In London, England, the Greenwich council has ordered an award-winning fish and chips shop to remove a patriotic mural. The mural outside the Golden Chippy features an anthropomorphic fish holding a Union Jack flag and reaching into a bag of french fries (chips, as the Brits call them) and a slogan saying "A Great British Meal." Owner Chris Kanizi said the mural has given a boost to business, with tourists coming to snap a selfie in front of the mural and grab a bite to eat. That seems to be the problem, as the council calls it an "unauthorised advert."
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]]>Mayor Earl Johnson of Andalusia, Alabama, has apologized to Twyla Stallworth after an officer entered her home and arrested her for not showing her identification. Under Alabama law, police officers can only demand ID from someone who is in a public place and has committed a crime or whom they suspect is going to commit a crime. Stallworth had called to file a noise complaint against a neighbor. No police officer ever came, so she set off her car alarm to annoy the neighbor, who then called to report her; at that point, an officer was dispatched to the scene. Stallworth was not charged for setting off the car alarm, but she was charged with obstruction, resisting arrest, and attempting to elude. Johnson said all charges will be dropped.
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]]>After suffering a heart attack, Ken Jones spent 20 hours sitting in "a hard plastic chair" in
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]]>Kentucky's Louisville Metro Police released cellphone videos that show two officers throwing slushies on pedestrians from inside unmarked police vehicles. Officers Bryan Wilson and Curt Flynn pleaded guilty in 2022 in federal court to violating the rights of citizens through arbitrary use of force while on duty. Flynn was sentenced to three months in prison, while Wilson received 30 months in prison, with each sentence to be followed by three years of probation.
J.D. Bales, a former middle school soccer coach at Texas' Bridgeport High School, was charged with felony theft after police say he ran up more than $5,000 in charges on a school district credit card at a Houston strip club. Bridgeport Police Chief Steve Stanford told reporters that Bales initially tried to report the charges as fraud.
A judge in British Columbia ordered former political candidate David Hilderman to stop referring to himself as an engineer. Hilderman, who has an university degree in engineering and works in the electronics and computer industry, used the word to describe himself in campaign materials. "Engineer" is a protected title in Canada, and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia filed a complaint against Hilderman because he does not have an engineering license.
In Massachusetts, Great Barrington Police Department Police Chief Paul Storti apologized after an officer searched an eighth-grade classroom for a copy of the book Gender Queer after classroom hours. The book contains sexually explicit images. The officer warned an English teacher that "you can't present that kind of material to people under 18" and asked if other books at the school contained similar images.
A deputy U.S. marshal traveling to London to extradite a prisoner was charged by British authorities with being drunk and disruptive on the flight. A woman on the plane accused the marshal of touching her inappropriately, but the police said "no further action" will be taken on that allegation.
New York lawmakers introduced a bill that would require any restaurants located in state highway rest areas to be open seven days a week. While the law would apply to all such restaurants, backers are open about the fact it is aimed at Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chain famously not open on Sundays. The bill would not apply to restaurants operating under current contracts with the state but would apply to any future contracts.
Officials charged New York Police Department Officer Andy Urrutia with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, official misconduct, unlawful possession of personal ID information, attempted petit larceny, and attempted identity theft. Urrutia allegedly took a photo of a debit card belonging to a woman who had been arrested and sent the photo to friends with the message "Lunch on me, guys." One of them tried to use the card at a Starbucks that day.
Police in Senatobia, Mississippi, arrested 10-year-old Quantavious Eason for public urination and took him to jail. Officers saw the boy urinating next to his mother's car while she was inside a lawyer's office with a "no public restroom" sign. The police chief called the arrest an "error in judgment" and claimed one of the officers involved would be disciplined and another no longer worked for the department, but a juvenile court judge sentenced Eason to three months of probation and required him to write an essay about Kobe Bryant.
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]]>New York City Mayor Eric Adams has approved clean air rules for
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]]>According to his death certificate, Anthony Don Mitchell died as a result of hypothermia as well as "sepsis resulting from infections injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect." Mitchell was held for 14 days in the Walker County, Alabama, jail after he fired a gun towards officers who had come to his home for a welfare check. Mitchell had become delusional, and a cousin called 911 because he thought Mitchell needed psychiatric help. According to a lawsuit filed by his mother, Mitchell was held in a cell known as "the freezer" because staff were able to blow cold air into it. According to notes from the doctor who treated Mitchell when he was finally taken to the emergency room, he arrived with a rectal temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The doctor's notes said he found it difficult to understand how someone being incarcerated could have such a low temperature.
