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Tag: parole and probation

  • Special counsel says Hunter Biden’s gun deal is ‘withdrawn’ and invalid | CNN Politics

    Special counsel says Hunter Biden’s gun deal is ‘withdrawn’ and invalid | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    Special counsel David Weiss said the deal his team previously reached with Hunter Biden to resolve a felony gun possession charge was never approved by a probation officer and is not binding.

    The Justice Department prosecutors said in a court filing on Tuesday that for the “diversion agreement” to be legally binding, it would have had to be signed by a probation officer after last month’s court hearing in Delaware.

    They said the official who needed to sign it was Margaret Bray, the chief United States probation officer for the District of Delaware.

    “In sum, because Ms. Bray, acting in her capacity as the Chief United States Probation Officer, did not approve the now-withdrawn diversion agreement, it never went into effect and, therefore, none of its terms are binding on either party,” prosecutors wrote.

    Biden’s lawyers on Sunday said they believed an agreement to resolve a felony gun possession charge was “valid and binding.”

    The filing states that negotiations to amend the plea deal continued after the court hearing on July 26 when a federal judge declined to accept a plea agreement on two tax charges.

    Biden’s team proposed changes, which prosecutors “did not believe they were in the best interests of the United States” and counter proposed. Biden’s team rejected those changes leading to prosecutors informing the judge they had reached an impasse.

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  • Former Manson family member Leslie Van Houten released from California prison, official says | CNN

    Former Manson family member Leslie Van Houten released from California prison, official says | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Leslie Van Houten, a former Charles Manson follower and convicted murderer, was released from a California prison on Tuesday, a prison spokesperson told CNN.

    Van Houten was released to parole supervision, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Mary Xjimenez said in a statement. She will have a three-year maximum parole term with a parole discharge review occurring after one year, Xjimenez said.

    Van Houten, now in her 70s, was 19 when she met Manson and joined the murderous cult that came to be called the “Manson family.”

    Prior to her release on Tuesday, she was serving concurrent sentences of seven years to life after she was convicted in 1971 for her role in the killings of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, at their Los Angeles home.

    CNN has reached out to Van Houten’s attorney for comment.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on Friday announced it would not challenge a state appellate court’s panel ruling in May that opened the possibility of parole for Van Houten, clearing the path to her release.

    “More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims’ families still feel the impact, as do all Californians. Governor Newsom reversed Ms. Van Houten’s parole grant three times since taking office and defended against her challenges of those decisions in court,” Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement Friday.

    “The Governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Ms. Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed. The California Supreme Court accepts appeals in very few cases, and generally does not select cases based on this type of fact-specific determination,” the statement added.

    Van Houten and her team were “thrilled” with the announcement, Nancy Tetreault, Van Houten’s attorney, told CNN Friday.

    Following 53 years in custody, Van Houten will participate in a transitional housing program to help her with employment training, teach her how to get a job and support herself, Tetreault told CNN last week.

    “If you think about it, she’s never used an ATM, never had a cell phone,” said Tetreault. The attorney told CNN she and her client have discussed the likelihood of her being overwhelmed as she transitions back to routine daily activities, such as going to the supermarket.

    Following her conviction, Van Houten was sentenced to death, but the death penalty was overturned after California abolished capital punishment, and her sentence was commuted to life in prison. She first became eligible for parole in 1977 and a California parole board panel first recommended her release in 2016 after she made 22 appearances before the board, CNN reported.

    That decision, however, was blocked five times by the state’s governors – twice by former Gov. Jerry Brown, who cited the horrific nature of the murders and Van Houten’s eager participation, and three times by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    In 1994, Van Houten described her part in the killings in a prison interview with CNN’s Larry King.

    “I went in and Mrs. LaBianca was laying on the floor and I stabbed her,” said Van Houten, who was 19 at the time of the murders. “In the lower back, around 16 times.”

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  • Manson family member Leslie Van Houten is another step closer to parole as governor will no longer challenge release | CNN

    Manson family member Leslie Van Houten is another step closer to parole as governor will no longer challenge release | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on Friday announced it will not challenge a May state appellate court’s panel ruling that opened the possibility of parole for Leslie Van Houten, a former Charles Manson follower and convicted murderer.

    Van Houten is serving concurrent sentences of seven years to life after she was convicted in 1971 for her role in the killings of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, at their home.

    “More than 50 years after the Manson cult committed these brutal offenses, the victims’ families still feel the impact, as do all Californians. Governor Newsom reversed Ms. Van Houten’s parole grant three times since taking office and defended against her challenges of those decisions in court,” Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement Friday.

    “The Governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Ms. Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed. The California Supreme Court accepts appeals in very few cases, and generally does not select cases based on this type of fact-specific determination,” the statement adds.

    Van Houten and her team are “thrilled” with the announcement, Nancy Tetreault, Van Houten’s attorney, told CNN.

    “She’s just grateful that her rehabilitation, her hard work toward reforming her thinking, understanding the causative factors that led her to be influenced by Manson … She’s grateful that the court of appeals recognizes that,” Tetreault said.

