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An ex-Senate staffer has come forward with allegations that she was sexually assaulted by a former aide to onetime House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). A police report obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle details Zahra Hajee’s accusations against Kevin Ortiz. Hajee, a former aide to San Francisco City Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, has also worked for Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA). She claims Ortiz sexually assaulted her in March and April 2021. Ortiz denies the allegations, saying through his lawyers that the encounters were consensual. Ortiz is the co-president of the Latinx Democratic Club and was working for Pelosi when he met...

Full title: "Stepmother of 10-year-old disabled girl Zahra sentenced to 15-18 years after pleading guilty to murdering child and dismembering her body" The stepmother of a disabled 10-year-old girl, whose remains were found scattered across her home state, has pleaded guilty to the horrific murder and dismemberment of the child. Elisa Baker, 42, was sentenced to about 15 to 18 years in prison after admitting second-degree murder in the death of the child as part of a plea deal. Baker also pleaded guilty to attempting to thwart investigators by planting a fake ransom note at the family home. Ms Baker’s...

<p>The human remains found in North Carolina Wednesday were confirmed to be those of missing Australian 10-year-old Zahra Baker, WCNC-TV reported Friday, citing a source close to the investigation.</p> <p>The source said police in Hickory, N.C., will hold a news conference at 4:00 p.m. local time to announce that the remains have been identified.</p>

US Army 'jammed' Swiss and French satellitesBern: The US Army mistakenly jammed the satellite signal of a number of news organisations earlier this year - including the French and Swiss national news agencies - in an attempt to shut down an Iraqi TV station, according to a Swiss newspaper. Daily Tages-Anzeiger reported in yesterday's edition that the incident occurred on January 23 and lasted about 24 hours, affecting a large number of radio, television and internet services, including those of Agence France Presse (AFP) and its Swiss counterpart Schweizerische Depeschagentur (SDA). An internal SDA memo states that "the loss of...

While the pro hardline government media in Iran called the meeting between the Iranian and Canadian foreign ministers successful, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, said, after meeting with his Iranian counterpart that his country had prepared a new resolution to condemn human rights violations in Iran and would propose it to the United Nations General Assembly. The new resolution condemning Iran's human rights record followed by IAEA resolution last week, which paves the way for referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council, has already created new challenges for Iran's foreign policy makers. An Iran analyst believes that although...

7/26/05 Iran: Shirin Ebadi tells Appeals Court Zahra Kazemi's death was "deliberate murder" Tehran, July 25, IRNA-Appeals Court presided over by judge Alizadeh held a session on Monday in the presence of defendant security officer M.A. and his lawyer, representative of the prosecutor and four lawyers on behalf of Zahra Kazemi's family. Zahra Kazemi, Iranian photojournalist living in Canada, died in custody in 2003. She had been arrested for taking photos from Evin prison. Kazemi's family filed suit with Judiciary against prison officers and legal proceedings indicated that "either her head struck a hard material or the material struck her...

Canada freezes most Iran ties over woman's death Tuesday, May 17, 2005 OTTAWA, May 17 (Reuters) - Canada froze most bilateral ties with Iran on Tuesday in protest against what it said was Tehran's refusal to properly investigate the death of a Canadian photographer. Zahra Kazemi died in July 2003 after she was arrested for taking photographs outside Tehran's Evin prison. Iran initially said she had been hit on the head during questioning but now says her death was an accident and has dismissed Ottawa's demands that her body be returned to Canada. "Effective immediately ... we will limit our...

Amil Imani SPECIAL TO THINK & ASK NEW YORK It was journalist Ziba (Zahra) Kazemi's fourth interrogation, which was orchestrated in a bright room in the presence of about six revolutionary guards and militia torturers, and Tehran's chief prosecutor. She was asked about her connections with Iran's political oppositions, especially the MKO. She was severely beaten, struck on the head, punched on both sides of her chest and was also badly beaten with a rubber truncheon on her shoulders and back. Later, she was stretched out on a bed to which her wrists were tied with metal-wire, causing sharp, painful...

Zahra Kazemi did not die in "an accident" at Tehran's notorious Evin prison, whatever Iran's discredited courts may claim. She was savagely beaten, tortured and raped, according to a physician who treated her as she lay dying from a brain injury. Kazemi, an Iranian-born Canadian photojournalist, was arrested June 23, 2003, outside Evin prison while taking pictures at a pro-democracy rally. Three days later she was carried unconscious on a stretcher into Baghiatollah military hospital, reports Maj. Shahram Azam, a physician in the Iranian security forces who treated her. She never recovered. What Dr. Azam saw at the hospital that...

Michigan Supreme Court candidates engage in rare debate 10/1/2004, 5:46 p.m. ET By DAVID EGGERT The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Five candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court disagreed Friday over the role public policy should play in judicial decision-making. In a rare debate format that showed some of their fundamental philosophical differences, the candidates had varying opinions on what to do if a law is vague or ambiguous. Their joint appearance came during a forum at the State Bar of Michigan's annual meeting. Justice Marilyn Kelly, nominated by Democrats, is seeking re-election for an eight-year term. She said...