A Ramsey County probation officer’s random check this month of a Level 3 sex offender led to a disturbing discovery in his St. Paul apartment: a naked and unconscious woman in a bathtub with multiple injuries, according to charges filed Friday.

Officers soon arrived at the West Side apartment of 60-year-old Anthony DeWalt and found the woman unresponsive with a weak pulse. An officer began CPR and administered Narcan, the medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. She had bruises throughout her body and was missing a nipple, which appeared to have been cut or torn off, the criminal complaint says.

Anthony DeWalt (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Paramedics arrived on scene and transported her to the hospital. A St. Paul police spokeswoman said Friday the woman is in her 40s.

DeWalt is on intensive supervised release for a 2005 first-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction in Wright County. A 17-year-old girl testified at his trial that he dragged her from a porch during a late-night gathering in Rockford, Minn., and violently attacked her, according to court records. She was ultimately able to flee and ran for help. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2009.

Court records show he was convicted twice for assaulting a corrections employee while he was imprisoned. Later, while at the Wright County Jail, he was convicted of fraud after he sent his SNAP benefits card from the jail to his sister in Illinois. He was released from custody in 2023.

DeWalt’s criminal history includes a murder conviction in Illinois in 1987, according to Friday’s complaint.

Probation officer’s visit

The complaint gives the following account of the Aug. 5 incident:

DeWalt’s probation officer visited his apartment, located in the 500 block of Stryker Avenue, just after 3 p.m. He answered the door naked, and the probation officer told him to put on clothes. DeWalt closed the door, and returned wearing boxer briefs. Blood was on his chest.

The probation officer stepped inside the apartment, “where it appeared another person was present,” the complaint states. DeWalt has several conditions as part of his probation, including no visitors at his residence without preapproval from his probation officer.

The probation officer told DeWalt to have the other person come out, to which he responded that his friend was in the bathtub and unable to do so.

The probation officer glanced into DeWalt’s bedroom and saw a black knife with blood on it. A pipe, commonly used to smoke methamphetamine, was on the end of the couch near the bathroom. When the probation officer asked DeWalt if he had used meth, he didn’t answer.

The probation officer had DeWalt open the bathroom door and saw the woman in the bathtub. Cold water was running from the faucet.

No one else was in the apartment.

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When officers arrived at the apartment, DeWalt refused to let them inside through the locked door, while repeatedly yelling, “I’m ready for you.” Officers forced open the door and he raised his hands as if he was preparing to fight, the complaint says.

The woman was intubated at the hospital, and medical staff believed she “may have been sexually assaulted due to the injuries to her body,” the complaint states.

A sexual assault examination revealed she had suffered multiple injuries, including extensive bruising to the labia majora, groin, buttocks, breasts and upper chest; abrasions to both sides of her neck “consistent with bite marks” and lacerations to both nipples also consistent with bite marks and “inconsistent with the use of a knife, the complaint says.

Forensic swabs were collected during the exam and have been submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing and analysis; results are pending.

The woman began to regain consciousness during the examination. She later spoke with police, saying her chest and arms hurt but did not know the extent of her injuries. She had no memory of the alleged assault or the events leading up to it.

Said she was a friend

Police spoke with DeWalt on scene. He said the woman was a friend who stopped by his apartment from time to time. He said she arrived at his place about 2 p.m. that day and wasn’t feeling well so she got in the bathtub. At one point he thought she was having an asthma attack, he said.

As police were talking with DeWalt, his probation officer obtained an arrest warrant for him based on the alleged probation violations, including possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of narcotics and the unauthorized visitor.

Later, in an interview at the jail, DeWalt said the woman was a friend who helped him clean and cook, and they had no sexual involvement. Before police arrived, he said, she had been at his place for an hour or two. She went to use the bathroom. After a period of time, he checked on her and found her unresponsive, he said, adding he thought she was dying so he poured water on her to revive her.

He underwent a suspect sexual assault examination on Aug. 8; forensic samples are pending.

During a search of his apartment, a breast nipple with jagged edges was located in a bucket with a mop in the kitchen. Blood smears were discovered on multiple areas of a mattress in the bedroom, along with a knife. Fentanyl and cocaine in two clear baggies were found in his shoe by his bed.

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The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged DeWalt with second-degree sexual assault and first-degree assault causing great bodily harm.

At a first appearance on the charges, Judge Reynaldo Aligada Jr. denied a request for a conditional release from jail. He set bail at $200,000, adding he considered the nature and circumstances of the allegations, his prior criminal history “and the fact that Mr. DeWalt appears to have been on supervision at the time of these allegations.”

DeWalt, who remained jailed Friday, is due back in court Sept. 10. A message seeking comment on the charges was left with his public defender assigned to the case.

By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal budget deficits caused by President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Friday.

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The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for Americans over age 65, could potentially see as much as $491 billion from 2027 to 2034 if Congress does not act to mitigate a 2010 law that forces across-the-board cuts to many federal programs once legislation increases the federal deficit. The latest report from CBO showed how Trump’s signature tax and spending law could put new pressure on federal programs that are bedrocks of the American social safety net.

Trump and Republicans pledged not to cut Medicare as part of the legislation, but the estimated $3.4 trillion that the law adds to the federal deficit over the next decade means that many Medicare programs could still see cuts. In the past, Congress has always acted to mitigate cuts to Medicare and other programs, but it would take some bipartisan cooperation to do so.

