Crime

The New York Times reports: Charles Manson, one of the most notorious murderers of the 20th century, who was very likely the most culturally persistent and perhaps also the most inscrutable, died on Sunday in Kern County, Calif. He was 83 and had been behind bars for most of his life. He died of natural causes in a hospital, the …

Tulsa World reports: Former state Sen. Ralph Shortey has agreed to plead guilty to a child sex trafficking offense for offering to pay a 17-year-old boy for sexual “stuff” last March. In exchange for his guilty plea, federal prosecutors have agreed to drop three child pornography counts against him. A jury trial for Shorty had been set to begin Dec. …

The Hill reports: Investors and customers of the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama City carried deep ties to organized crime and drug trafficking, according to an NBC News and Reuters joint investigation. A Brazillian real estate salesman who partnered with the Trumps to attract condo buyers for the tower told NBC that the Trumps and others …

The Los Angeles Times reports: A 37-year-old man accused of torturing and beating his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son to death in a case that prompted far-reaching reforms of the county’s child welfare system was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder. Jurors deliberated for about six hours before returning the verdict against Isauro Aguirre, also finding true a special allegation that the murder …

The Philly Voice reports: The beating of a gay couple three years ago in Center City, which resulted in the high-profile trial of defendant Kathryn Knott, settled a civil suit against their attackers this week. Andrew Haught and Zachary Hesse sought more than $500,000 against Knott, Kevin Harrigan and Philip Williams in an assault and battery lawsuit filed in May …

The Associated Press reports: A Marine Corps drill instructor was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for choking, punching or otherwise tormenting recruits, especially three Muslims — one of whom ultimately killed himself by leaping down a stairwell. A military jury handed out the punishment to Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix a day after convicting him of abusing more than …

Talking Points Memo reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the role played by former national security adviser Michael Flynn in an alleged plot to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric living legally in the U.S. to Turkey in exchange for millions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The alleged plot described by the Journal involves a direct quid …

The Cullman Times reports: State Rep. Ed Henry lashed out at Roy Moore’s accusers and Republicans who said the U.S. Senate candidate should back out of the special election in an interview Thursday evening with The Times. Henry said he believes legal action should be considered against Moore’s accusers, finding their story unbelievable. “If they believe this man is predatory, …

ABC affiliate WFAA reports: The gunman in the worst mass killing in Texas history escaped from a mental health institution in New Mexico, threatened his Air Force chain of command while facing military charges of domestic violence, and “had already been caught sneaking firearms onto” an air base, according to a 2012 El Paso Police Department report obtained by WFAA. …

The New York Times reports: The violent altercation last week that left Senator Rand Paul nursing bruised lungs and broken ribs began over a landscaping dispute between the senator and his longtime next-door neighbor, according to neighbors and three Kentucky Republicans familiar with what transpired. The precise provenance of the dispute was still a matter of disagreement on Monday. But …

ABC News reports: Former Rep. Anthony Weiner reported to prison Monday to begin a 21-month sentence for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner is being held at the Federal Medical Center Devens in Massachusetts, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said. The facility in Ayer, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Boston, has over 1,000 inmates at the medical center …

The New York Daily News reports: Gunman Devin Kelley was embroiled in a “domestic situation” with his mother-in-law, who attended the Texas church where he killed 26 people before shooting himself, authorities said Monday. Kelley sent his estranged mother-in-law “threatening texts” sometime before he attacked the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Freeman Martin of the Texas Department of Public …

CNN reports: Republican Sen. Rand Paul has five rib fractures, including three displaced fractures and lung contusions, after an assault in his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, a senior adviser told CNN. Paul sustained what were initially reported as “minor injuries” after a neighbor allegedly assaulted him in his home Friday. Kentucky State Troopers said the neighbor, Rene Albert Boucher, …

Heavy.com reports: Devin P. Kelley was identified as the gunman who walked into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on a Sunday morning and murdered at least 25 people, wounding many more. The shooter’s name was reported via sources by The New York Times and CBS News; the latter gave his name as Devin Patrick Kelley. The horrific …

Newsweek reports: Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock was quite the fan of President Donald Trump before he killed 58 people and left another 500 injured—the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history. Paddock, a millionaire who reportedly would gamble up to $1 million a night in casinos, was attracted to the president’s politics because of the boost the stock market …

The New York Post reports: Robert Mueller says his prosecutors will need three weeks in court to lay out their case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. The special counsel filed papers Friday estimating a 15-day timeline for presenting his case against the former campaign manager and his business partner, Rick Gates, to a jury. The pair are accused …

The Hill reports: U.S. district court judge Amy Berman Jackson said President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort could be a flight risk on Thursday as she mulled requests to loosen the conditions of his house arrest. The judge set a bond hearing for Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. to discuss a request made by Manafort’s lawyers to remove a …

Heavy.com reports: Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek national, was identified in news reports as the driver accused of ramming a Home Depot rental truck into people on a bike path in lower Manhattan, killing at least eight and injuring multiple more, in a frightening “act of terror” that unfolded almost in the shadow of the World Trade Center memorial. He is …

After a flurry of confused and contradictory reports, it appears that the attack in lower Manhattan was indeed Islamic terrorism. At least six people were killed Tuesday afternoon when a speeding Home Depot truck plowed along a Lower Manhattan bike path, running down helpless riders from behind, sources said. Eyewitnesses told police the driver yelled “Allahu Akbar!” — Arabic for …

USA Today reports: Less than two hours after President Trump’s former campaign manager was indicted Monday, the Trump re-election campaign decided to send out a fundraising email. The email, entitled “Still Standing” and from presidential son Eric Trump, describes the “opposition” to the administration. “The mainstream media continues to play politics, creating division and turning the American people against one …