Virginia
Sailor charged with negligent homicide following patrol boat incident
YORKTOWN, Va. (AP) — A U.S. Navy sailor has been charged in the death of a fellow service member in Virginia after officials said the sailor operated a military patrol boat in a negligent manner, the Navy announced Monday.
The Navy said in a news release that it’s not releasing the sailor’s name until the charges have been referred to a court-martial. The sailor who died was Lyndon Joel Cosgriff-Flax.
The accused sailor faces charges that include negligent homicide, making a false official statement and dereliction of duty. The sailor was assigned to a harbor patrol unit at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, near the York River and about a 35-mile (56-kilometer) drive from the nation’s largest naval base in Norfolk.
The incident occurred on the York River in late April, according to charging documents. The charge sheet provided few details. It accuses the sailor of “operating a harbor safety boat in a negligent manner” and falsely claiming that Cosgriff-Flax had fallen overboard.
Ohio
Trial in killings of 8 family members will be moved to another county
The trial for a man accused in the killings of eight people from another Ohio family will be moved to a different county, a judge ruled Monday.
George “Billy” Wagner III, who has pleaded not guilty in the killings, is the last of four family members facing charges in the 2016 fatal shootings of seven adults and a teenager from the Rhoden family in southern Ohio.
Judge Jonathan Hein agreed to Wagner’s request to move the trial. “The small population of Pike County and the intense media coverage leads the court to conclude that no jury could truthfully answer that they have no prior knowledge of the horrendous facts of this case,” he wrote.
Prosecutors have said the killings, which initially spurred speculation about drug cartel involvement, stemmed from a custody dispute. The killings at four different homes led to one of the most extensive criminal investigations in state history.
Wagner is charged with aggravated murder and other charges. His wife, Angela, already has pleaded guilty to helping to plan the killings and will be sentenced Dec. 17.
Their youngest son, Edward “Jake” Wagner, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and agreed to testify against his brother and their parents in a deal to help the family avoid potential death sentences. He will also be sentenced Dec. 17.
The couple’s other son, George Wagner IV, was found guilty in 2002 and sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences.
Massachusetts
Man pleads guilty to threatening Jewish community members and to bomb synagogues
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty in federal court to threatening to kill members of the state’s Jewish community and bomb local synagogues.
John Reardon, 59, of Millis, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, one count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, and one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce.
“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence.”
Jodi Cohen, the special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Field Office, said the guilty plea sends a message that “you cannot call and threaten people with violent physical harm and not face repercussions.”
“People of all races and faiths deserve to feel safe in their communities,” she said.
In January, Reardon called Congregation Agudas Achim in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and left a voicemail making several threats to kill congregants and bomb the synagogue, including that “if you can kill the Palestinians, we can kill you,” federal authorities said. Ten minutes later, he allegedly made a call to another local synagogue and a Jewish organization.
Reardon was arrested days later.
“We’re thankful that Mr. Reardon has admitted responsibility for his actions,” said Rabbi Talya Weisbard Shalem of Congregation Agudas Achim. “What he did was shocking and disturbing to those in our community who had to experience it. I am heartened that Mr. Reardon has apparently recognized the harm he caused and wishes to make amends.”
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza, there has been a sharp rise in incidents of harassment and claims of bias against both Jewish and Muslim communities.
Reardon faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine up to $750,000 on the three charges. No sentencing date had been set.
New Hampshire
Should a man who killed 2 Ivy League professors as a teen continue serving life without parole?
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A judge wants New Hampshire’s highest court to weigh in on the case of a man who pleaded guilty as a teenager to the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors and is challenging his sentence of life without parole.
Robert Tulloch, 41, was 17 when he killed Half and Susanne Zantop as part of a conspiracy he and his best friend concocted to rob and kill people before fleeing to Australia with their ill-gotten gains.
He awaits a resentencing hearing after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2012 that mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles amount to “cruel and unusual” punishment. The New Hampshire attorney general’s office has not yet recommended what term Tulloch should serve when he’s resentenced; it hasn’t ruled out life without parole.
