JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- A man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan on Monday challenged a decision by a top state elections official to disqualify his candidacy and remove him from the August primary ballot. A court filing, on behalf of the challenger Sullivan by his attorneys, said the decision by Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher disqualifying him violates state and federal law. It asks that he be placed on the ballot. Sullivan, a retired teacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg, has maintained that he's a qualified candidate for U.S. Senate and that election officials lacked a legal basis to boot him from the ballot. read more
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (AP) -- A notorious mob hitman who once testified against John "Junior" Gotti before cleaning up his life and becoming a councilman in New Jersey has been arrested on extortion and loansharking charges that, if proven, reflect a return to the lifestyle of his youth. John Alite, 63, was arrested on Friday in New Jersey, where he was sworn in early last year as a councilman in the borough of Englishtown. Released after a court appearance Saturday, Alite is scheduled to return to court for a detention hearing Wednesday. read more
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two more people in Missouri and Washington state have been arrested in connection with what authorities say was a planned attack targeting President Donald Trump's UFC cage-fighting show at the White House earlier this month. Federal law enforcement officials disrupted the plan a few days before the June 14 White House event, according to court documents. William Lee Spartacus Falkner of Belfair, Washington, was arrested Friday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, according to court documents filed Monday in the Western District of Washington. Jordan W. Rincker, 28, was arrested Sunday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the Western District of Missouri. A defense attorney appointed to represent Falkner did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment, and court records do not reveal if Rincker has obtained an attorney. Neither man has had the opportunity to enter a plea. read more
AP: A federal judge ordered immigration officials to release the president of Wisconsin's largest mosque from detention Thursday, finding that Salah Sarsour has raised a "substantial" claim that he was being targeted for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights. Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on March 30. The government has claimed he is a foreign policy threat, but Sarsour's attorneys say he was actually targeted for speaking out against Israel. U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon wrote in a decision Thursday that attorneys for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not provide enough evidence to refute Sarsour's claims of retaliation for free speech, nor did they explain why Sarsour was suddenly considered a threat now after more than three decades of legal residency in the United States. read more
As Janeese Lewis George paves a path to the mayor's office in Washington, D.C., she's told voters they could have it all. read more
245. Suspecting / hoping your dad had a strong union?
Among other family stories. I asked my father once what my maternal grandfather did now (knowing he'd in the past had a storefront that covered a bookmaking operation).
He thought for a moment and said, "I think he provides muscle for the newspaper union."
I heart New York.
I have a wonderful picture of Grandpa in Havana in 1949. Didn't look like he and his buddies were there on a beach vacation.