Democrats want Biden to pardon felons in jail due to laws he supported
House Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to grant more pardons and commutations before his administration ends Monday, Jan. 20. The lawmakers said the president should focus on nonviolent drug offenders, women who committed crimes against abusers and those with sentencing disparities for similar crimes, like powder and crack cocaine offenses.
“Every single pardon, every single commutation, every single life matters. So President Biden must keep going,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said.
The lawmakers said President Biden should thoroughly review the more than 10,000 pending commutation applications. They contend there are many incarcerated individuals who do not pose a threat to society.
“Mass incarceration continues to be a stain upon the soul of our country, ravaging our communities, destabilizing families and exacerbating generational trauma,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., said.
There are three laws in particular that advocates blame for what they describe as harsh sentences for federal crimes — the 1984 crime bill, 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, and the 1994 crime bill. President Biden either co-sponsored or voted in favor of each one as a senator.
“The current president was a part of creating the problem of mass incarceration. And like, we’re not even blaming him, because that time there was a demand,” DeMareo Cooper, with the Center for Popular Democracy, said. “But like all of us, we can learn from our mistakes.”
Before he became president, Biden expressed regret for writing and supporting the legislation. During an event in 2019 he referred to the disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine in federal sentencing.
“It was a big mistake that was made,” Biden said. “We were told by the experts that ‘crack, you never go back,’ that the two were somehow fundamentally different. It’s not. But it’s trapped an entire generation.”
“Clemency is paramount in criminal justice. This tool, which is granted to the president, equips him with the ability to bring about fairness to Black lives that have been affected by bad policy,” Patrice Willoughby, with the NAACP, said.
Clemency advocates also point to the many inmates who give back to society. There are more than 1,000 California inmates fighting wildfires in the LA region. They are paid up to $10 per day plus $1 per hour on duty.
“Risking their lives to save lives, only to return to a jail cell at night,” Pressley said. “Now I think that makes the case, if we need it anymore, of people who should not be incarcerated, who should be reunited with their families.”
How the accused UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter could get away with murder
Could the man accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on video get away with murder? While the immediate response would seem to be “no” considering the evidence, legal analysts say there is a chance, however small, Luigi Mangione could avoid a murder conviction.
Increasing public sympathy for Mangione could result in what’s called jury nullification despite the large amount of evidence stacked against him, according to some legal experts.
Jury nullification is when a jury returns a not guilty verdict even though all the jurors believe beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant did what he is accused of.
Mangione has been charged with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, under federal law. He also faces state charges in New York and Pennsylvania.
He faces the death penalty in the federal charges, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole. Prosecutors say the two cases will be tried in mostly the same way, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.
Since his arrest, Mangione has gained many supporters. Many of them have posted sympathetic messages online or created fan accounts.
Supporters have even raised thousands of dollars on crowdfunding sites to pay for his legal defense fund. Many see Mangione’s alleged crimes as a form of protest against the American health care system.
Court proceedings in Mangione’s case were slated to start on Jan. 18. However, the deadline for indictment was pushed to Feb. 17 after both prosecutors and Mangione’s attorneys told a federal court they need more time to prepare.
MoviePass ex-CEO pleads guilty to fraud over ‘unlimited’ plan
The former CEO of MoviePass, Ted Farnsworth, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Jan. 7, to fraud for lying to investors about the success of the company. Now, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
The subscription service gained a lot of attention in 2017, promising unlimited access to movies at theaters for just $9.95 a month. But that proved to be unattainable, despite reaching a peak of 3 million subscribers in 2018, with the company eventually filing for bankruptcy in 2020.
According to the Justice Department, Farnsworth, who’s been in federal custody since August 2023, falsely claimed the plan for the company was tested, sustainable and would be profitable, or at least break even on subscription fees alone. Now, he’s accused of knowing all along that the $9.95 unlimited price was a temporary marketing gimmick intended to attract new investors.
Farnsworth also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud as the leader of another publicly traded company, Vinco Ventures, Inc. Prosecutors said he tried to inflate its stock price and took millions of dollars from the company for himself.
He faces five years on this count and another 20 for MoviePass. A sentencing date hasn’t been set yet.
As for MoviePass, the company has new management, and a new business model, with plans to relaunch at some point, but no specific timeline has yet been released.
