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The indictment also says drugs flowed through the Petersburg Clubhouse. A member allegedly sold 66 Oxycodone pills and six muscle relaxers in October 2009. On the same day, an undercover agent purchased 3.5 grams of cocaine, which was then taken by Outlaws. In March 2010, an undercover agent purchased 2.85 pounds of marijuana at the cost of $13,680 from a fellow Outlaw. That Outlaw was later stopped attempting to transport another five pounds of marijuana from Montana to Virginia.
The Outlaws moved into Virginia in 2006 after coming to an accord with the Pagans Motorcycle Club. Members must be men over age 21 who own a domestic motorcycle. They attempted to expand their profile with a "show of force" of national members, along with Pagans, at a Cycle Expo in Richmond. However, law enforcement refused entry to many Outlaws and diffused the threat. In 2007 and 2008, Outlaws threatened members of the Virginia Raiders, Black Pistons and Merciless Souls Motorcycle Club, affiliates of the Hell's Angels.
The Outlaws website lists chapters in Petersburg and Northern Virginia. The indictment reads that property in White Post, Va., near Winchester, was seized, along with dozens of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
The Outlaws, formed in Chicago in the 1930s, are longtime rivals of the Hell's Angels, adopting the slogan "Angels Die in Outlaw States - Adios." The Hell's Angels, Pagans, Outlaws and Bandidos are considered the biggest motorcycle gangs by the FBI.
Much of the information that led to the indictments was told to an undercover Outlaws member in the Petersburg Clubhouse.
All 25 of the men that appeared in court yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and requested a jury trial.
They will all appear in court on Oct. 20 for the start of what prosecutors are estimating will be a two-week trial.
The 12-count indictment - which was returned on June 10 - charges that the men participated in a criminal enterprise that engaged in a wide range of crimes, including attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, robbery, extortion, witness intimidation, narcotics distribution, illegal gambling and weapons violations.
Months after rumors of a romance, Scheana Shay has finally revealed that she’s dating Robert Parks Valletta.
RadarOnline.com reported that the Vanderpump Rules star confirmed that they were in a exclusive relationship during an interview with Black Hollywood Live at the Bronzeville premiere.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live soon after, Shay again maintained that she was in relationship but wouldn’t confirm his name. She said that he was “tall” and that he wasn’t a “secret” to her pals.
Looks like your cover is blown, Scheana!
When Orwell got back from the Spanish civil war, he complained of the lethargy of his home country.
"The pigeons in Trafalgar Square, the red buses, the blue policemen – all sleeping the deep, deep sleep of England, from which I sometimes fear that we shall never wake till we are jerked out of it by the roar of bombs."
England was woken up rather smartly a few years later, as Hitler's military ambitions became impossible to contain. But Orwell's analysis of the English political condition is accurate: perpetual sleepiness turning into a surprisingly formidable competence once forced into action.
A similar pattern has been evident from the Scottish independence referendum. It was safely assumed it would be a strong win for the union and for good reason. In early August, YouGov gave 'No' a 22-point lead. Last Sunday morning, it put 'Yes' ahead by one per cent. That was the bomb that woke up England.
The sleep, in truth, had not just been about the referendum. It had been about Britain's entire constitutional arrangement, from half-finished devolution to the West Lothian question. It was about a Westminster elite hated so widely and deeply that anyone – from Alex Salmond to Nigel Farage – could win an election merely by saying they were against them.
No matter what happens on September 18th, when Scotland actually goes to the polls, this will have been a historic week in English politics, because this is the week that its political structure decided to change. The reforms promised to Scotland in the event of a 'No' vote will make demands for English devolution impossible to resist. And a 'Yes' vote will necessarily trigger wide-ranging constitutional reforms. No matter what happens, nothing will be quite the same.
By Friday, Nick Clegg was putting his name to a report from IPPR North on devolution of power to metropolitan areas. One of the central questions in the years to come will be how to break up English politics so that its population size does not imbalance Wales and Scotland in a union which will inevitably go down the road of federalism.
But that entails the 'No' camp winning the vote. Recent polls have shown 'Yes' falling back behind again, leading some commentators to conclude that Scots stared down the cliff edge and decided not to jump. Perhaps, but the high levels of voter registration and reports of very high postal vote participation indicate that 'Yes' may have prepared a groundswell of support on polling day. The only reliable fact is that it is going to be tight, very tight.
Westminster has done little to help. David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Clegg cancelled their participation in PMQs and headed up to Scotland. It was like trying to cure a headache with techno music. Given that Salmond had succeeded in making the election about Scotland vs Westminster, the active and visible participation of Westminster was not what the doctor ordered.