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]]>German police raided homes across the nation and interrogated 45 people suspected of posting misogynistic content online on what the police called a "combating misogyny on the internet" day of action. "Today's day of action makes it clear: We consciously go into the spaces of hate, identify acts and perpetrators, take them out of anonymity and bring them to accountability," said Holger Muench, the head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office. The names of the suspects will now be sent to local prosecutors to decide if charges will be filed.
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]]>Officials in Fowlerville, Michigan, have agreed to pay $320,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Ryohei Akima, who was
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]]>Home invasions by criminals seeking to steal automobiles rose 400 percent last year, according to the
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]]>A girl in the United Kingdom's Wetherby Young Offender Institution twice had her clothes removed while being restrained by an
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]]>Former California State Controller's Office employee Miguel Espinosa has pleaded guilty to three counts of grand theft. Espinosa stole
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]]>King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said she won't file felony charges against Officer Kevin Dave of the Seattle Police Department, who fatally struck Jaahnavi Kandula with his patrol car in January 2023. "Our legal analysis reveals that the PAO (Prosecuting Attorney's Office) lacks sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Kevin Dave was impaired by drugs or alcohol, driving in a reckless manner, or driving with disregard for the safety of others," Manion said in a statement. Dave reached speeds of up to 74 mph while responding to an overdose call, but he used his siren only at intersections instead of running it continuously. He struck Kandula in a crosswalk in an area where the speed limit is 25 mph, applying his brakes less than a second before hitting her. Dave's case has been referred to the city attorney's office which will consider a misdemeanor charge of operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner.
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]]>Canadian Justice Minister Arif Virani, who is also the nation's attorney general, says it is very important that the government have the power to punish someone it believes might commit a hate crime even if that person
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]]>North Richland Hills, Texas, residents Dale and Anne Smith received bills totaling $1,065 for unpaid tolls from the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). The bills were for 11 different vehicles, none of which are owned by the Smiths. When they tried to clear the matter up, the NTTA told the Smiths it was up to them to prove they didn't own the cars. The Smiths even got the police involved. The cops found all of the license plate numbers on the bills sent to the Smiths were from temporary tags connected to an Arlington car dealership. But that wasn't enough for the NTTA. Finally, when a local newspaper began digging around on the story, the NTTA told the Smiths it was voiding their debt because it had discovered the vehicles belonged to someone else.
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]]>When Melissa Evans' dog Spotty got away, she feared she might never see him again. But she got a call from Oklahoma City Animal Welfare saying they had picked up the dog and she could get him back if she got him neutered; she agreed. But when she went to pick up Spotty, staff told her the dog had been mistakenly euthanized. "There were two dogs in this particular kennel that had come in together," said Animal Welfare Superintendent Jon Gary. "Very similar-looking dogs. Same coloring, same sex, same breed type." The other dog was scheduled to be euthanized instead of Spotty. "We went into the kennel and mistakenly pulled the wrong dog out," Gary said. "And the wrong dog was euthanized."
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]]>The Scottish Ambulance Service fired Christopher Gallacher, a duty manager at West Centre in Glasgow, after finding he had an on-
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]]>California state Sen. Anthony Portantino, (D–Burbank) has introduced a bill that would require gun owners to annually register their firearms with the state. The registration information would be available to law enforcement agencies. "SB 1160 will give the state better data and help us understand how many firearms are in private hands and who owns them," said Portantino.
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]]>A man says he was threatened with arrest after his dog urinated on a public street in Bournemouth, England. Steve Schuurman said an "aggressive" female Dorset police officer shouted at him to "clear your fucking dog piss." Schuurman said he would have cleaned up if his dog had defecated but wasn't sure what the officer wanted him to do with urine. He said when he complained, a Bournemouth council community safety patrol officer threatened to have him arrested if he did not move on. The Dorset police department said it is looking into the incident. A Bournemouth Council spokesperson said its "community safety officers were only involved in this incident in an effort to de-escalate the situation and seek a resolution for the gentleman involved."
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]]>Following public ridicule and the defection of co-sponsors, a Tennessee legislator has withdrawn a bill that would have banned convenience stores and supermarkets from selling refrigerated beer. State Rep. Ron Gant (R–Rossville) said he did not want "to infringe on law-abiding citizens or be unfair to businesses." Gant originally proposed the measure as a way to reduce drunk driving.
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]]>In Canada, Charlie Angus, a New Democratic Party member of Parliament, has introduced a bill that would make it illegal "to promote a fossil fuel, a fossil fuel-related brand element or the production of a fossil fuel." Regular citizens who violate the act would face a fine of up to $500,000 ($369,622 U.S.), while oil company executives would face up to two years in jail or a fine of $1,000,000 ($739,245 U.S.). The bill defines promotion as "a representation about a product or service by any means" that is "likely to influence and shape attitudes, beliefs and behaviours about the product or service." It specifically bars people from saying that some types of fossil fuels are less harmful than others and could even punish anyone who claims that the oil and gas sector benefits the economy.
