A Mexican national living in the United States illegally was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for distributing and receiving child pornography on Facebook, the Justice Department announced.   Adolfo Raul Vasquez-Santana, 32, of Southaven, Mississippi, was sentenced to 121 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for using Facebook Messenger to send and receive child sexual abuse material. The court also ordered him to pay $14,000 in penalties. Local police began investigating after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE,  pursued federal charges after determining that Vasquez-Santana was living in the United States illegally. ICE placed an immigration detainer on Vasquez-Santana, and he is expected to face deportation after completing his prison sentence, according to authorities.  “HSI is committed to protecting children from predators who use technology to exploit them. When we received information about Vasquez-Santana, our agents acted quickly to investigate, arrest, and bring this individual to justice.  We remain vigilant against child predators and will continue to pursue these offenders wherever they operate,” Matt Wright, acting Special Agent in Charge for HSI New Orleans, said.  “Our partners at Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) will ensure that once the defendant completes his federal sentence, he is removed from the United States and unable to pose further risk to our communities,” he added.  The case was prosecuted as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that the Justice Department says “marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration” and “achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations.”  Authorities said the case was also pursued under Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative established to fight sexual exploitation of children. “Child pornography is a plague,” U.S. Attorney Leary said. “Children are victimized not only through the production of obscene material, but through its continual distribution. Somehow, this debauchery has gained a foothold in our society. We need the public’s help. Please, when you see something troubling, let law enforcement know – we will respond.”  

NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) – A New York man was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government after a trial over federal prosecutors’ allegations that he operated a “secret police station” on behalf of Beijing in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Lu Jianwang, 64, should have alerted the U.S. Attorney General that he was a Chinese agent when he helped open the so-called police station in 2022. They also said he helped China’s government locate a pro-democracy activist living in California. Lu was arrested in April 2023. He had pleaded not guilty to the three felony charges he faced: conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent, acting as an unregistered agent of China, and obstruction of justice. A jury in Brooklyn federal court reached the verdict after a weeklong trial. Lu faces up to 30 years in prison. “May today’s verdict send a message to other foreign agents–the FBI maintains its unwavering resolve to reveal and disrupt the clandestine operations of adversarial nations,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle in an announcement of the verdict. The Justice Department has in recent years been ramping up probes into what it calls “transnational repression” by U.S. adversaries such as China and Iran to intimidate political opponents living in the United States. CHINA CALLS CHARGES FABRICATED China’s government has called the charges in the case “fabricated” and part of an effort to smear the country’s image. Beijing has said there are centers outside China run by local volunteers, not Chinese police officers, that aim to help Chinese citizens renew documents and offer other services. In her opening statement on May 6, prosecutor Lindsey Oken said Lu – a naturalized U.S. citizen – had ties with Chinese law enforcement and met with officials who tasked him with opening the station during a trip to China in 2022. Oken said Lu ran the station out of a nondescript office building in Chinatown. She said he started out by helping Chinese nationals living in New York with renewing driver’s licenses, which alone is a crime if not disclosed to the U.S. government. Oken said Lu also agreed to help the Chinese government locate a pro-democracy activist living in the United States. Prosecutors did not allege that the activist was harmed. John Carman, a lawyer for Lu, said his client agreed to open the center to help Chinese nationals who were unable to travel to the country to renew documents due to the COVID pandemic. But Carman said Lu was not tasked by the Chinese government to do so. A co-defendant arrested alongside Lu, Chen Jinping, pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiring to act as an unregistered Chinese agent. The arrests followed a 2022 investigation published by Spain-based advocacy group Safeguard Defenders that reported China had set up overseas “service stations,” including in New York, that illegally worked with Chinese police to pressure fugitives to return to China.   (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Karen Sloan; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) son, William Paul, said Wednesday he is seeking treatment after unleashing a drunken antisemitic tirade at Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who is not Jewish. “Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” William Paul posted on X. The scene unfolded on Tuesday evening at a Washington, D.C. bar, where Lawler was speaking with News Of The U.S. (NOTUS) reporter Reese Gorman. The younger Paul interrupted to inform Lawler that if Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) loses his upcoming primary, it will be because of “your people.” “My people?” Lawler asked. “Yeah, you Jews,” was Paul’s response. Lawler was taken aback: “Do you think I’m Jewish? I’m not.” Paul apologized for the assumption, but continued making antisemitic remarks, claiming Jewish people were “anti-American” and accusing Lawler’s supposed Jewish supporters of prioritizing Israel over the United States. The New York congressman recounted the conversation for The New York Post, explaining that Paul had already appeared to be pretty “drunk” and was behaving in a “belligerent” manner when he first approached — and had immediately launched his tirade. “So Rand Paul’s f*cking son is sitting next to us at the bar … And he just like chimes in on our conversation, f*cking drunk and belligerent, and then starts going off about, you know, if [Rep. Thomas] Massie [R-KY] loses [his primary], it’s because of my people,” Lawler said, adding, “I’m like, ‘What people?’ He goes, ‘Jews,’ and I’m like, ‘Do you think I’m Jewish? … I’m Irish-Italian Catholic, buddy.'” Lawler said that Paul claimed the United States was trying to steal land from Iran in order to give it to Jewish people, at which point he said he asked the younger Paul what he was talking about. “This war, it’s all about the gays and the Jews, and I hate them both, and I don’t care if they die,” Paul reportedly told Lawler before advising him to watch more Tucker Carlson. Lawler said he attempted to end the conversation, saying, “Well, you just seem to hate Jews, so there’s no point arguing anymore.” Paul then accused Lawler of putting words in his mouth and gave him the middle finger before admitting that he was “really drunk” and making a quick exit. Paul has had previous legal troubles stemming from a 2013 assault charge that was dropped and a 2015 DUI, to which he pleaded guilty. When asked about the situation, Sen. Paul told NBC News reporter Frank Thorp, “I don’t have anything for you on it.”

