Tennessee and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend.

    Darron Lee was identified Thursday as the suspect and taken into custody at the scene, according to the Hamilton County sheriff’s office.

    The victim’s identity was not released.

    The 31-year-old Lee played 58 games with the Jets, Kansas City and Buffalo from 2016 through the 2020 seasons. The former Ohio State linebacker was the 20th overall pick in 2016 by the Jets. He was the defensive MVP of the 2015 Sugar Bowl.

    Lee was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Additional charges could be pending following the outcome of the investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

    Upon arrival, first responders located a female victim and attempted life-saving measures.

    “Due to the condition of the victim and the residence, HCSO Criminal Investigative Services Detectives responded. Preliminary findings indicate the victim’s death was the result of a homicide,” the Hamilton County sheriff’s office said in a statement.

    Lee has a Feb. 11 court date.

    He was previously arrested for assault and domestic violence in 2023.

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  • Epstein emails show he helped arrange White House visit for Woody Allen

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    NEW YORK — In 2015, Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, went on a trip to Washington, D.C. With the help of their friend Jeffrey Epstein, they were able to tour the White House.

    Allen’s friendship with Epstein has been known for years, but emails in the huge trove of records released by the Justice Department in recent days illustrate that relationship in new depth.

    The filmmaker, his wife and Epstein were neighbors in New York City, and the three dined together often, records show. They offered each other emotional support during periods when they were being criticized in the media. They commiserated about being accused — unfairly, they told each other — of sexual misconduct.

    And in 2015, Epstein used his connections to another friend who had been in President Barack Obama’s administration to help the couple get a White House tour.

    “Could you show soon yi the White House,” Epstein wrote in a May 2015 email to former White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler. “I assume woody would be too politically sensitive?”

    “I am sure I could show both of them the White House,” Ruemmler responded, although she doubted whether Epstein, who in 2008 had pleaded guilty to solicitating prostitution from an underage girl, would be allowed in.

    “You are too politically sensitive, I think,” she added.

    White House records show that Allen, Previn and Ruemmler visited on Dec. 27, a Sunday. Obama was in Hawaii at the time.

    Ruemmler and Allen were among a long list of notable people who maintained friendships with Epstein for years, even though he was a registered sex offender who had been accused of abusing children, and whose legal problems had been widely covered in newspapers.

    Some of the guests who accompanied Allen and Previn to dinners with Epstein included talk show host Dick Cavett, linguist Noam Chomsky and the late comedian David Brenner. Epstein also attended screenings of Allen’s movies and, according to emails, would visit with Allen so he could watch him edit his latest film.

    “Wide variety of interesting people at every dinner,” was how Allen described some of their gatherings in a letter commissioned for a 2016 Epstein birthday party. “It’s always interesting and the food is sumptuous and abundant. Lots of dishes, plenty of choices, numerous desserts, well served. I say well served often it’s by some professional houseman and just as often by several young women reminding one of Castle Dracula where (actor Bela) Lugosi has three young female vampires who service the place.”

    A message sent to an assistant for Allen and Previn via email seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned. Epstein killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

    Emails suggest that Previn, too, had a close relationship to Epstein and she often served as the intermediary between Epstein and Allen.

    Numerous exchanges among Allen, Previn and Epstein refer to the scandals that began in the early 1990s when Allen acknowledged he was having an affair with Previn, the adopted daughter of his then-girlfriend Mia Farrow. Around the same time, he was investigated by state authorities over allegations he had assaulted their adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, while visiting Mia’s Connecticut home.

    A Connecticut prosecutor said in 1993 that there was “probable cause” to charge Allen with molesting Dylan, but that he decided not to pursue the case.

    Allen, who married Previn in 1997 and has since adopted two daughters, has denied any wrongdoing. Dylan’s allegations returned to the news in 2014 when an open letter from her was published in The New York Times. Allen has since been largely ostracized by the American film community.

    In emails in 2016, Epstein, Previn and Allen compared their own scandals to another celebrity in the news at the time: Bill Cosby, who had denied allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulting numerous women.

    “The crowd needs a witch to burn, and there are not many left,” Epstein wrote.

    Allen replied, in a message relayed through Previn, that his own situation is “radically different” from Cosby’s.

    “I do expect (and get) many ugly unfair accusations, (but) he has to battle 50 women and criminal charges,” Allen said, according to Previn’s email. “I have one irate mother whose case was investigated and discredited,” he said, referring to Mia Farrow.

