Palm Desert

Customs & Border Patrol agent charged with murdering her husband, deputies say

A Customs and Border patrol agent in Palm Beach County was arrested on murder charges in connection to the death of her husband, a charging affidavit shows.Palm Beach County sheriff deputies charged Marcia Thompson, 39, with second-degree murder with a firearm after authorities say she intentionally shot her husband Terry, 52, with her service weapon nine times.

Naval Academy professor returns, but not to class

As a civilian tenured English professor, Bruce Fleming believes he has made important contributions to the U.S. Naval Academy during his 30 years on staff, providing views from outside the military while teaching writing, literature and critical thinking skills to future Navy and Marine officers. Fleming also hasn't been afraid to publicly criticize what he perceives as the shortcomings of military academy training — and that is what he believes ultimately prompted school officials to fire him last year. An administrative law judge overturned Fleming's dismissal last month, and he returned to the academy on Monday on the first day of the new school year — but not as a classroom professor.

Montana demolition derby crash kills 1, injures at least 7

A woman was killed and at least seven others were injured when a car competing at a demolition derby in Montana drove over a chain-link fence into spectators, authorities said. Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles, who witnessed Sunday's crash and aided the injured, said a woman in her 30s died at the hospital in Deer Lodge. Demolition derbies have been a staple at American racetracks and county fairs since at least World War II — and remain popular to this day.

California university employee killed in campus stabbing

An employee of California State University, Fullerton was fatally stabbed in a campus parking lot Monday in what police called a targeted attack, though they were not sure of a motive. The victim was in his late 50s and worked in international student admissions at the sprawling campus south of Los Angeles, Fullerton Police Lt. Jon Radus said. A witness who called 911 around 8:30 a.m. said the suspect ran away, Radus said.

Census figures show economic gap narrows with citizenship

Foreign-born residents had higher rates of being employed full-time than those born in the United States last year, and naturalized immigrants were more likely to have advanced degrees than the native-born, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. "Naturalized citizens tend to have lived in the country longer than non-citizens ... They tend to have higher levels of education and they tend to work in professions that have higher pay than non-citizens," said Stefan Rayer, a demographer at the University of Florida.

‘Red flag’ gun laws can help prevent mass shootings, UC Davis study says

Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have found that, in the three years since California implemented the nation’s first law allowing guns to be taken from individuals who pose an extreme risk, the so-called red flag orders have prevented at least 21 mass shootings.

NYPD fires officer 5 years after Garner's chokehold death

After five years of investigations and protests, the New York City Police Department on Monday fired an officer involved in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner, the black man whose dying gasps of "I can't breathe" gave voice to a national debate over race and police use of force. Police Commissioner James O'Neill said he fired Daniel Pantaleo, who is white, based on a recent recommendation of a department disciplinary judge. O'Neill said he thought Pantaleo's use of the banned chokehold as he wrestled with Garner was a mistake that could have been made by any officer in the heat of an arrest.

Cameron Boyce Foundation launches 'Wielding Peace' campaign to end gun violence

The late actor Cameron Boyce was a social justice advocate who raised his voice for many causes. Supporters are encouraged to take a photograph wielding any item, as if it were a gun, in support of the organization's mission to end gun violence. The actor, who was working on this project before his passing, is featured in some of the first photos kicking off the social media campaign.

Factbox: Track Facebook's fight against disinformation campaigns in 2019

** Jan. 31 - 783 pages, groups and accounts engaged in "coordinated inauthentic behavior tied to Iran." 234 accounts, pages and groups on Facebook and Instagram operating as part of a domestic network in Indonesia. 31 Facebook pages, groups, and accounts which were part of a network that operated in Romania.

Avenatti says he did nothing wrongful in Nike extortion case

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer and critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Monday said he did nothing "wrongful" in dealing with Nike Inc, and asked a federal judge to dismiss the criminal extortion case against him. Avenatti, 48, made his request in Manhattan federal court five days after saying the government's case should also be dismissed because it was a "vindictive and selective prosecution" stemming from his "feud" with Trump. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, whose office is prosecuting Avenatti, declined to comment.

Kentucky's governor-lieutenant governor spat goes to court

An extraordinary legal fight between Kentucky's governor and lieutenant governor over a staffing dispute was described in court Monday by the governor's lawyer as a minor disagreement among friends. Attorneys for Gov. Matt Bevin and Hampton spent about 90 minutes arguing over the lieutenant governor's lawsuit seeking to restore her two top staffers to their jobs. Hampton filed the lawsuit last week, naming Bevin and the state's Personnel Cabinet as defendants.

Couple who ran a home for troubled boys charged with trafficking children, forced labor

A husband and wife who ran a home for troubled boys in Texas have been arrested a year after the home was raided and eight boys were removed, reports say.

Couple who ran a home for troubled boys charged with trafficking children, forced labor

A husband and wife who ran a home for troubled boys in Texas have been arrested a year after the home was raided and eight boys were removed, reports say.

Couple who ran a home for troubled boys charged with trafficking children, forced labor

A husband and wife who ran a home for troubled boys in Texas have been arrested a year after the home was raided and eight boys were removed, reports say.

She drowned in floodwaters while locked in a sheriff’s van. Now her family’s taking action

Wendy Newton and Nikki Green drowned while locked in the back of an Horry County Sheriff’s Office van that was swept off the road by floodwaters. Nearly a year later, Newton’s family has filed a lawsuit they hope spurs change and fixes transportation for mental health patients.

Jury selection begins for man accused of murder, cannibalism

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body nearly five years ago. Because of the attention the case garnered in Clark County, which is across the border from Louisville, Kentucky, and is where the killing took place, the jury was being selected in the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville, which is about 120 miles (193.11 kilometers) north, in Hamilton County. After jury selection is finished, the jurors and alternates will be brought to Clark County and sequestered for the duration of the trial.

Mom held as sex slave for month after she and baby kidnapped from driveway, NC cops say

The man tased her, sexually assaulted her and held her at gunpoint, according to police.

Mom held as sex slave for month after she and baby kidnapped from driveway, NC cops say

The man tased her, sexually assaulted her and held her at gunpoint, according to police.

Wife tries to suffocate husband with a pillow as he laid in hospital bed, TN cops say

The man could smell alcohol in the room, authorities say.

Wife tries to suffocate husband with a pillow as he laid in hospital bed, TN cops say

The man could smell alcohol in the room, authorities say.

Wife tries to suffocate husband with a pillow as he laid in hospital bed, TN cops say

The man could smell alcohol in the room, authorities say.

The Latest: Migrant charity official: Boat won't break law

A Spanish humanitarian group's founder says the Open Arms rescue boat with 107 migrants isn't aiming to breaking the law and dock in Italy. An Italian crackdown on charity rescue ships forbids those boats from entering Italy's ports. Asked by The Associated Press in a phone interview Monday night if Open Arms might do what a German NGO captain did recently in forcibly docking at Lampedusa island, Oscar Camps said "we have no intention of disobeying" the law.