Tulloch’s lawyer, Richard Guerriero, argued before Judge Lawrence MacLeod in September that the New Hampshire Constitution prohibits the life-without-parole sentence. The state attorney general’s office disagreed.
But both sides appeared to agree that if the state constitution allows them, a court needs to determine that a child is permanently incapable of change, MacLeod said in his ruling, which was released Monday. Both sides disagreed on how to arrive at that determination and the facts the sentence is based on, MacLeod said.
The judge noted that “the constitutional issues in this case are significant and complex and have not yet been addressed by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.” He directed both sides to prepare arguments for the higher court’s consideration.
“We agree that this is an important issue which should be decided by the Supreme Court and we look forward to the litigation there,” Guerriero said in a statement Tuesday.
A message seeking comment was left with the attorney general’s office.
At least 28 states have banned such life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed when the defendant is a child. Efforts to pass similar legislation in New Hampshire have not succeeded.
Tulloch’s friend, James Parker, 40, was released from prison on parole in June. He was 16 when the crimes were committed. Parker had pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to second-degree murder in the death of Susanne Zantop. He served nearly the minimum term of his 25 years-to-life sentence.
Parker agreed to testify against Tulloch, who had planned to use an insanity defense at his trial. But Tulloch changed his mind and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Mississippi
Voters will choose judges for state’s top courts in runoff elections
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi voters will decide winners for one seat on the state Supreme Court and one on the state Court of Appeals.
Runoff elections are Tuesday between candidates who advanced from the Nov. 5 general election. Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. central.
Voter turnout typically decreases between general elections and runoffs, and campaigns say turnout could be especially challenging two days before Thanksgiving.
Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens is seeking a third term and is challenged by state Sen. Jenifer Branning.
They are running in District 1, also known as the Central District, which stretches from the Delta region through the Jackson metro area and over to the Alabama border.
Branning received 42% in the first round of voting, and Kitchens received 36%. Three other candidates split the rest.
Mississippi judicial candidates run without party labels, but Democratic areas largely supported Kitchens on Nov. 5 and Republican ones supported Branning.
Branning is endorsed by the state Republican Party. She calls herself a “constitutional conservative” and says she opposes “liberal, activists judges” and “the radical left.”
Kitchens is the more senior of the Court’s two presiding justices, putting him next in line to serve as chief justice. He is endorsed by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Action Fund, which calls itself “a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond.”
In September, Kitchens sided with a man on death row for a murder conviction in which a key witness recanted her testimony. In 2018, Kitchens dissented in a pair of death row cases dealing with the use of the drug midazolam in state executions.
The Court of Appeals runoff is in District 5 in the southeastern corner of the state, including the Gulf Coast.
Amy St. Pe’ and Jennifer Schloegel advanced to the runoff from a three-way contest, with St. Pe’ receiving 35% of the vote on Nov. 5 and Schloegel receiving 33%. The runoff winner will succeed Judge Joel Smith, who did not seek reelection.
St. Pe’ is a municipal judge in Gautier. Schloegel is a chancery court judge in Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties.
New York
MLB players’ union affiliate reaches agreement with FanDuel after agreeing to dismiss lawsuit
NEW YORK (AP) — A commercial affiliate of the Major League Baseball Players Association reached a licensing agreement with FanDuel after agreeing to dismiss a lawsuit against the company.
MLB Players Inc. said Tuesday it signed a non-exclusive product and marketing licensing agreement for FanDuel Sportsbook along with OneTeam Partners, a union commercial partner.
MLB Players sued FanDuel and Underdog Sports in New York Supreme Court on Sept. 16, alleging improper use of names, images and likenesses.
The case that was moved to U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Oct. 18. MLB and FanDuel filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court on Nov. 19 that was approved by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, but the suit against Underdog remains pending.
“This license builds on our existing agreements in this new category of revenue,” union head Tony Clark said in a statement.
A separate suit filed Sept. 16 against DraftKings Inc. and Bet365 Group Ltd. is pending in federal court in Philadelphia.
