Detroit
Ex-mayor jailed: A Detroit jury found former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick guilty of racketeering, extortion, bribery, and fraud this week, ending his five-month public corruption trial. According to prosecutors, Kilpatrick, 42, turned the mayor’s office into “Kilpatrick Inc.,” steering more than $83 million worth of municipal contracts to his friend Bobby Ferguson, who shared illicit gains with the mayor. The conviction caps a long fall from grace for Kilpatrick, who was once touted as a rising Democratic star but is now considered instrumental to Detroit’s decline. “Kwame Kilpatrick didn’t lead the city, he looted the city,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. “While enjoying a lavish lifestyle, he watched the quality of life erode for the people of Detroit.” Kilpatrick faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for the most serious of charges; his lawyers say they are considering an appeal.
New York City
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Soda fight: New York City soda drinkers were handed a last-minute reprieve this week when a judge struck down Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on large sugary drinks, a day before the prohibition was to kick in. State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling said the ban on sodas larger than 16 ounces—which would have applied to restaurants, delis, and movie theaters—was “arbitrary and capricious.” He also ruled that the mayor had bypassed the City Council when passing the ban, relying instead on the city’s board of health, whose members he had appointed. Bloomberg said he was confident an appellate court would reinstate the ban, one of several health initiatives he has proposed in the last 11 years. “I’ve got to defend my children, and yours, and do what’s right to save lives,” the mayor said. “Obesity kills.”
New York City
Guilty verdict: “Cannibal Cop” Gilberto Valle was convicted this week by a federal jury in Manhattan of plotting to kidnap, cook, and eat women, in a case that centered on the line between fantasy and crime. The former New York City police officer was also found guilty of using a department database to access information on his targets. Valle, 28, faces up to life in prison for his gruesome plans, discovered on his laptop by his now-estranged wife. The computer was loaded with pictures of dead, mutilated, and sexually assaulted women, as well as Google searches for “how to kidnap a woman” and “human meat recipes.” The defense argued that Valle never intended to act on his cannibal fetish. “These are thoughts, very ugly thoughts, but we don’t prosecute people for their thoughts,’’ said Valle’s lawyer, Julia Gatto, who cried along with her client after the verdict was announced.
Cambridge, Mass.
Email snooping: Harvard University has apologized for secretly searching the email accounts of 16 resident deans in an effort to find out who leaked information about last year’s student cheating scandal. The school carried out the search last fall with the approval of its dean and general counsel, but most of those targeted only found out their accounts had been accessed when they read about it in The Boston Globe last week. “I think what the administration did was creepy,” said sociology professor Mary C. Waters. “This action violates the trust I once had that Harvard would never do such a thing.” Administrators stressed that the search was limited, and that they had successfully identified the dean who had forwarded a confidential email. “No one’s emails were opened,” said a statement from administrators. Around 70 students were forced to take leave from the school last year for plagiarism or “inappropriate collaboration” on a take-home exam for their government class.
Louisville
Hollywood bid: Actress Ashley Judd has decided to seek the Democratic nomination to take on Sen. Mitch McConnell, HuffingtonPost.com reported last week. Judd has met with donors in the Bluegrass State and party leaders in Washington, D.C., to discuss her candidacy, and many hope the Kentucky native can mount a high-profile, well-funded campaign against the Senate minority leader, who has a 46 percent unfavorable rating and is considered vulnerable. Some state Democrats, however, expressed skepticism of the liberal Judd’s viability in a conservative state that Mitt Romney carried by nearly 23 points. Republicans are already painting her as an out-of-touch carpetbagger who lives in Tennessee, and one conservative website began circulating nude scenes from Judd’s movies. Some Democrats say polls indicate that Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Grimes would be a stronger challenger.
Little Rock, Ark.
Abortion bill: The Arkansas legislature has adopted the country’s most restrictive abortion law, banning most terminations after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The Republican-controlled House and Senate overrode a veto by the state’s Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe, who said the bill “blatantly contradicts the United States Constitution.” The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act is the biggest challenge yet to the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. It requires testing at 12 weeks to determine “whether the fetus that the pregnant woman is carrying possesses a detectable heartbeat.” If one is detected, an abortion is prohibited. That’s a far stricter standard than that applied in previous Supreme Court decisions, which allow abortions until the fetus is viable outside the womb, usually around 24 weeks. Pro-choice groups have promised to challenge the bill in federal court.
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