by SONALI KOLHATKAROtherWords The recent, record-breaking outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to lettuce consumption has left Americans wondering what food is safe to eat. What brands of lettuce are safe and which aren’t are important questions. But even more important might be why such outbreaks happen in the first place — and how our government has made them increasingly likely. Nobody wants explosive diarrhea — and yet the way our federal government has left us unprotected is enough to make one sick. The chief culprit in the cyclosporiasis debacle is our centralized, monopoly-based food system. The outbreak has been linked to Taylor Fresh Foods, which […]

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ABINGDON, Va. — A Letcher County woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in a conspiracy to distribute meth in southwestern Virginia. Britia Noel Johnson, 40, of McRoberts, pleaded guilty back in March to conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 500 grams of meth. Prosecutors say she would sell one- and two-pound quantities of meth for others to distribute in southwestern Virginia and that she introduced another person to a source for even larger quantities of drugs. Complicating matters for Johnson was an arrest for meth trafficking in Pike County in April, after she […]

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WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Two West Virginia men are facing drug trafficking charges, after they were pulled over in Pike County for speeding during Wednesday’s severe weather. A state trooper was patrolling U.S. 119 Wednesday morning, when he spotted a vehicle traveling 62 mph in a 55 mph zone. While that isn’t normally considered excessive speed, the trooper noted in his report that it was during a severe storm with an active tornado warning, so he pulled the car over near the junction with U.S. 23. The police report notes the driver, Don Mahon, 44, of Williamson, showed signs of impairment, […]

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ASHLAND, Ky. — The attorney for former Addiction Recovery Care CEO Tim Robinson Jr. is asking a federal judge to postpone Robinson’s upcoming fraud trial, arguing that the case is too complex to be ready by its current Aug. 10 trial date. Robinson was indicted by a federal grand jury in June on one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. Prosecutors allege Robinson orchestrated a scheme involving the sale of millions of dollars in Employee Retention Credit tax refunds claimed by ARC during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the indictment, ARC sought more than $6.9 million […]

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LONDON, Ky. — Indictments unsealed today in London federal court accuse two Floyd County men of child porn charges in unrelated cases. In the most serious case, Bryan Cantrell, 31, of Minnie, is charged with two counts of producing a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexual explicit conduct and one count of transporting a minor with the intent to produce sexually explicit conduct for distribution. The charges are all alleged to have taken place in January and February of 2024. Each of the charges against Cantrell is punishable by 15-to-30 years in prison, if he is convicted. Cantrell […]

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