Sailor charged with negligent homicide following patrol boat incident
YORKTOWN, Va. (AP) — A U.S. Navy sailor has been charged in the death of a fellow service member in Virginia after officials said the sailor operated a military patrol boat in a negligent manner, the Navy announced Monday.
The Navy said in a news release that it’s not releasing the sailor’s name until the charges have been referred to a court-martial. The sailor who died was Lyndon Joel Cosgriff-Flax.
The accused sailor faces charges that include negligent homicide, making a false official statement and dereliction of duty. The sailor was assigned to a harbor patrol unit at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, near the York River and about a 35-mile (56-kilometer) drive from the nation’s largest naval base in Norfolk.
The incident occurred on the York River in late April, according to charging documents. The charge sheet provided few details. It accuses the sailor of “operating a harbor safety boat in a negligent manner” and falsely claiming that Cosgriff-Flax had fallen overboard.
Ohio
Trial in killings of 8 family members will be moved to another county
The trial for a man accused in the killings of eight people from another Ohio family will be moved to a different county, a judge ruled Monday.
George “Billy” Wagner III, who has pleaded not guilty in the killings, is the last of four family members facing charges in the 2016 fatal shootings of seven adults and a teenager from the Rhoden family in southern Ohio.
Judge Jonathan Hein agreed to Wagner’s request to move the trial. “The small population of Pike County and the intense media coverage leads the court to conclude that no jury could truthfully answer that they have no prior knowledge of the horrendous facts of this case,” he wrote.
Prosecutors have said the killings, which initially spurred speculation about drug cartel involvement, stemmed from a custody dispute. The killings at four different homes led to one of the most extensive criminal investigations in state history.
Wagner is charged with aggravated murder and other charges. His wife, Angela, already has pleaded guilty to helping to plan the killings and will be sentenced Dec. 17.
Their youngest son, Edward “Jake” Wagner, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and agreed to testify against his brother and their parents in a deal to help the family avoid potential death sentences. He will also be sentenced Dec. 17.
The couple’s other son, George Wagner IV, was found guilty in 2002 and sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences.
Massachusetts
Man pleads guilty to threatening Jewish community members and to bomb synagogues
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty in federal court to threatening to kill members of the state’s Jewish community and bomb local synagogues.
John Reardon, 59, of Millis, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, one count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, and one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce.
“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence.”
Jodi Cohen, the special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Field Office, said the guilty plea sends a message that “you cannot call and threaten people with violent physical harm and not face repercussions.”
“People of all races and faiths deserve to feel safe in their communities,” she said.
In January, Reardon called Congregation Agudas Achim in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and left a voicemail making several threats to kill congregants and bomb the synagogue, including that “if you can kill the Palestinians, we can kill you,” federal authorities said. Ten minutes later, he allegedly made a call to another local synagogue and a Jewish organization.
Reardon was arrested days later.
“We’re thankful that Mr. Reardon has admitted responsibility for his actions,” said Rabbi Talya Weisbard Shalem of Congregation Agudas Achim. “What he did was shocking and disturbing to those in our community who had to experience it. I am heartened that Mr. Reardon has apparently recognized the harm he caused and wishes to make amends.”
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza, there has been a sharp rise in incidents of harassment and claims of bias against both Jewish and Muslim communities.
Reardon faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine up to $750,000 on the three charges. No sentencing date had been set.
New Hampshire
Should a man who killed 2 Ivy League professors as a teen continue serving life without parole?
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A judge wants New Hampshire’s highest court to weigh in on the case of a man who pleaded guilty as a teenager to the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors and is challenging his sentence of life without parole.
Robert Tulloch, 41, was 17 when he killed Half and Susanne Zantop as part of a conspiracy he and his best friend concocted to rob and kill people before fleeing to Australia with their ill-gotten gains.
He awaits a resentencing hearing after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2012 that mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles amount to “cruel and unusual” punishment. The New Hampshire attorney general’s office has not yet recommended what term Tulloch should serve when he’s resentenced; it hasn’t ruled out life without parole.
