Former Madam Claims Hawaii ICE Agent Raped, Abused Her in Graphic Civil Suit

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Photo Credit: REUTERS

Photo Credit: REUTERS

The plaintiff, Malia Arciero, outlined a string of serious allegations in the 18-page complaint filed against ICE special agent Ryan Faulkner.

The 33-year-old Arciero’s most graphic claim involves an undated incident in which he allegedly handcuffed her in an ICE storage room and forced her to perform oral sex, according to the suit filed March 27 in a Honolulu court.

Her attorney, Gary V. Dubin, told FoxNews.com that two regional officers from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are coming to Hawaii this week to interview his client and look into the allegations.

“They have to,” Dubin said. “ICE is too big. There’s lots of money, graft, corruption and self-interest.” He also said attorneys will start submitting pretrial motions in the coming weeks. Arciero’s complaint had requested a trial.

An ICE official declined to comment directly when asked about the case and about Dubin’s claim that regional officers would be visiting, saying they could not discuss pending litigation. The agency stressed that it places the “highest priority on protecting the safety of those it serves” and has “strict safeguards and protocols in place” to ensure security of agents and those they deal with.

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Tea Party-Backed Candidate Sasse Wins GOP Senate Primary in Nebraska

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Tea Party favorite Ben Sasse won the Republican nomination for an open Senate seat in Nebraska Tuesday night, after a heated and costly primary battle that drew heavy national attention.

Sasse, a university president, was able to hold off former state treasurer Shane Osborn, and dark horse candidate Sid Dinsdale who had begun to surge in recent weeks. Sasse grabbed 48 percent of the vote with Dinsdale finishing second and Osborn finishing third, according to preliminary returns.

“We were never doing this because we need another job,” said Sasse. “We were only going to do this if we were going to talk about big bold conservative ideas.”

The win makes Sasse a huge favorite in November’s general election, where he’ll face Democrat Dave Domina, an Omaha attorney. The winner will replace Republican Mike Johanns, who didn’t seek a second term.

Sasse, the president of Midland University, had steadily gained the backing of some of the most influential conservative groups and figures. His victory is a huge win for the Tea Party as the movement has struggled to gain traction this year in the primaries.

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Arlington National Cemetery Marks 150 Years

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Photo Credit: Mark Wilson, Getty

Photo Credit: Mark Wilson, Getty

ANC 150, the five-week commemoration of 150 years of Arlington National Cemetery, kicked off Tuesday with an Army wreath-laying ceremony at the grave site of Army Pvt. William Christman, the first military burial at Arlington.

Christman enlisted in the 67th Pennsylvania Infantry on March 25, 1864, at the age of 20. He was hospitalized for measles five weeks later and died. Christman was buried at Arlington on May 13 of that year.

After the wreath ceremony, members of the Christman family will spend time at his grave. Rick Bodenschatz, representing the Tobyhanna Township Historical Association, will also place a stone of remembrance from the original Christman home. The family home, located in Pocono Lake, Pa., was built from funds received from Christman’s Army service.

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Senate Republicans Block Energy Bill, Forfeit Keystone Vote

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Photo Credit: shannonpatrick17

Photo Credit: shannonpatrick17

U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday blocked an energy-efficiency bill backed by manufacturers and environmentalists, forfeiting a chance to vote on the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline.

On a nearly party-line vote of 55-36, President Barack Obama’s Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bipartisan energy bill supported by the White House.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, had offered a vote on a separate bill to take the final decision on Keystone out of Obama’s hands and give it to Congress if Republicans allowed passage of the energy bill.

But Republicans refused. They complained that Reid barred them from offering amendments to the bill, including one that would have reined in emissions-cutting regulations on coal-fired power plants, a top strategy in Obama’s fight against climate change.

The blocked energy-efficiency bill would cut electricity use by imposing tough building codes and requiring federal data centers to find ways to consolidate and become more efficient.

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Rep. David Schweikert: VA Scandal Likely ‘Nationwide’

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The Veterans Administration controversy that already has been linked to the deaths of some 40 veterans appears to be spilling over to other VA offices nationwide, with members of Congress bracing for repercussions in states around the country as more details emerge regarding extremely long waiting periods for veterans seeking medical care.

What began as a scandal over duplicitous document keeping at the VA office in Phoenix – a scheme apparently intended to conceal the fact that veterans were being left to languish in some cases over a year on waiting lists before getting access to a doctor — has already blown up into an Inspector General probe involving offices in Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, and possibly other states as well.

As many as 40 veterans are said to have died while awaiting medical care.

On Monday, GOP Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona told “America’s Forum” that the revelations so far may be just the tip of the iceberg.

“Be prepared,” Schweikert ominously advised “America’s Forum” hosts John Bachmann and J.D. Hayworth on Monday on Newsmax TV. “There’s going to be more and more of this as the investigation gets deeper and deeper.”

