CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A federal judge is fining Texas $100,000 per day for routinely neglecting to adequately investigate allegations of abuse and neglect raised by children in the state’s struggling foster care system. U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack in Corpus Christi ruled Monday that the Texas Health and Human Services agency has shown … Read more
When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach … Read more
MAMMOTH, Wyo. — Actor Pierce Brosnan, who pleaded guilty Thursday to stepping off a trail in a thermal area during a November visit to Yellowstone National Park, got caught after posting pictures online, court records said. Brosnan, who called in to the court hearing in Mammoth, Wyoming, was fined $500 and ordered to make a … Read more
Oregon is poised to step back from its first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law with a new measure approved by the state Senate that would reinstate criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of some drugs. The law, which took effect in 2021, decriminalized possession and personal use of all drugs, including small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, … Read more
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission unanimously rejected a proposed settlement between the city and Les Moonves on Wednesday, saying a tougher penalty is warranted for the former CBS chief executive accused of interfering with a police investigation into sexual assault allegations against him. Moonves had agreed to pay an $11,250 fine … Read more
NEW YORK — A Brooklyn woman who pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with various pandemic-era relief schemes was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation and $650,000 in penalties. Prosecutors said Chanette Lewis, 32, carried out some of the schemes by leveraging her job at a call center, part of a New York program … Read more
