US pastor released from house arrest, flown out of Turkey
IZMIR, Turkey — An American pastor flew out of Turkey on Friday after a Turkish court convicted him of terror links but freed him from house arrest, removing a major irritant in fraught ties between two NATO allies still strained by disagreements over Syria, Iran and a host of other issues.
The court near the western city of Izmir sentenced North Carolina native Andrew Brunson to just over three years in prison for allegedly helping terror groups, but let him go because the 50-year-old evangelical pastor had already spent nearly two years in detention. An earlier charge of espionage was dropped.
Hours later, Brunson was transported to Izmir’s airport and was flown out of Turkey, where he had lived for more than two decades. He was to be flown to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, then on to Washington, where he was to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday.
“I love Jesus. I love Turkey,” an emotional Brunson, who had maintained he was innocent of all charges, told the court during Friday’s hearing. He tearfully hugged his wife Norine Lyn as he awaited the court decision.
“PASTOR BRUNSON JUST RELEASED. WILL BE HOME SOON!” Trump tweeted after the American was driven out of a Turkish prison in a convoy. Later, after Brunson was airborne, Trump told reporters the pastor had “suffered greatly” but was in “very good shape,” and that he would meet with him at the Oval Office on Saturday.
Melania Trump says she loves her husband, ignores cheating rumors
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump says she loves President Donald Trump and has “much more important things to think about” than allegations that he cheated on her with a porn star, a Playboy Playmate or anyone else.
Mrs. Trump, who was interviewed by ABC while touring Africa last week, said people are just spreading rumors about her marriage. She also insisted allegations of her husband’s infidelities are not a concern.
President Trump, who during the 2016 presidential campaign was heard on an old “Access Hollywood” tape talking about groping and trying to have sex with women, has been accused of having multiple affairs. Porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal said they had sex with him years ago.
Trump has denied the trysts with Daniels and McDougal but has acknowledged reimbursing his lawyer for a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels. Mrs. Trump has generally kept quiet on the subject.
Asked in the ABC interview if she loves her husband, the first lady said, “Yes, we are fine. Yes.”
She played down a suggestion the repeated rumors of his philandering put a strain on their marriage.
“It is not concern and focus of mine,” she said. “I’m a mother and a first lady, and I have much more important things to think about and to do.”
Views are mixed on hate crime law named for Matthew Shepard
NEW YORK — Twenty years after Matthew Shepard’s death , the federal hate crimes law bearing his name is viewed with mixed feelings by LGBT and anti-violence organizations that lobbied over nearly a decade for its passage.
President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law on Oct. 28, 2009, just over 11 years after Shepard — a gay 21-year-old college student — died from injuries suffered in a brutal beating by two Wyoming men .
The act expanded the 1969 federal hate-crime law to include crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It strengthened other aspects of the old law and provided funding and technical assistance to state and local jurisdictions to bolster their investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.
The U.S. Justice Department says that as of this summer, it had used the Shepard/Byrd law to indict 88 defendants in 42 hate crimes cases, with 64 convictions to date. It provided a breakdown on the nature of recent hate crimes cases, saying seven of the 32 convictions since January 2017 involved crimes targeting gay and transgender people. A 2017 report compiled for the Matthew Shepard Foundation documented 25 cases prosecuted under the Shepard/Byrd law through mid-2017; nine of them involved LGBT victims.
Some activists have been disappointed by the relatively low number of anti-LGBT cases prosecuted under the law.
Defendant lunges for officer’s gun in Oregon courtroom
NEWPORT, Ore. — Video shows a dramatic Oregon courtroom scuffle in which a defendant lunges for a police officer’s gun.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports a judge had denied a request by deputies to restrain 27-year-old Scott Lemmon in court Wednesday.
In the video, Lemmon stands up and grabs for a gun worn by a Newport police officer sitting at a table nearby.
The officer turned away and a courthouse deputy tackled Lemmon to the floor.
Lemmon was on trial for robbery and other charges and was later convicted. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says he could face new charges.
Ex-3 Doors Down bassist gets 10 years on gun charge
PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The founding member and former bassist of the rock band 3 Doors Down has been sentenced to 10 years in Mississippi state prison for possession of a firearm by a felon.
News outlets report Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Krebs gave Todd Harrell the maximum penalty during a hearing Thursday.
Authorities responded to Harrell’s home after an alarm went off in June. Harrell’s wife told deputies they had got into an argument that turned physical. While deputies were talking to the couple, they noticed guns and drugs in the home.
Harrell had served two years in prison for causing a fatal crash in Nashville in 2013. He testified in 2015 that he had been addicted to prescription drugs and was speeding.
The band, which has had hits including “Kryptonite,” suspended Harrell after a second-offense DUI in 2012.