South

Texas man indicted for exploiting California minors on social media

Published

2 months ago

September 20, 2024

Texas man indicted for exploiting California minors on social media

HOUSTON, Texas — A Texas man was indicted on federal charges last week for allegedly exploiting two California minors through social media, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Thomas Henry Lopez, 49, of Spring, faces two counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of distributing child pornography, and one count of transferring obscene material to a minor.

According to court documents, Lopez contacted two California minors via TikTok between June and July 2024, then moved communications to text messages and the encrypted app JusTalk. Posing as a 12-year-old boy, Lopez allegedly solicited sexually explicit images from the victims and sent them pornographic content.

ALSO |APD Officer Chris Taylor to face deadly conduct charge, not murder, for 2019 death

Investigators traced Lopez’s internet activity to his home and workplace, where he served as principal wells engineer for an oil and gas company. FBI agents arrested Lopez on Sept. 3 at Houston’s airport as he prepared to depart for a work trip to Singapore.

The parents of both the children have been interviewed and advised of the crime and arrest.

The case, investigated by the FBI and the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation.

If convicted, Lopez faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison for the sexual exploitation charges. The distribution charge carries a five-year minimum and up to 20 years, while the obscene material charge has a maximum 10-year sentence. Each count also includes potential fines up to $250,000.

Lopez is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Houston on Sept. 13.

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Kentucky

KSR Today: Kentucky Keeps Rolling with a Big Win over Lipscomb

Published

3 mins ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

KSR Today: Kentucky Keeps Rolling with a Big Win over Lipscomb

If you thought there might be a hangover from the Duke win, think again. Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats were buzzing like a bee in a 97-68 victory over Lipscomb at Rupp Arena.

The Cats shot 54.8% from the field and sank a dozen three-pointers, becoming the first team in Kentucky basketball history to make 10+ three-pointers in the first four games of a season. Not too shabby.

Four Wildcats scored in double-figures. Lamont Butler and Koby Brea were each 3-3 from three-point land. Brea has only missed four of his 19 attempts this season, shooting a blistering 78.9% from behind the arc. Neither of those players was the biggest story of the game.

Jaxson Robinson Bounces Back

As great as the Duke win was, you couldn’t say that about Jaxson Robinson‘s performance. The only Kentucky Wildcat to earn preseason All-SEC honors did not make a field goal in Atlanta. He made quite a few against Lipscomb, knocking down three trey-balls and making 6-10 from the field to finish with a team-high 20 points for his highest-scoring game as a Wildcat.

“The Duke win was great,” Robinson said on the SECN+ broadcast after the win. “I felt like for me personally, I let my team down with my body language last game, so I felt like tonight, I just wanted to make sure I was aggressive and a great teammate and let everything else take care of itself.”

The Kentucky Defense was On Point

This probably won’t be the last you see from Lipscomb. They are potentially an NCAA Tournament team as one of the best in the ASUN and they love to shoot the long ball. Kentucky made it a point to give them nothing easy from behind the three-point line and executed that plan to perfection.

The Bisons were just 5-29 from three, eliminating any chance of pulling off an upset at Rupp Arena. Mark Pope had his eyes on another number. Kentucky’s goal is to hold opponents below 39% from the field and the Cats hit that mark with Lipscomb sinking 38.8% of their shots.

Links from the Kentucky Win

10 Things We Learned from the Kentucky Win
Kentucky off to historic start from three-point line, but Mark Pope wants more
Duke hangover? Pope doesn’t believe in trap games
Lamont Butler is an “elite-level” shooter
Robinson Bounced Back
Lipscomb coach blown away by Kentucky offense
PRESS CONFERENCES: Mark Pope, Koby Brea, Jaxson Robinson, Lamont Butler
RECAP: Jaxson Robinson goes for 20 as Kentucky Cruises
HIGHLIGHTS: You gotta see Collin Chandler’s swipe and dish
BOX SCORE: Robinson Fills It Up
Intro and Starting Lineups at Rupp Arena

She Said Yes!