    Van Houten will be released on parole pending a final behavioral hearing, with the exact date to be kept confidential for her safety, according to Tetreault.

    CNN has reached out to the California Board of Parole Hearings for comment.

    Van Houten, now in her 70s, was 19 when she met Manson and joined the murderous cult that came to be called the “Manson family.”

    The brutal killings began on August 9, 1969, at the home of actress Sharon Tate and her husband, famed movie director Roman Polanski. He was out of the country at the time. The first victims were Tate, who was eight months’ pregnant; a celebrity hairstylist named Jay Sebring; coffee fortune heiress Abigail Folger; writer Wojciech Frykowski; and Steven Parent, a friend of the family’s caretaker.

    The next evening, the LaBiancas were stabbed to death at their home.

    Although Manson ordered the murders, he didn’t kill anyone.

    Van Houten, along with Manson and followers Charles “Tex” Watson, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel, were indicted in December 1969 for the murders of Tate, her friends and the LaBianca murders.

    Following her conviction, Van Houten was sentenced to death, but the death penalty was later abolished in California and her sentence was commuted to life in prison. She first became eligible for parole in 1977.

    Krenwinkel was denied parole again in 2022. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation hearings schedule, she has a hearing set for November 17.

    Watson has been denied parole 18 times and will be eligible again in 2026. Atkins died in prison in 2009. Manson died in 2017 at age 83.

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  • Death row inmate Richard Glossip has a parole board hearing Wednesday and the attorney general is asking for clemency | CNN

    Death row inmate Richard Glossip has a parole board hearing Wednesday and the attorney general is asking for clemency | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    In an unprecedented move, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond will recommend clemency for Richard Glossip, who is set to be executed on May 18 on a capital murder charge.

    In a letter to the state’s Pardon and Parole Board – which will meet Wednesday – Drummond wrote, “For there to be public faith in our criminal justice system, it is incumbent on me as the State’s chief law enforcement officer to not ignore evidence and facts.”

    The state’s five-member Pardon and Parole Board will decide the fate of Glossip, who has spent more than 24 years on death row and had three reprieves or stays of execution. In another unusual move, the attorney general will attend the hearing, according to his office.

    “I am not aware of an Oklahoma Attorney General ever supporting a clemency application for a death row inmate,” Drummond wrote in the letter dated Monday. “In every previous case that has come before this board, the state has maintained full confidence in the integrity of the conviction. That is simply not the case in this matter due to the material evidence that was not disclosed to the jury.”

    Glossip, a former motel manager, was convicted of murder for ordering the killing of his boss, Barry Van Treese, in 1997.

    Another employee, then-19-year-old Justin Sneed, admitted to killing Van Treese with a baseball bat at the Oklahoma City motel. But in 1998, prosecutors told jurors Sneed killed Van Treese in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Glossip. Sneed received a life in prison sentence in exchange for his testimony as the key witness.

    Glossip, 60, has insisted he was not involved in the killing of Van Treese.

    Drummond, a Republican who took office in January, also cited in his letter the results of a recent special investigation he commissioned, writing the findings were “troubling.”

    Among the evidence included in the special counsel report was paperwork showing Sneed wanted to recant his testimony, writing to his attorney: “There are a lot of things right now that are eating at me. Somethings I need to clean up.”

    The report concluded Glossip’s murder conviction should be vacated and that he be granted a new trial.

    The attorney general wrote in his letter he believes the evidence shows Glossip is guilty of accessory after the fact and that he might be guilty of murder, but the current record doesn’t support that he is guilty of that crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

    In a separate clemency request filing, Glossip’s defense team writes, “Richard Glossip is an innocent man who has been the victim of a massive breakdown in the justice system that would have been disturbing had it occurred even in a minor case … This Board should recommend that he be allowed to live.”

    Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Kim Kardashian tweeted support for Glossip’s case, urging her followers to call the state’s Pardon and Parole Board and Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. Kardashian is not working alongside Glossip’s defense team.

    Three years after Glossip was first convicted of capital murder the decision was overturned because of ineffective defense counsel. He was again convicted in 2004 and again sentenced to death.

    In 2015, Glossip was more than an hour past his execution time when then-Republican Gov. Mary Fallin issued a stay based on the constitutionality of the state’s execution protocols.

    His execution date has been scheduled nine times.

    On April 6, the attorney general asked the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate Glossip’s conviction and the case to be returned to the district court. But in a 5-0 decision last week, the judges denied all requests.

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  • Oscar Pistorius denied parole | CNN

    Oscar Pistorius denied parole | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Disgraced South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was denied parole on Friday, according to local authorities who said he has yet to complete his minimum sentence.

    According to South African law, inmates can be considered for parole after serving half of their sentence if they meet conditions, like good behavior in prison.

    The former Olympic sprinter shot his partner Reeva Steenkamp four times through the bathroom door of his house in 2013, denying that he killed her in a fit of anger and saying instead he had mistaken her for an intruder. He was originally sentenced to 13 years and five months imprisonment.

