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Another federal trial is scheduled to begin in two weeks for two men accused of conspiring to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

But jurors wont be told much about their previous trial. In a final pretrial hearing Tuesday afternoon in Grand Rapids judge Robert Jonker ruled on what will and wont be allowed to be presented as evidence in the upcoming trial. One thing that jurors wont hear, Jonker said, is that two other men were found not guilty of the kidnapping conspiracy during the previous trial in the fall.

Adam Fox and Barry Croft are facing trial for the second time, after a jury deadlocked on their charges in the spring. Two other men - Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta - were both acquitted.

But the outcome of the first trial should not be part of deliberations for jurors in the second trial, Jonker told attorneys Tuesday. In particular, evidence of the acquitals for Harris and Caserta cant be introduced as evidence in the trial, though Jonker said jurors may ultimately hear about it.

Defense attorneys for both Fox and Croft tried to argue that jurors may already come to the case knowing about the prior case.

The outcome of the first trial was somewhat unusual and it did gather a lot of press, said Christopher Gibbons, an attorney for Fox.

I think it needs to come out, argued Joshua Blanchard, Barry Crofts attorney.

Jonker acknowledged that some of the potential jurors in the case could have been following it closely, and could blurt out the outcome during the jury selection process - thus informing any other potential jurors about the outcome. But, he said, that didnt mean the acquittals could be treated as evidence by attorneys in the trial.

Another complicating factor could be that Caserta and Harris could be called as witnesses in the new trial, in which case jurors would likely find out about their acquittal. But Jonker said its also possible they would invoke their fifth amendment right to not self-incriminate. In that case, jurors wouldnt hear from them at all.

Jonker also ruled on other bits of possible evidence - including texts from a confidential informant in the case to his FBI handler, and evidence that one of the FBI agents in the case was trying to launch his own business on the side. Jonker ruled that, as in the previous case, most of that information would be inadmissible in the new trial.

A total of 14 men were charged over the alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer in 2020. Of those 14, six were charged in federal court. Two of them pleaded guilty, two were found not guilty and two are being retried. Eight other men face charges in state court, and have yet to face trial.

Jury selection for the trial against Croft and Fox is scheduled to begin August 9.

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Outcome of first kidnapping trial can't be used as evidence in second trial, judge rules - WKAR

On the eve of their first training camp as the Washington Commanders, coach Ron Rivera lamented his life since he took this job.

He was asked about his team being in the news all the time.

Its almost to be expected to be honest with you, Rivera said, in a revelatory moment describing the job description that wasnt included when he interviewed with Skipper Dan Snyder.

It goes in cycles, he said. It is situation circumstances, and to use a quote that, it is what it is, and I try to make sure it, for us, its whats interesting versus whats important and were back to football. And to me, the important thing is football. Im here to be judged on that.

OK. I know it may have slipped everyones mind, given the deluge of bad news that surrounds this franchise, but just last month, Rivera was fined $100,000 and lost two OTA practices for 2023 for excessive contacts during spring drills.

That may be football, Im not sure.

Then he spoke about the burden of the aura of self-destruction.

Does it make what I do harder? Rivera said. Yeah, it really does, because, and again, all that stuff thats happened, thats important.

OK. It is.

But to me, as a football coach, what I have to do is Ive got to make this team presentable as a football team on the football field and in the community, he said.

Presentable? Its good to have goals.

The players and coaches, we have to have success, Rivera said. We have to go out and play. Why? Because we need the fans behind us. The fans get behind us, give us support build this up, get some momentum going

Sorry, Ron, have to interrupt you for one of those cycles you spoke of. Your owner, Skipper Dan, testified Thursday virtually from his yacht somewhere overseas, where he has been hiding to avoid appearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to testify about the toxic work atmosphere within the franchise under his ownership, the sexual misconduct allegations and just the overall subhuman tenure of his ownership.