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]]>The New York City government is refusing to reimburse Adam and Elizabeth Rizer for the loss of their car, which was totaled during a police chase. An officer was pursuing a suspected stolen vehicle when the officer's vehicle, with its lights flashing, T-boned a Hertz rental car in an intersection. That car then collided with the Rizers' Jeep, which was parked outside their apartment. The entire incident, including the collision, was caught on video. Police reports note that the police vehicle struck the Rizers' vehicle, but the city comptroller's office insists the vehicle that was T-boned actually struck their car and referred the couple to Hertz for possible compensation.
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]]>Italian aviation officials blocked a British Airways flight from leaving Milan for London after a surprise inspection found some of the seat cushions were too thick and too wide. Seat cushions on exit rows over the wings are supposed to be smaller to create more room in case of an evacuation. The air crew called out serial numbers for the correct seats and had passengers see if any of the cushions on their seats matched those numbers. They were able to locate enough cushions to swap out for those over the exit rows, and the flight departed after a delay of an hour.
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]]>New York City Council Member James Gennaro has introduced a bill banning the sale or distribution of laundry or dishwasher detergent pods and laundry sheets that contain polyvinyl alcohol, a petroleum-based plastic film that holds detergents. Those who violate the ban would face a fine of $400 for a first violation. The fine would increase $400 for each additional violation. Supporters say these pods and sheets leave microplastics in the environment and the city water supply. The bill is backed by Blueland, a cleaning products manufacturer whose products compete with pods and sheets.
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]]>San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Dean Preston has proposed an ordinance that would require supermarkets to provide at least six months' notice before closing any stores. It would also require supermarket executives to meet with community members before closing a store and require them to try to find a replacement supermarket. The Board of Supervisors passed a similar law in 1984, but it was vetoed by then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein after one supermarket executive warned it would discourage new supermarkets from opening in the city. At the time, Feinstein called the ordinance "an unnecessary intrusion of governmental regulatory authority."
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]]>A student police officer in England's Thames Valley police said he was shunned by others in the department after he reported a fellow officer for watching bodycam video of a woman having a seizure and making crude remarks about her. The officer said he was later told he was not fit for police work and dismissed from the department. The woman had been arrested when officers believed she was the aggressor in an incident, though she was later found to be the victim. While she was being transported in the back of a police van, she had a seizure that left her breasts and groin exposed. The next day, four officers watched the video and made remarks about her. A Thames Valley Police spokesperson told the media those remarks were "unacceptable" and the department was grateful that the student officer had reported them. The spokesperson said the termination of the student officer's employment was an "entirely separate" issue.
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]]>Officials in Aurora, Colorado, have agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Brittney Gilliam, her daughter, her sister, and her two nieces. In 2020, the five were pulled out of their SUV at gunpoint and handcuffed. Police said their computer system showed the SUV was stolen, but in fact, it was a motorcycle with the same license plate number from Montana that had been stolen. Local prosecutors called the incident "unacceptable and preventable" but declined to charge the officers.
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]]>United Airlines received its first Airbus A321neo airplanes in December, and it has already had to ground them. But United wants you to know there were no safety issues—rather, it has to do with a 1990 Federal Aviation Administration rule requiring "No Smoking" signs to be operated by the flight crew, even though smoking on airplanes has been banned for decades. The A321neo has software that keeps the "No Smoking" sign turned on continuously during flights. In 2020, United got an exemption to that rule for all of its planes that keep the sign on continuously. But that exemption only applies to the aircraft it listed at the time. United has since applied for an exemption for the Airbus A321neo, and it says the FAA has agreed to let the airline fly those aircraft while it evaluates the application.
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]]>Los Angeles station NBC4 reports that the California Department of Motor Vehicles may have
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]]>Gov. Janet Mills has appointed former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald Alexander to overhear a request by Oxford County commissioners to remove Sheriff Christopher Wainwright. Wainwright sold dozens of firearms from evidence without recording the transactions or notifying commissioners. Wainwright said he used the proceeds from the sales to buy equipment for the sheriff's office. The commissioners said they have seen no proof of that claim. Wainwright apologized for his actions but said they don't warrant his removal.
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]]>New tires for automobiles could become more expensive and less safe under legislation proposed by Washington state lawmakers. The proposed bill would give the state Department of Commerce the power to ban the sale of tires it deems bad for the environment. The bill targets heavier and more durable tires, which sponsors say have greater rolling resistance, making them less energy efficient. But critics say the bill would effectively ban cheaper tires and make those that are sold less safe. "The easiest way to reduce rolling resistance is to reduce tread depth which will, in turn, reduce wet traction performance," said Tracey Norberg of the U.S. Tire Manufacturer's Association. "It'll reduce tire life, and it'll increase scrap tire generation."
