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Ex- House speaker is sentenced to 4 years in prison

 
Published July 9, 2016

Opelika, Ala.

Ex- House speaker is sentenced to 4 years in prison

Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard was sentenced Friday to four years in prison and another eight on probation for breaking the state ethics law — a prison term handed down as his defense lawyer continued to argue Hubbard's innocence. Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker announced the sentence after a hearing in which prosecutors called Hubbard a remorseless figure motivated by greed, while defense witnesses urged mercy for the man they described as a public servant. A jury on June 10 convicted Hubbard, 54, on 12 counts of violating the state ethics law, including that he improperly solicited lobbyists and company executives for work and $150,000 in his investments in his debt-riddled printing business and used the power of his office to help his business clients.

Philadelphia

Transit woes projected through Labor Day

Philadelphia's main transit agency doesn't see a quick fix for its regional rail issues, projecting that a majority of the fleet it has sidelined because of structural issues will remain down until at least Labor Day. But the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority expects to add 1,700 seats Monday as transit officials close deals to lease three train sets from New Jersey and Maryland transit services and Amtrak. SEPTA general manager Jeff Knueppel said Friday that transit officials are continuing to look for additional leasable equipment. Officials hope the limited addition of seats will relieve some of the pressures the rail system saw in its first week of service since cracks were discovered in suspension systems in all but five of its 120 Silverline V rail cars. The service saw delayed and packed trains, which had to skip stops nearest to downtown Philadelphia after reaching maximum rider capacities.

Alexandria, Va.

Man charged with marking D.C. targets

A Virginia man has been charged with attempting to assist the Islamic State by photographing targets in the Washington, D.C., area for what he thought would be a video encouraging lone-wolf terrorist attacks in the nation's capital. Haris Qamar, 25, of Burke is the second person this week from the northern Virginia suburbs to be charged at the federal courthouse in Alexandria with attempting to support the Islamic State.

Pentagon will deploy antimissile system in S. Korea

The United States will install a sophisticated antimissile system in South Korea, showing that Seoul's fears about North Korea's military provocations have overtaken its worries about opposition to the buildup from regional heavyweight China. In a statement, the Defense Department said the two countries had conducted months of consultations about deploying a THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) battery to South Korea, which would be operated by American forces stationed there. THAAD is a land-based missile defense system. Now, the two countries have decided to approve that step as a "defensive measure" against North Korea, the Pentagon said. A series of weapons tests by Pyongyang this year, including a suspected nuclear detonation in January, have stoked anxiety in Seoul and as far away as Washington. This spring, Obama said he would adjust the U.S. missile defense system due to North Korea.

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U.S. expels Russian envoys over incident

The United States last month expelled two Russian diplomats as a response to a Russian police guard tackling a U.S. diplomat outside the American Embassy in Moscow, the State Department said Friday. The diplomats were declared persona non grata on June 17, spokesman John Kirby said. That was less than two weeks after the incident that sparked the diplomatic row. The June 6 scuffle between the police officer and the diplomat was captured on security footage and broadcast on Russian TV last week.

Times wires