California
Sabrina Carpenter gets 5-year restraining order against man who kept trying to enter her home
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man who tried to get into pop star Sabrina Carpenter ‘s home more than a dozen times was ordered by a judge Wednesday to stay away from her for five years.
William Applegate, 31, said at a hearing that he and Carpenter were part of a classified military program that required them to “be together as soon as possible” because it’s essential to “national and global security.”
In one instance last month, Applegate hit a security guard and was arrested after reaching the front door of Carpenter’s home in Los Angeles, she said in a petition. He got there through a neighboring property. He came back in the following days, and the judge issued a temporary restraining order on May 29.
Applegate admitted to all his appearances, saying Carpenter wanted him to be there. However, he said he would be “more than willing” to stay away from her if she told him herself. He said police and her representatives were working against him.
With no attorney, he delivered the message coherently, wearing a suit and sitting at the defense table with a laptop.
Carpenter was ready to testify remotely but was not called to do so.
Her attorney Blair Berk told the judge “she is in fear for her own personal safety and the safety of members of her family.” Berk questioned Applegate only to verify that social media posts about Carpenter were from him.
Applegate said in his filing opposing the restraining order that he was at Carpenter’s Coachella festival performance in April and she had looked at him as she sang in an attempt to communicate with him.
In her petition, Carpenter called him “a complete stranger” who she has never met or communicated with, and never wants to.
Judge David L. Wasserman treated Applegate’s assertions seriously in his questioning and said he appreciated the decorum of everyone in the courtroom.
“I understand that it’s your belief that in order to save the world, you and the petitioner must be together,” the judge said. “I expect you to obey the order, not what you think is right, not what you think the military commands you.”
He ordered Applegate to stay at least 100 yards (meters) from Carpenter and her sister and sister’s partner who live with her, along with many other restrictions. Applegate was also ordered not to attempt to communicate with her in any way and not to possess any firearms.
Applegate remains under a criminal investigation, but court records do not show that charges have been filed.
Carpenter, 27, starred in the Disney Channel series “Girl Meets World” as a teen before turning to a music career. She had modest success with her first few studio albums before scoring a breakthrough with 2022’s “Emails I Can’t Send.” With her 2024 album “Short n’ Sweet” and its No. 1 hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” she became a multiple Grammy winner and one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
Maryland
Cargo ship’s chief engineer charged in 2024 Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (AP) — Prosecutors have filed a criminal charge against the chief engineer of a cargo ship involved in the deadly 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing him of failing to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of hazardous conditions on the ship.
Karthikeyan Deenadayalan was charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland on Monday with one count of violating the federal Port and Waterways Safety Act. Deenadayalan’s attorneys did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Prosecutors also filed notice of a “deferred prosecution agreement” with the court, but did not provide details about the terms of that deal. Deferred prosecution agreements are typically used when a defendant has agreed to meet certain conditions — such as providing testimony, or paying restitution — in exchange for the charges against them being dropped.
Prosecutors say in court documents that Deenadayalan was the chief engineer of the container ship when it was in the Port of Baltimore in the days before the deadly bridge collision, and that Deenadayalan willfully failed to notify the U.S. Coast Guard that an improper fuel pump without a backup system was being used to power two of the ship’s generators.
The Dali, bound for Sri Lanka, lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge in the early hours of March 26, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that led to its steering failure.
But after regaining power, the ship found itself in trouble again, prosecutors say, because the fuel pump used on the two generators was not designed to automatically restart after the first blackout. That caused a second blackout to occur, and the vessel crashed into a supporting column of the bridge, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes on the structure. The toll bridge first opened in 1977 and is traveled by millions of cars every day.
The Singapore-based ship operator and another employee were indicted on criminal charges in May, accused of relying on the improper pump and then lying about it to investigators. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. and Chennai, India-based Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd. and the ship’s former technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, are charged with conspiracy, misconduct causing death, failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazardous condition, obstructing the National Transportation Safety Board and making false statements.
A trial in the case against the ship’s operator and the technical superintendent has been scheduled for October 2027.
