In the news
■ Moritz Schmidt, 39, a software engineer from Greifswald, Germany, who made a fortune trading bitcoin, donated $1.2 million to the country’s Green Party in hopes it will win this year’s national election — and consider banning the mining of digital currency, which consumes a vast amount of energy.
■ Josh Swain, 22, a college student from Tucson, Ariz., said he was surprised by the turnout for an event he organized in Lincoln, Neb., that invited other people named Josh from around the country to compete in a pool-noodle brawl over their common name.
■ Lora Reinbold, a Republican state senator from Eagle River, Alaska, has been banned from Alaska Airlines flights after “her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy,” according to a statement from the carrier.
■ Kyle Byington of Patton, Mo., was charged with first-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse in the death of a woman who had been missing for more than a month before her remains were found in a shallow grave on his property, according to authorities.
■ Alexander Van Hook, an acting U.S. attorney in Louisiana, said 10 St. Mary Parish residents have been charged with fraud, accused of collecting about $6,000 each with faked applications for disaster benefits for car damage after floods in 2016.
■ Prestina Clark-Wilcox, 24, surrendered to police in Nashville, Tenn., after being charged with first-degree murder and other counts in the death of her 3-year-old daughter, which was found to have been caused by acute fentanyl intoxication, according to authorities.
■ Said Djabelkhir, an Algerian professor, was convicted of offending the Muslim religion and sentenced to three years in prison after another professor, joined by a group of lawyers, filed a suit against him over Facebook posts they deemed offensive to Islam.
■ Seth Matthews, 20, a jailer in Grady County, Ga., was charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes and violating his oath of office and was fired from the jail after allegations that he had inappropriate contact with an underage girl on a social media site, according to authorities.
■ Jennifer Johnson, 44, of Fayette, Mo., was charged with second-degree murder, child abuse and child endangerment in the death of an 8-month-old girl she was babysitting after the infant’s parents found the child unresponsive.