Washington
Hunter Biden presses for delay in federal gun trial set to begin next month
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden pressed for a delay in his federal gun case on Monday, asking an appeals court to pause the Delaware trial set to begin next month.
Defense attorneys for the president’s son argued there isn’t an urgent need to start the trial on the June 3 date set by the federal judge overseeing the case. They also cite the short time between the Delaware trial and the start of another trial on tax charges in California.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware. He has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law.
The lawyers are asking the full 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear a bid to dismiss the prosecution. It was rejected by a three-judge panel that did not rule on the merits of his claims, but said the court doesn’t have jurisdiction to review the matter.
The lawyers are also appealing a separate decision from U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejecting a claim that the case violates the Constitution’s Second Amendment on firearm ownership.
Those rulings paved the way for the Justice Department to bring President Joe Biden’s son to trial in the midst of the president’s reelection campaign. Hunter Biden is separately charged in the tax case in California that is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in late June.
The investigation had looked ready to wrap up with a plea deal last year, but the agreement imploded after a judge raised questions about it. Biden was subsequently indicted.
His attorneys have argued that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to indict him amid heavy criticism of the plea deal from Donald Trump and other Republicans. They had also challenged the appointment of Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel to lead the prosecution.
Prosecutors countered the evidence against him was “overwhelming,” including cocaine residue found in the pouch where he stored his gun.
Noreika, who was appointed to the bench by former President Trump, said that the defense had provided “nothing credible” to suggest that lawmakers or anyone else had any impact on the special counsel.
The separate tax counts in Los Angeles allege Hunter Biden failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over three years while living an “extravagant lifestyle,” during his days of using drugs. He is separately challenging rulings rejecting his motions to dismiss those charges.
Indiana
Parents of disabled children sue state over Medicaid changes
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Parents of two children with disabilities are suing an Indiana agency in federal court over changes to attendant care services they say violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and federal Medicaid laws.
A state agency overseeing Medicaid has reimbursed parents, guardians and spouses for home care for years.
Starting July 1, the state will no longer reimburse family members or guardians. The changes were proposed as a part of a cost-savings plan after the agency — the Family and Social Services Administration or FSSA — underestimated its Medicaid expenditures through July 2025 by nearly $1 billion.
Families of children who require constant medical attention in particular say the transition is mismanaged. The lawsuit alleges children’s health and well being is at risk and asks the court to order the state to continue reimbursing parents and guardians.
The state has said the attendant care services are where the Medicaid program is “most acutely seeing an unanticipated growth in spending.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Indiana Disability Rights are representing the families and the Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission in the lawsuit.
Families of children with a variety of complex medical needs have spoken out against the changes since they were first proposed in January. The complaint says the Medicaid payments help rural families who are far from facilities with trained personnel and are a financial necessity for parents unable to work while caring for their children.
Parents must provide constant care including feedings through a gastronomy tube, operating a ventilator, monitoring seizure activity and administering medications, the complaint says.
The FSSA has said it will work with families to find alternate care options, but the lawsuit alleges the new reimbursements rates are not sufficient.
The complaint said the changes could result in some children who need constant medical attention being placed in an “institutional environment,” especially if their parent must return to work to pay for the care. The lawsuit says parents of children with such disabilities often prefer to care directly for their child to suit their individual needs.
The mothers named in the suit care for a 6-year-old boy with a rare genetic disorder called cri-du-chat syndrome and a 10-year-old who has hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a type of brain damage.
According to the lawsuit, both children experience routine seizures that require constant monitoring on top of other assistance. The 10-year-old was placed for a period of time in a pediatric nursing home but had a “horrendous experience.”
The lawsuit says the risk of being placed in institutions violates the Americans with Disabilities Act requirement that state and local governments offer services in people’s homes and communities.
Illinois
Jury finds police officer not guilty in girlfriend’s shooting death
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago police officer has been acquitted in the 2021 fatal shooting of a woman who was the mother of his child.
A Cook County jury on Friday found Pierre Tyler, 32, not guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Andris Wofford.
Prosecutors have said the two had argued over Wofford’s belief that Tyler was married and also had children with the other woman.
A video camera showed Tyler walking into Wofford’s home. Neighbors said they heard the two arguing, a “loud muffled bang” and then no further yelling. A camera showed Tyler later leaving the home. Wofford’s body was found the next day.
She had been shot in the head.
Tyler testified Friday that Wofford pointed his gun at him and that the weapon fired as he tried to shove it away, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The gun used in the shooting has never been found and Tyler did not call for help or tell anyone about the shooting.
The newspaper reported that a police department spokesperson said Tyler is listed as “inactive” while “on a leave of absence.”
