Harvey Weinstein faces new criminal charges in New York
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who became the face of the #MeToo movement for sex crimes in 2017, is now facing new criminal charges in New York. The new indictment comes after New York’s highest court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape, citing unfair testimony allowances by the trial judge.
Prosecutors are now seeking to retry Weinstein, with plans to combine new charges with previously brought ones. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office initiated grand jury proceedings to examine up to three additional allegations against Weinstein, some dating back to the mid-2000s.
The grand jury returned the indictment, but the new charges are unknown. The indictment remains sealed while the 72-year-old Weinstein recovers from emergency heart surgery at a Manhattan hospital.
A judge granted Weinstein permission to remain at Bellevue Hospital indefinitely because of ongoing health concerns that require constant monitoring and treatment.
Despite maintaining that all sexual encounters were consensual, Weinstein’s legal troubles have mounted, with convictions in both New York and Los Angeles.
The retrial is tentatively scheduled for November.
New Mexico sues Snapchat over alleged child exploitation and abuse
New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Snapchat, accusing the platform of facilitating child sexual exploitation and the distribution of child sex abuse material. Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the lawsuit against Snap Inc. in state court after an undercover investigation alleged that Snapchat’s design and policies enable exploitation.
“Snapchat is a breeding ground for predators to collect sexually explicit images of children and to find, groom, and extort them,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims Snapchat’s algorithms facilitate child trafficking, drug sales, and firearms distribution, in addition to sexual abuse.
According to the complaint, Snapchat leads all social media platforms in reported online sexual interactions involving minors and recruitment of sex trafficking victims.
The investigation found more than 10,000 records related to child sexual abuse material in just one year, including information about assaults on minors under 13.
Investigators also discovered Snapchat accounts openly circulating and selling child abuse images directly on the platform.
The case brings attention to the pervasive issue of sexual extortion, or “sextortion,” where victims are coerced into sharing explicit photos and then blackmailed.
The legal action follows a similar lawsuit filed by Torrez against Meta last December, indicating an intensifying focus on holding social media platforms accountable for user safety.
Watchdog reveals FBI failed to report child sex abuse in 47% of cases
A U.S. Department of Justice watchdog found multiple troubling discoveries in a probe of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) handling of child sex abuse allegations. The news followed a report of its multiple failures in the handling of its investigation into convicted sex offender Larry Nassar.
A report released on Thursday, Aug. 29, reveals the FBI failed to follow requirements by reporting child sex abuse cases to law enforcement agencies nearly half of the time. The failures happened even after the agency vowed improvements following the Nassar case mishandling.
There were 327 sex abuse cases examined. Of them, the inspector general found that 47% saw no evidence passed along to law enforcement agencies by the FBI. When reports did get made, only 43% were done within 24 hours, as required by federal law.
The FBI responded to the investigation, stating, it “deeply values the trust the public puts in us to protect the most vulnerable members of society.” The agency added that it’s “committed” to making “the necessary improvements to ensure the important changes we made to our Violent Crimes Against Children Program in 2018 and 2019 have the intended effect of promoting the highest level of compliance and effectiveness.”
The probe follows years of litigation and nearly 140 million dollars the DOJ has paid out to settle 139 claims over the FBI’s multiple failures in the Nassar investigation.
John Manly, an attorney who represented hundreds of Nassar’s victims, including gymnast Simone Biles, said in response to the report, “The FBI is simply not doing its job when it comes to protecting our children from the monsters among us who stalk them.” He also called on Congress to take action to “reform the FBI.”
Woman gets 11 years in prison for killing man she said sexually trafficked her
A judge sentenced a Milwaukee woman to 11 years in prison for the death of a man she said raped and sexually trafficked her as a teenager. The controversial case drew national attention for years.
Chrystul Kizer, now 24, pleaded guilty in May 2024 to reckless homicide in the 2018 killing of 34-year-old Randall Volar. At the time of the incident, Kizer was 17.
Kizer’s defense attorney stated that Volar contacted Kizer when she was 16 after she posted an online ad for prostitution. The attorney said Kizer turned to the site out of desperation to support her siblings.
When Kizer and Volar met, Volar was under investigation for sexual conduct with underage girls as young as 12. Police later discovered evidence of abuse involving multiple victims.
