WASHINGTON — Congress has passed a bill making certain types of animal cruelty a federal felony. The bill would expand a 2010 law that made creation or distribution of so-called "animal crushing" videos illegal. The new bill would make the underlying acts of cruelty a federal crime. The Senate unanimously...
Convicted Burglar Set Free Under Challenge of 'Three Strikes'
SAN DIEGO — A man facing life in prison for a "three strikes" conviction is likely the first released under a new California law allowing a second look at such sentences, which came to be because of the slaying of a Fresno teenager 27 years ago. "You're looking at a...
Ninth Circuit Court Upholds Keith Foster's Drug Convictions
In a ruling filed last week, the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the 2017 heroin and marijuana trafficking convictions of then-Fresno Deputy Police Chief Keith Foster. Foster's legal team made four claims in arguing his felony convictions should be overturned: — Insufficient evidence to convict. —...
Federal Lawsuit Filed to Block Alabama’s New Abortion Ban
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal lawsuit filed Friday asks a judge to block an Alabama law that outlaws almost all abortions, the most far-reaching attempt by a conservative state to seek new restrictions on the procedure. The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood filed the lawsuit on behalf of...
Alabama Governor Invokes God in Banning Nearly All Abortions
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama's Republican governor has signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases. "To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that...
California Woman Charged With Dumping Puppies in Trash
LOS ANGELES — A California woman could face up to seven years behind bars on a slew of charges filed Tuesday after authorities say surveillance video showed her casually tossing a bag of 3-day-old puppies into a trash can on a sweltering day. Deborah Sue Culwell, 54, was charged with...
Walters: 1872 Law Gives Police a License to Kill
Penal Code Section 196, enacted in 1872 when California was the nation’s sparsely populated westernmost frontier, declares that a police officer may lawfully kill someone while “arresting persons charged with felony, and who are fleeing from justice or resisting such arrest.” Similar laws in other states have been overturned by the...
Vegas Prosecutors Say Tech Billionaire Facing Drug Charges
LAS VEGAS — A billionaire California tech mogul who funds "Marsy's Law" crime victim rights campaigns nationwide was hit Wednesday with felony drug charges following his arrest last summer in a Las Vegas hotel suite with what police said were briefcases full of drugs. Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas...