Review cites ‘operational failures’ in Jussie Smollett prosecution

A special prosecutor in Chicago said Monday that Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her office repeatedly abused their discretion and made false public statements in the case against actor Jussie Smollett last year, but he concluded they did nothing criminal.

In his findings released Monday after a monthslong investigation, special prosecutor Dan Webb sharply criticized Foxx and her staff for how they decided in March last year to toss charges that accused the former “Empire” actor of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself. Webb also took them to task for how they sought to explain the controversial decision as public outrage grew.

Webb’s statement said his investigation “did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against State’s Attorney Foxx or any individual working at (her office).” But it added, it “did develop evidence that establishes substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures” in how it handled the Smollett matter.

The black, openly gay actor has continued to stand by his claim that two men attacked him early on Jan. 29, 2019, in downtown Chicago, shouting slurs and looping a rope around his neck. He says the attack was real and wasn’t a publicity stunt.

Puerto Rico’s governor loses bid for full term in delayed primary

Gov. Wanda Vázquez of Puerto Rico conceded defeat Sunday night to Pedro R. Pierluisi, a former congressional representative who briefly served as the island’s governor last year.

The results came a week after the primary was delayed because elections officials failed to deliver ballots to a majority of precincts. Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court ruled that another day of voting had to take place and that the ballots cast earlier should be counted.

Vázquez is a Republican and Pierluisi a Democrat, but both belong to the New Progressive Party, which supports statehood for Puerto Rico. Pierluisi will face Mayor Charlie Delgado of Isabela, a town on the island’s northwestern coast, in the November general election.

When it comes to mainland politics, Delgado is not registered as a Democrat or a Republican. Delgado won the nomination for the Popular Democratic Party, which supports Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. commonwealth, after defeating Sen. Eduardo Bhatia and Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of San Juan. Cruz became well known outside of Puerto Rico after she blasted President Donald Trump for his administration’s botched response to Hurricane Maria in 2017.

FBI arrests Puerto Rican lawmaker, her family in corruption probe

FBI agents on Monday arrested Puerto Rico Rep. María Milagros Charbonier after the legislator who once presided over the island’s House Ethics Committee was charged in a public corruption case that officials say also involved her son, husband and an assistant.

U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow said it was a simple scheme in which Charbonier received some $100,000 in bribes and kickbacks after increasing the pay of her assistant, Frances Acevedo, from $800 every two weeks to nearly $3,000, and then received between $1,000 to $1,500 in return for every paycheck.

Charbonier is one of Puerto Rico’s most conservative and religious legislators and once sued in an attempt to ban same-sex marriage on the island. She has served as a representative since her election in 2012 but just lost in Sunday’s primaries. Charbonier also previously served as secretary general for the prostatehood New Progressive Party.

Iran: Fuel tankers seized by US weren’t carrying Iranian oil

The cargo of four tankers seized by the United States last week en route to Venezuela was no longer Iranian property, Iran’s oil minister said Monday, insisting that the U.S. had no right to confiscate the shipment in international waters.

The Trump administration said it seized the cargo of four tankers it was targeting for transporting Iranian fuel to Venezuela. The move was part of stepped-up U.S. campaign of maximum pressure on Iran and Venezuela, both heavily sanctioned allies.

According to the semi-official ISNA news agency, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the oil had been “sold to customers and the payment was received” for it.

“The U.S. claimed it seized Iranian petrol, but even though the cargo was sent from Iran, neither the ships nor the petrol were Iranian,” Zanganeh was quoted as saying.

Priest, another man presumed dead after boat capsized in Detroit River

Authorities searched for a priest and another man who were presumed dead after a boat capsized in the Detroit River north of the city, police said Monday.

The incident occurred Sunday near Grosse Ile, a suburban island between Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Many people were aboard the boat.

It’s “very unusual” for a 39-foot boat to capsize, Grosse Ile police Lt. Kenneth Pelland said.

“It made a quick turn,” he said. “It may have hit a wake, causing it to capsize. One witness has informed us that the boat may have rolled at least once and caused all of the passengers to be ejected.”

The missing were identified as the Rev. Stephen Rooney and the boat’s 52-year-old skipper, Robert Chiles.

Ending a mystery, Spain says ex-king Juan Carlos is in Emirates

Spain’s royal household said Monday that the former king, Juan Carlos, was in the United Arab Emirates, two weeks after he left Spain for an unknown destination amid investigations relating to his personal wealth.

The announcement follows a frantic media search for Juan Carlos, whose decision to abandon Spain had shocked many of his compatriots.

In a brief statement, the royal household said that the former king traveled to the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 3. Reached by phone, a spokesman for the royal household would not confirm Juan Carlos’ exact location nor how long he planned to stay there.