Volar was arrested in February 2018, charged and released without bail. In June 2018, Kizer shot and killed Volar, set his house on fire and fled the scene in Volar’s BMW.
Kizer’s defense argued she should have immunity from prosecution under a 2008 Wisconsin sex trafficking law. However, going to trial would have risked a possible life sentence, so she pleaded guilty in May to a lesser second-degree reckless homicide charge.
At her sentencing hearing, the judge did not allow cameras in the courtroom.
“The court is well aware of your relationship with Mr. Volar,” Kenosha County Judge David Wilk said. “However, you are not permitted to be the instrument of his reckoning. To hold otherwise is to endorse a descent into lawlessness and chaos.”
Before her sentencing, Kizer quoted the Book of Genesis from the Bible, admitted to what she described as her sins and asked for mercy.
The judge ultimately sentenced her to 11 years in prison. However, some sex trafficking survivor advocates called the sentencing unfair. They also promised to continue fighting for Kizer’s freedom.
US calls for probe of alleged sexual assault on detainee by IDF troops
Surveillance video released by Israeli media from inside an Israeli military base, Sde Teiman, allegedly shows soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee. The U.S. State Department called the reports “horrific” and said the Israeli government should fully investigate them.
“There ought to be zero tolerance for sexual abuse, rape of any detainee, period,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing Wednesday, Aug. 7. “That’s a fundamental – it’s a fundamental belief of the United States. And if there are detainees who have been abused, if they – or detainees who have been sexually assaulted or raped, the government of Israel and the IDF need to fully investigate those actions and hold anyone responsible accountable to the full extent of the law.”
The White House also called the reports “deeply concerning.”
Miller said the Israel Defense Forces launched an investigation into the allegations and officials arrested a number of IDF soldiers supposedly involved.
The IDF has not responded publicly to the allegations.
The footage was first broadcast by Israeli Channel 12. At first, it shows detainees lying on the ground at the complex. It then shows a group of IDF soldiers taking a detainee to the corner of the facility where the alleged abuse took place.
The victim, believed to be a man in his 30s, was taken to an Israeli hospital in life-threatening condition with injuries to his upper body and rectum, according to CNN.
These are not the first such allegations to come from Sde Teiman. The group Physicians for Human Rights has been raising the alarm for months about alleged widespread abuses of Palestinian prisoners by Israel’s military at the military base.
The group said “hundreds have suffered medical neglect, and many have been subjected to abuse and torture” at the base and other facilities.
Back in July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an end to long-term imprisonment at the facility. Right now, Israel’s High Court is considering a petition to shut down Sde Teiman after the allegations of abuse and sexual assault surfaced.
Pop artist R. Kelly wants US Supreme Court to toss Chicago conviction
R&B singer R. Kelly’s defense team announced it is petitioning the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday, July 30, to overturn Kelly’s Chicago conviction for possession of child pornography and enticing minors to engage in sexual activity. His attorneys argue that the Chicago convictions and 20-year prison sentence should be thrown out because of the statute of limitations.
Kelly was tried under the federal PROTECT act, which is a 2003 law that extended the federal statute of limitation for sex crimes involving children. His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, contended that because Kelly’s actions occurred in the 1990s, before the law was passed, the statute of limitations should have expired.
Kelly has previously appealed his Chicago conviction in lower courts using the same defense. However, both the district and appellate courts rejected his defense team’s appeal.
The singer is currently serving a separate 30-year sentence for sex trafficking from a New York case. He is also reportedly appealing that conviction, though it is not part of the Supreme Court petition.
Bonjean successfully represented comedian Bill Cosby in his appeal in 2021. A judge tossed Cosby’s conviction due to a legal technicality. Bonjean is also representing Harvey Weinstein as he appeals his conviction in Los Angeles following the overturning of his conviction on sexual crimes in New York.
The Supreme Court only hears a few cases each year. If Kelly’s appeal is heard, it would take place in the next court session, which occurs in October.
A convicted child rapist is competing in Paris Games, many want to know why
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is facing scrutiny ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris over one particular athlete’s inclusion. Steven van de Velde is set to represent the Netherlands in beach volleyball in the Olympics, which start on Friday, July 26. Van de Velde is also a convicted sex offender, and reportedly still has his name listed in the U.K.’s sex offender registry.
Van de Velde’s inclusion in the Olympic Games is being met with outrage among advocates for sexual assault survivors, who are demanding an investigation into why he’s allowed to compete and have said this allowance sends the wrong message to men that rape has no consequences.
