A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina convicted two men for the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.7 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. According to evidence presented during a six-day trial, Izzat […]
Category: National News
Biden urges city leaders to take advantage of billions in federal relief funds
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Monday urged local and city governments to continue to use the $130 billion in funds allocated to them from the American Rescue Plan to help during the pandemic. The president of the National League of Cities, Vince Williams of Union City, Georgia, introduced the president to attendees of […]
Federal correctional officer charged, former prison nurse pleads guilty in bribery and contraband smuggling schemes
A former nurse at Leavenworth Detention Center has pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle contraband into the prison, and a federal grand jury in the District of Kansas has returned an indictment charging a former correctional officer with a similar scheme. According to court documents, Jeane Arnette, 61, of Leavenworth, Kansas, previously worked at […]
Former corrections official indicted for sexually assaulting a dozen female inmates while serving as a nurse
A federal indictment was unsealed in Portland, Oregon, charging a former Oregon Department of Corrections employee with sexually assaulting a dozen female inmates while serving as a nurse at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s only women’s prison. Tony Daniel Klein, 37, of Clackamas County, Oregon, is charged with 21 counts of depriving the victims […]
Pressure ramps up to halt Trump-era policy that expels migrants at the border
(Missouri Independent) – Senate Democrats and immigration advocates are pushing the White House to end a controversial Trump-era immigration policy enacted during the pandemic that allowed U.S. officials to expel migrants and asylum seekers at the border. “I continue to be disappointed, deeply disappointed, in the administration’s response,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York […]
U.S. Senate Republicans attack Biden on energy costs, regulations after new inflation report
(Missouri Independent) – Nebraska’s Deb Fischer and fellow U.S. Senate Republicans slammed President Joe Biden on Thursday for the sharp rise in consumer prices, calling for policy shifts to increase U.S. energy supply, roll back regulations and curb spending. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday the consumer price index rose nearly 8% in February over the […]
Congress reaches deal on massive spending package with billions for COVID aid, Ukraine
(Missouri Independent) – Democrats and Republicans forged an agreement early Wednesday on a spending package that will fund the government for the next eight months, as well as provide billions in emergency funding for COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. The announcement means Congress should be able to avert a government shutdown when a spending […]
National Weather Service releases information on strength of tornados that rolled through Iowa
The National Weather Service office in Des Moines has released information on the strength of tornadoes Saturday that impacted portions of Iowa. The most devastation and loss of life was in the Winterset area southwest of Des Moines. At about 4:30 pm an EF 4 tornado, with speeds up to 170 miles an hour, followed […]
Seven dead, including two children, from tornados that rolled through Iowa on Saturday
Seven deaths, including two children, were reported from tornadoes on Saturday in Iowa. Six of those deaths were in Madison County, which is just southwest of Des Moines. The National Weather Service estimated tornados in the Winterset area of Madison County were an EF-3 based on photos and videos. Video posted on Twitter, which was […]
White House wants $10 billion for Ukraine aid, $22.5 billion for more COVID help
(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration is asking Congress to provide $10 billion in assistance to Ukraine and $22.5 billion in COVID-19 funding on a fast timeline — within the next week. White House acting budget director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to lawmakers that this likely won’t be the last emergency funding request for either […]
Biden OKs release of 30 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden authorized on Tuesday the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an international boost to the global oil supply that has been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The reserve is a complex of four sites with deep underground storage caverns in salt […]
Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price […]
Former doctor sentenced to 20 years in prison for unlawfully distributing opioid pills
A former Delaware doctor was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for unlawful drug distribution and maintaining a drug-involved premises. Patrick Titus, 58, of Milford, was convicted by a federal jury in July 2021 of 13 counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises. “This sentence […]
Video: Biden taps Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as first black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden formally announced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. “President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson, 51, […]
Ten Florida residents indicted for $67 million healthcare fraud, wire fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme
Ten Florida residents were charged in an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged roles in a $67 million health care fraud, wire fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme involving the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary genetic tests and durable medical equipment. Daniel M. Carver, […]
Landowner rights at the center of Iowa’s carbon pipeline debate
Eminent-domain concerns are a focal point as Iowa considers the idea of allowing underground pipelines to transfer carbon dioxide for storage. Summit Carbon Solutions recently filed its initial permit request with state regulators. If approved, the pipeline would run through several states to gather carbon from ethanol plants, eventually storing it underground in North Dakota. As […]
Audio: U.S. Supreme Court to review “Remain in Mexico” policy
The U.S. Supreme Court plans to review in April the Biden Administration’s effort to unwind the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” border policy. The program allows U.S. officials to send non-Mexican migrants to Mexico to await their U.S. immigration court hearings. Lower courts have rejected the president’s attempts to stop the program, forcing the […]
Man Indicted for sexual misconduct and kidnapping woman with developmental disabilities
A federal grand jury in Portland, Oregon, returned an indictment charging an Oregon Department of Human Services employee with kidnapping a woman with significant disabilities in his care, driving her to a secluded location, and engaging with her in sexual misconduct. Zakary Glover, 28, of Lebanon, Oregon, is charged with depriving the victim of her […]
Man sentenced to life in prison for creating child sexual abuse material of 20 victims, ranging in age from infant to nine years old
A man was sentenced to life in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, creating child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of 20 victims whose ages ranged from infancy to nine years old, obtaining custody of a minor for purposes of producing CSAM, and possessing CSAM. Arlan Wesley Harrell, 27, of Hawthorne, California pleaded guilty […]