    A spokesperson for South Africa’s Correctional Services, Singabakho Nxumalo, told CNN that Pistorius’ submission for parole was not granted because he was not yet eligible – an issue clarified by the country’s top appeals court earlier this week.

    “The parole board has granted Mr. Pistorius a further profile for August 2024 and the reason behind that is that Mr. Pistorius is yet to serve a minimum detention period as per the clarification order provided by the Supreme Court of Appeal, which was only provided to the department on the 28th of March 2023,” Nxumalo said.

    Pistorius must now continue to serve his sentence until a new parole hearing in August 2024.

    The parole board’s decision was quickly hailed by Steenkamp’s parents, who had opposed an early release, according to their lawyer.

    “While we welcome today’s decision, today is not a cause for celebration. We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail,” their lawyer Tania Koen told CNN.

    In 2018, the athlete’s father Henke Pistorius told the UK’s Times newspaper that he ran bible classes and prayer groups for prisoners, including the jail’s most feared gang leader.

    To be eligible for parole, Pistorius had to participate in South Africa’s “Restorative Justice” process, which gives offenders the opportunity to “acknowledge and take responsibility for their actions.”

    The athlete – once feted as an inspirational figure after competing in the 2012 Olympics – became the center of a trial that was followed around the world.

    During the trial, Pistorius pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder and a firearms charge associated with Steenkamp’s killing.

    Prosecutors argued her killing was deliberate and that the shooting happened after the couple had an argument.

    He frequently broke down in court and his past behavior was closely scrutinized.

    Pistorius was convicted of manslaughter in 2014 and sentenced to five years. But a higher court overturned the conviction and changed it to murder a year later, increasing his sentence to six years in prison.

    The ruling was appealed by prosecutors who claimed the sentence was too lenient. Pistorius’ sentence was increased to 13 years and five months by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal in 2017.

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  • Former UGA football star Jalen Carter sentenced to probation in crash that killed teammate and team staffer | CNN

    Former UGA football star Jalen Carter sentenced to probation in crash that killed teammate and team staffer | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Former University of Georgia football standout Jalen Carter was sentenced to probation on Thursday for his role in the January crash that killed his teammate and a team staffer.

    The crash happened hours after the Bulldogs’ national championship victory parade.

    Carter entered pleas of no contest Thursday to charges of racing and reckless driving, according to his attorney, Kim Stephens.

    Carter was then sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $1,000 fine and 50 hours of community service and completion of a state-approved defensive driving course, the attorney said.

    “Mr. Carter is happy and relieved to get this matter behind him, so now he can do what he needs to do for the NFL draft,” the lawyer said.

    “He continues to grieve for the loss of his friends,” Stephens added.

    Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General Will Fleenor confirmed the sentence and said Carter’s privilege to drive in Georgia has been suspended for 120 days.

    Fleenor, in a statement, acknowledged questions about the severity of the charges and “whether more serious offenses occurred.” He said law enforcement officers evaluated the appropriateness of more serious charges.

    “However, after consultation with the District Attorney’s Office, the Solicitor’s Office, and the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, based on the evidence and applicable laws in this case, it was determined that the appropriate charges were the two traffic offenses that were resolved in court this morning,” the statement said.

    Carter has been projected as a top pick in the NFL draft next month.

    CNN has reached out to Athens Solicitor’s Office for comment.

    Carter’s teammate Devin Willock and football team staff member Chandler LeCroy were killed in the January 15 crash, which happened hours after the team participated in a parade through campus to celebrate its second consecutive national title.

    Carter turned himself in at the Athens-Clarke County Jail earlier this month on charges of reckless driving and racing.

    LeCroy was driving a Ford SUV near the campus with Willock and two other members of the football program also in the vehicle, police said. The SUV was traveling “about 104 miles per hour” before it veered off the road and slammed into two power poles and several trees, Athens-Clarke County police said.

    Authorities said Carter was driving a separate vehicle and he and LeCroy appeared to be racing.

    Police said “both vehicles switched between lanes, drove in the center turn lane, drove in opposite lanes of travel, overtook other motorists, and drove at high rates of speed, in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other.”

    Toxicology results show LeCroy, who was driving a university vehicle not authorized for use at the time of the crash, had a blood alcohol concentration of .197 – more than twice the legal limit in Georgia, police said.

    Willock was ejected and died at the scene and LeCroy died at a local hospital. The two other passengers in the vehicle were injured, officials said.

    Carter was a key part of Georgia’s vaunted defense that allowed the fewest rushing yards per game (77.1) in 2022 and was named to several All-America teams.

    More than four months before the fatal crash, Carter had been issued three traffic citations – including one for speeding at nearly twice the legal limit, according to documents and body camera video obtained by CNN from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

    On September 22, Carter was stopped for speeding. An officer is heard on body camera footage telling him that he was “reckless,” and issued three traffic tickets

    One ticket showed Carter was driving at 89 mph in a 45 mph zone. A second ticket cited him for having “material affixed” to his car which “obstructs vision.” A third citation was for an illegal windshield tint.