Snyder has committed to providing full and complete testimony, and to answer the Committees questions about his knowledge of and contributions to the Commanders toxic work environment, as well as his efforts to interfere with the NFLs internal investigation, without hiding behind nondisclosure or other confidentiality agreements, a committee spokesperson said in a statement.

Skipper Dan agreed to testify virtually not under subpoena but under oath. Thats half a win for the committee, who wanted Skipper Dan on live streaming for the world to see the meltdown that surely would have taken place.

Remember Happy Thanksgiving?

But they did get an agreement that his testimony will be under oath. I suspect Rivera, who had to brush up on constitutional studies about the First Amendment after his defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio, sabotaged the franchise with his dust-up comments about the Jan. 6 insurrection, will have to study his Fifth Amendment after his boss testimony which I assume we will read, not see or hear is revealed.

There reportedly will be a transcript of the testimony, and it is up to the committee if it gets released publicly. I cant fathom any scenario where it is not released by the committee. Any deal with Skipper Dans mouthpiece to withhold the transcripts would be hypocritical on a nuclear level after the committee has repeatedly admonished the NFL for withholding details of the Beth Wilkinson investigation into Skipper Dan and the organization.

OK, Ron, back to football.

A lot of optimism, more so than anything else, Rivera told reporters after the first day of camp. Thats what it really is. Everybody comes in with a good feeling, all that stuff, but for us, weve got to make sure its about the evaluation process and we got to continue to look at what we have and build on it.

There really is only one evaluation, one question that matters about this team as training camp unfolds. Yes, there is the health of defensive end Chase Young, tight end Logan Thomas, receiver Curtis Samuel and running back Antonio Gibson. There are always health questions in training camp.

But everything revolves around newly-acquired quarterback Carson Wentz, who was driven out of his two previous jobs in Philadelphia and Indianapolis Riveras future, the teams success, everything. It is the only true question that matters.

There. Thats the football.

You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.

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LOVERRO: The weight on Rivera's shoulders is inevitably about much more than football - Washington Times

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued a report on a plan with billions in liabilities that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) took over and that then paid less in benefits than it otherwise would have. It also outlines efforts to address that consequence.

The plan was that of Delphi Technologies, a parts and components supplier to auto makers that was spun off from General Motors (GM) in 1999. Delphi sponsored six single-employer pension plans.

Delphi filed for bankruptcy in October 2005. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization plan, GM agreed to the transfer of up to $3.4 billion of liabilities from the Delphi Hourly Plan to the GM Hourly-Rate Employees Pension Plan. GM initially transferred approximately $2.6 billion of liability from the Delphi Hourly Plan to the GM plan. On June 1, 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy and subsequently received U.S. government financial assistance to assist with its reorganization. In July 2009, GM advised Delphi that it would not assume the hourly plan and would not transfer additional liabilities from Delphi to the GM pension plan. Because GM declined to assume the additional liabilities from the Delphi pension plans, the PBGC terminated the Delphi DB plans, effective July 31, 2009.

Most workers in pension plans that are taken over by the PBGC receive all of their promised benefits, but some workers may receive less than that because the PBGC cannot pay an individual more than a maximum benefit set by law. Benefits were reduced for some participants in Delphi plans.

A memorandum President Trump issued on Oct. 22, 2020 expressed concern over the developments. Said the memo, For years, Delphi Corporation was a fixture in the United States automobile manufacturing industry. Tens of thousands of Americans made their careers at Delphi, and, through their work, helped to establish America as the worlds preeminent producer of automobiles. After Delphi went bankrupt, thousands of salaried and non-unionized Delphi workers, through no fault of their own, had their pension plan terminated, upon which trusteeship was transferred to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for administration, consistent with statutory limits.

Court Action

In 2009, the Delphi Salaried Retiree Association (DSRA) and others filed a lawsuit; the PBGC, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry were among the defendants.

