Crime

CNN reports: Republican Greg Gianforte has won the special election for Montana’s open US House seat, CNN projects, defeating Democrat Rob Quist and capping off a whirlwind final 36 hours of the campaign that saw Gianforte being charged for allegedly assaulting a reporter. With 83% of precincts reporting, Gianforte had 171,149 votes — or 50.3% of the vote, compared to …

Media Matters reports: Conservative media are using Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte’s alleged assault against a reporter to push for ending early voting, because voters who have already cast their ballots in today’s election would not be able to consider the assault charge. Right-wing media have repeatedly attacked early voting, even though it allows more people to participate, results in …

The Associated Press reports: Dani Mathers earned fame posing as a nude model. She gained notoriety on the other side of the camera when she snapped a photo of an unwitting and unwilling subject — a naked 71-year-old woman in a gym locker room. The firestorm of criticism that erupted after the Playboy model posted the pic online to mock …

The Hill reports: Newspapers in Montana are pulling their support from GOP House candidate Greg Gianforte following an alleged physical altercation Wednesday with a reporter. Three newspapers have rescinded their support for Gianforte, who was charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly slamming a reporter from The Guardian to the floor at the candidate’s campaign headquarters in Bozeman. The incident reportedly …

The Baltimore Sun reports: A Baltimore defense attorney was arrested in the downtown courthouse Tuesday and charged with obstruction of justice and witness intimidation for allegedly telling a rape victim she risked deportation by the Trump administration in an effort to dissuade her from testifying against his client. In a recorded conversation, Christos Vasiliades, 38, and another man charged in …

The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports: Richard Henry Patterson, the Margate man who initially claimed his girlfriend choked to death during oral sex, was found not guilty today of second-degree murder. The verdict was announced just under five hours after the jury began its deliberations. Patterson, 65, faced a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the murder of Francisca …

Radio Free Europe reports: British Prime Minister Theresa May says it is “now beyond doubt” that the bombing at a Manchester pop concert late on May 22 was a “callous terrorist attack” and that police have determined the identity of the attacker. Speaking after an emergency response meeting on May 23 at the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR), May said …

Fort Lauderdale’s ABC affiliate reports: An associate medical examiner testified Thursday in the murder trial of a South Florida man accused of killing his girlfriend that he’s never before seen an example of someone choking to death from oral sex. But that’s what defense attorney Ken Padowitz intends to present to the jury in the murder trial of Richard Patterson …

The New York Daily News reports: With voices in his head and drugs in his system, a deranged motorist drove his car onto a crowded Times Square sidewalk and mowed down 23 pedestrians — including an 18-year-old Michigan woman who died in front of her little sister. Richard Rojas’ maroon Honda Accord carved a three-block path of destruction along Seventh …

The New York Times reports: Anthony D. Weiner, the former Democratic congressman whose “sexting” scandals ended his political career and embroiled him in a tumultuous F.B.I. investigation of Hillary Clinton before the election, is to appear in a federal courtroom in Manhattan on Friday to enter a guilty plea. The information has not been made public but was related by …

J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed: The United States has declined visas to gay Chechens fleeing a wave of kidnappings, torture, and disappearances in the semi-autonomous Russian region, according to the organization Russia LGBT Network. A group of around 40 Chechens are now in hiding in other parts of Russia, Russia LGBT Network spokesperson Svetlana Zakharova told BuzzFeed News, and …

Oh, Florida. Fort Lauderdale’s ABC affiliate reports: Attorneys argued in court Monday over whether the penis of a South Florida man accused of killing his girlfriend should be shown to the jury in his murder trial. Richard Patterson, 65, of Margate, is charged with second-degree murder in the choking death of his girlfriend, Francisca Marquinez, 60, in 2015. Jury selection …

West Virginia’s MetroNews reports: In a 3-2 opinion issued Tuesday, the state Supreme Court has upheld a lower court decision that dismissed hate crime charges against former Marshall University football player Steward Butler. In arguments before the Court last month, Cabell County Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Plymale said Cabell County Circuit Judge Paul Farrell was wrong when he dismissed the charges …

Deutsche Welle reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he supports an investigation into the reported torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya, days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed him on the issue. Putin said he would personally ask the chief prosecutor and the interior minister to cooperate with human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova in an investigation …

Posted this morning by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen people hurting themselves and others on Facebook — either live or in video posted later. It’s heartbreaking, and I’ve been reflecting on how we can do better for our community. If we’re going to build a safe community, we need to respond quickly. We’re working …

The Associated Press reports: An Idaho man who pleaded guilty to a hate crime for his role in the death of a gay man has been sentenced to 28 years in prison. Kelly Schneider, 23, was sentenced in federal court Thursday in connection with last year’s death of Steven Nelson, KTVB-TV reported. The sentence for the hate crime charge of …

The Washington Times reports: The North Texas headquarters of televangelist Benny Hinn was raided this week by U.S. Postal Service inspectors and IRS criminal investigators, according to local news reports. The search began about 9 a.m. Wednesday at Mr. Hinn’s Grapevine offices and continued Thursday morning, NBC 5 reported. The station reported seeing a large number of federal agents walking …

Newsweek reports: He [Hernandez] was convicted in April 2015 for shooting and killing his friend, Odin Lloyd, seemingly without motive. But interviews with multiple law enforcement officials directly involved in the case say Lloyd—a semipro football player who was dating Hernandez’s fiance’s sister at the time—had information the football star did not want out: that he was bisexual. One of …

Even though gays don’t exist there? Gay Star News reports: Chechnya’s president has vowed to ‘eliminate’ all gay men by the end of May. Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, threatened to rid the area of homosexuality ‘by Ramadan’. Ramadan, Islam’s holy month, begins on 26 May this year. Speaking to Gay Star News, a Foreign and Commonwealth Office …

Radio Free Europe reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman sought to downplay evidence of a campaign of abuse targeting gay men in Chechnya, saying the Kremlin has “heard no confirmation” of reports that have prompted outrage in the West. Speaking to journalists on April 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin has no reason to doubt regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s …