Police: Suspected killer of rapper Nipsey Hussle arrested
LOS ANGELES — Police on Tuesday arrested a man they say fatally shot rapper Nipsey Hussle and evaded authorities for two days.
Eric Holder, 29, was captured in Bellflower, a Los Angeles-area city about 20 miles southeast of Hussle’s clothing store, where the musician was shot Sunday.
Hussle and Holder knew each other, and the two had some kind of personal dispute in the hours before the rapper was killed, Police Chief Michel Moore said.
Police released Holder’s name and photo Monday night and asked for public’s help in finding him.
It was not immediately clear how authorities located him. He was detained first by sheriff’s deputies until LA police arrived and confirmed that he was wanted in Hussle’s slaying, authorities said.
Venezuela lawmakers strip opposition leader of his immunity
CARACAS, Venezuela — Lawmakers loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stripped Juan Guaido of immunity Tuesday, paving the way for the opposition leader’s prosecution and potential arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president.
But whether Maduro’s government will take action against the 35-year-old lawmaker remains unclear. Guaido has embarked on an international campaign to topple the president’s socialist administration amid deepening social unrest in the country plagued by nearly a month of power outages.
He declared himself Venezuela’s interim president in January, and vowed to overthrow Maduro. So far, however, Maduro has avoided jailing the man that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and roughly 50 other nations recognize as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
Tuesday night’s vote was unanimous. Constituent Assembly president and socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello accused the opposition of naively inviting a foreign invasion and of inciting a civil war.
“They don’t care about the deaths,” Cabello said. “They don’t have the slightest idea of ??what the consequences of war are for a country.”
Lori Lightfoot will be Chicago’s 1st black, female mayor
CHICAGO — Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot was elected Chicago mayor on Tuesday, becoming the first black woman and first openly gay person to lead the nation’s third-largest city.
Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle, who served in the City Council for 19 years before becoming Cook County Board president.
Lightfoot promised to rid City Hall of corruption and help low-income and working-class people she said had been “left behind and ignored” by Chicago’s political ruling class. It was a message that resonated with voters weary of political scandal and insider deals, and who said the city’s leaders for too long have invested in downtown at the expense of neighborhoods.
Chicago will become the largest U.S. city to elect a black woman as mayor when Lightfoot is sworn in May 20. She will join seven other black women currently serving as mayors in major U.S. cities, including Atlanta and New Orleans.
Lightfoot, 56, has never been elected to public office. She and her wife have one daughter.
Florida man says pipe bombs weren’t meant to hurt anybody
NEW YORK — A Florida man who pleaded guilty to sending pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Donald Trump says he thinks he was misunderstood at his guilty plea.
Cesar Sayoc said in a letter to a judge that was made public Tuesday that it was never his intent to harm anyone.
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff asked prosecutors and defense lawyers whether Sayoc’s comments in his March 23 letter will impact a guilty plea he entered two weeks ago regarding the fall mailings. In an order, Rakoff gave lawyers a week to comment.
During the plea proceeding, Rakoff asked Sayoc if he knew the devices would hurt anyone.
In his handwritten letter, Sayoc said his lawyer told him to say yes.
North Carolina GOP chair, major donor charged with bribery
RALEIGH, N.C. — The chairman of North Carolina’s Republican Party, an insurance magnate and two of his associates are facing federal charges for a plan to shower the state’s top insurance regulator with campaign contributions to ensure special business treatment, a criminal indictment unsealed Tuesday said.
State GOP Chairman Robin Hayes and insurance and investment firm founder Greg Lindberg were among those charged with bribery, conspiracy and other crimes.
The four defendants appeared Tuesday before a federal magistrate.
Hayes also was charged with lying to the FBI. The 73-year-old former congressman announced Monday that he wouldn’t seek re-election as party chairman, citing health problems.
Hayes “steadfastly denies the allegations made against him” and is eager to clear his name, his attorney, Kearns Davis, said in a statement.