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LOS ANGELES — A Tennessee rapper who boasted about committing Covid-19 relief fraud in a music video was sentenced to over six years in prison Wednesday, prosecutors said. Baines, 33, bragged about the fraud in videos on YouTube and Instagram, according to court documents. In addition to the prison sentence, Baines was also ordered to pay $704,760 in restitution. Congress approved massive financial resources to help people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down large parts of the economy. The U.S. Labor Department’s inspector general’s office has estimated that $872.5 billion in pandemic unemployment insurance funding — and at least $163 billion in pandemic unemployment insurance benefits — could have been paid improperly, some of it through fraud.

☆ Club Q shooting suspect opened fire immediately, claimed to have been awake for days, affidavit says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The suspect accused of killing five people in an attack on a Colorado LGBTQ club opened fire almost immediately after arriving and later claimed to not have slept for days, police said in an affidavit released Wednesday. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was charged Tuesday with 305 criminal counts, including murder and hate crimes, in the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs just before midnight Nov. 19. Aldrich was taken down by bystanders, stopping the attack, officials and witnesses have said. A further 17 people were injured by gunfire, and five others had physical injuries from other causes, officials have said. The charges against Aldrich include first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and bias-motivated crimes.

☆ Power company on 'final push' to restore electricity after gunfire led to massive outages in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Cooper's office, Moore County and Duke Energy, officials said Wednesday. At its peak, around 45,000 Moore County customers were left without power, Duke Energy said. Duke Energy said the vandalism destroyed large and vital pieces of equipment, which needed to be replaced. The restoration of power led officials on Wednesday to announce that the curfew will be lifted at 5 a.m. Thursday. There have been no confirmed deaths due to the power outage, Moore County Director of Public Safety Bryan Phillips said.

☆ FedEx driver kidnapped 7-year-old Texas girl who was found dead Friday, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A FedEx contract driver in Texas was arrested Friday and accused of kidnapping and murder in the death of a 7-year-old girl who went missing two days earlier, officials said. The driver, Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, has been arrested on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, Akin said. Athena arrived home from school Wednesday afternoon like she normally does and around 6:40 p.m. her stepmother reported the child missing, Akin has said. Horner delivered a package at the home around the time she was discovered missing, Akin said Friday night. Police investigate the disappearance of 7-year-old Athena Strand in Paradise, Texas, on Thursday.

☆ Texas man charged with threatening Boston doctor who provides transgender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Texas man was arrested Friday and charged with threatening to kill a Boston doctor who provides care to transgender people, federal prosecutors said. The threats on Aug. 31 targeting a doctor affiliated with a Boston healthcare education center came after “inaccurate information spread online” about Boston Children’s Hospital and transgender care, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said. Boston’s Children Hospital is home to the Gender Multispecialty Service, which provides care to transgender and gender-diverse adolescents. Several children’s hospitals, most notably Boston Children’s, were targeted by of a far-right harassment campaign, led by led by anti-trans influencers with millions of collective followers. The FBI in court documents called it a sustained campaign that falsely alleged pedophilia or "grooming" against Boston Children's Hospital, and there have been death threats and threats of mass casualty attacks.

After making antisemitic comments and praising Hitler on Thursday, the rapper Ye has been suspended from Twitter. The account for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, read as "account suspended" early Friday. Twitter owner Elon Musk said it would be suspended after a post on Ye's account Thursday night showed an image that appeared to show a swastika inside a Star of David. Account will be suspended.”Ye's Twitter account has been restricted before over antisemitic comments, but he returned to the platform in November. To the now blocked post featuring the Star of David, Musk wrote: “This is not.”

The police chief of Tampa, Florida, has apologized and is asking for a disciplinary review of herself after she flashed her badge to get out of a stop for traveling in a golf cart without a license plate, officials said Thursday. Chief Mary O’Connor, who was appointed in February, was a passenger in a golf cart driven by her husband, police said in a statement. Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor in a golf cart driven by her husband in Oldsmar, northwest of Tampa, on Nov. 12. Tampa PD via YouTubeThe video shows O’Connor ask the deputy whether his body camera is on, and when he responds that it is, she says, “I’m the police chief in Tampa." I’m hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight,” O’Connor says as she opens her badge case and hands it to her husband, the video shows.

☆ Former San Antonio officer indicted in shooting of teenager outside McDonald’s
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A former San Antonio police officer who shot a teenager in a McDonald’s parking lot in October was indicted on assault and attempted murder charges, prosecutors said Thursday. Of the charges, the aggravated assault counts are the most serious and carry up to life in prison if convicted. Brennand allegedly shot Cantu, 17, after he ordered the teenager, who was eating a hamburger, out of a vehicle. Brennand was arrested in October on two counts of aggravated assault by public servant. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Cantu family, said Thursday’s indictment was a significant step toward justice.