The DSRA claimed that the termination of the Delphi Retirement Program for Salaried Employees violated ERISA and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They also claimed that the agreement between GM and the unions representing hourly employees to top-up the hourly employees pensions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

The DSRA said that GM unfairly discriminated against the salaried employees, that GMs bankruptcy in June 2009 voided the 1999 top-up agreements and that GM renegotiated and provided the top-up to the unions pension plans for political motivations.

Federal district and appellate courts rejected the plaintiffs claims. In January 2022 the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Executive Branch

Activity in the Executive Branch in response to the factors and actions affecting the Delphi DB plans and their participants has not changed the situation.The plight of Delphis salaried and non-unionized workforce is of great concern to my Administration, which is committed to protecting all American workers, President Trump wrote in his October 2020 memo, which directed the heads of three departments to review pension plans the PBGC held in trusteeship, including Dephi.In response to Congressional inquiries, in August 2021 the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Banking and Finance Office of Legislative Affairs in the U.S. Treasury indicated that the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Commerce concluded that Congressional action would be required to restore these lost pension benefits.

On the Hill

The report notes that there is pending legislation that would address the situation.

For instance, Rep. Daniel Kildee (D-MI) introduced the Susan Muffley Act of 2022 (H.R. 6929) in the House on March 3, 2022; four days later. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a nearly identical bill, S. 3766, in the Senate. Both bills would require the PBGC to recalculate and restore the monthly benefits of plan participants who are not covered by the top-up agreements in the six Delphi plans terminated by PBGC. They also provide that plan participants not covered by the top-up agreements would receive lump-sum payments with interest for the benefits that had been reduced due to the PBGCs maximum guarantee.

Continued here:
CRS Reports on Delphi DB Plan Takeover and its Results - ASPPA Net

Washington County prep football stars are ready for 2022 season

Highlights from players across Washington County who will be back on the gridiron this fall.

Herald-Mail Sports, Wochit

Saying there is no way to protect the community by releasing her from jail, a judge Friday afternoon declined to set bond for a mother charged with causing the abuse that resulted last week in the death of her 5-year-old son.

The ruling by Washington County District Judge Terry A. Myers means Catherine Thrasher, 30, will remain behind bars along with her boyfriend, Timothy Lee Haselden II, 33, who is also charged in the death of Thrasher's son.

Haselden was watching the boy and two of the child's siblings July 22 at Thrasher's house north of Interstate 70 and west of Greencastle Pike, according to charging documents filed in the case. The 5-year-old became unresponsive and Haselden told police he noticed a brown substance coming from the boy's nose.

He called Thrasher at work, who got a ride home. When she arrived, she called 911 regarding the boy's condition. Arriving medics found the boy in cardiac arrest and told Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies that his injuries were consistent with abuse. The boy also had a swollen head, apparently from a potential skull fracture, and there were signs of strangulation, according to court records in the case.

Previously:Washington County man charged with first-degree child abuse and death of 5-year-old boy

The boy was taken to Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown and then to Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he died.

Haselden, who is facing charges including first-degree child abuse causing the death of a child under 13-years-old, continued to be held without bond following a hearing Monday in district court.

Thrasher continued to be held without bond this week at the Washington County Detention Center after her bond hearing was postponed until Friday. She was taken into custody at the Washington County Sheriff's Office on Monday following an interview with authorities.

She is also charged with first-degree abuse causing the death of a child younger than 13 years old, which carries a potential life sentence.

Thrasher also is charged with a first-degree count of causing abuse that resulted in severe physical injury to a child in her custody; a second-degree count of causing abuse of a child in her custody; causing sexual abuse to a child in her custody; first- and second-degree assault; and neglect of a minor, charging documents state.

Assistant State's Attorney Michelle Flores argued before Myers on Friday afternoon in Thrasher's bond hearing that Thrasher should not be released on bond.

As Thrasher looked on through a closed-circuit TV link from the Washington County Detention Center, Flores said Thrasher's charges stem beyond the fact that she is the mother of the boy. Flores said evidence shows that Thrasher was a participant in acts resulting in his injuries, which included new and old bruises over his body.