Reports suggested the 29-year-old journalist’s detention was connected to an Iranian engineer facing charges from the U.S. Justice Department.
Some Italian commentators believed Tehran detained Sala as a bargaining chip to secure the release of Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini.
Three days before Sala’s arrest, Italian authorities arrested Abedini on a U.S. warrant.
The U.S. Justice Department indicted Abedini and another Iranian on charges of supplying Tehran with drone technology used to kill three American troops in Jordan in January 2024.
Two federal inmates reject Biden’s commutation of their death sentences
Two federal inmates who spent years on death row are rejecting President Joe Biden’s commutation of their sentences. Both men have already filed emergency motions requesting that their commutations be blocked.
Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis, who refused to sign their paperwork after Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 inmates last month, are appealing their cases. They believe their status on death row will help them fight their convictions.
Agofsky is in jail on murder and robbery charges. He received his death sentence following the 2001 murder of a fellow inmate. NBC News reported he has opposed commutation to receive extra legal help for his appeals as a death row inmate.
Davis, meanwhile, is a former police officer in jail for the murder of a woman who filed a complaint against him after he allegedly assaulted a teenager. Davis says the court had no jurisdiction to try him for the case.
But getting their commutations reversed may be an uphill battle.
A 1927 Supreme Court case ruled that presidents do not need the consent of convicts to grant them pardons, commutations or clemency.
US citizens sue Venezuelan president over alleged torture in prison
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is accused of running a torture-filled prison and using American detainees as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United States in a new lawsuit. Two men from the U.S., who were imprisoned in Venezuela, are suing Maduro, saying his security officials put them through a pattern of torture including waterboarding, electrocution, threats of rape, mind-altering medication and locking them in a small cell.
“The kidnapping, torture and ransoming of American citizens was part of a continuous and systematic scheme to coerce the United States government into policy concessions, the end of an oil embargo, and prisoner swaps,” lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in the lawsuit.
One of the plaintiffs, Matthew Heath, a former U.S. Marine corporal and U.S. security consultant in Afghanistan, was arrested and charged by Venezuelan authorities at a roadblock in Venezuela in 2020. They allegedly found weapons and a satellite phone on him.
Maduro accused him of being an oil refinery spy for then-President Donald Trump.
Osman Khan, the other plaintiff, was working in Colombia after graduating from college in the United States when he met his Venezuelan girlfriend, who invited him to meet her family.
Authorities detained Khan in 2022 while they were crossing the border and he was charged with terrorism and human trafficking.
The U.S. government found both men were wrongfully detained on false charges and they were each released in a prisoner swap after hundreds of days in jail.
Venezuela’s government has not commented on the lawsuit but has previously denied it targets Americans for imprisonment.
At least 95 killed in 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Tibet
A powerful earthquake proves deadly in East Asia on Tuesday morning. And winter weather pounds the United States from the Great Plains to the East Coast. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
7.1 magnitude earthquake kills at least 95 in Tibet
At least 95 people are dead Tuesday after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked Tibet, China, according to Chinese state media. The quake occurred just after 9 a.m. on Jan. 7 near Shigatse, one of Tibet’s holiest cities.
The quake reached a depth of 6.2 miles, damaging buildings and sending people running to the streets in neighboring Nepal and India. Cities as far away as Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city about 240 miles away, felt tremors.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude of 7.1, while the China Earthquake Networks Center reported it at 6.8. Multiple aftershocks followed the initial quake.
In addition to the dozens of lives lost, local authorities said the disaster injured at least 130 people.
First winter storm of 2025 leaves at least 4 dead across multiple states
The system moved east on Monday, Jan. 6, from the Great Plains to the East Coast. It brought snow, blizzard conditions and ice. The storm hit cities like Kansas City and Cincinnati the hardest.
Authorities said a public works employee in Missouri suffered a fatal injury while working to remove snow. Two people in Wichita, Kansas, died in a weather-related crash, and one person in Houston, Texas, most likely died as a result of the cold weather, according to local authorities.
The storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes across at least a half-dozen states.
While the heavy snow ended, the danger remained. Forecasters said the winter system is drawing cold air behind it, meaning states across the entire U.S. will experience a cold front.
