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Felony convictions vacated for 4 Navy officers in sprawling ‘Fat Leonard’ bribery scandal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The felony convictions of four Navy officers in one of the worst bribery cases in the maritime branch’s history were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday, the latest misstep in the government’s yearslong efforts in going after dozens of military officials tied to a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct “outrageous” and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each. The surprising turn of events occurred at a sentencing hearing in federal court in San Diego for the former officers.Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko, who was brought on after the officers were tried last year, admitted to “serious issues” with prosecutorial misconduct and asked the judge to vacate the men’s convictions. He said his office does not agree with all of the allegations of misconduct but some were true. “There were pretty obvi...

Nikki Haley’s ‘hard truth’ seems to be working with New Hampshire voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

MERRIMACK, N.H. — Nikki Haley’s repeated insistence she will treat Granite State voters like adults and tell them hard truths seems to be working.When the former U.N. Ambassador spoke in Hollis at the end of July, the small audience which assembled at a local winery to hear her stump speech seemed somewhat taken aback after she pleaded to honesty and told them, while pointing to trillions in unaccounted COVID-19 relief funds and the passage of 7,000 budgetary earmarks as examples, that Republicans were as responsible as their political counterparts when it comes to the nation’s massive debt.On Wednesday, when she told a much larger midday crowd gathered at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Merrimack that, regardless of how staunch their belief on the issue might be, no Republican president would ever gather enough support in the U.S. Senate to see — let alone sign — a nationwide abortion ban, instead of shock she received nods of agreement and applause.“I’m going to tell yo...

Editorial: William King for Boston City Council

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

Boston City Council President Ed Flynn said it best: ” the people of Boston deserve the highest standard of strong and ethical leadership.” That should go without saying, and yet the recent actions of councilors warranted such a statement.Perhaps no other city council race exemplifies this more than that of the District 6 seat, currently held by Kendra Lara.Councilor Lara made headlines this summer, for the wrong reasons. She crashed her car into a house on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain.Anyone can get in an accident, but not everyone gets behind the wheel of an unregistered car, without a valid license and reportedly speeds through a residential neighborhood with their son in the back seat.These are not just “concerns,” they are red flags.A week after the crash, which injured her son and caused damage to the home in JP, Lara issued a mea sorta culpa: “As an elected official, I’ve worked hard to center the dignity and humanity of my constituents. ...

Google reaches tentative settlement with all 50 states over alleged app store monopoly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

By FRANK BAJAK (AP Technology Writer)All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant’s alleged monopolistic control of app distribution for the software that runs most of the world’s cellphones.The agreement, cited in a court filing reached Tuesday, is subject to approval by the attorneys general and board of directors of Google’s parent company, execution of an agreement and court approval.Terms of the temporary pact bar the parties from disclosing its details for now, according to the Utah attorney general’s office, a lead plaintiff in the bipartisan. “No company is too big to play by the rules, including Google. We brought this lawsuit because it is illegal to use monopoly power to drive up prices,” New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, said in a statement. The bipartisan group “fought for a fair marketplace that en...

Felony convictions vacated for 4 Navy officers in sprawling 'Fat Leonard' bribery scandal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The felony convictions of four Navy officers in one of the worst bribery cases in the maritime branch's history were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday, the latest misstep in the government's yearslong efforts in going after dozens of military officials tied to a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct “outrageous” and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each. The surprising turn of events occurred at a sentencing hearing in federal court in San Diego for the former officers.Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko, who was brought on after the officers were tried last year, admitted to “serious issues” with prosecutorial misconduct and asked the judge to vacate the men's convictions. He said his office does not agree with all of the allegations of misconduct but some were true. “There were pretty obviously serious issues that affect our ability to go for...

