ISIS Suspect Planned Route Through Mexico: A document filed Wednesday by prosecutors in a case against an American man accused to trying to join the Islamic State terrorist group described the man's plan to open up routes from Syria to the U.S. through Mexico. Fox News Latino reports that 21-year-old Gules Ali Omar and a group of his friends in Minnesota's Somali community plotted to join the Islamic State, communicating with the foreign terror group's members about the route so it could be used to send fighters to America to carry out terrorist attacks. Omar and four others have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit murder outside the U.S. Their trial begins May 9. Five other men have pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to support a foreign terrorist organization and another is at large, believed to be in Syria. According to the FBI, approximately 12 people have left Minnesota in recent years to join militant groups fighting in Syria and, since 2007, over 22 have joined al-Shabab in Somalia.
Chicago Tallies 1000th Shooting: As of Wednesday, 1,000 people have been shot in Chicago, rising to levels last seen in the 1990s and far outpacing shooting incidents in the much larger cities of New York and Los Angeles. Kelly Cohen of the Washington Examiner reports that according to Chicago Police Department data, there were about 600 shooting victims at the same point last year and just 483 the year before. Additionally, as of Sunday, the homicide total was 64% higher than last year's, jumping from 98 to 161.
Va. Gov. Grants Voting Rights to Thousands of Felons: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced a sweeping executive order Friday that would restore the voting rights of over 200,000 convicted felons. The AP reports that the action, which would impact an estimated 206,000 felons, means that every felon in the state who has completed their sentence and finished any supervised release, parole or probation requirements as of April 22 is eligible to vote, run for public office, serve on a jury and become a notary republic. Most of the convicts that will be affected by the order are African American and Latino, two groups that vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates. John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said McAuliffe's "decision to issue a blanket restoration, without regard to the nature of the crimes committed doesn't speak of mercy. Rather, it speaks of political opportunism."
Chicago Tallies 1000th Shooting: As of Wednesday, 1,000 people have been shot in Chicago, rising to levels last seen in the 1990s and far outpacing shooting incidents in the much larger cities of New York and Los Angeles. Kelly Cohen of the Washington Examiner reports that according to Chicago Police Department data, there were about 600 shooting victims at the same point last year and just 483 the year before. Additionally, as of Sunday, the homicide total was 64% higher than last year's, jumping from 98 to 161.
Va. Gov. Grants Voting Rights to Thousands of Felons: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced a sweeping executive order Friday that would restore the voting rights of over 200,000 convicted felons. The AP reports that the action, which would impact an estimated 206,000 felons, means that every felon in the state who has completed their sentence and finished any supervised release, parole or probation requirements as of April 22 is eligible to vote, run for public office, serve on a jury and become a notary republic. Most of the convicts that will be affected by the order are African American and Latino, two groups that vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates. John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said McAuliffe's "decision to issue a blanket restoration, without regard to the nature of the crimes committed doesn't speak of mercy. Rather, it speaks of political opportunism."
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