After the indictment, Synergy Marine expressed disappointment and accused the U.S. Justice Department of turning an accident into a crime. Nair’s lawyer, David Gerger, had a similar response, saying in May that his client “thinks about this accident every day, but he certainly did not cause it.”
In April, a $2.25 billion settlement was announced between the state of Maryland, Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean Private Limited, the Singapore-based ship owner. Grace Ocean hasn’t been charged with any crimes related to the collapse.
Earlier this month, a federal judge agreed to postpone a civil trial over the collapse after a flurry of last-minute settlements resolved most of the remaining claims, including deals resolving all pending claims over the deaths of six construction workers.
Virtually all of the unresolved claims are alleging economic losses by businesses and local governments. None of the remaining parties were asking to start the trial as scheduled this week.
Wyoming
Governor sues Board of Equalization, asks court to enforce property tax cap
(WYOFILE) Gov. Mark Gordon filed a lawsuit Tuesday to force the State Board of Equalization to certify residential property tax values after the panel concluded last week it could not do so due to disparities created by a 2024 tax cap.
“This legal action, if successful, will prevent confusion and disruption to residential property owners and counties who are in the midst of winding up the property assessment determinations,” the Governor’s Office said in a statement.
Gordon’s decision effectively means he’s directed an attorney general he appointed to file suit against a board that he also selected.
The Attorney General’s Office accuses the board of exceeding its “authority when it unilaterally determined that the property tax exemptions are unconstitutional and did not certify residential property tax values for the 2026 tax year.”
As such, the state is asking the court to prohibit the board from refusing to certify residential property tax values. It also defends the cap as falling “squarely within the legislature’s authority to create property exemptions” under the Wyoming Constitution.
“As with other property tax exemptions, the single-family residential structure and associated improved lands exemptions do not alter the fair market value determination of the property,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, exemptions operate to reduce the assessed value for purposes of determining the property tax assessment.”
Two years ago, the Wyoming Legislature passed a tax cap for residential property taxes to relieve homeowners. The cap, however, has created nonuniform assessments across the state, including “thousands of value ‘inversions’ in each county,” such as when a higher-market-value home is assessed at a lower taxable value than a lower-market-value home, according to a report released last week by the board.
Because of its constitutional obligation to ensure uniformity, the board says it cannot certify residential land or improvement values while the cap is in place. A noncertification, as the board warned, could prevent local governments from collecting 2026 taxes on residential properties — a key revenue source for public services like K-12 education, roads, sewers and law enforcement.
It will now be up to the courts to resolve the issue.
“It is my duty to uphold and support the laws passed by the legislature,” Gordon said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
“Once those laws are on the books, it is solely the role of the judiciary to determine their constitutionality, not the agencies, boards, or commissions,” Gordon wrote. “For this reason, I believe the Board is incorrect in their order and I believe it is appropriate to go to the judicial branch for clarification.”
The lawsuit was filed in Laramie County District Court and names Jayne Mockler and Martin Hardsocg in their official capacities as board chairman and vice chairman. The third board member, Karl Anderson, is not named as a defendant in the complaint.
“We’ve always known that this was going to have to play out in the courts,” Mockler told WyoFile on Tuesday. “And the sooner the better, because it really is an awful lot on the line for local government, for taxpayers. So the sooner it can get to the court the better.”
The board — whose members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate — warned lawmakers about the cap’s consequences when it was still being debated.
After the bill became law, the board discussed its concerns with the Governor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office. In January, after the board had hired outside legal counsel t o prepare a state-authorized lawsuit challenging the cap, Gordon quashed it.
Now, the Attorney General’s Office is suing the board on behalf of the Governor’s Office.
In a statement, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association expressed its support for Gordon’s “decision to seek judicial clarification.”
“It is important that counties, assessors and taxpayers have clear direction as they move through the annual assessment and certification process,” Jeremiah Rieman, executive director of the association, said in the statement.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus criticized “Governor Gordon’s Board of Equalization” in a Facebook post last week, writing that the board “cannot declare an act of the Legislature unconstitutional. Bureaucrats are not judges.”
In its report, the board openly acknowledged it cannot determine the cap’s constitutionality.
“The State Board lacks authority to declare a statute unconstitutional,” it states.