    Bodycam video from the stop showed Carter in the driver’s seat of a Black Jeep. The officer held up a radar gun showing a speed of 89 mph, according to the video.

    Carter is seen on video, expressionless, as the officer named two other UGA athletes who he said he had recently stopped.

    “Y’all need to slow down dude,” the officer is heard telling Carter, who didn’t respond.

    “Look I don’t know if y’all need to send out a text or something to other teammates, but slow down,” the officer said, adding, “That was reckless.”

    “When you’re around your teammates, tell them to slow down,” the officer said.

    The officer then tested the tint on Carter’s vehicle – which he said is illegal in the state of Georgia. “The front windshield can’t have nothing on it. No material on it whatsoever, OK?”

    “Your break is you’re not going to jail. That’s your break. Because that would make all kinds of news, alright?” the officer is heard telling Carter in the footage.

    The player smiled nervously. “You’re getting a ticket for speeding,” the officer said.

    The officer added, “Slow down OK. That’s all I ask.”

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  • Two men sentenced to probation after bringing guns to 2020 vote count site in Philadelphia | CNN Politics

    Two men sentenced to probation after bringing guns to 2020 vote count site in Philadelphia | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    Two men were sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation after being convicted of bringing guns to a Philadelphia vote counting center while 2020 presidential votes were being tallied.

    Antonio LaMotta, 63, and Joshua Macias, 44, both of Virginia, were found guilty in October of two counts each of Violations of the Uniform Firearms Act. The two approached the Pennsylvania Convention Center on November 5, 2020, with firearms while election workers inside were counting votes for the 2020 presidential election, according to evidence at trial. LaMotta and Macias were also sentenced to prison time that had been served prior to sentencing.

    Court of Common Pleas Judge Lucretia Clemons emphasized to LaMotta and Macias during the sentencing that while on their probation they are not allowed to possess any guns – even though they live in a different state.

    “That means I do not want to see you on social media with a gun. I don’t want to see you in a car with a gun. There are no guns while you are on my supervision. I do that with every single gun case that comes before me,” Clemons said.

    Macias apologized to the judge, saying, “I will make sure this type of situation will never happen again.”

    LaMotta did not address the court, but his lawyer Lauren Wimmer suggested to the judge that her client was being targeted for his political views – an allegation prosecutors vehemently denied.

    Following their conviction in October 2022, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement that LaMotta and Macias’ actions would serve as a lesson.

    “Let this be a lesson not to illegally bring firearms to Philly’s elections. If you commit a crime while seeking to undermine people’s right to vote, and to have their votes appropriately counted, you will be held accountable,” Krasner said.

    LaMotta has also been charged with four misdemeanor counts for his alleged participation in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. He has pleaded not guilty.

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  • Social media hunting stars and their company ordered to pay more than $100,000 and probation for illegal hunts | CNN

    Social media hunting stars and their company ordered to pay more than $100,000 and probation for illegal hunts | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Josh and Sarah Bowmar, a couple with a strong following on social media for their hunting videos, were sentenced Tuesday as part of a plea agreement for breaking hunting regulations during some of the events they posted online.

    The couple – along with their company, Bowmar Bowhunting – were placed on three years probation and ordered to pay more than $130,000 in fines, restitution and forfeiture.

    The terms of their probation include that the couple “shall not hunt or otherwise engage in any activities associated with hunting, limited to within the District of Nebraska,” according to court documents.

    The Bowmars were accused of conspiring with a hunt guiding and outfitting company in Nebraska to illegally hunt deer using bait traps. Under Nebraska law, it is illegal to set food to attract animals to a hunting site. Prosecutors also alleged Sarah Bowmar killed a wild turkey without a valid permit.

    It is a violation of the federal Lacey Act to break hunting laws in one state and take the illegally obtained game to another state, and federal prosecutors alleged the Bowmars took the deer and turkey they illegally killed in Nebraska out of state.

    The Bowmars and their company entered guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy and the government dropped four other counts.

    The couple received no jail time.

    In a statement sent to CNN, Josh and Sarah Bowmar said that they felt that the prosecutors’ decision to drop the baiting and poaching charges was “fair and true to what happened with that outfitter 9 years ago.”

    “We did plead guilty to conspiracy, which means we should have known better about hunting at that outfitter and should have paid more attention to what was going on behind closed doors—but we did not, and for that, we take complete responsibility,” their statement said.

    “We’ve learned some very valuable lessons from this experience and our mistakes and we look forward to doing our best to leave a positive footprint on the hunting community and involving our children in the boundless joys of the great outdoors.”

    The Bowmar Bowhunting YouTube channel has more than 300,000 subscribers and its page has more than 340,000 followers on Instagram.

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  • US rolls out tool for Afghans in US to reunify with family members | CNN Politics

    US rolls out tool for Afghans in US to reunify with family members | CNN Politics


    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    The US State Department rolled out a tool for Afghans in the US under parolee status to begin the process of reunifying with their family members on Thursday, a State Department spokesperson told CNN.

