Boston councilwoman pleads guilty to federal corruption charges in a kickback scheme
BOSTON (AP) — A Boston city councilor on Monday pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges after prosecutors accused her of taking most of an inflated bonus that she paid to a relative who worked for her.
Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. In exchange, prosecutors dropped four wire fraud counts against the 46-year-old lawmaker, who in 2021 became the first African immigrant and Muslim-American elected to the council.
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Winnipeg Free Press
23 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
An Omaha food plant owner says he followed the rules for hiring immigrants. It was raided anyway.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The owner of an Omaha food packaging company says his business has been unfairly hamstrung by federal immigration officials, who raided the plant and arrested more than half its workforce. The raid took place despite the company meticulously following the government's own system for verifying the workers were in the country legally, owner Gary Rohwer said Wednesday. Glenn Valley Foods now is operating at about 30% of capacity as the business scrambles to hire more workers, Rohwer said as he stood outside the plant. Asked how upsetting the raid was, Rohwer replied, 'I was very upset, ma'am, because we were told to e-verify, and we e-verified all these years, so I was shocked.' 'We did everything we could possibly do,' he said. E-Verify is an online U.S. Department of Homeland Security system launched in the late 1990s that allows employers to quickly check if potential employees can work legally in the U.S., often by using Social Security numbers. Some of America's largest employers use it, including Starbucks and Walmart, but the vast majority of employers do not. Critics say the system is fairly easy to cheat, particularly with false documents. Rohwer noted that federal officials have said his company was a victim of those using stolen identities or fake IDs to get around the E-Verify system, which lead agents conducting the raid described as 'broken' and 'flawed' to Glenn Valley executives. But that does nothing to repair the company's bottom line, Rohwer said. 'I'd like to see the United States government … come up with a program that they can communicate to the companies as to how to hire legitimate help. Period,' he said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that more than 70 people were arrested during the Glenn Valley Foods raid on Tuesday. It also said one of the workers, described as a Honduras national, assaulted federal agents as he was being detained. The Omaha raid comes amid an immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump. The administration has been intensifying its efforts in recent weeks, and Trump deployed more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines this week to respond to ongoing protests in Los Angeles over his immigration policies. The raid, in the southeastern section of Omaha where nearly a quarter of residents are foreign born according to the 2020 census, led to hundreds of people turning out to protest Tuesday evening. But it also had a chilling effect on the south Omaha community. The Metropolitan Community College's South Omaha campus and an Omaha library branch in the area closed Tuesday afternoon, and several businesses along south Omaha's normally bustling 24th Street closed as news of the raid spread. Several of them remained closed Wednesday, said Douglas County Board of Commissioners Chairman Roger Garcia, whose district covers south Omaha. 'Everybody's still on alert, waiting to see what happens today and in the coming days,' Garcia said. 'So there's still a lot of anxiety and fear out there.' That fear will show up in the form of a weakened economy in Omaha, he added. 'You know, when products are not being sold, taxes are not being collected, and people are not able to get their goods as well. So it affects all of us,' he said. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. An aunt of Garcia's wife was among those taken away by ICE during the Omaha raid, he said. They have been unable to determine where she is being held. The raid came on the same day of the inauguration of newly elected Omaha Mayor John Ewing, a Democrat who unseated three-term Republican Jean Stothert last month. During a news conference Wednesday to address the raid, Ewing declined to speculate on whether the timing of it was intended to distract from his swearing-in. But he denounced the action by federal authorities, saying, 'My message to the public is that we are with them.' Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer also declared that his department will play no part in checking immigration or the legal status of residents in the community. 'That is not our mission. Our mission is public safety,' the chief said. 'I need victims to come forward. They will not come forward if they're fearful of Omaha Police Department being immigration officers.'
Toronto Star
28 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Families file suit challenging Arkansas law that requires Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Seven Arkansas families filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging an upcoming state requirement that public school classrooms have posted copies of the Ten Commandments, saying the new law will violate their constitutional rights. The federal lawsuit challenges a measure Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law earlier this year, similar to a requirement enacted by Louisiana and one that Texas' governor has said he'll sign.
Toronto Star
28 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
AP PHOTOS: Mexican flags at LA protests spark debate over symbolism
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. ——— Over the last week, a sea of green, white and red Mexican flags have become a fixture of the Los Angeles protests against immigration raids. The use of Mexican and other Latin American flags during the protests are a form of symbolism many conservatives are calling anti-American — while others argue they're an expression of pride in one's homeland that could not be more American. Whether it be U.S., Mexican or Palestinian flags, the banners reflect a nation of immigrants whose stories have become intertwined with the story of America, experts say. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Kris Hernández, an associate professor of history at Connecticut College, said the flying of foreign flags in the U.S. has always brought awareness to the plight of marginalized groups. Their appearance in the latest protests might symbolize solidarity with their native land or social movements that support Americans of Mexican descent, she said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that those flying Mexican flags at immigration protests were left-wing radicals that attacked law enforcement agents 'removing violent, criminal illegal aliens from the city.' And even fierce Trump critic Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Democrat, expressed his displeasure with the display of non-American flags at immigration protests that have spread to other states. 'Peaceful protests are fine. Violence is not and will only destroy your message,' Kinzinger wrote on X. 'American flags or nothing.' Amid the backlash, many Americans who support the right to protest are encouraging demonstrators to protest against immigration policies with the American flag instead of a foreign one, as way of reclaiming the U.S. flag for all who call the U.S. home. This underscores just how influential the American flag can be, Hernández said. 'What we are seeing ... is that people don't like to see some flags over others,' she said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Some Latino activists say the Mexican flag is being used by people who were in this land before it was part of the United States. California was part of Mexico until the 1800's. Many Mexican Americans are descendants of people who never crossed a border — instead the border crossed them. Still, their display of the Mexican flag at protests is being twisted into something it's not, said Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Hector E. Sanchez, president and CEO of 'Mi Familia Vota,' a non-profit focused on mobilizing Latino voters, said Mexicans have been at the forefront of attacks when it comes to immigration — attacks heightened during both of Trump's campaigns. Sanchez said he wonders why it's not called anti-American when some Americans fly Confederate flags next to the U.S. flag. 'We see a lot of flags celebrating cultural history and heritage,' he said. 'Why is it that the Mexican community is constantly under attack?'