Sabrina Carpenter gets 5-year restraining order against man who kept trying to enter her home
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man who tried to get into pop star Sabrina Carpenter ‘s home more than a dozen times was ordered by a judge Wednesday to stay away from her for five years.
William Applegate, 31, said at a hearing that he and Carpenter were part of a classified military program that required them to “be together as soon as possible” because it’s essential to “national and global security.”
In one instance last month, Applegate hit a security guard and was arrested after reaching the front door of Carpenter’s home in Los Angeles, she said in a petition. He got there through a neighboring property. He came back in the following days, and the judge issued a temporary restraining order on May 29.
Applegate admitted to all his appearances, saying Carpenter wanted him to be there. However, he said he would be “more than willing” to stay away from her if she told him herself. He said police and her representatives were working against him.
With no attorney, he delivered the message coherently, wearing a suit and sitting at the defense table with a laptop.
Carpenter was ready to testify remotely but was not called to do so.
Her attorney Blair Berk told the judge “she is in fear for her own personal safety and the safety of members of her family.” Berk questioned Applegate only to verify that social media posts about Carpenter were from him.
Applegate said in his filing opposing the restraining order that he was at Carpenter’s Coachella festival performance in April and she had looked at him as she sang in an attempt to communicate with him.
In her petition, Carpenter called him “a complete stranger” who she has never met or communicated with, and never wants to.
Judge David L. Wasserman treated Applegate’s assertions seriously in his questioning and said he appreciated the decorum of everyone in the courtroom.
“I understand that it’s your belief that in order to save the world, you and the petitioner must be together,” the judge said. “I expect you to obey the order, not what you think is right, not what you think the military commands you.”
He ordered Applegate to stay at least 100 yards (meters) from Carpenter and her sister and sister’s partner who live with her, along with many other restrictions. Applegate was also ordered not to attempt to communicate with her in any way and not to possess any firearms.
Applegate remains under a criminal investigation, but court records do not show that charges have been filed.
Carpenter, 27, starred in the Disney Channel series “Girl Meets World” as a teen before turning to a music career. She had modest success with her first few studio albums before scoring a breakthrough with 2022’s “Emails I Can’t Send.” With her 2024 album “Short n’ Sweet” and its No. 1 hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” she became a multiple Grammy winner and one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
Maryland
Cargo ship’s chief engineer charged in 2024 Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (AP) — Prosecutors have filed a criminal charge against the chief engineer of a cargo ship involved in the deadly 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing him of failing to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of hazardous conditions on the ship.
Karthikeyan Deenadayalan was charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland on Monday with one count of violating the federal Port and Waterways Safety Act. Deenadayalan’s attorneys did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Prosecutors also filed notice of a “deferred prosecution agreement” with the court, but did not provide details about the terms of that deal. Deferred prosecution agreements are typically used when a defendant has agreed to meet certain conditions — such as providing testimony, or paying restitution — in exchange for the charges against them being dropped.
Prosecutors say in court documents that Deenadayalan was the chief engineer of the container ship when it was in the Port of Baltimore in the days before the deadly bridge collision, and that Deenadayalan willfully failed to notify the U.S. Coast Guard that an improper fuel pump without a backup system was being used to power two of the ship’s generators.
The Dali, bound for Sri Lanka, lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge in the early hours of March 26, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that led to its steering failure.
But after regaining power, the ship found itself in trouble again, prosecutors say, because the fuel pump used on the two generators was not designed to automatically restart after the first blackout. That caused a second blackout to occur, and the vessel crashed into a supporting column of the bridge, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes on the structure. The toll bridge first opened in 1977 and is traveled by millions of cars every day.
The Singapore-based ship operator and another employee were indicted on criminal charges in May, accused of relying on the improper pump and then lying about it to investigators. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. and Chennai, India-based Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd. and the ship’s former technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, are charged with conspiracy, misconduct causing death, failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazardous condition, obstructing the National Transportation Safety Board and making false statements.
A trial in the case against the ship’s operator and the technical superintendent has been scheduled for October 2027.