Pentagon transfers 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantánamo Bay to Oman
The Pentagon said the U.S. transferred 11 Yemeni detainees to Oman, which agreed to help re-settle them. Two of the detainees are former bodyguards for Osama Bin Laden and were being held at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.
None of the 11 detainees released were charged with crimes.
The move comes amid steps to reduce the population at the controversial U.S. military facility. Only 15 detainees remain at Guantánamo Bay’s detention facility, which the U.S. set up as the war on terror began after Sept. 11, 2001.
Of the 15 current detainees, only three are eligible for transfer. Three more are eligible for a periodic review, seven are involved in the military commissions process and two detainees were convicted and sentenced by military commissions.
In recent weeks, the Biden administration transferred four other detainees from Guantánamo, including one brought to the detention facility the day it opened in 2002. That person was never formally charged.
The move follows a recent ruling by a military judge that plea agreements with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and two other accused terrorists are valid and binding. Those deals take the death penalty off the table for the three men, who remain at Guantánamo Bay.
Biden attends memorial service for New Orleans terror attack victims
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden attended a memorial service Monday, Jan. 6, for the 14 victims killed in the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans. The interfaith prayer service was held at the famous St. Louis Cathedral in the city’s French Quarter, less than a mile away from the scene of the Bourbon Street terror attack.
Jill and I traveled to New Orleans to stand with a community defined by strength and resilience.
To grieve. To pray. And let them know that America stands with them, and mourns with them. pic.twitter.com/26Phe203WF
The president spoke at the service, reassuring the people of New Orleans they are not alone and highlighting the city’s enduring strength and resilience amid tragedy. He referred to past devastation experienced by the city, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“If there’s one thing we know: New Orleans defines strength and resilience,” the president said. “You define it, whether it’s in the form of this attack, from this attack, or hurricanes or super storms. This city’s people get back up.”
The president and first lady also visited the Bourbon Street memorial, where they placed flowers and prayed for the victims.
While in New Orleans, the Bidens met privately with grieving families, survivors and first responders.
Though both cases were dismissed, the special counsel is required to provide a report to Garland, who can then decide whether to make it public.
According to the letter and a legal filing, Trump’s lawyers and two former co-defendants in the documents case viewed a two-volume draft copy of the report over the weekend. They called the report “one-sided” and “slanted.”
In the letter, Trump’s lawyer requested Garland fire Smith, who is set to resign before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, or let the decision on the release of the report be handled by Trump’s incoming attorney general, Pam Bondi.
The lawyers for Trump’s two former co-defendants in the documents case also asked the judge who dismissed the case to halt the report’s release, citing her ruling that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional.
While it is not clear when the report will be released, the lawyers have asked the judge for a hearing on their request by Friday, Jan. 10, believing the release is “imminent.”
‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary announces bid to buy TikTok
With millions of social media users counting down TikTok’s days in the U.S., one businessman is looking to prevent the ban from taking effect. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary issued a press release Monday announcing his interest in purchasing TikTok.
O’Leary — known by “Shark Tank” fans as “Mr. Wonderful” — said he is partnering with former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt on the bid.
Speaking to Fox Business, O’Leary said he would need Trump’s help to seal the deal. O’Leary said he’s “protecting the privacy of 170 million American users” and “empowering creators and small businesses.”
TikTok faces a federal ban on Jan. 19 unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells. The Biden administration and other federal lawmakers believe TikTok threatens national security, accusing the Chinese government of using it to spy on Americans. Lawmakers fear the app is being used to weaponize and influence content Americans view.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments from ByteDance on why it should prevent the ban.
How El Salvador’s murder rate fell 98% in nine years
Homicides in El Salvador are down 98% since 2015, a noteworthy feat for a small country once plagued by gangs, being previously dubbed “the murder capital of the world.” The Central American country closed out 2024 with its lowest murder rate on record. El Salvador’s president is touting the nation as the safest in the entire Western Hemisphere.
President Nayib Bukele’s tactics to achieve the falling murder rates have been praised from within the country, but some human rights groups have been critical of the crime crackdown.
In 2024, there were 114 homicides recorded in El Salvador, continuing the trend of a dramatic drop in murders after 214 homicides were recorded in 2023. Just a few years prior, in 2015, the country saw 6,656 people murdered, making it one of the world’s deadliest countries. However, the murder rate in 2024, down more than 98% from 2015, makes it one of the safest countries by homicide rate.