It was a fun night at Rupp Arena. It was extra special for two Kentucky fans. During the under-12 media timeout in the first half, the Hunt Brothers Pizza “Hunk Cam” panned to Ryan, who got down on one knee and asked Adrianne, “Will you marry me?” After a pause, she said yes, sending Rupp Arena into an ovation for the happy couple.

Sign up for the KSR Newsletter to receive Kentucky Wildcats news in the most ridiculous manner possible.

Trivia with Matt Jones at KSBar and Grille

Don’t have plans for your Hump Day? Join Matt Jones for a challenging night of trivia at KSBar and Grille. Not only will you give your brain some exercise, but you’ll also get to enjoy $1 traditional wings and .70 boneless for Wingsday. The action starts at 7 pm EST.

In addition to the trivia and wings, we’ll have all of the sports at KSBar and Grille, which means MACtion. Toledo is a 2-point favorite over Ohio and Eastern Michigan is a 1-point favorite at The Factory against Buffalo.

Q&A with a Texas Reporter

Three members of the KSR crew will be departing for Austin on Thursday. If you’re a part of the traveling caravan to watch Kentucky vs. Texas and have any questions, Joe Cook has the answers for you. The veteran Longhorns’ reporter from Inside Texas will be answering BBN’s questions on KSBoard starting around 11 am EST.

Not a KSR+ member? Now is the perfect time to give it a try. Join the chat while we’re having fun watching Mark Pope’s Cats and stay locked in with all of the impending football roster moves this December.

We’re back at it again with another big night on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’re talking Kentucky football, women’s, and men’s basketball with three LIVE shows, starting at 6 pm EST. Come join the fun.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

New CFB Playoff Rankings

If you enjoy getting involved in the most chaotic discourse in sports, then Tuesday nights are a blast online. The final games of the regular season will filter out most of the spiciest takes, but don’t let that get in the way of a little fun. Georgia fans are mad for not climbing higher and others can’t believe Boise State is seeded above BYU. It’s good old-fashioned fun.

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Louisiana

Louisiana lawmakers move ahead with plan to phase out a business tax, but give locals options

Published

7 mins ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Louisiana lawmakers move ahead with plan to phase out a business tax, but give locals options

A plan to phase out a local tax on business inventory — a critical revenue source for certain parishes — is still alive after a Senate committee on Tuesday gave its approval, but with some key changes.

Parish governments currently have a constitutionally protected right to levy an inventory tax on tangible business assets, which include things ranging from chemicals and natural gas to cars and groceries.

In some parishes, the business inventory tax generates more than $30 million a year. But in others, the tax brings in a meager $1 million or less.

Landry’s Revenue Secretary, Richard Nelson, the tax plan’s principal architect, has said the inventory tax drives away potential business investment in Louisiana. But he also acknowledges eliminating it presents a difficult political problem given local government reliance on it.

The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs committee on Tuesday advanced a plan to incentivize parishes to voluntarily stop collecting the tax. In exchange for a lump-sum payment from the state equal to three years’ worth of parish collections, parishes would agree to forever relinquish their right to levy the tax.

Another factor in play is that while the parishes charge businesses the inventory tax, the state runs a credit program that reimburses those businesses for the amount they pay the local governments. In recent years, that credit program has cost the state more than $280 million annually.

Parishes would have until July 2026 to decide whether to take the buyout. The committee also extended the corresponding inventory tax credit program for corporations through July 2026.

Under a previous version of the plan, the credit would have ended in January.

“It just creates a longer runway for businesses to be able to make choices, for parishes to be able to make choices, and for us as the Legislature to be able to see the impact,” said Sen. Mike Reese, R-Leesville, a member of the Senate tax committee.

The plan would also allow parishes that choose to keep taxing business inventory to do so at a lower rate of their choosing. Right now parishes are required to assess inventory at 15% of its value.

That idea is geared toward moving parishes away from reliance on the revenue stream: It would allow them to lower their collections from the tax while also staying somewhat competitive with neighbors that totally opt out of collections.

“It’s a careful balance that we don’t place parishes in a bad position here and that we don’t put businesses in a worse position if they have to be in a parish that does not opt out and they don’t receive the credit back from the state,” said Reese.

