Woman charged with defrauding couples in adoptions
NEW HAVEN (AP) — A Macomb County woman has been indicted on fraud charges for an alleged scheme to collect money from couples who wanted to adopt children.
Federal prosecutors say Tara Lee of New Haven isn’t licensed to arrange adoptions but told people that she had a legitimate agency. She’s accused of collecting more than $200,000 last year for adoption matches that were fraudulent.
The government says couples were paired with birth mothers who didn’t exist or who didn’t want to place their child for adoption.
Timothy Slater, head of the FBI in Detroit, says Lee’s “cruel behavior” has had a “devastating emotional impact” on victims.
Lee has pleaded not guilty and was ordered to be held without bond.
Deadlines approach to remove shanties from Michigan waters
LANSING (AP) — Even though the weather's still plenty cold, the time is fast approaching to remove ice fishing shanties from Michigan waters in preparation for the spring thaw.
The Department of Natural Resources says shanties must be removed before the ice is unable to safely support them. Once temperatures rise, ice quickly can become unsafe for anglers to retrieve their property.
The deadline is Friday at midnight for removal from waters in the northern Lower Peninsula and Michigan-Wisconsin boundary waters. For all Upper Peninsula counties, shanties must be removed by midnight March 31.
Owners whose structures fall through the ice can be jailed for up to 30 days and fined.
Pair in same-sex ruling start fund for LGBT Catholics
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky couple involved in the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage has started a scholarship to help Catholic LGBT students at the University of Louisville.
The Courier Journal reports the scholarship by Greg Bourke and Michael DeLeon will be given out annually, starting this May. Preference will be given to LGBT students who are Catholic or graduated from a Catholic high school.
The two are longtime members of the Our Lady of Lourdes parish community in Louisville and got married in Canada in 2004. They later filed a lawsuit that, along with lawsuits by other couples, launched the Supreme Court case.
Bourke says “You know you think about what kind of legacy you want to leave ... this is something, I think, that will live on.”
CHP officer comes to aid of stranded newborn piglets
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California Highway Patrol officer came to the aid of newborns this week, but it was a bit different than the usual story.
The CHP says Officer A. Montano responded Monday to a disabled vehicle on the center divider of U.S. 50 south of downtown Sacramento.
It turned out the driver was on her way to the University of California, Davis, veterinary hospital with a couple of newborn piglets.
The officer stayed with the motorist until help arrived, and had a photo taken showing him cuddling a tiny pink porker.
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