Author: Tom Hays
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Jury: Kevin Spacey didn’t molest actor Anthony Rapp in 1986
NEW YORK • A jury sided with Kevin Spacey on Thursday in one of the lawsuits that derailed the film star’s career, finding he did not sexually abuse Anthony Rapp, then 14, while both were relatively unknown actors in Broadway plays in 1986. The verdict in the civil trial came with lightning speed. Jurors at…
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Ex-CIA engineer convicted in massive theft of secret info
NEW YORK • A former CIA software engineer was convicted Wednesday of federal charges accusing him of causing the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history. Joshua Schulte, who chose to defend himself at a New York City retrial, had told jurors in closing arguments that the CIA and FBI made him a scapegoat…
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R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in sex trafficking case
NEW YORK • Disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for using his fame to sexually abuse young fans, including some who were just children, in a systematic scheme that went on for decades. Through tears and anger, several of Kelly’s accusers told a court, and the singer himself,…
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Jury rejects Palin’s lawsuit against New York Times
NEW YORK • Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. A judge had declared that if the jury sided with Palin, he would…
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Palin takes witness stand in libel case vs. New York Times
NEW YORK • Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took the witness stand on Wednesday in her defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, giving the jury a folksy overview of her family life in Alaska and ascent in Republican politics. Palin testified for only about 20 minutes at the end of the day at a…
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Palin resumes court battle with Times after COVID illness
NEW YORK • Sarah Palin’s libel suit against The New York Times went to trial Thursday in a case over the former Alaska governor’s claims the newspaper damaged her reputation with an editorial linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. The trial is a rare example of a jury deciding the validity of a…
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Trump Organization, CFO indicted on tax fraud charges
NEW YORK • Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Trump was not charged, but prosecutors noted that he signed…
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Trump Org lawyers make last pitch against prosecution
NEW YORK • Lawyers for the Trump Organization met again Monday with prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in a last bid to forestall a potential indictment stemming from a long-running investigation into the former president’s company. Trump Organization lawyer Ron Fischetti told The Associated Press the meeting came as a grand jury nears…
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Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years for sexual assaults
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault, a sight the Hollywood mogul’s multitude of accusers thought they would never see. Weinstein, who has been accused of violating scores of women, was convicted last month of raping a woman in a New York City hotel…
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Weinstein jurors continue to deliberate
NEW YORK • Deliberating for a third day, the jury at Harvey Weinstein’s trial continued Thursday to focus a lot of attention on actress Annabella Sciorra’s linchpin allegations that the once-heralded Hollywood mogul raped and sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s. Jurors, before being dismissed for the day without a verdict, sent the judge a…