    Epstein replied that the public scorn Allen received was more likely related to his relationship with Previn, which he called a “publicly broken taboo.”

    “Everything else is noise,” he added.

    Allen, in comments relayed through Previn, responded that if the couple’s taboo relationship was the issue, “there’s nothing to be done.”

    “I’m certainly not going to dump her and I’m not going to apologize because I don’t feel either of us did anything we have to apologize for,” he says. “Our romantic life is our business and not the business of the public so it’s a hopeless situation because there’s no way out if that’s what they’re holding against us.”

    Epstein advised his friends to just enjoy themselves and in life.

    “Some actors or actresses might decline a role,” Epstein wrote. “But, so what.”

    Allen hasn’t been accused of having any involvement in Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse of girls and women.

    ___

    The AP is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from CBS, NBC, MS NOW and CNBC. Journalists from each newsroom are working together to examine the files and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents.

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  • Man pardoned in U.S. Capitol riot pleads guilty to threatening Hakeem Jeffries

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    CLINTON, N.Y. — A New York man accused of threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pleaded guilty Thursday, a year after President Donald Trump pardoned him for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

    Christopher P. Moynihan, 35, also agreed to serve three years of probation. During a hearing in the town court in Clinton, New York, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge, and sentencing was set for April 2.

    Moynihan’s public defender did not immediately return an email seeking comment Thursday night. A message also was left at an email address in public records for Moynihan. A phone number for Moynihan in public records was not in service.

    Moynihan, of Pleasant Valley, New York, was accused of sending a text message to another person in October about Jeffries’ appearance in New York City that week.

    “I cannot allow this terrorist to live,” Moynihan wrote, according to a report by a state police investigator. Moynihan also wrote that Jeffries “must be eliminated” and texted, “I will kill him for the future,” the police report says.

    Moynihan was originally charged with a felony, making a terrorist threat, but pleaded to a lesser crime.

    “Threats against elected officials are not political speech, they are criminal acts that strike at the heart of public safety and our democratic system,” Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi said in a statement.

    Moynihan was sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison for joining a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. In January 2025, he was among hundreds of convicted Capitol rioters who were pardoned on the Republican president’s first day back in the White House.

    A spokesperson for Jeffries, a New York Democrat, did not immediately return an email message Thursday night.

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  • Florida congresswoman accused of stealing COVID-19 funds pleads not guilty 3 months after indictment

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    MIAMI — A Florida congresswoman charged with conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds formally pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, nearly three months after her indictment.

    U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was not present for the arraignment in Miami federal court, but her attorney, William Barzee, entered the plea on her behalf. He explained that she was in Washington, D.C., where Congress has been debating funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

    “She’s eager to get back to work,” Barzee said after the hearing. “She’s up in Washington right now fighting for her constituents, and her main focus is representing the people in her district.”

    Barzee just took over Cherfilus-McCormick’s case this week. Her previous attorney, David Oscar Markus, had requested the arraignment be rescheduled several times while Cherfilus-McCormick resolved issues with her finances, but he ultimately left the case, citing scheduling conflicts.

    Cherfilus-McCormick is facing 15 federal counts that accuse her of stealing funds that had been overpaid to her family’s health care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, in 2021, before she was elected to Congress. The company had a contract to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations.

    Cherfilus-McCormick was arrested in November and then freed on a $60,000 bond. In addition to bail, the judge said Cherfilus-McCormick must surrender her personal passport, and is allowed to travel only between Florida, Washington, D.C., Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia.

    She has been allowed to retain her congressional passport to perform certain duties for her job.

    According to the federal indictment, prosecutors said that within two months of receiving the funds in 2021, more than $100,000 had been spent on a 3-carat yellow diamond ring for the congresswoman.

    The health care company owned by Cherfilus-McCormick’s family had received payments through a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, the indictment says. Her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, requested $50,000, but they mistakenly received $5 million and didn’t return the difference.

    Prosecutors said that the funds received by Trinity Healthcare were distributed to various accounts, including those of friends and relatives, who then donated to Cherfilus-McCormick’s congressional campaign.

    The Florida Department of Emergency Management previously sued Trinity Healthcare in civil court, and the company agreed to pay back all of the money last year as part of a settlement with the state.

    “It’s surprising that the DOJ (U.S. Department of Justice) would take on a case after it’s been resolved and after there was an agreement to repay all of the funds that were improperly sent to her,” Barzee said.

