America Today Staff 
A fraudulent veterans organization operating in Marion County has been permanently shut down after members were found to be posing as military veterans to solicit donations, according to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office. The Office of Consumer Protection secured a court order from a Franklin County Circuit Court judge to halt operations of “Your Hometown … Read more
Two men were sentenced in February in separate homicide cases as proceedings continued in Fayette Circuit Court. 15-Year Sentence in August 2022 Shooting Sean Eschol Smith, 56, was sentenced Feb. 23 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to amended charges of manslaughter and wanton endangerment. Smith was charged in the August 2022 shooting … Read more
A former inmate at a high-security federal prison in Eastern Kentucky has been charged with killing a fellow prisoner in 2024, according to court documents. Daviian Roberts, 35, is accused of killing Michael Smith in October 2024 at USP Big Sandy, located in Martin County. The prison, built on a former surface mine, houses up … Read more
A former Eastern Kentucky sheriff charged with murdering a district judge in 2024 will no longer testify in person at a civil trial involving his former deputy. Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 45, previously served as sheriff of Letcher County. He is charged in the Sept. 19, 2024, fatal shooting of Kevin Mullins inside the judge’s chambers. … Read more
CHICAGO — A 34-year-old man was shot Sunday night at the 35th Street Red Line station on the city’s South Side, according to the Chicago Police Department. Police said the man was riding a southbound Red Line train when he became involved in a verbal altercation with an unknown suspect. The suspect exited the train … Read more
DENVER — Dominiq Ponder, a backup quarterback for the University of Colorado Boulder, was killed in a single-vehicle crash early Sunday morning. He was 23. According to the Colorado State Patrol, troopers responded to the crash around 3 a.m. on March 1 in Boulder County. Authorities said Ponder was driving a 2023 Tesla Model 3 … Read more
CHICAGO — Frigid temperatures and icy water didn’t deter thousands of participants from diving into Lake Michigan on Sunday morning for the 26th annual Polar Plunge at North Avenue Beach. The event benefits Special Olympics Illinois and serves as the largest fundraiser of the year for Special Children’s Charities, which supports inclusive programs for children … Read more
CHICAGO — A man was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon in the city’s Albany Park neighborhood, according to the Chicago Police Department. Police said a 24-year-old man and a 29-year-old man were inside the basement of a home in the 4900 block of North Harding Avenue just before 3 … Read more
SUMMERS COUNTY, W.Va. — Healthcare officials are alerting residents to a powerful synthetic opioid known as cyclorphine that has recently been identified in Kentucky and linked to overdose deaths in neighboring states. According to a social media post from the Summers County location of Appalachian Regional Healthcare, cyclorphine is reportedly up to 10 times stronger … Read more
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After a decades-long career in the fight for civil rights, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. returned Monday to his home state of South Carolina to lie in state at the South Carolina Statehouse. The full state honors mark a powerful contrast to Jackson’s childhood in segregated Greenville. In 1960, he and … Read more