New York
Professor accused of taking flammables into cathedral dies
NEW YORK (AP) - A college instructor who was accused last year of carrying gasoline and lighters into St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York has died, his lawyer said.
Marc Lamparello died by suicide April 17, attorney Christopher DiLorenzo said Thursday. Lamparello had been released from a secure psychiatric hospital last month because of the spread of the coronavirus.
Lamparello, 38, of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, was arrested April 17, 2019, after entering the landmark St. Patrick's Cathedral carrying two cans of gasoline, lighter fluid and butane lighters, officials said.
He had been arrested at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in New Jersey earlier in the week and had booked a flight to Rome, authorities said.
A Manhattan judge found Lamparello mentally unfit for trial after his arrest. He had been expected to enter mental health court after being rehabilitated at the Mid Hudson Forensic Center and later evaluated by special court staff, who recommended his participation in the program.
But DiLorenzo said that after being released from the Mid Hudson center last month, Lamparello "languished without therapeutic treatment."
Prosecutors said Lamparello, who had taught philosophy as an adjunct professor at Lehman College in New York City and Seton Hall University in New Jersey, spent a considerable amount of time surveilling St. Patrick's.
Lamparello pleaded not guilty to attempted arson and reckless endangerment.
Arkansas
Court allows ban on surgical abortions due to virus
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed Arkansas to ban most surgical abortions during the coronavirus pandemic.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dissolved a judge's temporary restraining order that allowed surgical abortions to continue after the Arkansas Department of Health told the state's only surgical abortion clinic to stop performing the procedure unless it was needed to protect the life or health of the mother.
The appeals court's ruling said the Health Department's "directive is a legally valid response to the circumstances confronted by the Governor and state health officials."
The state said Little Rock Family Planning Services violated an order requiring health providers to reschedule elective procedures that could be safely postponed. Other states have used similar orders to restrict abortions during the pandemic. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday said the state would ease its limits on elective surgeries starting Monday, though it was not immediately clear whether the move would allow surgical abortions to resume at the clinic.
The state issued the order halting surgical abortions after initially encouraging the clinic to stop performing the procedure for out-of-state patients. Arkansas has reported at least 2,392 coronavirus cases and 42 deaths. The number of infections is likely higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
The state's order did not prohibit medication abortions that are still administered by Little Rock Family Planning and another clinic operated by Planned Parenthood.
"All medically unnecessary surgeries must be postponed, and this decision affirms that surgical abortions do not get special treatment," Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a statement.
Attorneys for Little Rock Family Planning Services on Wednesday night asked a federal judge to prevent the ban from being enforced on patients who will soon be past the legal limit for when abortions can performed in Arkansas. The state currently bans abortion 20 weeks into a woman's pregnancy.
Illinois
Judge tosses Smollett's malicious prosecution lawsuit
CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed actor Jussie Smollett's malicious prosecution lawsuit against the city of Chicago and several police officers.
The former "Empire" actor told police that he was beaten by two men who looped a noose around his neck and threw vile comments at him in an attack near his home in downtown Chicago in January last year. Chicago police said the attack was staged, and Smollett was charged with making a false report. Those charges were subsequently dropped with little explanation from prosecutors.
In April 2019, the city sued Smollett seeking reimbursement of more than $130,000 paid in overtime to police officers who were involved in investigating the alleged racist and homophobic attack on Smollett, who is black and gay.
Smollett countersued in November, saying the city couldn't recover costs because it accepted $10,000 from Smollett "as payment in full in connection with the dismissal of the charges against him." The lawsuit said Smollett had been the victim of a malicious prosecution that caused him humiliation and extreme distress.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall ruled Wednesday that Smollett can't bring a malicious prosecution claim until all proceedings against him have ended.
Kendall was referring to the appointment of a special prosecutor in February, who indicted Smollett on six charges, including that he lied to police about the alleged attack.
Virginia
Gym owner suing governor represented by state senators
CULPEPER, Va. (AP) - Two Republican state senators are representing a gym owner who is suing Virginia's governor over his executive order that closed down nonessential businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic.
State Sen. Bill Stanley and Ryan McDougle filed the lawsuit in Culpeper County Tuesday on behalf Merrill C. "Sandy" Hall, who owns several Gold's Gym franchises. The lawsuit argues Gov. Ralph Northam exceeded his authority when ordering the closure of nonessential businesses, including fitness centers, on March 23.
It also seeks relief from the executive order so Hall can open up his businesses. While announcing the lawsuit, Stanley said the doors of the gyms should "no longer be shuttered" and "need to be reopened," The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
McDougle, who chairs the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus, accused Northam of failing to isolate people infected with the virus so that Virginians could be protected "against government overreach."
Nonessential businesses are slated to be closed in Virginia until early May. The state stay-at-home order, signed on March 30, extends until June 10.
The lawsuit points to a court decision in 2016 that voided an executive order by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe restoring voting rights for felons. Then, too, Republicans had argued that the governor overstepped his authority.
Published: Fri, Apr 24, 2020