    Cherfilus-McCormick won a special election in January 2022 to represent Florida’s 20th District, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, after Rep. Alcee Hastings died in 2021.

    The charges she faces include theft of government funds; making and receiving straw donor contributions; aiding and assisting a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return; and money laundering, as well as conspiracy charges associated with each count.

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  • Nevada Fake Elector Case Resumes With Debate Over Intent Behind 2020 Pro-Trump Ceremony

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    The criminal case against Nevada’s six so-called “fake electors,” who tried to falsely award the state’s 2020 electoral votes to President Donald Trump, returned to Clark County on Monday after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled it was a proper jurisdiction to hear the case.

    During Monday’s hearing, lawyers for the fake electors challenged the legality of the two charges facing their clients: offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument. Although no ruling was issued, Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus was skeptical of the prosecution’s arguments for the second charge because it requires an “intent to defraud.”

    Holthus called that intent “impossible” to prove.

    “They’re not really thinking that they’re going to pull one over, that … ‘we’re going to sign this document and make everybody think that Trump was elected when he wasn’t elected,’” Holthus said. “That’s my real battle. It’s almost nonsensical to me that they would have done that, prepared it and filed it with the intent to fraud. I don’t know how it would ever get there.”

    State prosecutors had previously argued there was an intent to defraud because the documents were sent to the state’s top federal judge, secretary of state’s office, vice president and National Archives.

    Holthus requested that prosecutors prepare a brief by early March with evidence on the electors’ intent to defraud. The next hearing is scheduled for April 10.

    The hearing came more than five years after the six Republican electors convened an illegitimate ceremony in Carson City, where they purported to be the state’s true electors and signed documents awarding the Silver State’s votes to Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence, even though Joe Biden had won the popular vote in Nevada, and Biden electors, who are legally bound to cast a ballot for the candidate who garnered the most votes, held a separate, legitimate ceremony.

    The Republican electors included Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, Nevada GOP Vice Chair Jim Hindle and Republican National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid. The other three defendants are then-Clark County GOP Chairman Jesse Law, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice.

    Fake elector cases are slowly continuing in other states, where prosecutors have faced myriad hurdles, including case dismissals. States still seeking convictions for the GOP electors include Arizona and Wisconsin.

    Holthus had dismissed the case in 2024 on the grounds that Clark County was the incorrect venue to consider the case, but the state’s Supreme Court overturned the decision in November. A jury in Clark County is likely to be less favorable to the electors than redder rural areas.

    In the event the high court had ruled against the state, prosecutors brought forward a winnowed down case in Carson City. State law allows two prosecutions to be ongoing at the same time, as long as a jury has not been impaneled.

    Monday’s hearing centered around an element of the case that was unresolved when Holthus first dismissed it. Lawyers for the fake electors had argued that prosecutors had provided incomplete evidence to a Clark County grand jury and that the actions in question do not relate to the charges facing their clients.

    Attorneys for the fake electors said the document in question was not false, but rather “a genuine document that contains false information.”

    “There’s no evidence that defendants were doing anything other than exercising their First Amendment rights to preserve their future First Amendment rights to petition the government and challenge the results of that election,” Maggie McLetchie, the lawyer for Jesse Law, testified during the hearing.

    Prosecutors disagreed, arguing the document was false because it contained knowingly false information.

    “They wanted those documents to be considered, because those documents themselves were forged documents,” Alissa Engler, a prosecutor for the state, argued during the hearing.

    The other element of the arguments centered around evidence provided to a Clark County grand jury, which was responsible for bringing forward the charges in 2023.

    The electors’ lawyers had argued that prosecutors failed to demonstrate to the grand jury that the intent behind the signing ceremony was to prepare for the possibility that future legal challenges would overturn Nevada’s election results. The Nevada Supreme Court had rejected electoral challenges before the signing ceremony occurred, but an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was still possible (though it never materialized).

    Defendants’ lawyers also later accused the state of not showing the grand jury certain correspondence from Kenneth Chesebro, the architect of the fake elector plot and a key witness, that it said would exonerate certain defendants.

    This story was originally published by The Nevada Independent and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter of Iranian Drama ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Arrested in Tehran

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    Representatives for the film on Sunday said that Mehdi Mahmoudian was arrested Saturday. No details on the charges against Mahmoudian were available. But his arrest came just days after Mahmoudian and 16 others signed a statement condemning Islamic Republic leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the regime’s violent crackdown on demonstrators.