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Rand Paul Threatens to Hold Federal Reserve Nominees Unless His Fed Audit Gets A Vote

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Photo Credit: Darren McCollester / Getty

Photo Credit: Darren McCollester / Getty

Sen. Rand Paul threatened Monday to place a hold on three nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors unless his bill to subject the Fed to an audit gets a vote in the Senate.

It’s a replay of a maneuver the libertarian Republican and Fed critic attempted last year when current Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s nomination was under consideration.

In a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, Paul wrote that “there is no more appropriate time to provide Congress with additional oversight and scrutiny of the actions and decisions of the central banks” than during the Senate’s consideration of the nominees, whom the Senate Banking Committee approved in late April. The candidates are Stanley Fischer, the former top Israeli central banker nominated to be the Fed’s vice chairman, former Obama Treasury official Lael Brainard, and Jerome Powell, a current member of the board seeking a second term.

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Gay Couples Marry in Arkansas, Most Clerks Sit Out

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Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

More than 200 gay couples obtained Arkansas marriage licenses Monday after a judge tossed out the state’s 10-year-old same-sex marriage ban, but only at a handful of courthouses as an overwhelming majority of county clerks in this part of the Bible Belt said they first wanted the state Supreme Court to weigh in.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel — who recently announced his personal support for same-sex marriage rights but said he would defend the law — filed paperwork Monday to at least temporarily preserve the ban, which voters approved by a 3-to-1 margin.

In other states that have seen gay-marriage bans overturned, judges either issued stays with their orders or state lawyers sought them with some immediacy. McDaniel’s office requested a stay from the local judge Friday night but had to wait until the full court record was available Monday before going to the state Supreme Court, under the justices’ rules. Justices gave both sides until midday Tuesday to file arguments.

Seventy of the state’s 75 clerks have not granted licenses. A handful of clerks, including one who granted licenses Monday, filed a stay request saying the judge’s decision didn’t address a law that threatens clerks with fines for “wrongful issuance of a marriage license.”

With the weddings Saturday and Monday, Arkansas became the 18th state to allow same-sex marriages, and the first among former states of the Confederacy.

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‘Don’t Record Me, Lady’ – Police Charge Woman With Wiretapping After She Records Her Own Arrest

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Photo Credit: IJ Review

Photo Credit: IJ Review

Massachusetts woman has been charged with unlawful wiretapping after she recorded her own arrest on her smartphone. 24-year-old Karen Dziewit allegedly had too much to drink and got too loud and belligerent at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, and police were called out.

Dziewit allegedly refused to cooperate with instructions from police officers and was arrested. However, before she was arrested, she activated the voice recording feature on her smartphone.
Mass Live reports:

Springfield Police Capt. Harry Kastrinakis said 24-year-old Karen Dziewit of Chicopee was drinking in front of 140 Chestnut Street shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday when police were called to assist a security officer at that address. Police said Dziewit was screaming and yelling and disturbing the tenants of the buildings, and she refused to stop her tirade when police asked her to.

She was arrested. But, before she was taken into custody, she apparently started the voice recorder in her smart phone and put it in her purse…

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Clay Aiken Opponent Dies Suddenly at Home

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Photo Credit: Ricky Ingold / The Courier-Tribune

Photo Credit: Ricky Ingold / The Courier-Tribune

Asheboro businessman and congressional candidate, Keith Crisco, 71, died suddenly at his home today.

Information is incomplete; however, early information indicates he suffered injuries from a fall around 1 p.m. at his home on 1263 Thayer Drive in Asheboro. He was reported dead at the scene when emergency workers arrived there.

John Ogburn, Asheboro city manager, confirmed that the Asheboro Police Department and Asheboro Fire Department responded to the scene. He said the case will go to the state medical examiner to determine an exact cause of death.

In a statement from the city, local officials said they were saddened to learn of Crisco’s death. During his time on the Asheboro City Council, from 2003-2009, officials said he consistently demonstrated the intellect and steadfastness that made him so successful.

“Keith was an excellent leader and public servant,” said Mayor David Smith. “His service to the City of Asheboro and the State of North Carolina serves as a testimony to his love of family, community and our state.”

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Darrell Issa Threatens EPA Official with Contempt

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Photo Credit: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

Photo Credit: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

House Republicans have run out of patience with President Obama’s administration, Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Wednesday.

Issa, who has been investigating employee misconduct at the Environmental Protection Agency, demanded that deputy administrator Bob Perciasepe produce documents within one month.

“It is my intention to bring to this committee a contempt if that is not done,” Issa said during a Wedneday hearing, before citing his investigation into the Internal Revenue Service targeting of Tea Party groups and the Benghazi terrorist attack as evidence that the Obama administration has a strategy of “running the clock” on House investigations.

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