BOSTON — Alex Cora has already been identified as a ringleader in an illegal system of sign stealing when he was with the Houston Astros. The Red Sox didn't wait to see what punishment Major League Baseball might give him for possibly bringing a similar scheme with him to Boston....
Valley County Puts Big Fines on Illegal Pot Grows
MODESTO — A Central Valley county will try to deter illegal marijuana cultivation by imposing hefty administrative penalties. The Modesto Bee reports the fines taking effect Dec. 19 in Stanislaus County are $1,000 per day per plant and will be assessed between the time a citation is issued and the growers...
San Diego Man Charged With Running 13 Illegal Pot Farms
RIVERSIDE — A San Diego man has been charged with operating illegal marijuana farms at 13 homes across three Southern California counties. Authorities say they raided leased homes Wednesday in Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, Chino, Chino Hills, Rancho Cucamonga, Rowland Heights, and Hacienda Heights. Chiaming Tim Hsu was arrested at the...
Vape Pioneer Peddled Street Drugs That Sickened Dozens
CARLSBAD — Some of the people rushing to emergency rooms thought the CBD vape they inhaled would help like a gentle medicine. Others puffed it for fun. What the vapors delivered instead was a jolt of synthetic marijuana, and with it an intense high of hallucinations and even seizures. More...
Investigators Focus on Rogue Vape Brand as Illness Spreads
LOS ANGELES — It's a widely known vape cartridge in the marijuana economy, but it’s not a licensed brand. And it’s got the kind of market buzz no legitimate company would want. The vape cartridges that go by the catchy, one-syllable name “Dank,” a slang word for highly potent cannabis,...
Top UK Court: Johnson’s Suspension of Parliament Was Illegal
LONDON — In a major blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain's highest court ruled Tuesday that his decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks in the crucial countdown to the country's Brexit deadline was illegal. The unanimous, strongly worded Supreme Court judgment declared Johnson's order to suspend Parliament "void and of...
R. Kelly Faces New Federal Charges of Sex Crimes, Cover Up
CHICAGO — Singer R. Kelly, already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors, was arrested in Chicago on sweeping federal indictments that accuse him and members of his entourage of recruiting women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with the performer and later paying victims and witnesses...
Parents Arrested in California After Children Found in Cages
ALTURAS — Authorities in Northern California say the parents of two boys found inside cages bolted to a bedroom wall have been arrested for child endangerment. Modoc County Sheriff Tex Dowdy said Tuesday deputies arrested 25-year-old Ramon Zendejas and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Mercadies Williams on Friday after deputies found the...
Road Rage Suspect Who Killed Deputy Was in US Illegally
SPOKANE, Wash. — The road rage suspect who killed a sheriff’s deputy, wounded a police officer and died in a central Washington state shootout this week was living in the United States illegally, the federal government said Thursday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Juan Manuel Flores Del Toro, 29,...
NASCAR to Disqualify Cars in Move to Squash Cheating
CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR announced Monday that it will disqualify race-winning cars that break the rules this season, confronting its longtime culture of cheating with a stringent new penalty system. "If you are illegal, you don't win the race," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's chief racing development officer. "We cannot allow...