Hunter Biden presses for delay in federal gun trial set to begin next month
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden pressed for a delay in his federal gun case on Monday, asking an appeals court to pause the Delaware trial set to begin next month.
Defense attorneys for the president’s son argued there isn’t an urgent need to start the trial on the June 3 date set by the federal judge overseeing the case. They also cite the short time between the Delaware trial and the start of another trial on tax charges in California.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days in Delaware. He has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law.
The lawyers are asking the full 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear a bid to dismiss the prosecution. It was rejected by a three-judge panel that did not rule on the merits of his claims, but said the court doesn’t have jurisdiction to review the matter.
The lawyers are also appealing a separate decision from U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejecting a claim that the case violates the Constitution’s Second Amendment on firearm ownership.
Those rulings paved the way for the Justice Department to bring President Joe Biden’s son to trial in the midst of the president’s reelection campaign. Hunter Biden is separately charged in the tax case in California that is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in late June.
The investigation had looked ready to wrap up with a plea deal last year, but the agreement imploded after a judge raised questions about it. Biden was subsequently indicted.
His attorneys have argued that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to indict him amid heavy criticism of the plea deal from Donald Trump and other Republicans. They had also challenged the appointment of Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel to lead the prosecution.
Prosecutors countered the evidence against him was “overwhelming,” including cocaine residue found in the pouch where he stored his gun.
Noreika, who was appointed to the bench by former President Trump, said that the defense had provided “nothing credible” to suggest that lawmakers or anyone else had any impact on the special counsel.
The separate tax counts in Los Angeles allege Hunter Biden failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over three years while living an “extravagant lifestyle,” during his days of using drugs. He is separately challenging rulings rejecting his motions to dismiss those charges.
Indiana
Parents of disabled children sue state over Medicaid changes
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Parents of two children with disabilities are suing an Indiana agency in federal court over changes to attendant care services they say violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and federal Medicaid laws.
A state agency overseeing Medicaid has reimbursed parents, guardians and spouses for home care for years.
Starting July 1, the state will no longer reimburse family members or guardians. The changes were proposed as a part of a cost-savings plan after the agency — the Family and Social Services Administration or FSSA — underestimated its Medicaid expenditures through July 2025 by nearly $1 billion.
Families of children who require constant medical attention in particular say the transition is mismanaged. The lawsuit alleges children’s health and well being is at risk and asks the court to order the state to continue reimbursing parents and guardians.
The state has said the attendant care services are where the Medicaid program is “most acutely seeing an unanticipated growth in spending.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Indiana Disability Rights are representing the families and the Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission in the lawsuit.
Families of children with a variety of complex medical needs have spoken out against the changes since they were first proposed in January. The complaint says the Medicaid payments help rural families who are far from facilities with trained personnel and are a financial necessity for parents unable to work while caring for their children.
Parents must provide constant care including feedings through a gastronomy tube, operating a ventilator, monitoring seizure activity and administering medications, the complaint says.
The FSSA has said it will work with families to find alternate care options, but the lawsuit alleges the new reimbursements rates are not sufficient.
The complaint said the changes could result in some children who need constant medical attention being placed in an “institutional environment,” especially if their parent must return to work to pay for the care. The lawsuit says parents of children with such disabilities often prefer to care directly for their child to suit their individual needs.
The mothers named in the suit care for a 6-year-old boy with a rare genetic disorder called cri-du-chat syndrome and a 10-year-old who has hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a type of brain damage.
According to the lawsuit, both children experience routine seizures that require constant monitoring on top of other assistance. The 10-year-old was placed for a period of time in a pediatric nursing home but had a “horrendous experience.”
The lawsuit says the risk of being placed in institutions violates the Americans with Disabilities Act requirement that state and local governments offer services in people’s homes and communities.
Illinois
Jury finds police officer not guilty in girlfriend’s shooting death
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago police officer has been acquitted in the 2021 fatal shooting of a woman who was the mother of his child.
A Cook County jury on Friday found Pierre Tyler, 32, not guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Andris Wofford.
Prosecutors have said the two had argued over Wofford’s belief that Tyler was married and also had children with the other woman.
A video camera showed Tyler walking into Wofford’s home. Neighbors said they heard the two arguing, a “loud muffled bang” and then no further yelling. A camera showed Tyler later leaving the home. Wofford’s body was found the next day.
She had been shot in the head.
Tyler testified Friday that Wofford pointed his gun at him and that the weapon fired as he tried to shove it away, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The gun used in the shooting has never been found and Tyler did not call for help or tell anyone about the shooting.
The newspaper reported that a police department spokesperson said Tyler is listed as “inactive” while “on a leave of absence.”
