Midwest
Former St Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner spent hundreds of work hours on nursing degree, scathing audit finds
Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner failed “to make her job as circuit attorney her top priority,” according to a report.
Republican Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a 71-page report on Tuesday, as well as a press release, that supported a previous statement of Gardner being the captain of a “rudderless ship of chaos” as she pursued a nurse practitioner certification during the hours she should have been doing her job.
The former Democratic prosecutor spent 34.5 working days, or about seven weeks, in the office during business hours working on her studies at Saint Louis University, the state auditor’s office said in the statement.
“In my view, the driving force was Kim Gardner’s failure to make her job as circuit attorney her top priority,” Fitzpatrick told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
JUDGE SHREDS SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR, MOVES TO HOLD HER IN CRIMINAL CONTEMPT: ‘RUDDERLESS SHIP OF CHAOS‘
Kim Gardner took nursing classes during business hours as St. Louis Circuit Attorney, an audit says. (Adobe Stock )
His review also found widespread staff turnover, misuse of public funds and a significant drop in cases filed, referred and closed before Gardner resigned under fire in 2023.
Other issues cited in the audit include more than $58,000 in public funds spent on flowers, a disc jockey, car detailing, an office picnic, a chili cookout and Gardner’s personal legal expenses.
FORMER SOROS-BACKED ST. LOUIS PROSECUTOR ADMITS TO MISUSING PUBLIC FUNDS
In a Jan. 13, 2020, file photo, then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner speaks in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)
Gardner told auditors that she was pursuing a family nurse practitioner post-master’s certificate “to improve the office and bring mental health awareness” to the office.
She was part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable and sought to free incarcerated people who were wrongfully convicted.
Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, right, and Ronald Sullivan, a Harvard law professor, arrive at the Civil Courts building on May 14, 2018. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Republican leaders often criticized Gardner for a low homicide conviction rate, among other concerns. She frequently butted heads with police and conservatives.
“Our audit report paints a clear picture of an office that was far better off before Kim Gardner took over and has quickly rebounded after her departure. Despite her efforts to stand in the way of the audit process, we were able to obtain the information necessary to give taxpayers the full story on the damage she did to the office,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Wisconsin
Setting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
Midwest
‘Squad’ member claims State of the Union guest was arrested
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., says her guest at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was forcibly removed and arrested by Capitol Police on Tuesday night.
Omar cited “reports” claiming that software engineer Aliya Rahman was “aggressively handled” as she was forcibly removed from the chamber during Trump’s speech. Omar invited Rahman after she had an altercation with federal agents in Minnesota during “Operation Metro Surge” in January.
“My guest, Aliya Rahman, stood up silently in the gallery during the president’s speech for a short period of time, part of which other guests were also standing. For that, she was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about her injured shoulders and ultimately charged with ‘Unlawful Conduct,’” Omar wrote in a statement.
“Reports indicate she was aggressively handled until someone intervened to secure medical attention. She was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment and later booked at the United States Capitol Police headquarters,” she continued.
Rep. Ilhan Omar says her guest to Trump’s State of the Union address was arrested. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
“The heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy. I am calling for a full explanation of why this arrest occurred,” she added.
Fox News reached out to Capitol Police, but they did not immediately respond.
The charge Omar said Rahman faces exposes her to a possible sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to $500.
“There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up,” Rahman told Democracy Now. “I was arrested for standing up.”
ILHAN OMAR DOESN’T HAVE ANY REGRETS FOR HER ”UNAVOIDABLE’ OUTBURST AT STATE OF THE UNION
Aliya Rahman, a guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D- MN, and a Minneapolis resident who was detained by DHS agents, is escorted from the chamber as Trump delivers his State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on February 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The incident comes after Trump deployed border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis last month after several violent and even deadly interactions between anti-ICE agitators and federal law enforcement.
Homan announced the end of “Operation Metro Surge” earlier this month, saying it was no longer necessary thanks to new cooperation from local law enforcement.
“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said Feb. 12.