Democrats, who requested the analysis from CBO, jumped on the potential cuts.

“Republicans knew their tax breaks for billionaires would force over half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts — and they did it anyway,” said Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, in a statement. “American families simply cannot afford Donald Trump’s attacks on Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare.”

Hospitals in rural parts of the country are already grappling with cuts to Medicaid, which is available to people with low incomes, and cuts to Medicare could exacerbate their shortfalls.

As Republicans muscled the bill through Congress and are now selling it to voters back home, they have been highly critical of how CBO has analyzed the bill. They have also argued that the tax cuts will spur economic growth and pointed to $50 billion in funding for rural hospitals that was included in the package.

By COLLIN BINKLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — Teachers, social workers, nurses and other public workers would be cut off from a popular student loan cancellation program if the Trump administration finds their employer engaged in activities with a “substantial illegal purpose,” under a new federal proposal released on Friday.

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The Education Department took aim at nonprofits or government bodies that work with immigrants and transgender youth, releasing plans to overhaul the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Opponents fear the new policy would turn the loan forgiveness benefit into a tool of political retribution.

The proposal would give the education secretary the final say in deciding whether a group or government entity should be excluded from the program, which was created by Congress in 2007 to encourage more college graduates to enter lower-paying public service fields. The proposal says illegal activity includes the trafficking or “chemical castration” of children, illegal immigration and supporting foreign terrorist organizations. “Chemical castration” is defined as using hormone therapy or drugs that delay puberty — gender-affirming care common for transgender children or teens.

President Donald Trump ordered the changes in March, saying the loan forgiveness program was steering taxpayer money to “activist organizations” that pose a threat to national security and do not serve the public.

The public will be given 30 days to weigh in on the proposal before it can be finalized. Any changes would take effect in July 2026.

Under current rules, government employees and many nonprofit workers can get their federal student loans canceled after they’ve made 10 years of payments. The program is open to government workers, including teachers, firefighters and employees of public hospitals, along with nonprofits that focus on certain areas.

The new proposal would exclude employees of any organization tied to an activity deemed illegal. The Education Department predicts that fewer than 10 organizations would be deemed ineligible per year. It doesn’t expect a “significant reduction” in the percentage of borrowers who would be granted forgiveness under the program, according to the proposal.

Yet the agency acknowledges that not all industries would be affected evenly. Schools, universities, health care providers, social workers and legal services organizations are among those most likely to have their eligibility jeopardized, the department wrote.

It did not give more specifics about what “illegal” actions those groups were taking that could bar them from the program. But the proposal suggests that performing gender-affirming care in the 27 states that outlaw it would be enough.

If a state or federal court rules against an employer, that could lead to its expulsion from the program, or if the employer is involved in a legal settlement that includes an admission of wrongdoing.

Even without a legal finding, however, the education secretary could determine independently that an organization should be ejected. The secretary could judge whether an organization participated in illegal activity by using a legal standard known as the “preponderance of the evidence” — meaning it’s more likely than not that an accusation is true.

Once an organization is barred from the program, its workers’ future loan payments would no longer count toward cancellation. They would have to find work at another eligible employer to keep making progress toward forgiveness. A ban from the Education Department would last 10 years or until the employer completed a “corrective action plan” approved by the secretary.

Critics blasted the proposal as an illegal attempt to weaponize student loan cancellation. Kristin McGuire, CEO of the nonprofit Young Invincibles, which advocates for loan forgiveness, called it a political stunt designed to confuse borrowers.

“By using a distorted and overly broad definition of ‘illegal activities,’ the Trump administration is exploiting the student loan system to attack political opponents,” McGuire said in a statement.

The Education Department sketched out its plans for the overhaul during a federal rulemaking process that began in June. The agency gathered a panel of experts to help hash out the details — a process known as negotiated rulemaking. But the panel failed to reach a consensus, which freed the department to move forward with a proposal of its own design.

The proposal released on Friday included some changes meant to ease concerns raised by the expert panel. Some had worried the department would ban organizations merely for supporting transgender rights, even if they have no direct involvement in gender-affirming care. The new proposal clarifies that the secretary would not expel organizations for exercising their First Amendment rights.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media eliminated 30 positions Friday following federal and state budget cuts.

American Public Media Group, the nonprofit parent company of Minnesota Public Radio, announced the impending staff reductions in late July. The St. Paul-based media company said in a statement at the time that it planned to lay off 5% to 8% of its staff “in the coming weeks” and reduce employee benefits as it faces a more than $6 million budget deficit due to federal and state budget cuts.

“Due to reductions in funding from both federal sources and the State of Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media is facing a budget shortfall of more than $6 million this fiscal year,” said Roycie Eppler, chief people and culture officer with American Public Media Group, in a statement Friday. “While MPR|APM remains financially strong, these cuts required us to make the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 30 positions — about 6% of staff.”

APMG has a workforce of approximately 500.

Republican majorities in the House and the Senate in July rescinded $1.1 billion in already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2026 and 2027. Those cuts effectively fully defunded the organization that directs federal dollars to National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting System and some 1,500 local public radio and TV stations around the country, including Minnesota Public Radio.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced in August that it would shut down following the federal cuts.

“We are deeply grateful for the contributions of our departing colleagues and are providing severance and career transition support,” Eppler said. “For nearly 60 years, MPR|APM has delivered trusted news, conversation and music, and we remain committed to serving our audiences and leading public media into the future.”

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