Cameron was placed on a seat for his speech in which he referred to the "effing Tories", presumably to give him a dash of humility. Humility does not come naturally to him, but he looked genuinely shaken. Nevertheless, his presence will not have helped Better Together. The same can be said for Nigel Farage, who headed up to Scotland on Friday, as if he was trying to secretly sabotage the union.
To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Similarly, Westminster does not know how to react to the problem of itself in a way which does not involve itself. The three leaders needed to adopt the humble posture Cameron had until now and stay well away. Their presence is a greater boost to the 'Yes' camp than anything Salmond could organise.
Firm answers are coming. This week was historic. But next week will be the biggest British politics has had for 300 years. The roar of bombs may sound again, but louder.
A new web-based game uses Google Maps to let wannabe land barons purchase and develop property all over the planet. But the dust on this construction site hasn't completely settled.
Massive interest has caused connection problems for people trying to play Monopoly City Streets, but the maker of the game is working hard to make it run smoothly.
"Since yesterday, we've increased our capacity three-fold, which enabled more new users to get to play the game," reads the game's official blog. "While this means more people are playing at any given moment in time, it also means that game play is still sluggish."
When Monopoly City Streets is working properly, it's pretty nifty. Players start with three million smackers in the bank. They can use that cash to buy unclaimed streets the world over (though some areas like Israel and North Korea aren't yet mapped by Google's OpenStreetMap program).
Once they own the land, they can build buildings that will generate rent income. Those buildings sit right on the map, making it possible to erect a skyscraper where your neighbor's house used to be. That is, unless the jerk hasn't already bought the street you live on. That's where the social side of the game will come into play. Players can sell and trade their properties amongst themselves, the kind of interaction that could easily spark a bidding war over the five blocks of Boardwalk in Hebron, Indiana.
In certain circumstances, neighboring developers can bulldoze properties you've erected. Perhaps it's not an entirely bad thing that Israel isn't playable.
The current incarnation of Monopoly City Streets will be up and running until January 31, 2010.
CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Charleston has always held a special place in the hearts of locals. But now the world and specifically Hollywood's A-list celebs are taking notice.
Sofia Vegara from Modern Family visited the Lowcountry over Easter weekend. Actress Brooke Shields has been in town on occasion guest starring on Army Wives.
R&B singer and actress Ashanti was in town also appearing on Army Wives this season. Taylor Swift popped up shopping on King Street last year, while Bette Midler was spotted in town last fall and took a tour of Boeing.
Nationally known, Charleston event planner Tara Guerard knows a thing or two about celebrities and their love for our special city.
Guerard has been designing some of the most lavish weddings and events around the country and has a reason or two as to why the celebrities keep popping up in our fabulous city.
"When you have a backdrop that looks as perfect as ours, the rest is not hard at all as a sale," Guerard said.
In addition to Charleston's beautiful backdrop, Guerard says for years the Holy City has maintained a reputation in some of the most notable magazines like Conde Nast.
Conde Nast ranked Charleston as the number one City in the world in 2012.
" I think they are figuring out how wonderful our city really is," Guerard said. Guerard has done weddings for several celebrity couples.
In the fall of 2012, she planned the wedding for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds at Boone Hall. Guerard also worked with CNN's Medical Correspondent Dr. Sonjay Gupta for his wedding in 2004 in downtown Charleston.
"There is always some little tie that brings them here and I think almost everyone who has gotten married here came here and fell in love," Guerard said.
Star sightings are common for Jonathan Kish at 82 Queen. Kish has seen dance legend Debbie Allen and regulars like NFL great Dan Marino, and they all love Charleston's restaurant scene.
"I think Charleston's a wonderful city and the cuisine of Charleston is the allure," Kish said.
On The Isle of Palms at the Wild Dunes Resort, Steve Migliara says celebrities like our great beaches.
"Its like two vacations in one. That's why it's so appealing to so many folks," Migliara said.
Overshadowed by his remarks concerning North Korea’s “Rocket Man” and the “worst ever” Iranian nuclear deal, President Donald Trump’s views on Venezuela in his speech at the United Nations on Tuesday were soft-pedalled by the mainstream media.
The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented but that socialism has been faithfully implemented. From the Soviet Union to Cuba, Venezuela — wherever socialism or communism has been adopted, it has delivered anguish, devastation and failure.
We are prepared to take further action if the government of Venezuela persists on its path to impose its authoritarian rule on the Venezuelan people. Venezuelan people are starving and the country is collapsing ... and we cannot stand by and watch.