Tulloch’s lawyer, Richard Guerriero, argued before Judge Lawrence MacLeod in September that the New Hampshire Constitution prohibits the life-without-parole sentence. The state attorney general’s office disagreed.
But both sides appeared to agree that if the state constitution allows them, a court needs to determine that a child is permanently incapable of change, MacLeod said in his ruling, which was released Monday. Both sides disagreed on how to arrive at that determination and the facts the sentence is based on, MacLeod said.
The judge noted that “the constitutional issues in this case are significant and complex and have not yet been addressed by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.” He directed both sides to prepare arguments for the higher court’s consideration.
“We agree that this is an important issue which should be decided by the Supreme Court and we look forward to the litigation there,” Guerriero said in a statement Tuesday.
A message seeking comment was left with the attorney general’s office.
At least 28 states have banned such life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed when the defendant is a child. Efforts to pass similar legislation in New Hampshire have not succeeded.
Tulloch’s friend, James Parker, 40, was released from prison on parole in June. He was 16 when the crimes were committed. Parker had pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to second-degree murder in the death of Susanne Zantop. He served nearly the minimum term of his 25 years-to-life sentence.
Parker agreed to testify against Tulloch, who had planned to use an insanity defense at his trial. But Tulloch changed his mind and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Mississippi
Voters will choose judges for state’s top courts in runoff elections
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi voters will decide winners for one seat on the state Supreme Court and one on the state Court of Appeals.
Runoff elections are Tuesday between candidates who advanced from the Nov. 5 general election. Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. central.
Voter turnout typically decreases between general elections and runoffs, and campaigns say turnout could be especially challenging two days before Thanksgiving.
Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens is seeking a third term and is challenged by state Sen. Jenifer Branning.
They are running in District 1, also known as the Central District, which stretches from the Delta region through the Jackson metro area and over to the Alabama border.
Branning received 42% in the first round of voting, and Kitchens received 36%. Three other candidates split the rest.
Mississippi judicial candidates run without party labels, but Democratic areas largely supported Kitchens on Nov. 5 and Republican ones supported Branning.
Branning is endorsed by the state Republican Party. She calls herself a “constitutional conservative” and says she opposes “liberal, activists judges” and “the radical left.”
Kitchens is the more senior of the Court’s two presiding justices, putting him next in line to serve as chief justice. He is endorsed by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Action Fund, which calls itself “a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond.”
In September, Kitchens sided with a man on death row for a murder conviction in which a key witness recanted her testimony. In 2018, Kitchens dissented in a pair of death row cases dealing with the use of the drug midazolam in state executions.
The Court of Appeals runoff is in District 5 in the southeastern corner of the state, including the Gulf Coast.
Amy St. Pe’ and Jennifer Schloegel advanced to the runoff from a three-way contest, with St. Pe’ receiving 35% of the vote on Nov. 5 and Schloegel receiving 33%. The runoff winner will succeed Judge Joel Smith, who did not seek reelection.
St. Pe’ is a municipal judge in Gautier. Schloegel is a chancery court judge in Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties.
New York
MLB players’ union affiliate reaches agreement with FanDuel after agreeing to dismiss lawsuit
NEW YORK (AP) — A commercial affiliate of the Major League Baseball Players Association reached a licensing agreement with FanDuel after agreeing to dismiss a lawsuit against the company.
MLB Players Inc. said Tuesday it signed a non-exclusive product and marketing licensing agreement for FanDuel Sportsbook along with OneTeam Partners, a union commercial partner.
MLB Players sued FanDuel and Underdog Sports in New York Supreme Court on Sept. 16, alleging improper use of names, images and likenesses.
The case that was moved to U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Oct. 18. MLB and FanDuel filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court on Nov. 19 that was approved by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, but the suit against Underdog remains pending.
“This license builds on our existing agreements in this new category of revenue,” union head Tony Clark said in a statement.
A separate suit filed Sept. 16 against DraftKings Inc. and Bet365 Group Ltd. is pending in federal court in Philadelphia.
