Former East Chicago councilman sentenced to 20 years
A former northwestern Indiana city councilman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting a man he owed a drug debt to.
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Kavanaugh confirmation fight rallies Democrats to resistance
Democrats don’t have the votes to block Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but that didn’t stop them from putting up a rowdy, leave-nothing-on-the-table fight during four days of Senate confirmation hearings that marked a new stage in the party’s resistance to President Donald Trump.
Senate concludes Kavanaugh hearing; confirmation likely
After two marathon days questioning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, senators concluded his confirmation hearing Friday by listening to others talk about him — friends stressing his fairness and warmth but opponents warning he’d roll back abortion rights and shield President Donald Trump. Senators on the Judiciary Committee are likely to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Sept. 20 with a vote by the full Senate the following week.
US backtracks on Russian spy suspect offering sex for access
Federal prosecutors are backtracking on their allegation that a Russian woman accused of working as a secret agent offered to trade sex for access, according to a Justice Department court filing. Prosecutors had earlier accused Maria Butina of offering to exchange sex for a position with a special interest organization.
Proposal to decriminalize marijuana in Gary fails by 1 vote
A proposal to decriminalize marijuana in Gary fell one vote short of passage amid concerns that it would overstep Indiana law. Councilwoman Lavetta Sparks-Wade said she abstained from voting because the council’s attorney advised the council that it would circumvent state law.
Giuliani: Trump won’t answer obstruction questions
President Donald Trump will not answer federal investigators’ questions, in writing or in person, about whether he tried to block the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, one of the president’s attorneys told The Associated Press.
Trump fumes over NYT op-ed; Pence, officials swiftly deny role
Pushing back against explosive reports his own administration is conspiring against him, President Donald Trump lashed out against the anonymous senior official who wrote a New York Times opinion piece claiming to be part of a “resistance” working “from within” to thwart his most dangerous impulses.
Sessions to speak to law enforcement group in Indianapolis
United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions will visit Indianapolis on Thursday to speak at the 2018 Indiana Law Enforcement Conference. Sessions is scheduled to speak on the importance of Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Study committee to return spotlight to DCS
While the firestorm over the Indiana Department of Child Services has died down, the Indiana General Assembly is preparing to begin its examination of the agency and possibly make recommendations for action during the 2019 legislative session. The Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Room 431 of the Statehouse to review a host of issues related to DCS.
What to watch for as senators consider Kavanaugh nomination
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is set for a week of marathon hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans are focusing on Kavanaugh’s 12-year career as an appellate court judge, while Democrats are expected to grill the 53-year-old conservative on hot-button issues that could swing the court’s majority rightward.
Indiana’s sheriffs push for more funding to house felons
Indiana’s sheriffs say they need more state money to cover the costs of holding low-level nonviolent felons in county jails. Indiana’s county jails currently get a $35 per-day payment for every Level 6 felon they house. But it’s been at least 30 years since that amount changed, according to the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association.
Proposal to sunset Ohio River pollution standards yields flood of concern
Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission members, including three from Indiana, are preparing to vote on a proposal that would sunset the organization’s pollution control standards. That proposal has yielded thousands of pages of public comments from proponents who say ORSANCO’s standards are redundant and, more significantly, from opponents who fear water quality in Indiana would suffer.
Concern in White House over shortage of lawyers, press aides
Increasingly convinced that the West Wing is wholly unprepared to handle the expected assault from Democrats if they win the House in November, President Donald Trump’s aides and allies are privately raising alarm as his circle of legal and communications advisers continues to shrink.
John Dean of Nixon fame to testify at Kavanaugh hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee has added former Solicitor General Theodore Olson and former White House counsel John Dean to the list of witnesses who will testify next week in the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court.
White House Counsel McGahn leaving; key man in legal storms
White House Counsel Don McGahn, a consequential insider in President Donald Trump’s legal storms and successes and a key figure in the administration’s handling of the Russia investigation, will be leaving in the fall, the president announced Wednesday. Trump praised McGahn as “a really good guy” who has done “an excellent job.”
Prosecutors: Possible negligence in Missouri boat sinking
The U.S. Coast Guard has found probable cause that the sinking of a tourist boat on a Missouri lake last month that killed 17 people “resulted from the misconduct, negligence, or inattention to the duties” by the captain of the boat, according to a court motion filed Wednesday by federal prosecutors. The July 19 incident claimed the lives of nine members of one Indiana family.
For McCain, a cross-country farewell from public, presidents
Two former presidents are expected to speak at Sen. John McCain’s service and he will lie in state in both in the nation’s capital and Arizona as part of a cross-country funeral procession ending with his burial at the U.S. Naval Academy. McCain died Saturday after a year-long battle with brain cancer.
Ex-West Virginia Supreme Court justice pleads guilty
A retired West Virginia Supreme Court justice is now a convicted felon. Menis Ketchum pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to a felony count of fraud related to his personal use of a state vehicle and gas fuel card in a scandal that has led to upcoming impeachment trials for the remaining justices.
Indiana’s election security plans don’t include new machines
Indiana’s top elections official is planning to use more than $7.5 million in federal funding to improve the state’s election security, but not to upgrade its voting machines. Indiana was among the states and territories to receive money from the $380 million approved by Congress amid ongoing threats from Russia and others.
Hill reinforces opposition to individual mandate as state collects $95 million from Obamacare lawsuit
As Indiana prepares to collect nearly $100 million from a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill held a meeting Wednesday with ACA proponents who are urging him to drop a second lawsuit challenging a controversial portion of the health care law. Though both parties said they were pleased with the dialogue, Hill also reinforced his opposition to the Obamacare individual mandate.