☆ 'Four beautiful kids': Community remembers slain University of Idaho students at vigil
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Fighting back tears, parents of slain University of Idaho students shared moments of laughter and sorrow Wednesday as students and faculty members gathered for a vigil for the four lives lost. We’re going to figure this stuff out,” Steven Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, said at the ceremony at the university in Moscow, Idaho. The unsolved killings have put some students at the university, in a city of around 25,000, and the community on edge. "That’s the only thing that’s going to heal us. That’s the only thing that’s going to heal you."

A Texas woman who helped mutilate and conceal the body of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén pleaded guilty to federal charges Tuesday, prosecutors said. Cecily Aguilar, 24, helped the man who killed Guillén dispose of her body and lied to investigators, the U.S. attorney’s office for Western Texas said in a statement. Aguilar pleaded guilty Tuesday to a count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation, the U.S. attorney’s office said. If she is convicted, Aguilar faces up to 30 years in prison, but a judge will consider federal sentencing guidelines, the U.S. attorney's office said. Guillén's family said they were taken aback by Aguilar's decision to plead guilty.

A Missouri inmate convicted of ambushing and killing a St. Louis area police officer he blamed for the death of his younger brother was executed Tuesday, officials said. Kevin Johnson, 37, was put to death by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre. The execution began at 7:29 p.m., and Johnson was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m., said Karen Pojmann, spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Corrections. “We miss Bill every day of our lives.”Khorry Ramey with her father, Kevin Johnson, and her son, Kiaus. via ACLUOn July 5, 2005, police were searching for Johnson, who was on probation for assaulting his girlfriend.

The number of people injured in a shooting attack at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been increased by four, police said Monday. The number of those killed and shot — five dead and 17 shot and injured — in the Nov. 19 shooting at Club Q remained unchanged in the latest update. But police said the number of identified victims who were injured but who were not shot has increased from one to five. More people were at Club Q when the gunman, identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, opened fire minutes before midnight, police said in a statement. Autopsies have been conducted, and the El Paso County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death, the statement said.

Multiple people are dead in a shooting Tuesday night at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, a police official said. The number of people deceased or injured was not clear, but police believe the shooter is dead. Police believe the shooting happened inside the Walmart, Kosinski said. Law enforcement investigate a shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., on Tuesday. Kosinski told reporters he did not know how the shooter died.

Searchers in New Hampshire are looking for a 20-year-old hiker who was supposed to take a route by Mount Lafayette but never returned, officials said. Sotelo is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and around 115 pounds, and was last seen wearing a brown jacket. The route she was to go on was described as the route of Mount Lafayette, Haystack and Flume. Mount Lafayette is over 5,000 feet tall. Anyone who may have encountered her is asked to call New Hampshire State Police dispatch at 603-271-1170.

The mother of a 20-month-old child who Georgia authorities believe is dead has been arrested and accused of murder, police said Monday. In October, Leilani Simon, 22, was named by Chatham County as the “prime suspect" in what police said was the disappearance and death of her son, Quinton Simon. Leilani Simon reported the toddler missing from his home in an unincorporated part of the county near Savannah on Oct. 5, police have said. The mother reported him missing at 9:39 a.m., he said. After Simon was named as the suspect, Hadley said there were no other suspects and no one else was being considered for criminal charges.

☆ A year after rapper Young Dolph's killing, 4th suspect surrenders, Memphis police say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A man suspected in connection with the killing of hip-hop artist Young Dolph a year ago turned himself in to law enforcement Friday, police said. Memphis police earlier Friday had said Johnson was a suspect and was wanted for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and asked for the public's help locating him. Three other people have previously been arrested and charged in connection with the killing. Cornelius Smith, 32; Justin Johnson, 24; and Hernandez Govan, 43, have been charged with first-degree murder and other charges. He was in Memphis for his annual Thanksgiving giveaway and stopped by the bakery when he was shot, his lawyer said at the time of the killing.

☆ Phoenix father suspected of killing wife, 3 young children, himself in home that smelled of natural gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A Phoenix man is suspected in the deaths of his wife and their three young children before fatally shooting himself, police said Thursday. Found dead in the home were Marla Jordan Hudgens, 40; and children Christopher, 3; and Gwen and Faye, both 6 months old, police said in a statement Thursday. They had what police described as “obvious signs of trauma.”The suspect, Jasen Michael Hudgens, 44, was also found dead in the home. There were open propane tanks and a gas line unattached to any appliance inside the home, police said. The utility company said there were no leaks in any of its equipment.