    During the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 many Afghans fled the country on evacuation flights, fearful of the Taliban takeover. Due to the chaotic rush out of the country, which proved deadly for many Afghans, many families were separated from their loved ones.

    With this new form tens of thousands of Afghans who came to the US around that time are eligible to apply for reunification with their immediate relatives. This specifically includes an Afghan’s spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21, according to the State Department.

    “In November, the Department of State announced the launch of a new resource for individuals in the United States who are seeking to reunify with their family members, depending on their immigration status or method of entry to the United States. Today, we launch Form DS-4317 for parolees to file to seek family reunification, including those subsequently granted temporary protected status,” the department spokesperson said.

    The new form has been posted by the State Department.

    Until now these Afghans in the US did not have a legal way to bring their family members into the country to join them.

    “The purpose of these reunification resources, including the parolee form is to help those families that are still separated,” the spokesperson said.

    The announcement was welcomed by an organization that supports Afghans settling in the US.

    “This impacts every Afghan the US brought here under parole status who still has family in Afghanistan eligible for reunification. Afghans who fit that description should complete the form now and Afghans in other categories should visit the family reunification landing page and follow the instructions there,” said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and founder of #AfghanEvac.

    “It took longer to get this done than anyone would have liked, but #AfghanEvac is proud to have worked tirelessly with the State Department to bridge the gap in the interim through our grassroots efforts,” VanDiver added.

    It is unclear how long it will take for family reunifications to happen once the Afghans fill out these forms, but VanDiver told CNN that it is proof that interagency efforts can come to fruition.

    One primary concern going ahead is the departure flights from Afghanistan that enable relocation to begin. While those flights have resumed this month – after being halted during the World Cup last year in Qatar – there are concerns among those involved in the effort that the flights could be halted by the Taliban in the future.

    This story has been updated with additional details.

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  • Biden announces new migration programs as he prepares to visit the border on Sunday | CNN Politics

    Biden announces new migration programs as he prepares to visit the border on Sunday | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    President Joe Biden on Thursday announced he is expanding a program to accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela – along with a plan to expel as many migrants from those countries who circumvent US laws – as his administration confronts a surge of migrants at the southern border.

    In a speech from the White House, Biden also unveiled plans to visit the US southern border on Sunday, stopping in El Paso, Texas, to meet local officials and address border security issues. It will be his first stop at the border as president.

    Biden renewed calls on Congress to pass new immigration laws, arguing his powers to address a growing crisis are limited. He said the politics around border policy and migration often cloud discussions around how to handle migration and crossings at the border.

    “It’s important to step back and see the bigger picture,” Biden said, citing the migrants’ desire to seek their own version of the American dream.

    The announcements and border visit amount to a surge in presidential attention on an issue that’s increasingly become a political liability for Biden. He has been relentlessly criticized by Republicans and even some border-district Democrats for failing to address record levels of border crossings.

    “If the most extreme Republicans continue to demagogue this issue, and reject solutions, I’m left with only one choice … do as much as I can on my own to try to change the atmosphere,” he said.

    He said the process he unveiled “is orderly, it’s safe and humane, and it works,” Biden said.

    Immigrant advocates, though, immediately denounced the plans, arguing that it risks leaving more migrants in harm’s way in Mexico and is likely to exclude people with no connections to the US.

    “Opening up new limited pathways for a small percentage of people does not obscure the fact that the Biden administration is illegally and immorally gutting access to humanitarian protections for the majority of people who have already fled their country seeking freedom and safety,” International Refugee Assistance Project Policy Director Sunil Varghese said in a statement.

    The president acknowledged in his remarks the steps he was taking were not enough to remedy the problem but framed them as an effort to use his executive powers to manage the swelling crisis.

    “These actions alone that I’m going to announce today aren’t going to fix our entire immigration system, but they can help us a good deal in better managing what is a difficult challenge,” he said.

    The announcements come ahead of Biden’s first visit as president to Mexico, where he will discuss migration issues with the country’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Biden administration is leaning on Mexico and other countries in the Western Hemisphere to provide temporary protections to migrants who have fled their home countries.

    “We should all recognize that as long as America is the land of freedom and opportunity, people are going to try to come here,” Biden said in his remarks. “And that’s what many of our ancestors did. And it’s no surprise that it’s happening again today. We can’t stop people from making the journey, but we can require them to come here in an orderly way.”

    Administration officials have repeatedly stressed unprecedented migration across the Western Hemisphere as deteriorating conditions were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, prompting thousands of people to move north.

    In Texas on Sunday, Biden will arrive at the epicenter of the issue. El Paso began seeing record levels of migrant arrivals beginning a few weeks ago, when anxiety about the scheduled end of the Trump-era pandemic public health rule known as Title 42 prompted thousands of migrants to turn themselves in to border authorities or to cross into the United States illegally in a very short period of time.

