COLU @ CONCEPTS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of convicts serving time in U.S. prisons for terrorism-related offenses are due to be released in the next several years, raising the question whether that’s something Americans should fear. There’s no easy answer. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has worked aggressively to foil attacks and has imprisoned hundreds of people who joined or helped militant groups. Experts say less attention has been paid to what happens once those prisoners complete their sentences. Among the incarcerated, according to the Bureau of Prisons, are 380 linked to international terrorism and 83 tied to domestic terrorism. A Congressional Research Service report said 50 “homegrown violent jihadists” were to be released between last January and the end of 2026. And more are entering prison. Former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump in May, had told Congress that the bureau had more than 900 active investigations related to Islamic S...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A death row inmate who killed himself in March didn’t want to make a planned move to a new prison and was upset about a recent legal setback, records show. Inmate Patrick Leonard was visited regularly by prison mental health services, including a check two days before his suicide, and it was determined he didn’t need any services at that time, according to a State Highway Patrol file obtained by The Associated Press through a records request. Leonard, 47, died by hanging himself with a pair of long underwear tied to a pipe in his cell, the records show. Guards tried to save him after seeing a towel blocking their view into the cell during nightly rounds alerted them to something wrong. There were no signs of foul play, and Leonard hadn’t threatened suicide in calls or electronic communications with his family, the records show. “Leonard had a good family support with active phone calls,” the report said. The prison system said last month the planned mo...

A roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out; here are the real facts: NOT REAL: NPR: 25 Million Votes For Clinton ‘Completely Fake’ - She Lost Popular Vote THE FACTS: The headline falsely describes the gist of a National Public Radio story published four years before the 2016 presidential election. It cited a Pew study, which was released in 2012 and based in part on 2008 results, that found 24 million registrations were invalid or inaccurate. The study found no evidence of fraud and suggested the inaccurate records were the result of antiquated voter registration systems that left dead people on voter rolls or didn’t drop people when they moved. Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, but she won the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes, according to an Associated Press count. ...

CANTON, Miss. (AP) — Supporters of the United Auto Workers say they’re not giving up their fight to unionize a Nissan auto assembly plant in Mississippi after a stinging defeat, even as UAW opponents say Friday’s loss proves workers don’t want the union. More than 62 percent of workers voting in a two-day election at Nissan Motor Co.’s Canton plant voted against the UAW, with 2,244 ballots against the union according to the National Labor Relations Board. Voting for union representation were 1,307 workers, or 38 percent. “They know we didn’t need it,” said Nissan worker Kim Barber, an outspoken union opponent who said she was celebrating Friday’s result. “We didn’t need outside interference coming into our plant.” Amid tears at a union office near the plant just north of Jackson, UAW supporters voiced defiance, with some calling for the election to be rerun after the minimum six-month wait. The union filed charges moments before the polls closed Friday night making new all...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democrats control every lever of power in California state government, and free from worrying about major losses to Republicans, they’re training fire instead on each other. The latest example is a recall effort against Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a strong progressive now targeted by party activists upset that he derailed a bill seeking government-funded health care for all. The Rendon recall comes as the California Democratic Party contends with a protracted leadership battle that is as much about donors and messaging as it is about ideals. It follows a contentious battle among environmentalists over the state’s cap-and-trade law to fight climate change, which some thought was too deferential to oil companies. While Democrats in liberal California feud with Washington and proudly cast themselves as a foil to Republican President Donald Trump, they’re far from united at home. For Rendon, the backlash began after he sidelined the bill, SB562, ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Security forces surrounded the entrance to Venezuela’s chief prosecutor’s office Saturday ahead of a session of the newly installed constitutional assembly that is expected to debate removing the onetime loyalist turned arch government critic. Luisa Ortega Diaz denounced what she called a military “siege” on Twitter, publishing photos apparently taken from security cameras showing some 30 national guardsmen in riot gear standing outside her headquarters in Caracas. Access to the downtown block where the building is located was completely restricted amid a heavy troop deployment. Clashes erupted between police and opposition supporters protesting the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela Friday. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters injuring at least one person. (Aug. 4) An official with the prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press that Ortega was not at the building. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of re...

NEW YORK (AP) — Less than an hour after a U.S. jury convicted Martin Shkreli of securities fraud, the so-called “Pharma Bro” was back at his New York City apartment doing what comes naturally: trash talking in a live-stream on YouTube. The brash former pharmaceutical CEO, who’s still out on bail, joked he won’t be going to a hard-core prison — “No shanks” — and predicted his acquittal on some charges Friday will help him recover tens of millions of dollars he claims he’s owed from a drug company he started. Prosecutors in the case against Martin Shkreli say ‘justice has been served’ with a guilty verdict in three of the eight counts against him. (Aug. 4) “It doesn’t seem like life will change much for Martin Shkreli,” he said while drinking a beer and playing with his cat. “I’m one of the richest New Yorkers there is, and after today’s outcome, it’s going to stay that way.” Shkreli’s trolling of his own trial has amused some onlookers. But legal experts say it coul...