"These are not bruises from one incident," Flores said.

Flores also argued that Thrasher is a flight risk, adding that she has only lived in the area for a couple years.

"She has no ties here, no career holding her here," Flores said.

During a hearing for Thrasher on Tuesday, Acting District Public Defender Eric Reed asked for a postponement due to a potential conflict of interest. Reed and the public defender's office represented Haselden, who has past criminal cases, at his Monday bond hearing. Reed said he planned to seek a different attorney for Thrasher.

Hagerstown Attorney Robert L. Kline III told Myers during Friday's hearing that he will be representing Thrasher.

Kline requested that Thrasher be given an unsecured bond and that she perhaps be fitted with a home monitoring device.

Kline detailed Thrasher's state of mind the day her son died. When Haselden called her to report what happened to the boy, Thrasher "promptly obtained a ride home. She was the one who called 911," Kline said. "She cooperated with police later that day," he said.

That's in contrast to Haselden, who declined to provide information to authorities under this Fifth Amendment rights, Kline said.

After ordering Thrasher to be continued to be held without bond, Myers said there is no way the community can be safe with her out of jail. He said the fact that the case is a serious one is an "understatement."

Preliminary hearings for Thrasher and Haselden have been scheduled for Aug. 23 at 8:30 a.m. in district court.

A deputy who responded to Thrasher's house on July 22 said he found the boy's two siblings sleeping. He said the children were not well kept and the youngest child appeared to have lesions and/or abrasions on his face, court documents state.

At least one of the siblings had been taken to Children's National Hospital.

The sibling was released from the hospital and both siblings were in foster care through Child Protective Services, the sheriff's office said earlier this week.

Haselden is also charged with first- and second-degree rape; first- and second-degree assault; sex abuse of a minor; neglect of a minor; abuse of a child in his custody that resulted in severe physical injury; and second-degree abuse of a child in his custody.

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Washington County woman held in death of 5-year-old son - Herald-Mail Media

EDITORS NOTE: This article includes reporting by Tom Strode of Baptist Press.

JEFFERSON CITY Longtime Missouri Southern Baptist statesman and pro-life advocate Larry Lewis is calling Southern Baptists to lead out in support of a pro-life amendment to the United States Constitution.

Lewis was among many Southern Baptist pro-life advocates who rejoiced, June 24, when the high court overruled its 1973 Roe v. Wade opinion as well as the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling that affirmed Roe and returned abortion policy to the states.

JEFFERSON CITY Longtime Missouri Southern Baptist statesman and denominational leader Larry Lewis and his wife, Creeda, greet Missouri Baptist Directors of Missions and other guests, March 29, during the dedication of the Larry Lewis Strategy Room at the Missouri Baptist Conventions building here. (Pathway photo by Benjamin Hawkins).

The Supreme Courts opinion in Dobbs v. Mississippi Womens Health Organization brought an end to an abortion rule established by Roe that cost the lives of more than an estimated 63 million preborn children.

The Supreme Courts reversal of Roe was a decision for which Lewis had long prayed. He was pastor of Tower Grove Baptist Church in St. Louis when he wrote and defended from the platform as a member of the 1980 Resolutions Committee the first pro-life resolution approved by messengers to the SBCs annual meeting. After his election as president of the Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board) in 1987, the board inaugurated the same year under his leadership the Alternatives to Abortion Ministries to help churches and associations establish crisis pregnancy centers.

He is delighted the Roe v. Wade ruling has been overturned, Lewis said. Roe v. Wade is probably the worst decision ever rendered by the [U.S.] Supreme Court, with the possible exception of Dred Scott, the high courts 1857 opinion that said free and enslaved Black Americans were not U.S. citizens, he said.

Never in the history of our republic has any court ever found in the Constitution a right for a mother to kill her children, either born or unborn, he wrote in a statement for Baptist Press.