    Title 42 allows immigration authorities to swiftly return some migrants to Mexico. The policy was scheduled to lift last month, but a Supreme Court ruling kept the rule in place while legal challenges play out in court.

    Biden said he wanted to wait until he knew an outcome in the Title 42 legal machinations before traveling to the border, but accused Republicans calling for him to travel there of playing political games.

    “They haven’t been serious about this at all,” he said.

    Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, said in a tweet she’s “excited” to welcome Biden to the city. While she didn’t place a big emphasis on Biden visiting the border, she made clear she welcomed it in recent weeks and urged the federal government to provide assistance to the city.

    The announcements Biden made Thursday reflect the administration’s effort to prepare for the end of Title 42, along with putting in place programs to manage the surge of migrants that have coincided with the anticipated end of the rule.

    The administration will now accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela under a humanitarian parole program geared toward those nationalities. Those who do not come to the US under that program may be expelled to Mexico under Title 42.

    Officials said they would return 30,000 migrants per month who circumvent the legal processes to Mexico.

    Migrants from those countries who wish to come to the United States must apply from their home countries first – including through a phone app – before traveling to the US. They must have a US sponsor, and, if they are approved, can travel by plane.

    Administration officials previously touted the parole program for Venezuela following its rollout late last year, attributing a drop in border crossings of Venezuelans to the policy. For months, officials have been considering expanding the program to other nationalities to try to manage the flow of migration to the US southern border, culminating in Thursday’s announcement.

    The Department of Homeland Security also announced it will propose a new rule placing additional restrictions on migrants seeking asylum in the United States. If approved, the new rule will target asylum seekers who unlawfully entered the US and failed to seek protection in a country through which they traveled on their way to the US.

    Those asylum seekers will be subject to a “rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility,” except in certain circumstances, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said during a press conference.

    Officials said the announcements are meant to send a message to migrants that they should apply for entry to the United States before leaving their home countries, and that circumventing the process will result in expulsion.

    “My message is this: If you’re trying to leave Cuba, Nicaragua or Haiti, have agreed to begin a journey to America, do not – do not – just show up at the border,” Biden said. “Stay where you are and apply legally. Starting today, if you don’t apply through the legal process, you will not be eligible for this new parole program.”

    In addition, Biden announced new humanitarian assistance to Mexico and Central America.

    This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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  • Elizabeth Holmes scheduled to be sentenced on Friday | CNN Business

    Elizabeth Holmes scheduled to be sentenced on Friday | CNN Business



    CNN
     — 

    Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of failed blood testing startup Theranos who was convicted of fraud earlier this year, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday morning by a judge in court in San Jose, California.

    Holmes, who was found guilty in January on four charges of defrauding investors, faces up to 20 years in prison as well as a fine of $250,000 plus restitution for each count.

    Lawyers for the government asked for a 15-year prison term, as well as probation and restitution, while Holmes’ probation officer pushed for a nine-year term. Holmes’ defense team asked Judge Edward Davila, who is presiding over her case, to sentence her to up to 18 months of incarceration followed by probation and community service.

    More than 100 people wrote letters in support of Holmes to Davila, asking for leniency in her sentencing. The list includes Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans, many members of Holmes’ and Evans’ families, early Theranos investor Tim Draper, and Sen. Cory Booker. Booker described meeting her at a dinner years before she was charged and bonding over the fact that they were both vegans with nothing to eat but a bag of almonds, which they shared.

    “I still believe that she holds onto the hope that she can make contributions to the lives of others, and that she can, despite mistakes, make the world a better place,” Booker wrote, noting that he continues to consider her a friend.

    Friday’s sentencing hearing caps off Holmes’ stunning downfall. Once hailed as a tech industry icon for her company’s promises to test for a range of conditions with just a few drops of blood, she is now the rare tech founder to be convicted and face prison time for her company’s missteps.

    Holmes, now 38, started Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19 and soon thereafter dropped out of Stanford University to pursue the company full-time. After a decade under the radar, Holmes began courting the press with claims that Theranos had invented technology that could accurately and reliably test for a range of conditions using just a few drops of blood taken from a finger prick.

    Theranos raised $945 million from an impressive list of investors, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Walmart’s Walton family and the billionaire family of former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. At its peak, Theranos was valued at $9 billion, making Holmes a billionaire on paper. She was lauded on magazine covers, frequently wearing a signature black turtleneck that invited comparisons to late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. (She has not worn that look in the courtroom.)

    The company began to unravel after a Wall Street Journal investigation in 2015 found the company had only ever performed roughly a dozen of the hundreds of tests it offered using its proprietary blood testing device, and with questionable accuracy. Instead, Theranos was relying on third-party manufactured devices from traditional blood testing companies.

    In 2016, Theranos voided two years of blood test results. In 2018, Holmes and Theranos settled “massive fraud” charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but did not admit to or deny any of the allegations as part of the deal. Theranos dissolved soon after.

