New York
Prof resigns after saying scholars are treasonous
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) - A West Point professor criticized for writing an article calling some legal scholars treasonous and "lawful targets" for the U.S. military in its war on terrorism has resigned a month after he was hired to teach a law course.
A spokesman at the U.S. Military Academy said William C. Bradford resigned Sunday. He said no further details would be released because of privacy and legal constraints.
In an article published this spring in the National Security Law Journal, Bradford said legal scholars who criticize U.S. tactics in the war on terror are helping the Islamic State group undermine America. He argued that these academics should be considered enemy combatants and charged with treason and supporting terrorism.
The publication apologized in an editorial last week in response to a barrage of criticism from readers. Editor-in-chief Rick Myers repudiated the article and said the publication is reviewing its selection process "to ensure that we publish high quality scholarly articles."
Bradford's 95-page article argues that liberals dominate legal academia and use their position to undermine public support of U.S. military efforts to fight the Islamic State group. He advocates a number of measures to counter "Islamist sympathizers and propagandists" in academia, including firing them, requiring loyalty oaths and charging them with treason.
"The views in the article are solely those of Dr. Bradford and do not reflect those of the Department of Defense, the United States Army, or the United States Military Academy," Lt. Col. Chris Kasker, a West Point spokesman, said Tuesday in a prepared statement.
Bradford was hired by the academy Aug. 1 and taught five lessons in a common core law course before he resigned, Kasker said.
Bradford told The Washington Post on Tuesday that statements in his article were "taken out of context" by people who hadn't read the entire piece.
Maryland
Court documents: Arsonist took selfies at ruins
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Court documents say a man who burned down a Maryland house in a jealous rage went back to the site and took selfies in front of the ruins.
Twenty-six-year-old Justin Michael Clum of Pasadena, Maryland, was charged Saturday with three counts of attempted first degree murder, arson and other offenses. He was ordered held on $1 million bond.
According to police and court documents, on July 17, Clum's girlfriend told him she had a sexual encounter with a man who lived at the home in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
The Annapolis Capital reports that the girlfriend told police that Clum drove to the home, poured gasoline on the front porch and set it on fire. The three people who were in the house escaped unharmed.
California
Ex-running back charged with killing cellmate
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips has been charged with murder in the death of his cellmate at a Central California prison.
Phillips is suspected of killing 37-year-old Damion Soward at Kern Valley State Prison in April. Officials determined Soward was strangled.
The Kern County district attorney's office says the 40-year-old Phillips faces a first-degree murder charge.
Phillips was once one of the nation's top college football players at Nebraska. He played for the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers during a three-year NFL career.
Phillips is serving a sentence of more than 31 years. He was convicted of choking his girlfriend and later of driving his car into three teens after a pickup football game.
KBAK-TV reports Phillips was ordered back to court Sept. 15.
Texas
Man gets 17 years for fake Disney park scam
SHERMAN, Texas (AP) - A man has been sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison for swindling investors with a fake story about a Walt Disney theme park in North Texas.
The judge also ordered Thomas W. Lucas Jr. of Plano to pay $8.4 million in restitution Tuesday.
Lucas was convicted on seven counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements to the FBI.
Prosecutors say Lucas defrauded more than 280 investors out of about $20 million from 2006 to 2010. Those who paid for land in Collin and Denton counties were told it was on the edges of the future park. Investors hoped to sell the land to developers for a profit after Disney made an announcement.
The Walt Disney Co. has denied rumors of a North Texas theme park.
New Hampshire
Canadian pleads not guilty at 4th trial to killing 2
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - A Canadian man who's been tried three times for the 1988 slayings of two New Hampshire women has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in his fourth trial.
The Nashua Telegraph reports that 48-year-old Anthony Barnaby entered the pleas Tuesday on two counts each of first- and second-degree murder.
Police say Barnaby and 54-year-old David Caplin stabbed Brenda Warner and Charlene Ranstrom to death in October 1988 in the women's Nashua apartment.
Three juries failed to convict or acquit Barnaby, the last time in 1990. First-degree murder charges against Caplin were dropped after courts tossed much of the evidence. Both men returned to Canada.
They were ordered extradited in April after police said new DNA evidence and witnesses warranted another trial.
New Mexico
Deputies say dad forced 4-year-old to be accomplice
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Authorities say they believe a man instructed his 4-year-old daughter to break into homes and steal from stores as the two travelled from Bernalillo County to Texas.
Torrance County Sheriff Heath White says 32-year-old Jered McMeans was arrested Monday after driving with his daughter across the state on a crime spree.
Deputies responding to a possible kidnapping report spotted McMeans at a truck stop near Interstate 40.
Authorities pursued McMeans, who was reportedly driving a stolen Ford Explorer. McMeans plowed through an open field before White stopped him by striking the vehicle.
Court documents say the girl had cuts on her legs and lips. White says she is being held by the state until relatives from Louisiana can pick her up.
McMeans remains in the Torrance County Detention Center.
Published: Thu, Sep 03, 2015
