National Roundup

Washington
Another judge blocks Trump’s TikTok ban; app still in limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s attempts to ban TikTok, the latest legal defeat for the administration as it tries to wrest the popular app from its Chinese owners.

The Trump administration had tried to ban the short-form video app from smartphone app stores in the U.S. and cut it off from vital technical services. TikTok sued, arguing such actions would violate free speech and due process rights.

Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said in a ruling Monday that the Commerce Department “likely overstepped” its use of presidential emergency powers “and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner by failing to consider obvious alternatives.”

Nichols is the second federal judge to fully block the Trump administration’s economic sanctions against the app as the court cases proceed.

The Trump administration has alleged that TikTok is a security threat because the Chinese government could spy on app users’ personal data. TikTok has denied it’s a security threat but said it’s still trying to work with the administration to resolve its concerns.

Trump in September gave his tentative blessing to a proposal by ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, meant to resolve U.S. national security concerns by having the U.S. companies Oracle and Walmart invest in TikTok. Oracle would manage U.S. user data under the arrangement. But a federal agency still has to review and finalize an arrangement.

A government deadline for ByteDance to complete the deal passed on Friday, and it’s not clear what the status of the agreement is.

The Treasury Department, which chairs the agency reviewing the deal, said Friday that the agency “is engaging with ByteDance to complete the divestment and other steps necessary to resolve the national security risks arising from the transaction.”

The Trump administration’s aggressive tactics are part of its latest attempt to counter the influence of China. Since taking office in 2017, Trump has waged a trade war with China, blocked mergers involving Chinese companies and stifled the business of Chinese firms like Huawei, a maker of phones and telecom equipment.

While President-elect Joe Biden has said TikTok is a concern, it’s not clear what his administration will carry on the Trump administration’s ongoing attempts to secure a ban, or increase the involvement of U.S. companies.

Rhode Island
Nomination to state Supreme Court historic
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Gov. Gina Raimondo nominated two women Tuesday to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, including one who, if confirmed, would become not only the first Black justice, but also the first person of color on the state’s highest court.

Superior Court Judge Melissa Long was nominated to replace Justice Francis X. Flaherty, who announced his retirement in October.

Long was appointed by Raimondo to the Superior Court in 2017. Before that, she was deputy secretary of state and director of administration in the secretary of state’s office. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the George Mason University School of Law.

Raimondo also nominated state Sen. Erin Lynch Prata to the high court. She is the chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee and would replace Justice Gilbert Indeglia, who retired in June. She has degrees from Boston College and the Catholic University of America law school.

If Long and Lynch Prata are confirmed, the five-member court will be majority female for the first time.

Raimondo also announced several other judicial nominations.

The Democratic governor named Linda Rekas Sloan to the Superior Court. If approved, Rekas Sloan would be the first Asian-American on the court.

The governor also named Central Falls Municipal Judge Elizabeth Ortiz to the Family Court bench, making Ortiz the first Latina nominated to the court that oversees child custody, divorce and juvenile matters.

“I am thrilled to appoint this group of talented public servants to our state’s highest courts,” Raimondo said in a statement. “As governor, one of my most important and sacred responsibilities is to appoint high-caliber judges who reflect the diversity of the Rhode Islanders they serve. I am confident that each of these nominees will fairly and honorably uphold the laws and values of our state.”

Kentucky
Chiropractor facing sex charges involving juvenile patients
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky chiropractor has been arrested on sex charges involving juvenile patients, authorities said.

Matthew J. Colasanti, 32, who operates Colasanti Chiropractic in Elizabethtown, was charged Monday with first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse, news outlets reported, citing police and court records.

One juvenile told police Colasanti offered to give her a back adjustment on Nov. 25 and then raped her while she was lying face down on a table, an arrest citation said.

Another girl said Colasanti touched her inappropriately while adjusting her back during visits from April through June, the arrest citation said.

Elizabethtown Police Department spokesman John Thomas said police are not aware of other allegations.

“We aren’t making any assumptions about the possibility of other victims,” Thomas said. “If there are other victims we urge them to come forward.”

Wisconsin
Man whose arrest sparked protest pleads guilty in plea deal
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A man whose arrest last summer ignited a violent protest in downtown Madison has pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors and has been sentenced to time already spent behind bars.

Devonere Johnson, 29, entered the pleas Monday to resisting arrest, criminal damage to property and two counts of disorderly conduct in a plea deal with the Dane County district attorney, the  State Journal reported.

Johnson didn’t make a statement in court Monday, but said at an earlier hearing that he had learned self-control during his time in jail.

The disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges relate to threatening business owners, creating disturbances and resisting officers who were trying to arrest him June 23.

Johnson was charged with criminal damage for spray-painting graffiti on the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial on the state Capitol grounds. He was ordered to pay $208 in restitution for the damage.

Johnson’s arrest sparked a protest during which two statues on the Capitol grounds were toppled, an attempt to burn the City-County Building was made and a state senator was assaulted.