Kansas cult leaders accused of forcing kids to work without pay in rat-infested facilities or face "eternal hellfire"
CBSN
Six members of a Kansas-based cult have been convicted in a scheme to house children in overcrowded, rodent-infested facilities and force them to work up to 16 hours a day without pay while subjecting them to beatings and other abuse. The children, prosecutors say, were told they would burn in "eternal hellfire" if they left.
The defendants were either high-ranking members of the organization formerly known as the United Nation of Islam and the Value Creators, or were wives of the late founder, Royall Jenkins, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday in announcing the verdict.
After a 26-day trial, jurors convicted all six defendants of conspiracy to commit forced labor. One of the six, Kaaba Majeed, 50, also was convicted of five counts of forced labor.

Another winter storm may be headed toward the East Coast of the United States this weekend, on the heels of a powerful and deadly system that blanketed huge swaths of the country in snow and ice. The effects of that original storm have lingered for many areas in its path, and will likely remain as repeated bouts of Arctic air plunge downward from Canada and drive temperatures below freezing. Nikki Nolan contributed to this report. In:

Washington — The Senate is set to take a procedural vote Thursday morning on a package to fund the remaining government agencies and programs, with less than two days to avoid a partial government shutdown. But Democrats say they won't allow the package to move forward without reforms to immigration enforcement. Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.











