A NICE HIDEAWAY
4th resident of retirement haven charged with voter fraud
THE VILLAGES, Fla. – A fourth resident of a massive Florida retirement community has been arrested on a charge of voter fraud.
Charles Barnes, 64, was arrested Tuesday and charged with voter fraud for casting more than one ballot, according to an arrest affidavit filed in court.
The arrest affidavit doesn’t detail the basis for the charge. Barnes entered a not guilty plea on Thursday.
Online voting records showed Barnes wasn’t affiliated with any political party and that he first registered to vote in Sumter County in 2019.
Barnes’ arrest was the fourth for voter fraud in the past two months of residents of The Villages retirement community in a county that is a Republican stronghold in Florida.
Maxwell trial juror retains lawyer with verdict in jeopardy
NEW YORK – A juror at the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell who told reporters he was sexually abused as a child has retained a lawyer, the trial judge said Thursday.
The unidentified juror’s public interviews led defense lawyers in the case to say they will request a new trial. U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan asked them to do so by Jan. 19.
In an order Thursday, Nathan said the juror’s retained lawyer, Todd Spodek, had informed her that the juror did not want the court to appoint a lawyer for him as she had offered.
The revelations by the juror in interviews published by The Independent and the Daily Mail on Tuesday and Wednesday threatened to upend the guilty verdicts returned against Maxwell last week on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, among others.
3 other cops in George Floyd death to stand trial this month
MINNEAPOLIS – Three former Minneapolis police officers charged with federal civil rights violations in George Floyd’s death will go on trial Jan. 20.
The trial date was given Thursday in a docket filing, with proceedings to be held in St. Paul. Court records in November showed that juror summonses had gone out for that date, but the new filing was the first official confirmation of it.
Tou Thao, J. Kueng and Thomas Lane will stand trial about nine months after Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.
His killing was captured on video by a bystander and galvanized protests against police brutality around the U.S. and beyond.
Thao, Kueng and Lane will stand trial this spring on separate state charges of aiding and abetting in Floyd’s death, but the federal trial will come first.
Cuomo due in court virtually after DA drops fondling case
ALBANY, N.Y. – Andrew Cuomo will be required to appear virtually for a court session Friday as a judge considers a prosecutor’s request to dismiss a fondling case against the former New York governor.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares asked Judge Holly Trexler on Tuesday to dismiss the misdemeanor complaint, just three days before Cuomo’s scheduled arraignment. Trexler notified prosecution and defense lawyers Thursday that they will be required to appear virtually, along with Cuomo.
Soares said he would not be able to prove former Cuomo aide Brittany Commisso’s allegation that the then-governor groped her in the executive mansion.
US imposes sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Wednesday announced sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, accusing him of “corrupt activities” that threaten to destabilize the region and undermine a U.s.-brokered peace accord from more than 25 years ago.
The Treasury Department also alleged that Dodik has used his leadership position to accumulate wealth through graft and bribery.
The U.S. also sanctioned a media outlet, Alternativna Televizija d.o.o. Banja Luka, that it said was owned by a company linked to Dodik’s family. The administration says Dodik acquired the organization to advance his own agenda and exerts behind-the-scenes control over its content, including by mandating approval of politically sensitive stories.
The practical impact of the Biden administration’s actions is that any property or interest belonging to Dodik in the United States is now blocked.
Texas toddler gets gun in car, shoots mother, sibling
GRANBURY, Texas – A handgun went off in the hands of a toddler in a Texas Walmart parking lot Wednesday, wounding the child’s mother in the arm and side and young sibling in the leg, police said.
The shooting happened in Granbury, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Police said the gun discharged once when the 2-year-old took it from between a seat and the center console while in the car with a 1-year-old sibling and with their 23-year-old mother standing outside near the driver’s side door. The children’s 26-year-old father was standing near the vehicle’s rear, police said.
The mother and 1-year-old were taken to Fort Worth hospitals, but neither was wounded severely, said police Lt. Russell Grizzard.
Snow surrounds a bothy, or hut, in Glenshee, Scotland on Thursday.