After the indictment, Synergy Marine expressed disappointment and accused the U.S. Justice Department of turning an accident into a crime. Nair’s lawyer, David Gerger, had a similar response, saying in May that his client “thinks about this accident every day, but he certainly did not cause it.”
In April, a $2.25 billion settlement was announced between the state of Maryland, Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean Private Limited, the Singapore-based ship owner. Grace Ocean hasn’t been charged with any crimes related to the collapse.
Earlier this month, a federal judge agreed to postpone a civil trial over the collapse after a flurry of last-minute settlements resolved most of the remaining claims, including deals resolving all pending claims over the deaths of six construction workers.
Virtually all of the unresolved claims are alleging economic losses by businesses and local governments. None of the remaining parties were asking to start the trial as scheduled this week.
Wyoming
Governor sues Board of Equalization, asks court to enforce property tax cap
(WYOFILE) Gov. Mark Gordon filed a lawsuit Tuesday to force the State Board of Equalization to certify residential property tax values after the panel concluded last week it could not do so due to disparities created by a 2024 tax cap.
“This legal action, if successful, will prevent confusion and disruption to residential property owners and counties who are in the midst of winding up the property assessment determinations,” the Governor’s Office said in a statement.
Gordon’s decision effectively means he’s directed an attorney general he appointed to file suit against a board that he also selected.
The Attorney General’s Office accuses the board of exceeding its “authority when it unilaterally determined that the property tax exemptions are unconstitutional and did not certify residential property tax values for the 2026 tax year.”
As such, the state is asking the court to prohibit the board from refusing to certify residential property tax values. It also defends the cap as falling “squarely within the legislature’s authority to create property exemptions” under the Wyoming Constitution.
“As with other property tax exemptions, the single-family residential structure and associated improved lands exemptions do not alter the fair market value determination of the property,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, exemptions operate to reduce the assessed value for purposes of determining the property tax assessment.”
Two years ago, the Wyoming Legislature passed a tax cap for residential property taxes to relieve homeowners. The cap, however, has created nonuniform assessments across the state, including “thousands of value ‘inversions’ in each county,” such as when a higher-market-value home is assessed at a lower taxable value than a lower-market-value home, according to a report released last week by the board.
Because of its constitutional obligation to ensure uniformity, the board says it cannot certify residential land or improvement values while the cap is in place. A noncertification, as the board warned, could prevent local governments from collecting 2026 taxes on residential properties — a key revenue source for public services like K-12 education, roads, sewers and law enforcement.
It will now be up to the courts to resolve the issue.
“It is my duty to uphold and support the laws passed by the legislature,” Gordon said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
“Once those laws are on the books, it is solely the role of the judiciary to determine their constitutionality, not the agencies, boards, or commissions,” Gordon wrote. “For this reason, I believe the Board is incorrect in their order and I believe it is appropriate to go to the judicial branch for clarification.”
The lawsuit was filed in Laramie County District Court and names Jayne Mockler and Martin Hardsocg in their official capacities as board chairman and vice chairman. The third board member, Karl Anderson, is not named as a defendant in the complaint.
“We’ve always known that this was going to have to play out in the courts,” Mockler told WyoFile on Tuesday. “And the sooner the better, because it really is an awful lot on the line for local government, for taxpayers. So the sooner it can get to the court the better.”
The board — whose members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate — warned lawmakers about the cap’s consequences when it was still being debated.
After the bill became law, the board discussed its concerns with the Governor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office. In January, after the board had hired outside legal counsel t o prepare a state-authorized lawsuit challenging the cap, Gordon quashed it.
Now, the Attorney General’s Office is suing the board on behalf of the Governor’s Office.
In a statement, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association expressed its support for Gordon’s “decision to seek judicial clarification.”
“It is important that counties, assessors and taxpayers have clear direction as they move through the annual assessment and certification process,” Jeremiah Rieman, executive director of the association, said in the statement.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus criticized “Governor Gordon’s Board of Equalization” in a Facebook post last week, writing that the board “cannot declare an act of the Legislature unconstitutional. Bureaucrats are not judges.”
In its report, the board openly acknowledged it cannot determine the cap’s constitutionality.
“The State Board lacks authority to declare a statute unconstitutional,” it states.