White House border czar Tom Homan attends a press conference in Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 29, 2026. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Homan clarified that a “small footprint of personnel” would remain for a period of time, and he also remains in Minnesota monitoring the drawdown process.
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“Additionally, federal government personnel assigned to conduct criminal investigations into the agitators, as well as the personnel assigned here for the fraud investigations, will remain in place until the work is done,” Homan said at the time.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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Detroit, MI
Detroit’s Sloppy Chops restaurateur Mike Brown fatally shot, 2 injured
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Detroit restaurateur and nightlife mainstay Michael “Mike B.” Brown was fatally shot early Saturday morning on the city’s west side, a violent incident that also left two other people injured and sent shockwaves through Detroit’s hospitality and entertainment communities.
According to Detroit police, the shooting occurred outside Suite 100, a cocktail bar on Schaefer Highway near Puritan Avenue. Investigators are urging anyone with information to come forward. As of Sunday afternoon, authorities had not announced any suspects or arrests.
“At approximately 4:30 a.m., Saturday, there was a triple shooting that occurred at 15789 Schaefer,” Detroit Police Department (DPD) media relations manager Jasmin Barmore wrote in an official statement Sunday afternoon. “Two of the vicims were found in front of the location and the third across the street from the location. Unfortunately, the victim found across the street from the location, Mikey Brown, succumbed to his injuries.
“The Detroit Police Department extends their condolences to the family and is asking the community for assistance with this incident. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to please contact DPD’s homicide unit or, they can submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers or Detroit Rewards TV.”
Brown, 52, had spent decades building a name for himself across Detroit’s club and restaurant circuits, evolving from party promoter to business owner and, in recent years, a culinary entrepreneur with expanding ambitions. His death comes at a moment when he had been working to grow his “Sloppy” restaurant brand – a move that aligned with the rise of new Black-owned establishments reshaping the city’s dining landscape.
His first major restaurant venture, Sloppy Chops, opened in 2020 on West McNichols just off the Lodge Freeway. The steakhouse featured high-end cuts like ribeyes and tomahawks, but it quickly drew wide attention for its low-cost lamb chop specials – a dish with a fervent local following and long-standing ties to the city’s food culture.
A year later, Brown launched Sloppy Crab, later renamed the Crab Sports Bar, on East Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. The seafood spot mixed Detroiters’ love for crab dishes with the energetic, nightlife-forward atmosphere Brown had refined during his years in the entertainment scene. Occasional cover charges, signature strong cocktails and celebrity drop-ins helped make the venue one of downtown’s most animated destinations, placing it alongside longstanding nightlife pillars such as Floods Bar & Grille and Sweetwater Tavern.
Both restaurants emerged during a period when Detroiters were increasingly vocal about who new development served. Sloppy Crab’s proximity to the riverfront offered an answer to residents who wondered where Black diners fit into the city’s transforming downtown, while Sloppy Chops demonstrated that restaurants with the energy and polish of downtown destinations could thrive in the neighborhoods as well.
As of Sunday afternoon, more than 1,000 comments expressing sadness and shock had flooded a pinned post on Brown’s Instagram page, along with a number of posts on his Facebook profile.
On her own page, Darralynn Hutson, an award-winning journalist, author, documentarian and media strategist who has provided content to a host of media outlets including the Detroit Free Press, shared photos of herself with Brown.
“I had the opportunity to interview Mike a few years ago for a feature in Food & Wine and I remember how reluctant he was about sitting down to talk,” Hutson recalled. “Interviews weren’t his thing – he was much more comfortable building than explaining. I had to call him more than 20 times to set up the interview. He didn’t care about Food & Wine. But once we ate and got into conversation, what came out was his commitment to creating something for his Detroit.”
Brown’s influence stretched far beyond his menus. His establishments became recognizable gathering places, and his presence – familiar from downtown corridors to Dexter Avenue – made him a significant cultural figure in Detroit’s nightlife and, later, its dining renaissance.
His death leaves both industries mourning a personality whose ambitions were still growing, and whose imprint on the city’s social fabric remains unmistakable.
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