However, the IOC responded to the demands to leave van de Velde out of the Games by saying that the selection of athletes is not up to the international committee, the decision is up to each individual national committee. The Dutch Olympic Committee has thrown its support behind van de Velde and said that he has done everything necessary since his conviction to earn the right to be an Olympian.
While it may be up to national committees to decide which athletes compete on their teams, the British and Australian Olympic Committees maintain that they would never allow a known sex offender to compete for their countries.
Advocates for sexual assault survivors expressed outraged over van de Velde’s set appearance in the Olympic Games. Critics reportedly said that van de Velde showed a “chilling” lack of remorse for his crime and believe it negatively affects survivors of sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Olympic officials have advised van de Velde to stay outside of the Olympic village in Paris in order to avoid publicity.
Van de Velde maintains that he is a changed man since the crime occurred in 2014.
The athlete reportedly raped a 12-year-old girl in the U.K. when he was 19 years old. Investigators said that van de Velde had communicated with the girl online before deciding to travel to the U.K. to visit, and subsequently sexually assault her. He served a year in a Britain prison before being transferred and given a lighter sentence in the Netherlands.
At the time of his sentencing in 2016, the judge told him that his hopes of representing his country “now lie as a shattered dream.” Van de Velde was released from prison in 2017.
However, it appears van de Velde was able to rebuild that once “shattered dream.” The Dutch Olympic Committee maintains that van de Velde deserves a second chance, and asserted that there is no risk of “recidivism” from him.
Arson attacks disrupt train travel ahead of Paris Olympics opening ceremony
With just hours to go before the Olympics opening ceremony, arson attacks disrupted traffic on France’s high-speed train lines. And following a Supreme Court ruling banning sleeping in public spaces, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to remove homeless encampments. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, July 26, 2024.
Arson attacks disrupt train travel ahead of Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Authorities are investigating what’s being called “a malicious attack” on France’s high-speed rail network. According to authorities, arsonists set a series of coordinated fires to disrupt travel just ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
It’s already causing delays and is expected to “severely impact” commuters until at least the end of Sunday, July 28. The railway operator said the fires were deliberately set to damage its installations.
This incident is likely to add some apprehension ahead of the much-anticipated Paris Olympic Games.
France has beefed up its security surrounding the world event in unprecedented levels. There will be more than 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 security agents deployed, as well as several snipers and drones keeping watch from above as the games officially get underway.
Officials: Man pushing burning car into gully started California wildfire
Wildfires are raging in the west and the impact of the wildfire smoke is being felt as far as the East Coast. It’s California’s largest wildfire of the year, dubbed “The Park Fire,” burning north of Sacramento near the city Chico.
Authorities said they know how it started and have a suspect in custody. They said 48-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II of Chico, California, pushed a burning car into a dry gully just before 3 p.m. local time on Wednesday, July 24. He has been arrested on suspicion of arson.
The Park Fire is larger than the size of the city of Atlanta and is only 3% contained.
It’s also not the only fire consuming the time and energy of firefighters and officials. Hundreds of wildfires are spreading throughout California, Oregon and Canada, forcing thousands of evacuations.
In Oregon, fires have been ablaze for days, burning nearly 1 million acres.
The impact of wildfire smoke across the nation is expected to worsen throughout the weekend.
California governor issues executive order to remove homeless encampments
The order offers guidance on how to remove the encampments in a humane way. It also makes it clear the decision to remove encampments is up to individual cities.
California has the largest unhoused population in the country, with more than 180,000 people experiencing homelessness.
U.S. arrests Mexican drug cartel leaders “El Mayo” and “El Chapo’s” son
U.S. authorities said they’ve arrested a Mexican drug kingpin who’s evaded capture for decades. Federal agents lured Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada across the border into Texas, where they took him into custody.
“El Mayo” is described as the leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, which authorities said has been flooding the U.S. with deadly fentanyl.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of the cartel’s infamous co-founder and former boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was also arrested. “El Chapo” is currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized with COVID-19 and double pneumonia
Former Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein — who’s been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being found guilty of rape — has been hospitalized. His representative said Weinstein is facing a “myriad of health conditions,” including COVID-19 and double pneumonia.