Las Jefas Market coming to Otay Ranch Town Center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An afternoon of live music, food, cultural performances and shopping is coming Otay Ranch Town Center to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month this weekend.From noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, the open-air shopping mall, located at 2015 Birch Rd. in Chula Vista, will be celebrating the occasion with family-friendly fun and a brand new marketplace.The Las Jefas Market, a pop-up market that has gained popularity throughout San Diego County in the last two years, will display with more than 40 different artisans, food vendors and creatives. First-ever Del Mar Wine & Food Festival set to take over parts of San Diego County Businesswoman Rocky Bello, the co-creator of Las Jefas Market, said she and her business partner were having difficulty getting into certain markets in the region, so they decided to start their own. Now, two years after their idea came to fruition, Bellos says "here we are supporting other Latina entrepreneurs and just giving back."On Saturday, visito...

MLB places Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías on administrative leave after domestic violence arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

Editor's note: This article has been edited to clarify Urías' status.Major League Baseball has placed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías on administrative leave after he was arrested Sunday evening on a domestic violence charge, the team announced on Wednesday.Urías, 27, was taken into custody by officers with the Exposition Park Department of Public Safety and booked for an alleged violation of Penal Code 273.5 which involves “corporal injury” to a spouse or domestic partner.Exposition Park is the site of BMO Stadium, where Lionel Messi and Inter Miami played LAFC Sunday evening in a Major League Soccer match that was attended by countless celebrities.The Culiacan, Mexico native posted a $50,000 bond and was released from jail early Monday.His initial court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 27.“The Dodgers take all allegations of the kind in this case very seriously, and we do not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence,” the Dodgers said in a statement announcing...

Pence rails against Trump’s ‘siren song of populism’ as he tries to energize his 2024 campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence cast the 2024 election as a fight for the future of conservatism and his party as he called on fellow Republicans to reject the “siren song of populism” championed by former President Donald Trump and his followers.“Should the new populism of the right seize and guide our party, the Republican Party we’ve long known will cease to exist and the fate of American freedom would be in doubt,” Pence said Wednesday afternoon in what his campaign plugged as a major speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.Pence’s plea comes at a critical time for his campaign, which has been struggling to build momentum since its launch. Four months ahead of Iowa’s kickoff caucuses, Trump remains the race’s undisputed front-runner, while Pence still polls in single digits. Pence, who served four years as Trump’s loyal second-in-command, has tried to paint himself as the most conserva...

A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier that’s used to deter migrants between US and Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas must move a large floating barrier that Gov. Greg Abbott placed on the river between the U.S. and Mexico this summer as part of the Republican’s escalating attempts to stop migrants from crossing America’s southern border, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.U.S. District Judge David Ezra stopped short of ordering Texas to dismantle the wrecking-ball sized buoys on the Rio Grande but called them a threat to safety and relationships between the neighboring countries. His preliminary injunction instructs Texas, for now, to move the barrier out of the water and onto the riverbank by Sept. 15. Ezra also cast doubt on Texas’ rationale for the barrier, writing that the state produced no “credible evidence that the buoy barrier as installed has significantly curtailed illegal immigration.”The lawsuit was brought by the Justice Department in a rare instance of President Joe Biden’s administration going to court to challenge Texas’ border polici...

On emotional bus tours, residents return to West Kelowna, B.C., to view the ashes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:40 GMT

Annick deGooyer knew that her family’s home of more than 20 years had been destroyed by the McDougall Creek wildfire that consumed scores of properties in West Kelowna, B.C., about three weeks ago.But she expected more to remain than the pile of “ashy dust” atop the foundations that she and her firefighter husband Rob Baker viewed last Friday while on a bus tour of the devastated neighbourhood of Trader’s Cove, on the west side of Okanagan Lake.“You would think a whole house, when it burns, it would take up more space,” said deGooyer.The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre has been taking homeowners on the bus trips since last week, allowing residents to see the ruin of their homes firsthand. The tours have been shocking for some, and a counsellor has joined the trips. But homeowners say they have also given communities and neighbours a chance to reconnect and discuss what comes next.Pilot Stephen Fuhr, who is also the former MP for Kelow...