NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Trump aide: A Maryland woman faces a misdemeanor charge that she assaulted White House counselor Kellyanne Conway during a confrontation last fall at a restaurant in a suburb of Washington. Mary Elizabeth Inabinett, 63, was charged with second-degree assault and has a trial set for March 29. Conway told police she was attending a birthday party Oct. 14 in Bethesda when she felt somebody grab her shoulders from behind and shake her, according to a charging document prepared by police. The woman who confronted Conway yelled “comments believed to be about Conway’s political views,” the document says. Inabinett’s attorney, William Alden McDaniel, Jr., said his client exercised her First Amendment right, did not assault Conway and will plead not guilty.
_2 Clinic rape: Arizona is contesting a long-term care facility’s decision to shut down the Phoenix unit where an incapacitated woman was raped and later gave birth. State regulators in a letter Friday say Hacienda HealthCare’s contract does not allow it to close its intermediate care facility without written consent from the state. The facility has been in turmoil since a 29-year-old patient gave birth on Dec. 29. A nurse who cared for the woman has been charged with raping her. Nathan Sutherland, 36, has pleaded not guilty. Hacienda has struggled to meet the state’s request to hire a third-party management team to oversee daily operations.
_3 Escapee captured: Federal authorities in Las Vegas have arrested a convicted killer who escaped from a Nebraska workrelease correctional center almost two weeks ago. Prison officials say Anthony Gafford, 40, left the center in Lincoln on Jan. 26 and never returned. Deputy U.S. Marshal William Iverson said Friday that marshals took Gafford into custody without incident Thursday night. In 1997, at age 19, Gafford was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in the killing in Omaha.
_4 Topless ruling: New Hampshire’s Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of three women who were arrested for going topless on a beach. In the 3-2 ruling, the court found Laconia’s ordinance does not discriminate on the basis of gender or violate the women’s right to free speech. The dissenting opinion argued the ordinance was unconstitutional because it treats men and women differently. Heidi Lilley, Kia Sinclair and Ginger Pierro are part of the Free the Nipple campaign — a group advocating for the rights of women to go topless.
_5 Meth seizure: Australian police arrested six people after what authorities said Friday was the largest single seizure of methamphetamine in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said 3,800 pounds of the drug were seized last month at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex. The drugs were hidden in metal boxes labeled as loudspeakers. Six people arrested in Australia on Thursday and Friday were tied to a U.S.-based syndicate under investigation over the drugs. Two of those arrested are Americans.