Star Tribune
Emotions remain raw in second sentencing for Elsa Segura in Monique Baugh’s kidnapping, murder
Her guilty plea to kidnapping included an upward durational departure from Minnesota sentencing guidelines based on two aggravating factors — that Baugh was treated with particular cruelty and three or more defendants were involved in the crime.
On Tuesday, Baugh’s mother told Kappelhoff the life sentence Segura had been given was the only sentence that felt like justice to her, but she asked him to impose the strictest sentence he could in this case.
“She made an appointment for my daughter to come face to face with the purest form of evil,” Williams Baugh said. “As Monique’s mother I have an extremely hard time to divert my thoughts from what happened to Monique in that U-Haul.”
After the victim impact statement, a tribute video for Baugh played in the courtroom. It was soundtracked by the Beyonce song, “I’m here,” and it traced Baugh’s life in total:
It showed photos of her as a little girl with her hair scrunched up high standing in front of birthday balloons, around the tree at Christmas and cuddling on the couch with her family. It showed her growing into a teenager, paddling on a lake, hanging with girlfriends. It showed her becoming a woman and a mother. An ultrasound photo. A picture at the hospital of Baugh holding her daughter. Her little girls growing, wearing matching dresses with their mom, sharing a kiss. It showed a video the family had taken honoring her life, releasing lanterns into the sky and saying, “We love you, mommy.”
Segura barely moved as the video played, but her eyes occasionally darted, taking little glances at the screen.
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days.
The decision by the bipartisan committee was made earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the vote who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. CNN first reported the vote.
It’s a stunning turnaround for the often secretive panel of five Republicans and five Democrats. Just last month, members voted along party lines to not release the findings of their nearly four-year investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and use of illicit drugs while Gaetz was in office.
Democrats had pressing to make the report public even though Gaetz was no longer in Congress and had withdrew as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican vote against it.
Gaetz lashed out Wedneday on social media against the latest development, again denying any wrongdoing. He criticized the committee for its move after he had left Congress, saying he would have ”no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
”It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,” Gaetz posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. ”I live a different life now.”
Most Republicans have argued that any congressional investigation into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent.
While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare.
Officials on Wednesday identified the two women who died in a fiery crash when their vehicle collided with another at north Minneapolis intersection.
Esther Jean Fulks, 53, and Rose Elaine Reece, 57, both of Minneapolis, died soon after the wreck late Monday morning at the intersection of N. 26th and Emerson avenues, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Fulks died at the scene, while Reece was declared dead at North Memorial Health Hospital.
Two people in the other vehicle were hospitalized with critical injuries, while a 17-year-old boy waiting at a bus shelter to be picked up for school was hit and taken HCMC with noncritical injuries, police said. Their identities have yet to be released.
Fulks was “a mother of four and very loved in her community!” daughter D’Nia Fulks posted on an online fundraising page started on behalf of the family.
Esther Fulks (With permission from GoFundMe)
A northbound vehicle on Emerson struck the women’s vehicle as it headed east on 26th, police said. The impact sent the eastbound vehicle into the bus shelter, where it caught fire.
Police said they believe excessive speed played a role in the crash, but they have yet to say which driver was suspected of speeding.
Star Tribune
Supreme Court will hear arguments over the law that could ban TikTok in the US if it’s not sold
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear arguments next month over the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok in the United States if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell it.
The justices will hear arguments Jan. 10 about whether the law impermissibly restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment.
The law, enacted in April, set a Jan. 19 deadline for TikTok to be sold or else face a ban in the United States. The popular social media platform has more than 170 million users in the U.S.
It’s unclear how quickly the high court might issue a decision.
