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Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison for plot to keep Trump in power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

(CNN) — Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday for leading a far-reaching plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election.The sentence is the first handed down in over a decade for seditious conspiracy.“A seditious conspiracy, when you take those two concepts and put it together, is among the most serious crimes an American can commit,” said District Judge Amit Mehta. “It is an offense against the government to use force. It is an offense against the people of our country.”Mehta on Thursday previously ruled that Rhodes’ actions amounted to domestic terrorism.“He was the one giving the orders,” Mehta said. “He was the one organizing the teams that day. He was the reason they were in fact in Washington DC. Oath Keepers wouldn’t have been there but for Stewart Rhodes, I don’t think anyone contends otherwise. He was the one who gave the order to go, and they went.”Rhodes was convi...

Is the housing shortage overblown? This analyst thinks so

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

John Burns’ real estate research shop has become one of the housing industry’s top analytical firms by taking a more holistic view of what drives homebuying.For two-plus decades, his eponymous Southern California-based company has become a critical cog in homebuilding thinking because its research looks far beyond real estate basics to encompass broader economic and demographic changes – not to mention the fleeting desire of house hunters.So the company has now shed “real estate” from its corporate monicker, morphing into John Burns Research and Consulting from John Burns Real Estate Consulting.Let me give you a noteworthy example from the novel Burns thinking: The company’s analysis suggests the nation is only 1.7 million homes short of what’s needed – a fraction of other housing shortage estimates.Why so small, especially considering how high prices have become?“Truthfully, it’s because they haven’t done their research,” Burns says. “They use back-of-the-envelope calculations: We ...

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for orchestrating a weekslong plot that culminated in his followers attacking the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House after the 2020 election.Stewart Rhodes is the first person charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to be sentenced for seditious conspiracy, and his sentence is the longest that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases.It’s another milestone for the Justice Department’s sprawling Jan. 6 investigation, which has led to seditious conspiracy convictions against the top leaders of two far-right extremist groups authorities say came to Washington prepared to fight to keep President Donald Trump in power at all costs.Before handing down the sentence, the judge told a defiant Rhodes that he is a continued threat to the U.S., ...

Supreme Court sharply limits federal government’s ability to police pollution into certain wetlands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

By MARK SHERMAN and JESSICA GRESKO (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday sharply limited the federal government’s authority to police water pollution into certain wetlands, the second decision in as many years in which a conservative majority narrowed the reach of environmental regulations. The outcome could threaten efforts to control flooding on the Mississippi River and protect the Chesapeake Bay, among many projects, wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh, breaking with the other five conservatives.The justices boosted property rights over concerns about clean water in a ruling in favor of an Idaho couple who sought to build a house near Priest Lake in the state’s panhandle. Chantell and Michael Sackett objected when federal officials identified a soggy portion of the property as a wetlands that required them to get a permit before filling it with rocks and soil.By a 5-4 vote, the court said in an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito that wetlands...

1 injured from shot fragments in East County; suspect barricaded inside home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect the location of the suspect is the on the 8000 block of Longdale Drive. It's also been updated to note that the victim was injured from shot fragments. LEMON GROVE, Calif. -- One person was injured from fragments after shots were fired in East County Thursday morning, the San Diego Sheriff's Department confirmed to FOX 5.The rounds were fired off at a residence on the 8000 block of Longdale Drive in Lemon Grove and authorities say the victim, a woman, has been transported to a local hospital. The nature of her injuries have not been determined at this time. Owners of San Diego restaurants charged with COVID-relief fraud Meanwhile, the sheriff's department says the suspect is barricading himself inside a home in the area. Authorities are advising the public to avoid the area of Skyline Drive and Longdale Drive.Capt. Amber Baggs with the sheriff's department described the suspect as a white, 28-year-old man who may be sufferi...

Coronado High employee placed on paid administrative leave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

CORONADO, Calif. -- A Coronado High School employee was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, according to education officials.The Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) confirmed in a statement that "the investigation does not involve any CUSD student/s." "Administrative leave is a normal procedural step to protect both the integrity of an investigation and due process," CUSD's statement read. "We are working in cooperation with the Coronado Police Department to ensure that a thorough and timely investigation is completed." Carlsbad High assistant principal shares opposition to district ‘diversity, equity, inclusion’ efforts The school acknowledged the announcement "raises more questions than we are able to answer at this time." "Please be assured that the wellbeing of our students is our priority and the dedicated professionals at our schools remain focused on ensuring student success as we finish the school year," CUSD said.School officials did not iden...

Man arrested after car collides with gates of Downing Street; police don’t suspect terror attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A car collided Thursday with the gates of Downing Street in central London, where the British prime minister’s home and offices are located, setting off a rapid, intense security response at one of London’s most-fortified sites.No one was injured and police said they were not treating the incident as terror-related. Police arrested a man on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving, and local officers, rather than counterterrorism detectives, were handling the investigation.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in his office at the time of the crash, which revived memories of attacks on London’s government district. It was not immediately clear whether the crash was deliberate. Video footage posted on social media showed a silver hatchback car heading straight for the gates at low speed across Whitehall, the main thoroughfare in London’s government district. “I heard a bang and looked up and saw loads of police with taser guns shouting a...

Indiana doctor’s discipline hearing centers on privacy, reporting of Ohio 10-year-old’s abortion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A hearing on possible disciplinary action opened Thursday for an Indianapolis doctor who spoke publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio, with finger pointing over how the case became a political flashpoint in the national abortion debate.Indiana’s Republican attorney general has accused Dr. Caitlin Bernard of violating state law by not reporting the girl’s child abuse to Indiana authorities. She’s also accused of breaking federal patient privacy laws by telling a newspaper reporter about the girl’s treatment.Bernard and her attorneys maintain that the doctor followed Indiana’s child abuse reporting requirements to hospital staff and that the girl’s rape was already being investigated by Ohio authorities. Bernard’s lawyers also say she didn’t release any identifying information about the girl that would break privacy laws.The Indianapolis Star cited the girl’s case in a July 1 article that sparked a national political...

Public safety minister announces funding for Akwesasne after migrant deaths

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

QUEBEC — The federal government has announced funding to help the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory fight organized crime, after the death of eight migrants in the St. Lawrence River earlier this year.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino was in the community Thursday where he announced more than $12 million for policing and other initiatives over the next five years.The money includes a $10.4-million funding renewal to help the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service fight organized crime, as well as separate amounts for new police equipment and for community groups working to prevent violence.“Akwesasne, like all other communities at the same time, has been confronting the challenges around crime and I would point out that we have seen issues that involve the illegal flow of contraband, obviously organized criminal elements, and most recently, the tragedy involving eight lives lost around an ongoing investigation and human smuggling,” he said.The announcement came after the bodies o...

Virgin Galactic completes final test flight before launching paying customers to space

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:51 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M (AP) — Virgin Galactic completed what’s expected to be its final test flight Thursday before taking paying customers on brief trips to space. Six of the company’s employees, including two pilots, landed at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico after the short up-and-down flight that included a few minutes of weightlessness. It took about an hour for the mother ship to carry the spaceplane to an altitude of 44,500 feet (13,563 meters), where it was released and fired its rocket motor to make the final push.“Successful boost, WE HAVE REACHED SPACE!” Virgin Galactic tweeted.It reached an altitude of 54.2 miles (87 kilometers) before gliding back down to the runway, according to the company.The flight came nearly two years after founder Richard Branson beat fellow billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and rocket company Blue Origin into space. Bezos ended up flying nine days later from West Texas and Blue Origin has since launched several passenger tr...