Aaron Broussard of Hopkins, Minnesota, has been sentenced to life in prison for distributing controlled substances, including fentanyl, which resulted in the deaths of 11 people and caused serious bodily injury to four people. “Let today’s sentencing serve as a wakeup call to the drug traffickers pushing fentanyl in and around our communities,” Drug Enforcement […]
FBI Director Christopher Wray announced in a video message the results of joint violent crime enforcement efforts throughout the summer, recognizing the essential cooperation of local and state law enforcement agencies around the country. Between May 1, and Sept. 2, 2022, the FBI and local and state law enforcement partners arrested nearly 6,000 alleged violent criminals […]
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is now accepting applications for ReConnect Program loans and grants to expand access to high-speed internet for millions of people in rural America nationwide. The Department is making more than $1 billion available, thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program is a […]
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict against Purificacion Cristobal for her participation in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose acting outside the usual course of professional practice. Cristobal was also convicted of two counts of oxycodone […]
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Senate is on track to vote on a bill codifying marriage equality as soon as next week with negotiators increasingly confident it could become law. Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday they’re close to getting at least 10 Republicans to back the same-sex […]
Responding to a letter from U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General announced they will review whistleblower allegations that the Biden Administration failed to properly vet hundreds of Afghan evacuees who have entered the United States, despite appearing on a DoD watchlist that includes known suspected […]
A man from Ohio was sentenced to prison in connection with his execution of a scheme to solicit payments from dozens of individuals in exchange for purported hunting leases he had no rights to sell. According to court documents, throughout 2019, Nathanal L. Knox, 30, of Ohio, operated a scheme where he placed online advertisements […]
Missouri’s schools are back in session, and they are being warned about cyberattacks. The FBI is warning schools nationwide that criminals are targeting the education sector with ransomware attacks. These attacks use technology to encrypt data, and the victim’s computer system is locked until a ransom is paid. Federal law enforcement says a […]
(Missouri Independent) – Amid K-12 teacher shortages, book bans, and attacks over critical race theory, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona at a meeting with reporters on Wednesday stressed the need for higher salaries to attract prospective educators to the profession. Cardona also touted the Biden administration’s recent student debt relief announcement in late August. The White House […]
The Drug Enforcement Administration is advising the public of an alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available across the United States. In August 2022, DEA and our law enforcement partners seized brightly-colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills in 18 states. Dubbed “rainbow fentanyl” in the media, this trend appears to be a new method used […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last week signed off on the approval from the agency’s independent vaccine advisers that recommended an updated coronavirus vaccine booster this fall. The CDC recommended boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for those who are 12 years old and older and from Moderna for those who are 18 […]
The federal government is taking new steps to protect people in Ohio and other states from “forever chemicals.” PFOA and PFOS are two types of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals, which are used in common products such as nonstick coatings, food packaging, and firefighting foam. They linger in the environment and are linked to increased cancers […]
A former deputy warden at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release for violating an inmate’s civil rights in 2016. On May 26, Melvin Hilson, age 50, pleaded guilty in federal court to willfully depriving an inmate of his constitutional right to be […]
A former chaplain with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, James Theodore Highhouse, 50, was sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of California to 84 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for repeatedly sexually abusing an incarcerated female and then lying to federal agents about his misconduct. Deputy Attorney General […]
A former Statesboro, Georgia city councilman was sentenced to 33 months in prison for evading taxes on income from bars he co-owned. According to court documents and statements made in court, William Britt, now of Bluffton, South Carolina, evaded taxes on income from various bars he co-owned near college campuses in Georgia. As part of […]
Jeffery T. Havens, 27, a former Eastern Kentucky Correctional Center officer from West Liberty, Kentucky, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David Bunning, to one count of depriving an inmate of his civil rights. According to his plea agreement, Havens admitted that on July 24, 2018, he and another EKCC correctional officer assaulted an inmate […]
(Missouri Independent) – Thousands of years of Jewish scripture make it clear that access to abortion care is a requirement of Jewish law and practice, according to Rabbi Karen Bogard. “We preserve life at all costs,” she said in an interview with States Newsroom. “But there is a difference between that which is living, and […]
The president and treasurer of a Super PAC were sentenced to 14 months in prison for scheming to lie to the Federal Election Commission about the true identities of donors. The Super PAC, which was also sentenced, was ordered to pay a $150,000 fine and to serve three years of probation. According to the admissions […]
A federal jury convicted a woman and man of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering relating to a scheme that fraudulently raised money from investors across the country. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Reva Joyce Stachniw, 70, of Galesburg, Illinois, and Ron Throgmartin, 58, of Buford, Georgia, ran a […]
The Justice Department announced that former Louisville Metro Police Department Detective Kelly Goodlett, 35, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to commit two federal crimes. Goodlett admitted that she conspired with another former LMPD detective, both to falsify an affidavit to obtain a warrant to search Breonna Taylor’s home without probable cause, which resulted […]
