Author: rpnadmin

Federal prosecutors charged a Chinese man on Wednesday with a bizarre and dastardly plot to try to ruin his former landlord’s immigration status by registering and casting a ballot in his name in Massachusetts, then reporting him to Homeland Security for it. Investigators said Yupeng Sun was seeking revenge on the landlord after being charged with assault and battery on the man’s daughter, and then later evicted from the property. The charges were dropped but authorities said the incidents launched Mr. Sun on a campaign of retaliation that saw him try to get his landlord and wife, Chinese citizens here…

McKINNEY, Texas — The trial judge who presided over the case of Texas teenager convicted of fatally stabbing a 17-year-old athlete at a high school track meet was ordered removed from the case as the defendant seeks a new trial and appeals his conviction. Karmelo Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison after a suburban Dallas jury in June rejected his claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year. Anthony’s legal team argued Wednesday that a retrial was warranted in part because state District Judge John…

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday said the state would not review or process permits on proposed mining projects near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, four months after Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration lifted a federal ban. The cherished wild area stretches for about 150 miles in the Superior National Forest along Minnesota’s border with Canada. Thousands of canoeists, kayakers and campers explore the wilderness each year. “It’s our duty as Minnesotans to ensure the sacred place remains wild, pristine and unharmed,” Walz, a Democrat, said. But Walz’s executive order apparently won’t last long: Under state law, it…

A video of Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena’s lawyer telling reporters “he doesn’t speak English, no comment” has set off a social media storm, overshadowing the federal fraud case that prompted the exchange in the first place. Mr. DePena, 61, was arrested Friday after a federal complaint accused him of fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million in COVID-era Economic Injury Disaster Loans through his Lawrence tire shop, Tenares Tire Services Inc. Prosecutors allege Mr. DePena diverted the loan proceeds to his mayoral campaign, personal tax debts, and to pay off high-interest loans secured by properties he owned — debt the complaint…

WASHINGTON — On the same day it invaded Ukraine in 2022, Russia disabled thousands of satellite modems across Ukraine and other European countries, aiming to disrupt communications. A new AI-assisted tool aims to help close that kind of vulnerability amid concerns about continued Russian aggression and newer Iranian threats to cyber infrastructure. The cybersecurity company Atalanta has released “Argo” – a product that includes the technology that was instrumental in securing Viasat’s satellite communications network after the Russian hacking attack. Industry experts say it presents a new capability for those trying to defend critical systems in the emerging cyberwarfare theater.…

A Southern California county will stop letting federal immigration authorities train at a local firing range over concerns about the Trump administration’s violent crackdown on immigrants. San Diego County supervisors voted 3-2 on Tuesday to end contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to train at a county-owned facility near the Mexican border and a Navy facility leased by the county. The agencies that conduct immigration enforcement and run customs and immigration checks on the busy U.S.-Mexico border have had contracts for years to train at the facilities. “Federal immigration agents have harmed our communities many…

NEW YORK — Locked in a competitive reelection race, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared on social media last week that a new poll was evidence that her campaign was “gaining momentum.” Just a few days later, the truth emerged: The poll was fabricated. The California results were among at least three “polls” across three states posted online this month by Median Strategies, a previously unknown organization that admitted to the Los Angeles Times on Monday that the purported results were fake. The company wrote before shuttering its website this week that it “was created as a short-term social experiment…

Crews were working to restore power to thousands of Hawaii residents Tuesday after the outer bands of Lala battered the archipelago over the weekend, causing destructive flooding and killing one person, before weakening from a hurricane to a tropical storm. Crews on the Big Island were working to clear and restore roads. Most public schools across Hawaii reopened but Hawaii County’s non-emergency operations were still suspended, officials said. The storm has since moved west, according to the National Weather Service, and is expected to eventually turn north toward Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a massive and remote federally protected area of…

Millions more people may be able to get smaller, lightweight Amazon packages delivered by drones by the end of the year under a plan the company announced Thursday to expand airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 U.S. cities. Customers could receive the drone deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes, Amazon said in a news release. The drones can carry packages up to 5 pounds. The plan will intensify the battle between Amazon and Walmart to provide consumers with the fastest delivery times. Both giants rely on a mix of drones and drivers to deliver everything consumers have…

STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife and wounding his mother-in-law was executed Tuesday, continuing the state’s aggressive use of the death penalty in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ final term. William Frances Silvia, 61, was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Silvia was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the curtain to the death chamber went up at 6 p.m. He remained relatively motionless with his eyes and mouth open throughout most of the execution, and a…