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday called a special session to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts before the 2028 elections. Kemp signed a proclamation convening the General Assembly on June 17 to address redistricting after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling ended race-based gerrymandering. The news, first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, comes as Republican-led states across the South move to redraw the maps ahead of the November midterms. The special session next month in Atlanta is expected to center on new maps that could take effect for the 2028 election cycle, particularly if Republicans lose power in the governor’s office or state legislature this fall. “The new maps could net Republicans two U.S. House districts and further entrench GOP power in GA’s General Assembly,” VoteHub, an independent election reporting outlet, said on social media.  NEWS — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has called a special session to redraw Georgia’s congressional, state House, and state Senate districts before the 2028 elections. The new maps could net Republicans two U.S. House districts and further entrench GOP power in GA’s General Assembly. — VoteHub (@VoteHub) May 13, 2026 Georgia’s Freedom Caucus, a state-level bloc of Republicans, celebrated the move, urging state lawmakers not to waste the opportunity. “We must not let this opportunity go to waste,” the group said on social media. “The time is NOW to scrap the machines and go to paper ballots. The time is NOW to end racial gerrymandering and provide Georgians with fair electoral maps. Democrats slammed the decision. “We just learned that Georgia is moving forward with gerrymandering for 2028,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) posted on X. “There is an extreme movement in this country that will stop at nothing to hold on to power, even if it means stripping representation away from millions. I will fight this with everything I have.” We just learned that Georgia is moving forward with gerrymandering for 2028. There is an extreme movement in this country that will stop at nothing to hold on to power, even if it means stripping representation away from millions. I will fight this with everything I have. — Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) May 13, 2026 Georgia’s Democratic Party said redistricting would undermine minority representation and energize its base. “Governor Kemp’s decision to call a special session to redraw our maps immediately in the wake of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act is not only a brazen attempt to take away the voting power of Black Georgians – it shows just how scared Republicans are of Georgia voters,” the group said in a statement.  Georgia’s approach differs from other Republican-led states that have already moved forward with redistricting tied to more immediate election cycles. Florida and Tennessee have enacted new maps, while Alabama and Louisiana are expected to follow. On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld new district lines expected to net Republicans a seat. On Wednesday, several media outlets reported South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster is planning to call a special session next week to weigh a new map that could eliminate the state’s remaining Democratic seat after Republicans hit a procedural roadblock on Wednesday. 

Kouri Richins, the Utah woman who wrote a children’s book on processing grief after her husband’s death, went on a 40-minute rant as she was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing him with fentanyl.  In March, a jury found the 35-year-old guilty of aggravated murder for lacing her husband Eric Richins’ drink with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl, poisoning him with what’s known as a Moscow Mule cocktail, according to the Associated Press. Jurors also convicted the mother of three on four additional felonies, including insurance fraud, forgery, and attempted murder for giving her husband a fentanyl-laced sandwich on Valentine’s Day.  Judge Richard Mrazik imposed the maximum sentence, rejecting the possibility of parole. “A person convicted of those things is simply too dangerous to ever be free,” Mrazik said.  Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in bed on March 4, 2022, at the couple’s Park City home. An autopsy report determined he died from fentanyl intoxication. The sentencing coincided with what would have been his 44th birthday. According to the Associated Press, Kouri Richins, a real estate agent who operated a house-flipping business, was millions of dollars in debt and romantically involved with another man. She had taken out multiple life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge, believing she would inherit more than $4 million after his death. The victim’s father, Eugene Richins, urged the court to impose the maximum penalty to protect his grandchildren from their mother.  “This sentence is important so Eric’s three sons never have to live with the fear that the person responsible for taking their father could ever harm them again,” he said during the sentencing hearing, according to the Associated Press.  Speaking to her young children at the sentencing, Richins broke into a 40-minute rant where she insisted she was innocent while admitting that she is “not perfect.”  “I know that today you don’t want to speak to me, have a relationship with me,” she said, according to ABC. “You may think you hate me, and that’s okay. I will never be angry at you for your feelings. When the day comes that you’re ready, I will be here for you, waiting for you, and loving you.” “I have succeeded and I have failed as a person, as a wife, as a parent — we all do,” she added. Richins’ arrest drew national attention, in part due to the children’s book she published. Released a year after her husband’s death, “Are You With Me?” aimed to help her boys process the loss of their father. The book, which has fewer than two stars in reviews, drew a wave of outraged responses. “This is horrifying, writing a book about grief to then be the one who murdered your husband? How can you do that to someone?” one social media user said. “What an absolute psychopath!” another person said.