    Two other signatories, Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni, were also arrested.

    “Mehdi Mahmoudian is not just a human-rights activist and a prisoner of conscience; he is a witness, a listener, and a rare moral presence — a presence whose absence is immediately felt, both inside prison walls and beyond them,” Panahi said.

    Panahi was also a signatory on the Jan. 28 statement. It reads in part: “The mass and systematic killing of citizens who bravely took to the streets to bring an end to an illegitimate regime constitutes an organized state crime against humanity.”

    Panahi, one of the most acclaimed international filmmakers, has made films through various states of imprisonment, house arrest and travel ban. “It Was Just an Accident,” a revenge drama and t he Palme d’Or-winner at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, was inspired by Panahi’s most recent stint in prison. It was there that he met Mahmoudian. Panahi called him “a pillar” to other prisoners.

    “It Was Just An Accident” was written by Panahi, Mahmoudian, Nader Saeiver and Shadhmer Rastin.

    The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists New Agency, which relies on a network inside Iran to verify its information, says that more than 6,713 people have been killed and 49,500 people have been detained in the recent government crackdown. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll and arrest figures, given authorities have cut Iran’s internet off from the rest of the world.

    Panahi has repeatedly spoken out against the crackdown.

    “As we stand here, the state of Iran is gunning down protesters and a savage massacre continues blatantly on the streets of Iran,” Panahi said last month at the National Board of Review Awards in New York. “Today the real scene is not on screens but on the streets of Iran. The Islamic Republic has caused a bloodbath to delay its collapse.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • ‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse convicted on sexual assault charges

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    LAS VEGAS — A Nevada jury on Friday convicted “Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse of sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls in a case that sent shock waves through Indian Country.

    The jurors in Las Vegas found Chasing Horse guilty of 13 of the 21 charges he faced. Most of the guilty verdicts centered on Chasing Horse’s conduct with a victim who was 14 when he began assaulting her. He was acquitted of some sexual assault charges when the main victim was older and lived with him and his other companions.

    Chasing Horse, 49, faces a minimum of 25 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11.

    He has also been charged with sex crimes in other states as well as Canada. British Columbia prosecutors said Friday that once Chasing Horse has been sentenced and any appeals are finished in the U.S., they will assess next steps in their prosecution.

    Friday’s verdict marked the climax of a yearslong effort to prosecute Chasing Horse after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023. Prosecutors said Chasing Horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls.

    As the verdict was read, Chasing Horse stood quietly. Victims and their supporters cried and hugged in the hallway while wearing yellow ribbons. The main victim declined to comment.

    William Rowles, the Clark County chief deputy district attorney, thanked the women who had accused Chasing Horse of assault for testifying.

    “I just hope that the people who came forward over the years and made complaints against Nathan Chasing Horse can find some peace in this,” he said.

    Defense attorney Craig Mueller said he will file a motion for a new trial and told The Associated Press he was confused and disappointed in the jury’s verdict. He said he had some “meaningful doubts about the sincerity of the accusations.”

    Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation. He is widely known for his portrayal of Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning film.

    “Dances With Wolves” was one of the most prominent films featuring Native American actors when it premiered in 1990.

    His trial came as authorities have responded more in recent years to an epidemic of violence against Native women.

    During the 11-day trial, jurors heard from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them, some of whom were underage at the time. The jury returned guilty verdicts on some charges related to all three.

    Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci said in her closing argument Wednesday that for almost 20 years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that caught many women.

    Mueller said in his closing argument that there was no evidence, including from eyewitnesses. He questioned the main accuser’s credibility, calling her a “scorned woman.”

    Prosecutors said sexual assault cases rarely have eyewitnesses and often happen behind closed doors.

    The main accuser was 14 in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He then sexually assaulted her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die, Pucci said. The sexual assaults continued for years, Pucci said.

    “Today’s verdict sends a clear message that exploitation and abuse will not be tolerated, regardless of the defendant’s public persona or claims of spiritual authority,” said Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, who came in to the Las Vegas court room to hear the verdict, in a statement.

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  • ‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse convicted on sexual assault charges

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    LAS VEGAS — A Nevada jury on Friday convicted “Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse of sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls in a case that sent shock waves through Indian Country.

