Former congressman Jeff Fortenberry’s conviction reversed by appeals court

Republican convicted over false statements about payment from billionaire should not have been tried in Los Angeles, court says An appellate court on Tuesday reversed a 2022 federal conviction against former Nebraska congressman Jeff Fortenberry, ruling that the Republican should not have been tried in Los Angeles. Fortenberry was convicted in March 2022 on charges … Read more

Blizzard conditions hit US northern plains and upper midwest

Freezing weather affecting more than a million people expected in parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado Snow, freezing rain and high winds are hitting the northern plains and upper midwest states, with the National Weather Service warning that “blizzard conditions for central South Dakota into parts of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado [are] resulting … Read more

Alex Murdaugh trial: court clerk accused of plagiarism

Becky Hill, who Murdaugh’s lawyers accuse of jury-tampering, alleged to have plagiarized passages in memoir from BBC article The court clerk who helped steer the murder trial of South Carolina’s Alex Murdaugh and has since been hit with accusations of jury-tampering – potentially leading to a retrial – is now embroiled in a plagiarism controversy. … Read more

Biden poised to loosen restrictions on marijuana, but some say it’s not enough

Legalization advocates say reclassifying drug to schedule III from schedule I doesn’t resolve state and federal law conflicts The US government appears poised to announce next year the most sweeping changes in decades to how it handles marijuana, the psychoactive drug dozens of states allow to be sold from storefronts, but which federal law considers … Read more

Protests, threats and swatting bring politics to homes of US public figures

Marjorie Taylor Greene said hoaxer tried to trigger police response while Colorado justices who ruled against Trump face threats The political became personal over the Christmas holiday as the homes of politicos and judges were targeted by threats, protests and “swatting” hoaxes by pranksters who call in fake emergencies to authorities in the hopes of … Read more

Trump promises to replace Obamacare with his own healthcare ‘alternative’

Former President Trump has promised to roll back the Obama-instituted Affordable Care Act (ACA) if elected president in 2024, despite numerous failed attempts to terminate it in the past. “Obamacare is too expensive, and otherwise, not good healthcare,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.  The Christmas post comes as Congress has long … Read more