Of course, reversing Roe v. Wade doesnt assure the right to life for the unborn but simply transfers the issue to the states to fashion whatever laws they think appropriate, Lewis said. Fortunately, there are several states that will likely prohibit or strictly regulate abortion except for extreme circumstances, such as where the life of the mother is seriously threatened. Unfortunately, many others will freely allow abortions with few or any restrictions.

[W]e have a fight for life on our hands! We must fight hard to assure our state legislatures fashion strong right-to-life legislation. We must fight equally as hard against those who will undoubtedly seek to amend the Constitution to assure the right to abort is constitutional. Instead, we should seek to amend the Constitution to assure the right to life, already clearly embedded in the Constitution, applies to the unborn as well as to anyone else.

This month, Lewis delivered to The Pathway a statement calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. His statement is based on an appeal he previously made in 1981, while serving as a board member for Southern Baptists for Life. Read the statement below:

When our founding fathers drafted the United States Constitution, they wisely included a provision whereby it could be amended. The persuasive arguments of James Madison convinced the others that providing a means to amend the constitution was not only desirable but imperative. Madison observed, in framing a system which we wish to last for ages, we should not lose sight of the changes which ages will produce.

Since that time the constitution has been amended many times for many reasons. To be exact, there have been 27 amendments in the nearly 250 year history of our republic, an average of at least one per decade! I believe most have been for the good of the country.

If it were not for amendments to the constitution our cherished right to worship would not be secure. It is the first amendment (not the constitution itself) that gives us the right to worship, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceable assembly.

If it were not for amendments, women would not have a right to vote and black men and women would still be slaves. In fact, most of the cherished rights we enjoy in America today are provided through amendments to the constitution, rather than by the constitution itself. Perhaps most important of these are the first ten, commonly called The Bill of Rights.

But why is there a need for yet another amendment to secure the right to life for the unborn? Doesnt the constitution speak eloquently of certain unalienable rights, among these the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Unfortunately, this beautiful rhetoric found in the Declaration of Independence never made it into the constitution. The constitution itself says nothing about a right to life for either the born or unborn. Thank God for the fifth and fourteenth amendments or there would be no right to life assured by the United States Constitution!

The fifth amendment states that a person cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Life, liberty, and property can be taken, but only by due process of law. Also, this provision applies only to persons.

In the infamous Dred Scott decision the obvious rights of black men and women were abridged in order to sustain slavery. The Supreme Court ruled that since black men and women were slaves, they should be classified as property rather than as persons. Therefore, the right to own slaves, abuse slaves, and even kill slaves was sustained on the grounds that they were not really persons and therefore could not enjoy any rights provided by the constitution and the fifth amendment. Does this not remind one of the muddled reasoning the Supreme Court used in Roe v. Wade in 1973 concluding that the unborn were not protected by the constitution because they were not persons?

The twisted thinking of the Dred Scott case was rectified several years later with the passage of the fourteenth amendment. This amendment specifically states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and the state in which they reside and prohibits any state from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

For years it was assumed that the right to life thus secured by the fifth and fourteenth amendments applied not only to citizens of the United States but to their unborn offspring. History is replete with countless instances where large monetary awards were given parents of unborn offspring who were damaged as a result of accident or violence. Abortion was prohibited by law in every state of the Union except in cases where the life of the mother was in danger or (in a few states) in cases of incest and/or rape. The idea that a mother would want to destroy her unborn baby was abhorrent.

This all changed in January, 1973. In the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court concluded (1) a womans right to privacy included her right to decide to terminate her pregnancy and (2) states interest in unborn life is not sufficiently compelling to permit regulation of abortion (at least prior to viability). The court considered the argument that even if the unborn are not persons, they are at least human beings and that the state has a compelling interest in protecting the life of human beings. However, the court concluded that the unborn baby possessed only potential life and the interest of the state in protecting potential life is not compelling.

