In the news
■ Julia Barnhill Letlow, widow of Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died from complications related to covid-19 before he could take office, declared that she will run to fill the Louisiana congressional vacancy left by her husband’s death.
■ Greta Thunberg, 18, the environmental activist who has pushed for lawmakers to stick to the 2015 Paris climate deal, will be featured on a postage stamp issued by her native Sweden that will be part of a series focusing on the environment.
■ Tony DeDolph, a chief petty officer and member of the U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6, pleaded guilty in a Norfolk, Va., military courtroom to involuntary manslaughter for his role in the 2017 hazing death of a U.S. Army Green Beret while the men were stationed in Africa.
■ Spencer Brooks, 28, of Warner Robins, Ga., released on parole in December after serving part of a 15-year sentence for battery and other counts, was charged with arson in an early morning house fire that left his 57-year-old mother dead, investigators said.
■ Kirbyjon Caldwell, 67, pastor of a Houston megachurch, a former spiritual adviser to two U.S. presidents and who pleaded guilty to bilking investors out of millions of dollars, was sentenced to six years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
■ Bernd Lembcke, manager of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, was sent a letter by Palm Beach County, Fla., officials warning of future fines after the club failed to enforce a local mask ordinance at its New Year’s Eve bash, which featured 500 guests and live music.
■ Sylvia Brown, 60, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting of her sister at their home in St. Louis County, Mo., because she didn’t want her sibling to find out about her debts, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, authorities said.
■ Joseph Weaver, 40, a New Mexico wildlife officer accused of using a knife to decapitate a 9-week-old gray kitten at his home in Bloomfield, was arrested on a fourth-degree felony charge of extreme cruelty to animals, police said.
■ Flaviane Carvalho, a waitress at an Orlando, Fla., restaurant who noticed bruises on an 11-year-old boy, is being praised for her quick thinking by flashing him a handwritten note asking if he needed help, and when he nodded yes, calling police, who later arrested his parents on abuse and neglect charges.