Authorities have identified the man whose foot was found floating in a Yellowstone National Park hot spring three months ago, the park said Thursday. His foot in a shoe was found floating in the hot spring in Wyoming on Aug. 16. No one is believed to have seen what happened, and how he died was not clear, the park service said. It is one of the deepest hot springs in the park, at more than 50 feet, according to the park’s website. Yellowstone National Park warns visitors to always stay on boardwalks and trails and to use extreme caution around the features.

☆ What we know about the 4 Idaho college students found dead in an off-campus home
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The killings of four University of Idaho students Sunday elicited shock and sadness on campus, in the college city of Moscow, Idaho, and beyond. Mogen planned to move to Boise after graduating this spring, family friend Jessie Frost told the Idaho Statesman newspaper. Chapin had just turned 20, and was a triplet, his parents, Stacy and Jim Chapin, told NBC affiliate KING of Seattle. “Everything we do, is all of us, together,” Stacy Chapin told the station. “I am lucky to have had her as a sister,” her sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, said in a statement.

Poland's security chiefs to meet after explosion near Ukraine borderPolish political and security leaders will meet again Wednesday to discuss the NATO member country's response to the explosion that killed two people in a rural village near the border with Ukraine on Tuesday. The country's National Security Council will meet at noon local time (6 a.m ET), after first meeting on Tuesday night. Before that Poland will also take part in the NATO meeting Wednesday morning, and President Andrzej Duda will meet Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other government figures. Poland's National Security Office was already "analyzing the arrangements made so far with commanders, service chiefs and allies," Jacek Siewiera, head of the National Security Bureau, said in a tweet early Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Dodgers player Yasiel Puig will plead guilty to lying to federal investigators who were probing an illegal sports gambling operation, prosecutors in Southern California said Monday. Puig, 31, will plead guilty to one count of making false statements, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement. Puig will also pay a fine of at least $55,000, the prosecutors’ office said. Puig was charged and a plea agreement was filed Aug. 29, but the case was unsealed Monday, according to court records. Neither the statement from federal prosecutors’ office nor court documents say that Puig gambled on baseball.

A retired Kansas City, Kansas, police detective was indicted on federal counts that he and three other men conspired to hold women in “involuntary sexual servitude,” officials said Monday. The abuse alleged in the indictment unsealed Monday took place in Kansas City, Kansas, between 1996 and 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Golubski faces up to life in prison on each of those six counts, according to prosecutors. Golubski was a detective with the Kansas City, Kansas, police department who had retired in 2010 after 35 years on the force. Kansas City, Kansas, is adjacent to the larger Kansas City, Missouri.

☆ Noose found at Obama Presidential Center site, pausing construction, builders say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Phil-Helsel-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Phil Helsel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Construction has been suspended at the Obama Presidential Center after a noose was found at the site on Chicago’s South Side, the builders said Thursday, condemning what they called an “act of hate.”“We are horrified that this would occur on our site,” the Lakeside Alliance, the group of construction companies building the center, said in a statement. The Lakeside Alliance said it was informed Thursday morning about the discovery at the project site and reported it to police. The Lakeside Alliance said it is pausing construction and offering a $100,000 reward to help find the person or people responsible. “This shameless act of cowardice and hate is designed to get attention and divide us,” the foundation said. The project broke ground in September 2021 and is expected to open in 2025, according to the center.

Hurricane Nicole weakened into a tropical storm shortly after making landfall on Florida’s Atlantic coast just south of Vero Beach early Thursday, officials said. Just under an hour later, the hurricane center said Nicole had weakened into a tropical storm as it made its way over east-central Florida, bringing strong winds, heavy rains and dangerous storm surge. Hurricane Nicole approaches the Florida coast on Nov. 10, 2022. After striking Florida, Nicole is expected to move over central and northern Florida and into southern Georgia on Thursday and Thursday night, forecasters said, before moving into the Carolinas. Nicole struck Florida as a hurricane about six weeks after Hurricane Ian hit the state as a Category 4 hurricane.

One person died, a woman lost her pregnancy, and over a dozen others were sickened in a listeria outbreak believed to be linked to deli meat and cheese, public health officials said Wednesday. At least 16 people in six states have been sickened, with New York state reporting the most people sickened, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said, but the real number is likely higher. In New York, where seven of the sick people were identified, five bought deli meat or cheese from at least one location of the NetCost Market chain, but others did not, according to the CDC. The CDC said investigators don’t think that chain is the sole source, and that products bought at deli counters in multiple states are the likely source. “A contaminated food likely introduced the outbreak strain of Listeria into delis in multiple states,” the agency said.

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