Nitpickers would ask: If the country is collapsing, why not just stand aside and let it happen? And then, assuming that new leadership arises with the ideology of freedom, President Trump would offer congratulations and support for it. This would lend credibility to the new leaders and open the floodgates of private entrepreneurial capital that Maduro has chased away. Trump might make granting his imprimatur conditional, including perhaps requiring that the new pro-freedom government 1) allows new and honest elections; 2) ensures that the criminals presently infesting the Maduro dictatorship are removed and brought to justice; and 3) replaces Maduro’s cronies running the country’s oil company with technicians and experts who know what they are doing. Trump might require assurances that the destructive Marxist policies that have been strangling the country be removed. Trump could encourage private companies to open relationships with the new regime and American oil refiners to continue and expand their purchase of the heavy Venezuelan crude for which those refineries were specifically built to handle. It wouldn’t take long for the economy of the country to begin to revive, once it is allowed to breathe freely again.One thing happily missing from President Trump’s comments was any suggestion that he would take military action to remove Maduro and his Marxist regime if it didn’t give up its totalitarian ways.
There are already in place various sanctions on Nicolas Maduro and more than two dozen of his henchmen, freezing what assets they might have under U.S. jurisdiction. Limitations have been placed on Americans and American companies seeking to do business and provide financial services and new loans to the regime.
Socialism sows the seeds of its own destruction. Its deliberate murder of the free market through price controls has reduced the regime’s cash flow to the point where it must either borrow from abroad, or print new money. Venezuela has been doing both. Inflation is estimated to approach 2,000 percent this year, rendering the country’s bolivar currency essentially worthless. And it has borrowed an estimated $150 billion from lenders including China and Russia.
Now those seeds are sprouting: Maduro’s government has drained its cash reserves but owes its lenders $5 billion in principal and interest before the end of the year. Despite the $1 billion a month flowing into PDVSA, Maduro’s state-owned oil company, from American refiners (one area which the Trump regime has been reluctant to sanction), it’s mathematics that will sink Maduro, and accomplish Trump’s objective without firing a shot or adding one more Maduro crony to his sanctions list. Defaults will lead to seizures of his oil company’s assets, thus ending his regime through financial asphyxiation.
Trump’s ace, once Maduro is gone, is his ability and willingness to grant political and economic credibility to the new government but only after it has provided him with assurances that the country wouldn’t be ruled by another Marxist tyrant taking Maduro’s place.
Trump has already tried the “stick” approach and all it has done is stiffen resistance by Maduro. The “carrot” approach just might be more successful after Maduro makes his exit.
Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves. A new regime, managed carefully and prudently, using tried-and-true free-market principles (i.e., rule of law, support of private property and contracts, government limited to its proper role, etc.) would return Venezuela to its rightful position as the leading economic powerhouse it once was prior to the arrival of Marxists Hugo Chávez and his protégé Nicolas Maduro.
Attack Venezuela? Trump Can't be Serious!
Guinness World Records celebrates its annual records day on Thursday, honouring a long list of people who have done highly improbable things better than anyone else.
The Harlem Globetrotters, the US stunt basketball team, generally fields a number of record-setters, or at least attempters.
This year, one of them was Torch George, who managed the most under-the-leg tumbles, 32 of them – and at 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 metres) may also set a record as the most diminutive Globetrotter.
They were: the tallest quarter pipe drop-in while in a wheelchair, 8.4 metres; highest wheelchair hand plant, also 8.4 metres; and the farthest wheelchair ramp jump, 21.35 metres.
And yes, that means he launched himself down a ramp and flew more than 21 metres, in a wheelchair. Do not try this anywhere.
Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japanese automaker Subaru Corp is shuffling executive roles ahead of time in the aftermath of a safety inspection scandal it was embroiled in, Nikkei reported on Wednesday.
Tomomi Nakamura, a corporate executive vice president, will take over as Subaru’s president after the shareholder meeting in June and Chief Executive Officer Yasuyuki Yoshinaga will vacate his role as president to become chairman, the report said.
The Japanese automaker had earlier vowed to reinvent itself by improving oversight of its final inspections after it revealed in October that uncertified staff had carried out tests of new cars for the domestic market for decades. The revelation described final inspections of new vehicles that occurred at the company’s main Gunma complex in north of Tokyo in violation of transport ministry norms and eventually led to the recall of 395,000 vehicles.
In December, shares fell to their lowest since July 2016 after the company said it was also investigating whether mileage readings may have been falsified during final checks.
The global slowdown risks sparking violence and bolstering far-right parties, as manual workers turn against cheaper foreign counterparts, analysts and unions warn.
From energy plants in snow-covered Britain to the shops in Malaysia, workers from abroad are increasingly finding their presence under threat.
When the workforce at a British oil refinery walked out last month in protest at the use of Italian and Portuguese contract workers, it fired a warning to European bosses of heated disputes to come.
The wildcat strike at the Lindsey plant in Lincolnshire, eastern England, spread to 20 other oil and gas facilities and was only defused when a compromise deal was reached to give half the 198 jobs to British workers.
