Crime

People Magazine reports: Mark Salling has died in an apparent suicide weeks before being sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography. He was 35. “I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning. Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and …

The Toronto Star reports: Toronto police have announced three additional counts of first-degree murder have been laid against Bruce McArthur. Detective Sgt. Hank Idsinga told reporters Monday that McArthur is being charged with three additional counts of first-degree murder in relation to the deaths of Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Marmudi and Dean Lisowick. Lisowick was never reported missing to police. Investigators …

Talking Points Memo reports: The former chair of the Colorado Republican Party was sentenced to four years of probation and 300 hours of community service on Friday for committing voter fraud and forging his ex-wife’s signature on her 2016 ballot. Steve Curtis, who chaired the state’s Republican Party from 1997 to 1999, has said in his defense that he filled …

The Associated Press reports: The former sports doctor who admitted molesting some of the nation’s top gymnasts for years was sentenced Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison as the judge declared: “I just signed your death warrant.” “It is my honor and privilege to sentence you. You do not deserve to walk outside a prison ever again. You …

Politico reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is embracing newly-released FBI statistics as evidence that America has turned the tide in its battle against violent crime — a shift he credits in large part to the policies of President Donald Trump. The FBI numbers, covering the first six months of 2017, show overall violent crime declined by 0.8 percent, with rape …

An update on this morning’s mass shooting: A shooting Tuesday at a rural high school in Kentucky left two students dead and 19 others injured, 14 from gunshot wounds, Gov. Matt Bevin said during an early-afternoon news conference. The gunman was a 15-year-old boy, authorities said during a news conference early Tuesday afternoon. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he’s …

Catholic News Service reports: An embattled archbishop in Guam has denied an allegation that he raped his nephew nearly 20 years ago, when his accuser was a teen. Mark Apuron, nephew of Guam’s Archbishop Anthony Apuron, filed a lawsuit Jan. 10, claiming that his uncle raped him in a Church bathroom in 1989 or 1990. This is the fifth lawsuit …

CNN reports: Authorities arrested a Michigan man last week after he allegedly called CNN several times, threatening to kill employees at the network’s Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters, according to a federal affidavit. Brandon Griesemer made 22 calls to CNN on January 9 and January 10 and four calls, which were recorded, contained threats, according to the affidavit, which was unsealed Friday. …

Arizona’s KTAR reports: Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has filed an appeal to undo his criminal contempt of court conviction, Arpaio said in a release Friday. Arpaio’s appeal argues that the pardon he received from President Donald Trump made his case moot before the official appeals process began, and that the conviction should have been removed automatically. He also …

The Washington Post reports: A neighbor of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, has agreed to plead guilty in federal court in a November attack that left the nation’s best known libertarian with six broken ribs and briefly sidelined him during debate over the tax overhaul, according to court documents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Friday …

The Austin Statesman reports: A Comal County judge said God told him to intervene in jury deliberations to sway jurors to return a not guilty verdict in the trial of a Buda woman accused of trafficking a teen girl for sex. Judge Jack Robison apologized to jurors for the interruption, but defended his actions by telling them “when God tells …

The Global Post reports: A man charged with first-degree murder in the presumed deaths of two men who vanished from Toronto’s gay village last year was remanded into custody following a brief court appearance on Friday. Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old Toronto man, was arrested and charged Thursday as part of an investigation into the disappearance of Selim Esen and Andrew …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis accused victims of Chile’s most notorious pedophile of slander Thursday, an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its credibility in the country. Francis said that until he sees proof that Bishop Juan Barros was complicit in covering up …

ABC News reports: A Perris couple accused of torturing their 13 malnourished adult and juvenile children face up to 94 years to life in prison if convicted of a number of charges, authorities announced Thursday. The Turpins appeared in court Thursday afternoon shackled and in dress clothes and entered pleas of not guilty at their arraignment. A court conference was …

Bloomberg reports: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is dropping a lawsuit against a group of payday lenders associated with an American Indian tribe in a sign the regulator is changing direction under Mick Mulvaney, the acting director appointed by the Trump administration. The agency had accused the lenders of deceiving consumers and failing to disclose the true cost of the …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis dove head first into the sex abuse scandal that has devastated the Catholic Church’s credibility in Chile, apologizing Tuesday for the “irreparable damage” to victims, but also acknowledging the “pain” of priests who have been held collectively responsible for the crimes of a few. Francis’ words were delivered amid unprecedented opposition to his visit: …

ABC News reports: The grandparents of 13 children allegedly abused and kept shackled to beds in their Southern California home said the parents had so many kids because “God called on them.” ABC News spoke with the parents of David Turpin, who was arrested along with his wife Louise on Monday for holding their 13 children “shackled to their beds …

Law & Crime reports: When Joe Arpaio accepted a pardon from President Donald Trump after his conviction for violating a court order, he apparently didn’t realize that he was admitting wrongdoing. Enter MSNBC’s Ari Melber, who broke the news to the man who recently announced his candidacy for United States Senate. What ensued was quite the awkward exchange, where Arpaio …

The Daily Beast reports: On an afternoon in late April 1994, a young woman was raped in broad daylight in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Two days later, the biggest columnist in New York City’s biggest newspaper called her a liar. The woman—black, a lesbian, and an activist—became the target of a vicious smear campaign by a Daily News columnist and sources …

The New York Post reports: Sarah Palin’s oldest son pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony charge in the case accusing him of assaulting his father at the family’s Alaska home last month. Track Palin’s lawyer entered the plea on his behalf at his arraignment. The 28-year-old did not attend the hearing in person, but participated by phone. His parents …