    The jurors in Las Vegas found Chasing Horse guilty of 13 of the 21 charges he faced. Most of the guilty verdicts centered on Chasing Horse’s conduct with a victim who was 14 years old when he began assaulting her. He was acquitted of some sexual assault charges when the main victim was older and described as a wife. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11.

    The verdict marked the climax of a yearslong effort to prosecute Chasing Horse after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023. Prosecutors said Chasing Horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls.

    As the verdict was read, Chasing Horse stood quietly. Victims and their supporters cried and hugged in the hallway while wearing yellow ribbons.

    William Rowles, the Clark County chief deputy district attorney, thanked the women who had accused Chasing Horse of assault for testifying.

    “I just hope that the people who came forward over the years and made complaints against Nathan Chasing Horse can find some peace in this,” he said.

    Defense attorney Craig Mueller said he will file a motion for a new trial and told The Associated Press he was confused and disappointed in the jury’s verdict. He said he had some “meaningful doubts about the sincerity of the accusations.”

    “Dances With Wolves” was one of the most prominent films featuring Native American actors when it premiered in 1990. After Chasing Horse appeared in the Oscar-winning film, he traveled across North America and performed healing ceremonies.

    His trial came as authorities have responded more in recent years to an epidemic of violence against Native women.

    During the three-week trial, jurors heard from three women who say Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them, some of whom were underage at the time. The jury returned guilty verdicts on some charges related to all three.

    Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci said in her closing statements Wednesday that for almost 20 years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that caught many women.

    Mueller said in his closing statements that there was no evidence, including eyewitnesses. He questioned the main accuser’s credibility, describing her as a “scorned woman.”

    Prosecutors said sexual assault cases rarely have eyewitnesses and often happen behind closed doors.

    The main accuser was 14 years old in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He then sexually assaulted her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die, Pucci said during opening statements.

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  • Former First Brands CEO Patrick James and his brother are indicted for bilking billions from banks

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    Patrick James, the former CEO of bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands Group, was indicted on federal fraud charges and arrested Thursday in Ohio with his brother Edward, a former senior executive with the company, the government said

    Patrick James, the former CEO of bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands Group, was indicted on federal fraud charges and arrested Thursday in Ohio with his brother Edward, a former senior executive with the company, the government said.

    The indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York said the James brothers “perpetrated a yearslong fraud” to obtains billions of dollars for First Brands — and millions for themselves — by duping investors and banks with fake documents and false financial reports.

    When it filed for bankruptcy protection in September, officials representing First Brands said the company had more than $9 billion in debt and only $12 million in cash, according to Thursday’s charging documents.

    After changing its name to First Brands from Crowne Group about five years ago, the Cleveland company began buying and then cobbling together a number of aftermarket auto parts manufacturers through debt-financed deals. Acquisitions by First Brands included well-known industry brands like Fram filters, Autolite sparkplugs and Anco windshield wiper blades.

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  • Top aide to former NYC Mayor Eric Adams took bribe of diamond earrings: Prosecutors

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    NEW YORK — Prosecutors have accused a top aide to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams of accepting diamond earrings from two real estate developers, then pressuring city regulators to expedite their construction projects, despite safety concerns.

    In court papers filed Tuesday, prosecutors in Manhattan offered new details about one of several bribery schemes they say was carried out by Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a close confidant of Adams who once served as the second-most powerful person in city government.

    She resigned in late 2024 shortly before she and her son were charged with raking in over $100,000 in bribes from the two developers, Raizada Vaid and Mayank Dwivedi. All four have pleaded not guilty.

    Lewis-Martin was then hit with a separate set of bribery charges in August, alleging she traded political favors — including nixing a planned bike lane and steering shelter contracts toward a favored developer — for cash, home renovations and even a speaking role on the TV show “Godfather of Harlem.” She has also pleaded not guilty to those allegations.

    An attorney for Lewis-Martin has maintained that she was only helping her constituents cut through red tape.

    The latest filing expands on the initial charges brought against Lewis-Martin and her son, Glenn D. Martin II, who performs under the stage name DJ Suave Luciano.

    Shortly after meeting with Vaid and Dwivedi in 2022, Lewis-Martin received a set of 2-carat diamond earrings worth around $3,000 from the developers, according to the new court filing.

    Lewis-Martin then pressured city regulators to speed up approvals for the developers’ projects, prosecutors allege. In one case, she urged the acting commissioner of the Department of Buildings to approve the proposed renovation of a Manhattan hotel owned by Vaid, despite “legitimate safety concerns” raised by building inspectors, prosecutors said.

