Free Republic

A day after a federal judge rejected Michael Avenatti's request to be represented by a public defender, the embattled attorney announced Wednesday that he had hired his own private counsel for his trial on charges that he defrauded clients, a bank and the federal government. Avenatti appeared for a short hearing in Santa Ana, Calif., federal court alongside Dean Steward, whom Avenatti called an “incredibly well qualified” lawyer. On Tuesday, Avenatti filed paperwork asking to formally establish an attorney-client relationship with the federal public defender's office. That request was denied without explanation by U.S. District Judge James V. Selna. The...

NEW YORK - New allegations of fraud in stem-cell research by a prominent South Korean researcher emerged Thursday, and scientists said his other high-profile claims could face investigation as well. Among them: the first cloned human embryos and the first cloned dog. The reputation of Hwang Woo-suk of Seoul National University has been battered by allegations of fabrication in a blockbuster paper published in May. He and co-authors claimed that by cloning human embryos, they'd created 11 stem cell lines that genetically matched certain patients. Scientists hope to use such "therapeutic cloning" someday to create tissue for transplant into people...

<p>GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon Jr. scored a major victory Thursday when a judge threw out a $78 million civil fraud judgment against his family investment firm.</p> <p>The judgment had become a serious liability and distraction for the first-time candidate, who has touted his record as a "successful businessman" as a reason voters should elect him to the state's top office.</p>