Reese called the tax “convoluted,” noting it’s assessed and paid at the local level but then refunded back to businesses by the state.

“It’s the desire of this administration and this Legislature to hopefully put us in more competitive position nationally,” he said.

Keeping local governments whole

On Tuesday, another piece of a plan to keep local governments whole amid business inventory tax changes emerged: the Local Revenue Fund.

The fund, which would be set out in the Constitution, would be used to pay parishes that opt out of collecting the business inventory tax.

It would be set up in the state treasury and administered by the Uniform Local Sales Tax Board.

Lawmakers would have to decide where the funds come from.

Said Reese: “That’s the question mark: where the revenue comes from.”

It’s an open question amid ongoing negotiations over income tax rate cuts and new sales tax measures.

Rep. Daryl Deshotel, R-Marksville, said Monday that the Local Revenue Fund would work only if the revenue for it comes from an expanded sales tax on services.

But the plan to tax more consumer services is stagnating in the House and doesn’t currently have the support it needs to pass.

Deshotel said he’s “vehemently against” increasing Louisiana’s sales tax rate as part of the overall tax package.

“We’re already tied for the highest sales tax in the country, and if we would increase this, we would be the highest,” he said. “To double down on a tax that I know is bad for the people, I just can’t support that.”

Prescription Drugs

Another part of the plan approved by the Senate committee Tuesday allows locals governments to continue collecting tax on prescription drugs, which the state does not do.

As it tries to streamline the state tax code, the Landry administration has been pushing to get rid of the local tax on pharmaceuticals.

Committee chair Sen. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, said Tuesday he would prefer to see an end to the local tax on prescription drugs and would continue to work toward that goal.

Asked after the hearing about the decision to maintain the prescription drug tax, Foil said it was a necessary part of the negotiations.

“In trying to get rid of the inventory tax and doing some things that we’re trying to do to make all of this work, it gave more revenue to locals,” he said.

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Maryland

Letter: Proud to be a Marylander, despite election results

Published

18 mins ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Letter: Proud to be a Marylander, despite election results

As a lifelong Marylander, this state has profoundly shaped my identity and beliefs. Though the election results were disappointing, I remain proud to call Maryland home. Vice President Kamala Harris won Maryland decisively, breaking barriers everywhere. Marylanders supported her vision for unity, compassion and progress — a testament to our values.

I was born and raised in West Baltimore, where I attended Gwynns Falls Elementary and Lemmel Junior High. I later attended Frederick Douglass High, transferring from the nearly all-white Western High. Douglass brought me closer to my community, where I found strength and solidarity. Morgan State University further shaped me, leading to a teaching career in Baltimore. These schools nurtured my potential and strengthened my values.

For over 50 years, I have been married to the love of my life, sharing a journey and raising our family here. This election reminded me why I love Maryland, with our visible and impactful Black leadership. Our governor, attorney general and senator-elect exemplify diversity. This same goes for our mayor, speaker of the State House, and other officials, including the CEO of Baltimore City Schools.

Still, many in Maryland do not embrace true diversity and inclusion. We face struggles in Baltimore , and we remain a work in progress statewide. Maryland’s push for freedom and progress are personal to me as the CEO of the AFRO, Maryland’s oldest Black-owned business.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Founded by my great-grandfather John H. Murphy Sr. in 1892, the AFRO has long been a voice for justice and equality. My grandparents were also civil rights leaders. Carl Murphy, a Spingarn Medal recipient, was publisher of the AFRO from 1922 to 1967. Vashti Turley Murphy co-founded Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., an organization devoted to sisterhood, scholarship and service. My paternal grandfather, Dr. Francis Marion Wood, was Baltimore’s first director of Baltimore City Colored Schools. Their legacies underscore the need for perseverance, courage and faith.

Kamala Harris’ campaign reflected the dreams of many Marylanders. I am grateful to live somewhere that embodies the values I hold dear. In that, I find unshakeable pride, and I will always be proud to be a Marylander.

Frances Murphy Draper is president and CEO of AFRO American Newspapers.

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