    In her trial, Holmes alleged she was in the midst of a decade-long abusive relationship with her then-boyfriend and Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani while running the company. Balwani, she alleged, tried to control nearly every aspect of her life, including disciplining her eating, her voice and her image, and isolating her from others. (Balwani’s attorneys denied her claims.)

    In July, Balwani was found guilty on all 12 charges in a separate trial and faces the same potential maximum prison time as her. Balwani is scheduled to be sentenced on December 7.

    “The effects of Holmes and Balwani’s fraudulent conduct were far-reaching and severe,” federal prosecutors wrote in a November court filing regarding Holmes’ sentencing. “Dozens of investors lost over $700 million and numerous patients received unreliable or wholly inaccurate medical information from Theranos’ flawed tests, placing those patients’ health at serious risk.”

    Holmes’ sentencing, however, could be complicated by developments in her life after stepping down from Theranos. Holmes and her partner, Evans, who met in 2017, have a young son. Holmes is also pregnant, as confirmed by recent court filings and her most recent court appearance in mid October.

    Mark MacDougall, a white-collar defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, told CNN Business that the fact that Holmes has a young child could impact how she is sentenced.

    “I don’t know how it can’t, just because judges are human,” he said.

    MacDougall also said he doesn’t see what a long prison sentence accomplishes. “Elizabeth Holmes is never going to run a big company again,” he said. “She’s never going to be in a position to have something like this happen again.”

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  • The Iowa teen who killed her alleged rapist and escaped from a residential corrections facility is back in custody | CNN

    The Iowa teen who killed her alleged rapist and escaped from a residential corrections facility is back in custody | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Pieper Lewis, the Iowa teen and sex trafficking victim who killed a man she said raped her multiple times, is back in custody following her escape from the residential corrections facility where she was serving probation, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

    Lewis, 18, was arrested just days after she walked away from the Des Moines women’s center where she’d been sent as part of a deferred judgment she received after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury in the 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks. Lewis was 15 at the time.

    Lewis was found in Des Moines and taken back into custody Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Corrections said in a statement. The teenager is being held at the Polk County Jail, said Lt. Ryan Evans of the sheriff’s office, who told CNN she was expected to have a future court date for violating her probation.

    Lewis went missing early Friday, November 4, when she cut off an electronic monitoring device and left the Fresh Start Women’s Center, Jerry Evans, the executive director of the Fifth Judicial District Department of Corrections, previously told CNN.

    When she left, authorities filed a “probation violation report,” Evans told CNN, “recommending revocation of her probation” and requesting a warrant for her arrest.

    The probation violation report said an alarm sounded at the facility at 6:19 a.m., notifying staff a door had been opened. A residential officer then saw Lewis exiting the facility through a door, according to the report obtained by CNN.

    The report, which was signed by a probation officer and a residential supervisor, goes on to request the warrant for Lewis’ arrest, adding, “It is further ordered that her deferred judgments (be) revoked and original sentence imposed.”

    Lewis became a resident at the Fresh Start Women’s Center after pleading guilty in Brooks’ killing, saying in her plea agreement he raped her multiple times.

    She originally faced up to 20 years in prison. But in September, Polk County District Judge David Porter handed down a deferred judgment, meaning the plea could be expunged if she completed the probationary sentence at the residential correctional facility.

    Under Iowa law, the court additionally had to order Lewis to pay a $150,000 restitution fee to Brooks’ family, the judge said. He also ruled she should serve 200 hours of community service and pay more than $4,000 in civil penalties.

    In the plea agreement, Lewis outlined for the court the series of events that she said led up to the killing, beginning with her running away from home due to what she said was an abusive environment. She was eventually taken in by a man who she said trafficked her, forcing her to have sex with other men in exchange for money. Brooks was one of those men, according to Lewis, who described in her agreement being repeatedly assaulted, including while she was unconscious.

    On May 31, 2020, the man with whom Lewis lived confronted her with a knife and forced her to go to Brooks’ apartment, where Lewis said she was forced to drink vodka and eventually fell asleep. At one point, she woke up to find Brooks was raping her, she said.

    Later, Brooks fell asleep and Lewis, “overcome with rage” at the realization he had raped her again, “immediately grabbed the knife from his nightstand and began stabbing him,” she said in the plea agreement.

    Lewis’ attorney was pleased with the deferred judgment, but advocates for victims of sexual violence voiced concern about her ability to serve the sentence, pointing to the extent of her trauma.

    They also highlighted how her case echoed other recent cases in the US in which teenagers – often people of color – have been legally penalized or convicted of killing their sex trafficker or assaulter.

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  • What to know about Florida’s challenge to the immigration parole policy | CNN Politics

    What to know about Florida’s challenge to the immigration parole policy | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    A federal judge late Thursday night temporarily blocked one of the Biden’s administration’s key tools to try to manage the number of migrants in US Customs and Border Protection custody.

    The ruling came just before Title 42 expired, and administration officials say it will make their job more difficult amid the expected influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border. An appeal is expected.

    Here’s what to know:

    The plan, released Wednesday, allowed the release of migrants from CBP custody without court dates, or, in some cases, releasing them with conditions.

