Author: rpnadmin

MADISON, Wis. — Animal refuge groups said Wednesday that they have agreed to buy nearly 1,500 beagles at a Wisconsin dog breeding and research business that was the site of a violent clash earlier this month between activists trying to break in and police who repelled them with tear gas and pepper spray. Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy said they have entered into a confidential agreement with Ridglan Farms to buy 1,500 of the facility’s roughly 2,000 beagles for an undisclosed price. It’s unclear what the plans are for the remaining dogs. Ridglan Farms…

BOSTON — Federal investigators say they believe the man who carried out a mass shooting at Brown University and later killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor did not act randomly. Instead, former Brown student Claudio Neves Valente, 48, appeared to target places and people for what they represented in his own life – institutions and individuals he associated with personal failure, missed opportunity and perceived injustice. In a detailed behavioral assessment released Wednesday, the FBI said Neves Valente, a Portuguese national, spent years planning the attack in isolation before killing two students and wounding nine others inside an engineering…

WASHINGTON — A Romanian man was sentenced on Wednesday to four years in prison for organizing a wave of swatting calls and bomb threats against dozens of U.S. government targets, including members of Congress, cabinet-level officials, federal judges and the heads of federal law-enforcement agencies, according to prosecutors. Thomasz Szabo, 27, was a prolific participant in a dangerous form of online harassment that has become an increasingly common occupational hazard for public officials across the American political spectrum. Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of nearly five years for Szabo, who pleaded guilty last June to conspiracy and threats charges.…

The Trump administration opened an investigation Wednesday into whether Stanford University violated federal anti-discrimination law with a program to boost teachers who aren’t White or Asian-American. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said that Stanford may have violated Title VI by limiting the initiative for teachers seeking National Board Certification to applicants who “identify as a person of color.” Stanford Graduate School of Education’s National Board Resource Center partnered with the California Teachers Association and the UCLA National Board Project on the fully funded program, entitled the “Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Cohort.” “Instead of helping students…

NEW ORLEANS — A grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Louisiana sheriff whose office came under investigation after 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail in an audacious escape that happened on her watch. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is not accused of helping the inmates pull off the brazen jailbreak through a hole behind a toilet, setting off a monthslong search before all the escapees were eventually captured. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said a state probe instead found that Hutson’s poor management of the jail led to the escape. The 30-count indictment handed up by a…

Three family members were charged for allegedly assaulting a journalist who writes for a conservative organization during a protest against immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Christopher and DeYanna Ostroushko and their daughter, Paige, were each indicted by a federal grand jury. Christopher and Paige will also be charged with interfering with a federally protected activity. Christopher Ostroushko also faces state charges of misdemeanor assault, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. Community members have continued to protest in opposition to immigration enforcement efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration in the weeks since federal officers’…

ORLANDO, Fla. — The behavior of a suspect in the murders of two University of South Florida students from Bangladesh worsened over time from marijuana use, family members told deputies after his arrest three years ago for punching his brother in the face and kicking his mother in the back. Hisham Abugharbieh was delusional at the time, stating “I am son of Mary” and “I created my brother. I am his god.” He was taken to jail under the Baker Act, a Florida law that allows for involuntary, emergency mental health observation for 72 hours, according to an incident report…

Five middle school students are being hailed as heroes after they took control of a runaway school bus and helped save their driver’s life when she lost consciousness behind the wheel last week. The April 22 incident unfolded shortly after Bus No. 22 departed Hancock Middle School in Hancock County with roughly 40 students on board. Driver Leah Taylor, 46, suffered a sudden asthma attack and reached for her medication — but blacked out before she could take it. Sixth-grader Jackson Casnave, 12, who was seated directly behind Ms. Taylor, was the first to react. Noticing the bus beginning to…

A Louisiana crime watchdog group is urging state officials to appoint judges rather than have voters elect them because the judges often run unopposed and are not held accountable for their judicial record. Rafael Goyeneche, president of the nonprofit watchdog Metropolitan Crime Commission, said that after appointed judges serve a four-year term, voters could then decide whether they keep their seats on the bench. “That provides more transparency and checks and balances against judges who have not performed to the level that the public expects,” Mr. Goyeneche told WWL-TV in New Orleans. He said it would curb the problem of…

Austin’s oldest continuously operating family business is shutting its doors after 141 years of selling pralines, chocolates and holiday treats to generations of Central Texas families. Lammes Candies, which traces its roots to 1878, announced it is winding down all retail operations, citing “the unprecedented economic pressures and current market conditions.” The Round Rock store closed Friday, and the flagship location at 5330 Airport Blvd. in Austin is expected to remain open for a limited time to allow customers a final chance to stock up on their favorite treats, according to CultureMap Austin. The closure caps a story inseparable from…