Unions voiced fears that organisations with a racist agenda were trying to hijack the protest to stir up feelings against the "imported" labour, as building projects are scrapped and jobs become scarcer.
"We're deeply concerned that other organisations are trying to latch themselves onto the dispute for their own reasons," said Derek Simpson, leader of the giant Unite union, who identified the anti-immigrant British National Party (BNP) as a particular concern.
Portuguese workers at the refinery were flown home amid fears for their safety, with some complaining that they had experienced racism from their British counterparts.
The refinery row prompted Britain's Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, the former European Union (EU) trade commissioner, to urge politicians and unions to focus on the economic issues, not "the politics of xenophobia".
The EU, with increasingly free movement of workers between its 27 member states but rapidly slowing economies, is fertile ground for rising resentment against foreigners willing to work for lower wages than local staff.
French historian Patrick Weil said the dispute in Britain could soon be played out in France.
"We could see the same sort of reaction in the months to come if European service companies bring over workers from other countries to carry out work," he told AFP.
Extreme-right groups have historically found support in areas of high unemployment and economic depression, turning the frustration of local workers into hostility against immigrants and even attacks.
Fascism took hold in 1930s Europe at the height of the Great Depression.
Klaus Doerre, a sociologist at Jena University in eastern Germany, said it was up to the mainstream political parties to prevent the far-right from capitalising on the issue of foreign labour.
"High unemployment does not automatically lead to right-wing extremism," Doerre said in an interview with AFP.
"But if the crisis lasts a long time and if unemployment increases strongly ... then there will obviously be a credibility gap (between voters and the traditional political parties) and the question will be whether this frustration can be exploited, either by the extreme-left or the extreme-right.
In Asia, countries with huge foreign workforces are seeking to give jobs back to the locals.
Malaysia has slapped a ban on new hirings of foreign workers in factories, stores and restaurants due to fears the economic crisis will lead to mass unemployment for locals.
In the United States, sentiment is hardening against an influx of skilled foreign labour as unemployment grows.
Anti-immigration and US workers groups have launched a television campaign in a bid to halt the entry of 1.5 million immigrants with H-1B visas, which are awarded to professional or skilled workers.
The Coalition for the Future American Worker (CFAW) says in the advert: "Last year 2.5 million Americans lost jobs... Yet with millions jobless, our government is still bringing in a million and a half foreign workers to take American jobs."
It concludes with the question: "Could your job be next?"
Doerre, the German sociologist, conceded that this was the fear driving hostility across the globe.
"There is a danger that the social classes who feel most affected, such as manual workers or manual workers with a specific skill, develop feelings of resentment towards immigrants," he said.
In France, where the leader of the right-wing Front National, Jean-Marie Le Pen was runner-up in the 2002 presidential elections, the economic woes have so far failed to ignite support for the party.
Francine Blanche, from France's CGT union, said: "There may be attempts by the far-right [to exploit the economic crisis] but for now, we haven't heard them, maybe it will come later."
She said unemployment among immigrants working legally in France was 22 per cent and they face strong discrimination in hiring practices.
But conversely undocumented workers were unaffected by the economic crisis.
"They have no problem finding work. But it's a very particular part of the labour market. They are not taking work from anyone else... and they are doing badly paid jobs in which they have to be so flexible that they are not in competition with other employees," Blanche said.
Our ninth annual Best States for Business is headed by Utah, which previously finished on top between 2010 and 2012. The ranking measures six vital categories for businesses: costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. We factor in 36 points of data to determine the ranks across the six main areas. Below is a breakdown of each category, along with the sources.
Business costs incorporate Moody’s Analytics cost of doing business index which includes labor, energy and taxes. Moody's weighs labor costs the most heavily in its index. We also included a state tax index from the Tax Foundation that launched in 2012 and looks at the tax burden on businesses in each state across different industries. Business costs are the most heavily weighted component in the Forbes Best States for Business.
Labor supply measures college and high school attainment based on figures from the Census Bureau. We also consider net migration over the past five years and the projected population growth over the next five years. Lastly we included the percentage of the workforce that is represented by a union.
Regulatory environment includes metrics influenced by the government. We incorporated the regulatory component of the Freedom in the 50 States report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. It considers labor regulations, health-insurance coverage mandates, occupational licensing, the tort system, right-to-work laws and more. We also factor in an index from Pollina Corporate Real Estate that measures tax incentives and the economic development efforts of each state. Other data points include Moody’s bond rating on the state’s general obligation debt and the transportation infrastructure including air, highway and rail.
The economic climate category measures job, income and gross state product growth as well as average unemployment during the past five years. Other metrics include the 2013 unemployment rate and the number of the 1,000 biggest public and private companies by revenue headquartered in the state.

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