Source: WCVB-TV

BOSTON —
Federal authorities are charging a Massachusetts District Court judge and a trial court officer with obstruction of justice and other crimes, according to an indictment obtained by 5 Investigates.

Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and Wesley MacGregor, the trial court officer, are accused of conspiring to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from taking an immigrant into custody at Newton District Court on April 2, 2018.

The immigrant, who had been deported twice before, was arrested four days earlier for narcotics possession and being a fugitive from justice in Pennsylvania. When his fingerprints were taken, ICE became aware of the arrest.

ICE issued an order for a federal immigration detainer and sent an officer to the courthouse.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wcvb.com/amp/article/massachusetts-judge-trial-court-officer-to-face-federal-charges-on-suspicion-of-helping-immigrant-evade-ice-officer/27271791

The former police officer who arrested Beto O’Rourke for driving drunk in 1998, along with the sergeant who signed the incident report, both say they believe now what they reported at the time: that O’Rourke tried to leave the scene of the wreck he caused.

O’Rourke admits he was intoxicated and says there is no justification for his actions, but he has denied that he tried to flee.

"Beto's DWI is something he has long publicly and openly addressed over the last 20 years at town halls, on the debate stage, during interviews and in Op-Eds, calling it a serious mistake for which there is no excuse," said O'Rourke spokesman Chris Evans. "This has been widely and repeatedly reported on."

Neither the investigating officer, Richard Carrera, nor his former supervisor, Gary Hargrove, specifically recalls the events of that night more than 20 years ago. But both of the former Anthony Police Department officers told The Texas Tribune they have no doubt the report they compiled and signed is accurate.

More https://www.texastribune.org/2019/04/24/beto-orourke-tried-flee-scene-1998-dwi-crash-officers-say/

Hours after a nonprofit group bailed a Missouri man out of jail, he beat his wife so severely that she died five days later, police said, according to KMOV.

Samuel Lee Scott, 54, is accused of killing Marcia Johnson, 54, on April 9, KMOV reported. She died on April 14 — and two days later, Scott, of St. Louis, was charged with first-degree murder in connection to his wife’s death.

Prior to the murder charge, Scott had been booked into jail on April 5 on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge after he was accused of hitting his wife on “the right side of her face with his fist” in January, KTVI reported.

“While he was in jail, (his) wife got a restraining order against him which prohibited him from getting within 300 feet of her,” KSDK reported. “But one day later, his $5,000 bail was posted by The Bail Project and he went to her home ... around 7:45 p.m. At around 11 p.m., a friend of his wife brought her to the hospital after finding her bleeding from her head.”

More: https://amp.kansas.com/news/nation-world/national/article229408779.html?__twitter_impression=true

Source: LA Times

When Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat wired $2.75 million to Michael Avenatti in January 2017, the pro basketball player intended most of the money to go to his former girlfriend, Alexis Gardner.

Avenatti was Gardner’s attorney. An actress and barista, she’d hired him just a few weeks before to negotiate a settlement of a potential lawsuit against Whiteside. It’s unclear what she would have alleged. Avenatti quickly struck a $3 million deal, and the $2.75 million was Whiteside’s first payment.

Avenatti, prosecutors say, was entitled to take just over $1 million in legal fees, leaving the rest for Gardner.

Instead, they allege, Avenatti hid Whiteside’s payment from her and immediately took $2.5 million to buy a share of a private jet.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-avenatti-hassan-whiteside-embezzlement-20190421-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

Source: CNN

(CNN) Former Peruvian president Alan Garcia died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head as police were preparing to arrest him on corruption charges Wednesday.

His death was confirmed by current President Martin Vizcarra, who expressed his condolences over Twitter.

"Devastated by the death of former President Alan Garcia, I send my condolences to his family and loved ones," Vizcarra wrote.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/04/17/americas/alan-garcia-peru-shoots-himself-intl/index.html

Source: Washington Post

Airbnb is rescinding its plan to bar listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The home-sharing company announced in November that it would remove approximately 200 listings in Israeli settlements, which are in a territory disputed by Palestinians. Airbnb said it will now allow those properties to be listed, but will donate any of its profits from the West Bank to humanitarian aid organizations.

The company said it will also apply the same approach in other disputed territories in the world, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

“We have always sought to bring people together and will continue to work with our community to achieve this goal,” Airbnb said.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/business/airbnb-reverses-will-allow-listings-in-israeli-settlements/2019/04/09/eff216a4-5b0d-11e9-98d4-844088d135f2_story.html

As former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel steeled himself for his court battle to try to return to one of the most powerful offices in South Florida, he went to a place he's always relied on for political support: a black church.

This time it was Ark Restoration Church in Sunrise, where Pastor Allen B. Jackson invited Israel and his wife Susan up on the pulpit during the Sunday sermon on March 17. Jackson posted a photograph on Facebook later that day, showing Broward's former first couple with him during the sermon, with the ousted sheriff looking rather grim in the background.

"We are praying for his return to office," Jackson wrote. "My friend, my brother and my Sheriff!"

Broward Circuit Judge David Haimes could decide as soon as today whether a lawsuit Israel filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to be reinstated as sheriff can go forward. Desantis removed Israel from office in January for incompetence and neglect of duty related to BSO's disastrous response to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. If the lawsuit fails, Israel is still entitled to a hearing in the Florida Senate. Regardless of the outcome, Israel has said he plans to run again for sheriff in 2020.

More: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.browardpalmbeach.com/amp/news/scott-israels-financial-link-to-black-churches-and-pastor-allen-b-jackson-10240042

Pete Buttigieg may be a rising star in the 2020 Democratic field, but his strong pro-Israel views may put him at odds with the increasingly pro-Palestinian left flank in his own party.

The 37-year-old openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has in the past described Israel as a model for the US in how to deal with security threats. He’s blamed most of the suffering in Gaza on Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist political organization and militant group that has run the territory since 2007. And he’s strongly rejected condemnations of Israel — and US support for it — made by progressive lawmakers.

That’s not to say he’s completely ignored the plight of Palestinians — he hasn’t. During a March campaign stop in Iowa, Buttigieg said he wants America to help make “a world where Israelis and Palestinians are able to live in peace side by side.” Overall, though, Buttigieg has shown a willingness to back Israel.

That puts him in stark contrast with the more progressive wing of his own party. Poll after poll has shown that liberal Democratic primary voters are less sympathetic to Israel than they were in years past. It also shows he disagrees with some first-term Representatives, particularly Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

more: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2019/4/3/18293545/pete-buttigieg-democrats-president-israel-omar-palestine?__twitter_impression=true