The 72 year old is currently awaiting retrial in Manhattan on sex crime charges after his conviction was overturned on appeal in April. He is tentatively set to be retried in November.
His rape sentence comes out of a conviction in Los Angeles, but he’s being held in a New York prison while waiting for retrial.
Ohio court rules ‘boneless’ chicken wings can have bones
According to the Ohio State Supreme court, customers who order boneless wings should not expect them to be boneless. The ruling stems from a case brought on by a man who said he developed medical problems after a tiny bone fragment became lodged in his throat after he ate boneless wings at a restaurant in 2016.
He sued the restaurant for negligence and breach of warranty. However, the Ohio justices ruled that the term “boneless wings” actually refers to the cooking style and said in its ruling that it’s “common knowledge that chickens have bones.”
American canoeist Casey Eichfeld looks for gold at historic 4th Olympics
This is the fifth installment in our weeklong series taking a closer look at Team USA members and their sports as the Paris Olympics get underway.
Casey Eichfeld is many things: a husband, father, Olympian and a self-described Disney fanatic.
“We got married at Disney World in Epcot,” he told Straight Arrow News, confirming he and his wife’s Disney devotion.
Straight Arrow News asked him to explain the rules of the sport. He gave a concise explanation:
“Canoe slalom is a series of gates hanging over a whitewater river. Athletes have to navigate those gates and there will be 18 to 25 of them. Fastest time wins. If we touch a gate we incur a 2-second penalty. If we miss a gate, go through it upside down or the wrong direction, we get a 50-second penalty. And that’s really about it.”
But that’s far from it when we’re talking about Eichfeld who will be making history in his sport for most Olympic appearances. He was, in a way, born for canoeing.
“My parents had a boat waiting for me before I was born so I don’t know if I was really given that much choice,” Eichfeld said with a laugh.
So once he started he said everything clicked — a perfect fit like Cinderella’s glass slipper — and he fell in love with the sport.
In 2008, he qualified for his first Olympics in Beijing at 18 years old. It was an experience he called “super surreal,” especially being part of the opening ceremony.
“That’s one of the memories that will stay with me all of my life, particularly my first opening ceremonies,” Eichfeld said. “There’s 550 of us, we’re walking through the tunnel into the bird’s nest and everyone’s chanting ‘USA!’ ‘USA!’ It gives me chills every time I think about it.”
Eichfeld said it’s not just the memories on the water that stick with him. He said he has plenty of other stories to share.
“I have a memory of hanging out at our athlete’s lounge in our village building, chilling out, watching other sports — Michael Phelps walks in,” Eichfeld recalled. “He’s like, ‘Hey are there any Uncrustables left?’ I said, ‘Dude, I got you.’ I took him right to the fridge that had them, had a coffee together, chatted a little bit. “‘It’s cool to see you. I’m not at all starstruck.’”
After placing 7th at the Rio Games in 2016, his highest placement yet, but then not qualifying for Tokyo 2021, Eichfeld contemplated retirement. He was starting a family and wondering if it was time to turn the page on his Olympic quest, but, like Moana, the water called to him.
“I had to make the decision: if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this,” Eichfeld said. “There’s no messing around with this. If I’m going to take the time to be away from my family, as much as I need to be, then I really need to put the effort in and it paid off.”
At 34 years old, Eichfeld is now the veteran among his Team USA crew. He’s already thinking ahead, not just about his Olympics dreams, but the ones coming true at home, too.
“I’m really happy with my decision [to compete], now I get to make that decision again,” Eichfeld said. “We got a home Olympics coming and we have a baby boy coming at the end of October. So big, big year for me.”
“I like to add big things to my Olympic years. In 2016, my wife and I got married in December and this time, we’re having a baby two months after the Olympics. So why not make it a big year, a really memorable year?”
With his family in Paris motivating him, Eichfeld is looking to bring home the gold this time around and then celebrate in style.
“I want to prove that I belong here and even in my advanced age that I can still throw it down,” Eichfeld said. “So I’m fighting for the podium. I want to be up there. And then when I get home I want to go Disney.”
DOJ details child sexual abuse at US’ largest migrant housing provider
A new lawsuit accuses the largest provider of housing for unaccompanied migrant children of fostering widespread sexual abuse that spanned nearly a decade. In the lawsuit announced on Thursday, July 18, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Southwest Key Programs employees, including supervisors, raped, solicited nude photos and touched children inappropriately in the company’s care. Some of the victims were as young as five years old.
