LA judge who compared state oversight board to 'Russian mafia' removed from office

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles County judge who has been accused of sexual harassment, making racist remarks and mistreating fellow members of the bench was officially removed from office Tuesday, officials said.

The state Commission on Judicial Performance upheld 17 findings of misconduct against Judge Robert Draper, 84, according to a disciplinary document made public Tuesday.

"Judge Draper persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct," the commission said in a statement. "Judge Draper's misconduct reflected either a concerning lack of familiarity with ethical precepts, or an unwillingness to conform to those precepts."

Earlier this year, Draper compared the commission to the "Russian Mafia" in an interview with The Times where he denied all wrongdoing and claimed the charges were political payback for his opposition to another judge's bid to become L.A. County's presiding justice.

—Los Angeles Times

More than 138,000 NYC public school students were homeless last school year

NEW YORK — More than 138,000 New York City public school students, or about 1 out of every 8 — were homeless during the last school year, according to new data released Tuesday.

While the numbers mark the first sign the student homelessness rate is falling across the five boroughs after reaching consecutive record highs, advocates say the findings are “no cause for celebration.”

The annual count by Advocates for Children of New York marked a 10% decline from the 154,000 students who were homeless during the 2024-25 school year. The shift was driven by a 22% decrease among students living in shelters, as the city closed the emergency housing it had opened during the migrant crisis under former Mayor Eric Adams.

Still, the number of students in shelters was still 41% higher last year than it was only a decade ago. “While it’s encouraging to see that student homelessness is declining after reaching historic highs in 2024-25, today’s data is no cause for celebration,” said Maria Odom, executive director of Advocates for Children.

—New York Daily News

Kentucky asks high court to let universities police faculty speech

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Republican attorneys general in 13 states, including Kentucky, are using a University of Kentucky lawsuit as an example of cases in which universities should be allowed to restrict what professors can say, pushing back on claims UK and other universities have violated the First Amendment, in a court brief to the United States Supreme Court filed Monday.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall organized the document, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to apply the same First Amendment restrictions to public university employees’ job-related speech as to other state employees. In other state jobs, the First Amendment has less protection over a worker’s speech, according to the legal brief.

“Public university professors are citizens, not sovereign citizens. That is not a put down, but it is a serious distinction,” the court document said. “Citizens–speaking as citizens–have First Amendment rights, and they do not lose those rights by setting foot on campus. But university professors are also public employees, paid by a State to teach specific classes in specific ways.”

The brief aims “to stop public university professors from hiding behind ‘academic freedom’ even if they spew antisemitic hate speech,” a news release from Coleman’s office said.

—Lexington Herald-Leader

UK arrests US Army soldier over Russia spying allegations

WASHINGTON — British police have arrested a U.S. Army soldier on suspicion of being involved in a Russian espionage operation in a case that involved both U.K. and American authorities.

The 41-year-old man was arrested near Gloucester on Tuesday, and the national security case involves allegations related to Russia, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. No other details were offered.

“This important arrest involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a joint statement. “This FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners.”

In the same statement, Brigadier General Sean Stinchon of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command said the “alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent.”

—Bloomberg News