Thus the Supreme Court, the highest deliberative body in the land, concluded there was no right to life secured by the United States Constitution for the unborn. They question whether or not the unborn child is really a human being and they definitely conclude the unborn is not a person. Therefore, since he is not a person the fifth and fourteenth amendments provisions cannot apply since they are explicitly attributed to persons. They further conclude that since the rights secured by the constitution apply only to citizens of the United States and a citizen is defined as one who is born or naturalized in the United States they cannot apply to the unborn since they have neither been born or naturalized.

To say the unborn baby is not a person is the exact antithesis of the testimony of Jeremiah, before thou comest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jer. 1:5). Likewise the Psalmist declared (referring to himself in the first person), I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them (Ps. 139:14-16).

To imply, as did the Supreme Court in 1973, that the unborn is not a human being is absurd! If the unborn child is not a human being, what kind of being is it? From the moment the child is conceived it has every attribute of a human being. From that point it merely grows and develops.

Opposition to Roe v. Wade was immediate, even among the Justices themselves. In his dissent Justice White observed: I find nothing in the language or history of the constitution to support the courts judgement. The court simply fashions and announces a new constitutional right for pregnant mothers. Likewise, Justice Rehnquist stated in his dissent: To reach its result the court necessarily has had to find within the scope of the fourteenth amendment a right that was completely unknown to the drafters of the amendment.

Since that infamous decision in 1973, over 65 million unborn babies have been killed by abortion in the United States alone. Every 20 seconds we delay in correcting this terrible decision, another unborn baby is destroyed and discarded as so much trash!

If in 1964 it was important to amend the constitution so that the poll tax could be eliminated, is it not at least equally important to amend the constitution now so the senseless slaughter of unborn babies can be restrained?

In 1971 we amended the constitution so 18-year-olds might have the right to vote. Is it not just as important now to amend the constitution so that unborn babies may have the right to live?

In 1951, we amended the constitution so the President of the United States would be prohibited from serving more than two terms. Is it not just as important to amend the constitution now so a mother may be prohibited from destroying her unborn child?

Baptists should be at the forefront leading the effort to secure a human life amendment. Just as we have been quick and forceful in leading the effort to oppose gambling, the lottery, pornography, alcohol and drugs, we should be leading the effort to oppose the abortion holocaust in America today.

Southern Baptists are firmly on record in support of a human life amendment. Most resolutions on the issue passed by the Southern Baptist Convention since 1980 have included a strong statement supporting an amendment.

Likewise, most of our outstanding Southern Baptist leaders are outspoken in their support of this cause. Former SBC President, Dr. Adrian Rogers, identified abortion as the most important issue in our contemporary list of social concerns, and was a longtime supporter of those who sought to get a human life amendment approved by Congress. To my knowledge, all of our former Southern Baptist presidents since 1979 have been opponents of abortion and supporters of a human life amendment.

A human life amendment is imperative even though the muddled reasoning of Roe v. Wade has been corrected. Even though there has been a change in the consistency of the Supreme Court and more conservative, pro-life Justices have been appointed and even though the new court reversed Roe v. Wade, the potential for disaster still remains. An amendment is needed to make it explicitly clear that the right to life provided through the fifth and fourteenth amendments applies not only to the mother but to the unborn offspring as well.

I personally favor an amendment designed to return to the states the authority to make laws governing abortion. I do not believe it is the role of the constitution to become a criminal code, but rather to protect and secure those laws of the people, by the people, and for the people, enacted by the Congress and the state legislatures. Also, from the standpoint of political expediency, I believe this type of amendment has greater possibility of passage in Congress and ratification by the states.

For many years now in our state conventions and in our Southern Baptist Convention we have debated the abortion issue and we have passed strong resolutions opposing abortion and affirming the sanctity of human life. From our pulpits we have condemned the abortion clinics and opposed abortion vociferously. But the carnage continues!

Resolutions and eloquent preachments alone will not stop the abortion holocaust. Although not the total solution, a human life amendment is imperative if this avalanche of human carnage is to be stemmed.

See more here:
'Assure the right to life': Lewis urges Southern Baptists to support pro-life amendment in US Constitution - The Pathway