    After city regulators agreed to expedite the application, Lewis-Martin texted her son indicating that Vaid would have him “completely covered. You(r) fashion line is 100 percent,” according to the court filing. Vaid also promised to help Martin II open a Chick-fil-A franchise, prosecutors said.

    In an email, an attorney for Lewis-Martin, Arthur Aidala, criticized the length of the filing, without addressing its substance.

    “We look forward to submitting our robust reply to the prosecutor’s desperate 170 page answer to our motion to dismiss,” Aidala said. “It is the longest answer to a motion we have ever seen and that speaks volumes about their insecurity in their case.”

    Inquiries to attorneys for Martin II, Vaid and Dwivedi were not returned.

    The case against Lewis-Martin, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, first emerged amid a period of overlapping scandals for the Adams’ administration. It is unrelated to Adams’ own indictment on federal corruption charges, which was dismissed last year by the Justice Department. Adams is not accused of any wrongdoing in Lewis-Martin’s case.

    A spokesperson for Adams did not respond to an inquiry about the latest allegations against Lewis-Martin.

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  • South Korea’s Former First Lady Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Corruption

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    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee to 20 months in prison for corruption Wednesday ahead of the verdict for disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law imposition a year ago.

    The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim for receiving bribes from the Unification Church in return for business favors.

    The ruling comes about three weeks before the court delivers its verdict on the rebellion charge against Yoon.

    The independent counsel earlier demanded the death sentence for Yoon.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Ex-Olympic snowboarder accused in drug smuggling ring heads to court

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    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder pleaded not guilty to running a billion-dollar drug trafficking ring and orchestrating multiple killings, as one of the FBI’s top fugitives made his first U.S. court appearance Monday since he was arrested in Mexico last week and flown to California.

    U.S. authorities say Ryan Wedding, who competed in a single event for his home country in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, had been hiding in Mexico for more than a decade. He was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list last March when authorities offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

    Authorities say Wedding moved as much as 60 tons of cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Canada and Southern California and believe he was working under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful drug rings. His drug trafficking group was the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, according to a 2024 indictment.

    Mexican officials said he turned himself in at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City last week and was flown to Southern California after a yearlong effort by authorities in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Colombia and the Dominican Republic to arrest him.

    When speaking to reporters Monday outside the federal court in Santa Ana, southeast of Los Angeles, Wedding’s defense attorney Anthony Colombo disputed that his client had turned himself in in Mexico and said he was living in Mexico, not hiding out there.

    “He was arrested,” Colombo said after the brief hearing, offering no further details. “He did not surrender.”

    Colombo said his client was in “good spirits” but added that “this has been a whirlwind for Mr. Wedding.”

    Federal prosecutors declined to comment after the hearing. Wedding was scheduled to be back in court Feb. 11 and a trial date was set for Mar. 24.

    Wedding arrived in court wearing a tan jail jumpsuit with his ankles chained. He smiled briefly, then clasped his hands and leaned back in his chair before reviewing papers with his attorney. When asked by U.S. Magistrate John D. Early if he read the indictments filed against him, Wedding answered, “I’ve read them both, yes.”

    The judge ordered him held in custody, saying he could not immediately find conditions that would ensure public safety or Wedding’s appearance in court. He said he could consider bond if Wedding seeks it later.

    Mexico has increasingly sent detained cartel members to the U.S. as the country attempts to offset mounting threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said last month U.S. forces “will now start hitting land” south of the border to target drug trafficking rings.

    Wedding was indicted in 2024 on federal charges of running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiring to distribute cocaine and other crimes. U.S. authorities allege in court papers that Wedding’s group obtained cocaine from Colombia and worked with Mexican cartels to move drugs by boat and plane to Mexico and then into the U.S. using semitrucks. The group stored cocaine in Southern California before sending it to Canada and other U.S. states, according to the indictment.

    The murder charges accuse Wedding of directing the 2023 killings of two members of a Canadian family in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment, and for ordering a killing over a drug debt in 2024. Last year, Wedding was indicted on new charges of orchestrating the killing of a witness in Colombia to help him avoid extradition to the U.S.

    Wedding was previously convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and sentenced to prison in 2010. Online records show he was released from Bureau of Prisons custody in 2011.

    In Canada, Wedding faces separate drug charges dating back to 2015.

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