The lawsuit’s details disclose claims of employees threatening violence against children and their families to silence them. The lawsuit also alleges employees used language barriers to hide the abuse.
The Justice Department did not expand on what it plans to do about the alleged abuses, including whether or not it plans to recommend removal of children from the facilities.
Southwest Key Programs runs 29 facilities across three U.S. states. The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) latest numbers reportedly show the company’s facilities housed more than 6,200 children as of June 17.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said that the lawsuit raises “serious pattern and practice concerns” about the company. He asserted that the agency has a “zero-tolerance policy” on all forms of sexual abuse and sexually inappropriate behavior.
Southwest Key Programs responded to the lawsuit by saying that it is reviewing the complaint. A spokesperson for the company said that the lawsuit “does not present the accurate picture of the care and commitment our employees provide to the youth and children.”
Texas and Florida revoked the licenses of facilities housing migrant children in 2021 as border crossings surged. However, critics said the move created an oversight gap.
Less than three weeks ago, the DOJ requested special court oversight of HHS care be lifted for unaccompanied migrant kids. The Biden administration argued that the new federal safeguards meant that the previous oversight was no longer needed. The oversight had been in place for 27 years.
An attorney representing the migrant children housed at Southwest Key Programs blamed Texas’ revocation of licenses for care providers. She said that she hopes the federal government takes some “responsibility for the role it played.” However, the attorney still commended the lawsuit brought forth by the Department of Justice.
Southwest Key Programs played a key role the United States government as thousands of migrant children arrived at the southern border alone in in recent years.
The company also saw its numbers grow even more amid the separations of thousands of families in 2017 and 2018 under the Trump administration.
The government awarded Southwest Key Programs more than $3 billion from 2015 to 2023.
RFK Jr. responds to new claims of sexual assault and eating dog
An exclusive Vanity Fair report published on Tuesday, July 2, made several claims against Independent presidential candidate Robert. F. Kennedy Jr. The article outlines allegations of sexual assault on his family babysitter to accusations of sending pictures of nude women to friends and sharing a photo of a barbecued dog carcass.
Former Kennedy babysitter Eliza Cooney told Vanity Fair that Kennedy sexually assaulted her in 1998 when she was 23-years-old. She described an instance where he caressed her leg and another where groped and fondled her. She also said that Kennedy, who was 45 at the time, asked her to rub lotion on his back while he was shirtless.
Cooney said she came close to publicizing her accusations against RFK Jr. in 2017 during the #MeToo Movement and again after he decided to run for president in 2023. Although she ultimately decided against a civil suit against Kennedy, she is sharing her story now.
The new report also alleged that Kennedy sent a picture of himself and a woman with a dog’s remains in Korea to a friend. Kennedy allegedly told the friend he should try dog while he’s in Asia. The friend told Vanity Fair that he found the picture insensitive to Korean culture and unsettling.
Kennedy also reportedly sent pictures of naked women to friends during his first marriage.
The accusations come at a time when the presidential race between President Joe Biden and former President Trump is heating up, just months ahead of the general election. RFK Jr. currently finds himself far behind the two front-runners. Polls show that he is hovering at 8.3% support among registered voters.
However, family members interviewed by Vanity Fair expressed fear that his run could cost President Biden the election.
Some family members reportedly pressured Kennedy to drop out of the race or wait until 2028 to run.
RFK Jr. responded to the allegations leveled in Vanity Fair in several interviews on Tuesday.
“The article is a lot of garbage. The picture that they said is of me eating a dog is actually me eating a goat in Patagonia on a whiteboard trip many years ago on the Futafeufu River,” Kennedy said during an interview with “Breaking Points.”
He also appeared on Fox News to address the controversial photo and accused Vanity Fair of false analysis.
“Vanity Fair said that they talked to veterinarians who assured them that it was a dog,” Kennedy said. “That they had meta-analysis that showed it was in Korea and it was in Korea of me eating a dog and that statement is emblematic of the entire article or the lack of journalistic standards throughout the article.”
When pressed on the sexual assault allegations by “Breaking Points” he sidestepped the question. Kennedy simply said, “I’m not going to comment on it.”
Kennedy also said during his response that he is “no church boy” and that he has openly admitted to having “many skeletons” from his past.