El Salvador cierra el 2024 con una tasa de 1.9 homicidios por cada 100,000 habitantes, consolidándose, indiscutiblemente, como el país más seguro del Hemisferio Occidental, después de haber sido el país más inseguro del mundo.
El Salvador’s Congress had granted Bukele’s request to issue a state of emergency back in 2022, after street gangs killed 62 people within a matter of hours. Gang initiations in El Salvador often involve killing at least one citizen.
The state of emergency granted Bukele special powers to use the military to enforce safety laws. It also allowed police to detain any suspect for up to two weeks without official charges being brought.
El Salvador’s Congress renewed the emergency order month since then. Bukele’s conservative party holds a supermajority.
Since the emergency order was enacted, more than 83,000 people have been arrested in an unprecedented crackdown. Some advocacy groups say prison conditions violate human rights. In the past two and a half years, 261 people have died in prisons, according to human rights organization Cristosal.
“Suddenly you’re hit with an intense gaze of dozens locking onto you,” CNN’s reporter said while walking inside the prison. “These men are described as the worst of the worst. Tattooed with reminders of El Salvador’s dark past. It’s tense and uncomfortable. But here, officials say comfort isn’t meant to exist.”
Human Rights Watch points to prison conditions and suspended constitutional rights, including the right to a speedy or fair trial, under the emergency order as violations. Another human rights group based in El Salvador, Socorro Jurídico Humanitario, claims that 35,000 people have been “detained without justification” since the emergency order was put into effect.
The government said 8,000 people have been released due to lack of evidence.
Bukele denied the allegations.
“What about the society, the good citizens that you have in the country,” Bukele said. “Where were (these human rights groups) when we lost 30 Salvadorans in our country a day?”
Despite the concerns of human rights organizations, many Salvadorans praise the president’s mass crime crackdown. So much so, in fact, that last year residents voted Bukele in for an unprecedented second five-year term.
El Salvador does not allow anyone to run for consecutive terms as president, but the country’s Supreme Court granted an exception. Bukele’s secured more than 80% of the popular vote in his win.
While critics of Bukele’s hardline approach say residents have traded in their freedoms for security, CNN reported that the residents they interviewed say they have never felt so free.
North Carolina governor commutes death sentences of 15 inmates
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 men on his final day in office. All 15 will still serve life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The commutations reduce the state’s death row, which has 121 others on it, by more than 10%.
Cooper is leaving office after eight years due to term limits. Fellow Democrat Josh Stein, currently the state attorney general, will assume the office on Jan. 1.
Cooper’s office said they reviewed petitions for clemency from 89 people on death row before choosing the 15 cases.
“These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a Governor can make and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose,” Cooper said in a press release. “After thorough review, reflection, and prayer, I concluded that the death sentence imposed on these 15 people should be commuted, while ensuring they will spend the rest of their lives in prison.”
Biden’s move received major criticism from Republicans, with President-elect Donald Trump saying it “makes no sense.”
Although North Carolina allows the death penalty, the state has not executed anyone since 2006 amid ongoing lawsuits.
Cooper issued two other commutations for people convicted of crimes that don’t carry the death sentence and two pardons for people who have already served their sentences.
US releases Guantánamo prisoner held without charge for more than 20 years
The Pentagon revealed Monday, Dec. 30, that it’s releasing one of the longest-held prisoners at the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi of Tunisia sat in the prison for more than 20 years without ever being charged with a crime.
The Biden administration said al-Yazidi, who is now 59 years old, was eligible to transfer after a review process.
He had been at Guantánamo since the day former President George W. Bush opened the prison camp in 2002 and was accused of being a member of al-Qaida, but never charged.
According to Human Rights First, he had been eligible for transfer since 2007 by former Presidents Bush and Barack Obama. However, a deal was never reached.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told Congress he supported al-Yazidi’s repatriation to Tunisia earlier this year.
The Biden administration has faced growing pressure to clear the camp of remaining men who haven’t been charged before President-elect Donald Trump takes over next month.
The Defense Department says that 14 of the remaining 26 detainees at Guantánamo are eligible for transfer.
Al-Yazidi is the fourth detainee in two weeks to be released from the prison.