    As number of migrants increases at the border, the Department of Homeland Security said its plan would help release the immense strain on already overcrowded border facilities. As of Wednesday, there were more than 28,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody, stretching capacity.

    The administration previously released migrants without court dates when facing a surge of migrants after they’re screened and vetted by authorities. The plan would have allowed DHS to release migrants on “parole” on a case-by-case basis and require them to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    Florida sued to halt the policy, and District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, agreed to block the plan for two weeks.

    Wetherell, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said the administration’s explanation for why its policy was only unveiled on Wednesday, when the end of Title 42 was anticipated for months, was lacking. He also said the Biden administration simply failed to prepare.

    “Putting aside the fact that even President Biden recently acknowledged that the border has been in chaos for ‘a number of years,’ Defendants’ doomsday rhetoric rings hollow because … this problem is largely one of Defendants’ own making through the adoption and implementation of policies that have encouraged the so-called ‘irregular migration’ that has become fairly regular over the past 2 years.”

    Wetherell added: “Moreover, the Court fails to see a material difference between what CBP will be doing under the challenged policy and what it claims that it would have to do if the policy was enjoined, because in both instances, aliens are being released into the country on an expedited basis without being placed in removal proceedings and with little to no vetting and no monitoring.”

    Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking on “CNN This Morning,” called the ruling “very harmful” and said the administration is considering its options.

    “The practice that the court has prevented us from using (is) a practice that prior administrations have used to relieve overcrowding,” Mayorkas said. “What we do is we process screen and vet individuals and if we do not hold them, we release them so that they can go into immigration enforcement proceedings, make whatever claim for relief, they might and if they don’t succeed, be removed.”

    Assistant secretary for border and immigration policy Blas Nuñez-Neto said the ruling “will result in unsafe overcrowding at CBP facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, which will risk creating dangerous conditions for Border Patrol agents as well as non-citizens in our custody.”

    Wetherell’s ruling will block the policy for two weeks. A preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled for May 19.

    The Justice Department has requested a stay on the court ruling, according to a Friday filing. The filing addresses two separate rulings in the case, both of which have to do with the release of migrants. If the request is not granted, the Justice Department said it intends to seek emergency relief from the Eleventh Circuit by Monday afternoon.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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  • Legendary computer hacker Kevin Mitnick dies at 59 | CNN Business

    Legendary computer hacker Kevin Mitnick dies at 59 | CNN Business



    CNN
     — 

    Kevin Mitnick, one of the most famous hackers in the history of cybersecurity, died over the weekend at age 59 after a more than year-long battle with pancreatic cancer, his family said in a published obituary.

    Before his death on July 16, Mitnick’s hacking sprees were legendary, and multiple films were inspired by him.

    The first, “WarGames” starring Matthew Broderick, was partially based on allegations that Mitnick successfully hacked the computer systems at North American Aerospace Defense Command as a teenager. He denied ever having done so.

    Mitnick’s restless curiosity caught up with him when he was arrested for stealing $1 million in proprietary software from Digital Equipment Corporation in 1988. Mitnick was sentenced to a year in prison and three years of probation, but a new arrest warrant was issued in 1995 for violating that probation. Mitnick went on the run, breaking into the computer systems of multiple corporations, cell phone companies, and educational institutions, according to the federal indictment against him.

    Through it all, Mitnick and his defenders insisted he was harmless, not actually trying to hurt anyone or pursue financial gain.

    “I was an old-school hacker, doing it for intellectual curiosity,” Mitnick told Wired magazine in a 2008 interview. But federal authorities were so concerned about his capabilities that when he was incarcerated again in 1995, Mitnick told CNN he was held in solitary confinement for a time out of concern that even proximity to a telephone could allow him to continue hacking.

    Mitnick and federal prosecutors agreed to a plea deal in 1999 to seven criminal counts, including wire fraud and causing damage to computers. The deal included a 46-month prison sentence and a ban on being “employed in any capacity wherein he has access to computers or computer-related equipment or software” during a period of probation, but he was released in 2000 due to credit for time already served.

    Mitnick published a memoir on his hacking career, “Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker,” in 2011.

    Following his prison term, Mitnick became a white-hat hacker, using his expertise to legally help businesses track people trying to break into their systems. For the past decade, he was the chief hacking officer and partial owner of the tech security firm KnowBe4, founded by his close friend and business partner, Stu Sjouwerman.

    “I made some really stupid mistakes in the past as a younger man that I regret,” Mitnick told CNN in a 2005 interview. “I’m lucky that I’ve been given a second chance and that I could use these skills to help the community.”

    “Kevin was a dear friend to me and many of us here at KnowBe4,” Sjouwerman said in a statement. “He is truly a luminary in the development of the cybersecurity industry, but mostly, Kevin was just a wonderful human being and he will be dearly missed.”

    A memorial for Mitnick is scheduled for August 1 in Las Vegas, his company said. He is survived by his wife Kimberley, who is pregnant with their first child, the family said.

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