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Eric Tucker

(The Associated Press) This undated photo, provided by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), shows bulk cash seized during a combined ICE and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) operation. Immigration agents report a rising number of cash seizures and arrests in the past half-dozen years as criminals, sidestepping scrutiny from banks over electronic transfers, resort to using cash to conceal proceeds from drug trafficking as they move the money south to crime rings in Mexico and elsewhere.

US faces tough fight in cash smuggling crackdown

Last updated Saturday, February 11, 2012 - 4:34pm

WASHINGTON — Jeanette Barraza-Galindo conspicuously left her bags of teddy bears and throw pillows on a bus during an inspection at the Texas-Mexico border — and professed ignorance about the $277,556 officers found hidden inside. The bags were handed to her at a bus station, gifts to be given to a child upon her return to Mexico, she told investigators.

Crime, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Smuggling, National Read more Comments

In this photo taken July 14, 2011 actors dressed in beach attire participate in a flash mob as part of a commercial for McDonald's in Chicago. Thanks to websites like Twitter and Facebook, more and more so-called flash mobs are materializing across the globe, leaving police scrambling to keep tabs on the spontaneous assemblies.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Are flash mobs meant to cover malicious behavior?

Eric Tucker, Thomas Watkins The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, August 9, 2011 - 10:35am

The July 4 fireworks display in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights was anything but a family affair.

As many as 1,000 teenagers, mobilized through social networking sites, turned out and soon started fighting and disrupting the event.

Thanks to social networks like Twitter and Facebook, more and more so-called flash mobs are materializing across the globe, leaving police scrambling to keep tabs on the spontaneous assemblies.

Facebook, Flash mobs, Social media, Twitter, National Read more Comments

Govt recommends jail for 'Survivor' champ Hatch

Eric Tucker, The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, January 31, 2011 - 3:18pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Federal prosecutors in Rhode Island are recommending a jail sentence for "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch for violating the terms of his supervised release.

Hatch served more than three years in prison for failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize he won on the debut season of the CBS reality TV show.

A judge this month said Hatch violated the terms of his release by failing to file amended tax returns for the years 2000 and 2001.

Prosecutors said in court papers Monday that Hatch should return to jail.

Crime, Courts Read more Comments

Steven Senne/The Associated Press
Reality TV star Richard Hatch, center, departs federal court in Providence, R.I., Monday, Jan. 10, 2011. In 2009, Hatch began a three-year period of supervised release under the condition that he refile and pay his taxes on the "Survivor" winnings and other income. The court found Monday that he violated the terms of his supervised released.

Judge: ‘Survivor’ winner broke terms of release

Eric Tucker, The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, January 10, 2011 - 3:41pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Reality TV star Richard Hatch violated the terms of his supervised release by failing to refile his tax returns, a judge ruled Monday, but he said he hadn’t decided whether to put the “Survivor” winner back behind bars. He delayed sentencing until he could receive additional arguments.

Hatch, who was convicted in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize he won on the debut season of the CBS reality series, spent more than three years in federal prison and was then placed on three years of supervised release. He was released in 2009 and has been living in Newport.

Federal authorities accuse him of violating the conditions of his release by failing to file amended tax returns for the years 2000 and 2001, as required by a judge at the time of his sentencing.

Entertainment, Courts, Reality TV, TV Read more Comments

(The Associated Press) Floodwaters remain in parts of West Warwick, R.I., Friday, as seen in this aerial view.

Flooded RI residents hear Easter renewal messages

Eric Tucker The Associated Press

Last updated Sunday, April 4, 2010 - 9:46pm

COVENTRY, R.I. -- A stream of water pumping from the basement of St. Vincent De Paul Church to the parking lot outside welcomed parishioners arriving for Easter services on Sunday, a lingering reminder of the flooding that devastated this town and others in the Northeast in the past week.

Weather, Holiday, National Read more Comments

New England floodwaters recede, but danger remains

Eric Tucker, Pat Eaton-Robb The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, April 1, 2010 - 1:48pm

WEST WARWICK, R.I. -- Stacey Marcure thought she and her family had survived the worst of flooding two weeks ago, when no more than 5 inches of water seeped into her basement. Then she woke to a fresh burst of heavy flooding spurred by record-setting rainfall that caused havoc in this former mill town and much of the Northeast.

Safety, Weather, National Read more Comments

(JOE GIBLIN/The Associated Press) Dave Chamberlain, District 1 Chief of the Exeter, R.I., fire department describes how the Queen River washed out a section of Rhode Island State Route 102 in Exeter, R.I., on Wednesday.

Eastern floods scatter residents as worst awaits

Eric Tucker The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 1:08pm

CRANSTON, R.I. -- Flooding on a scale rarely seen in New England forced hundreds of residents from their homes Wednesday, overwhelmed sewage systems and snarled traffic as major East Coast routes washed out or transformed into a soaked labyrinth of detours and closures.

Weather, National Read more Comments

(MARY ALTAFFER/The Associated Press) Pedestrians make their way through Times Square in the rain Tuesday in New York. A second major storm in less than a month continued to drench the East Coast as forecasters predicted "dangerous flooding."

Boston record falls as storm pounds East with rain

Eric Tucker The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - 2:54pm

CRANSTON, R.I. -- The second major rain storm of the month pounded the Northeast on Tuesday, pushing rivers over their banks, closing roads and schools, prompting evacuations and shattering at least one rainfall record.

Weather, National Read more Comments