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]]>Glynn Simmons spent 48 years in an Oklahoma prison for the murder of a liquor store clerk killed during a robbery. But a judge ordered him freed last year, and, in a separate proceeding, declared him to be "actually innocent." His lawyers said detectives withheld a report saying that an eyewitness did not identify him as the killer in a lineup. That woman, who was shot in the head during the robbery, did identify at least five other men in different lineups. Simmons has now filed a federal lawsuit against the detectives and the departments they worked for.
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]]>Columbus, Ohio, police officers John Castillo and Joel Mefford have been charged with possessing with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Mefford has also been charged with money laundering and two counts of possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Prosecutors said the men stole cocaine from people they were investigating and gave it to others to sell.
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]]>In England, the Dacorum borough council has issued fines for littering to at least two men who pulled off the road in a rural area to urinate. "The council has sought legal advice on the use of littering fixed penalty notices for urination and is satisfied that urination would be covered by the relevant legislation," the council said in a statement. The Telegraph reports that at least three other councils treat public urination as littering.
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]]>Former federal corrections officer Andy Steven Johnson pleaded guilty to theft and wire fraud. While working at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Johnson took an inmate's cellphone, opened Cash App, and sent himself $300. Johnson also applied for and received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of nearly $16,000 for a business that didn't exist.
Karen Celebertti resigned as director of the Miss Nicaragua beauty pageant facing charges of treason and organized crime. Following Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios' victory in the Miss Universe pageant, photos of Palacios attending a 2018 anti-government rally went viral and she became a symbol of the opposition to President Daniel Ortega. When Celebertti and her daughter arrived back at the Managua airport in November, they were placed on a plane to Mexico, and police searched her home and detained her husband and son.
The government of Utrecht, Netherlands, banned ads for meat on bus stops and other government-owned spaces. The city has previously banned ads for fossil fuels, cars, and flying. City officials say the bans could have a positive impact on residents' health and the climate.
Former Hialeah, Florida, police officer Rafael Otano was sentenced to five and a half years in prison after being convicted of kidnapping a homeless man. Prosecutors said that after a shopkeeper at a strip mall called police to complain about the man, Otano and another officer drove him to a wooded area outside of town, beat him, and left him there.
Russia has enacted new laws to punish those who criticize its war in Ukraine, and Russians have been eager to denounce those they feel violate those laws. Sometimes those who report others truly agree with the war effort, but sometimes it's done to settle a personal grudge. "Whenever something real comes up, there's nobody to investigate," one former police officer told the BBC. "Everyone's gone to check on some grandma who saw a curtain that looked like the Ukrainian flag."
Coi Morris, a mail handler at the U.S. Postal Service processing center in New Orleans, pleaded guilty to embezzling. Morris admitted that for months, he opened and stole from greeting cards at the processing center, taking between $500 and $800 plus some gift cards.
Australian authorities fined 77-year-old New Zealander June Armstrong 3,300 Australian dollars ($2,235) for bringing a chicken sandwich into the country. Armstrong bought the sandwich, sealed, at the Christchurch airport. She intended to eat it on her flight but forgot about it until a customs official in Australia searched her backpack. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website says travelers can be fined if they fail to declare goods that pose a "high level of biosecurity risk."
A member of the New York Legislature wants people to be fingerprinted and pass a criminal background check before they can buy a 3D printer. State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar (D–Queens) says such printers can be used to make and sell untraceable guns. The bill doesn't specify what will happen to those who already own 3D printers or to those who buy them from private sellers or from out of state.
A Marion County, Florida, sheriff's deputy received a one-day suspension for using a police database to find the identity of a woman dating her ex-boyfriend. She was suspended an additional two days after a video appeared on Facebook of her attacking another woman at a party. The woman she attacked was reportedly a friend of her ex's new girlfriend.
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]]>Jonathan Marsh, an officer with London's Metropolitan Police, has been found guilty of assault for punching shopkeeper Rasike Attanayake. Attanayake had called emergency dispatch to report a man damaging his shop and threatening to kill people. Upon arriving, Marsh knocked Attanayake to the ground, punched him in the back of the head, handcuffed him, and placed him in the back of a patrol car before figuring out he was not the suspect.
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]]>The Mississippi man who destroyed a statue erected by the Satanic Temple of Iowa in the state Capitol last year faces years in prison after being charged with a hate crime. Navy veteran Michael Cassidy has been charged with felony third-degree criminal mischief. He was originally charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief, but in a statement, prosecutors said, "the defendant made statements to law enforcement and the public indicating he destroyed the property because of the victim's religion." As a result, prosecutors tacked on a hate crime enhancement, increasing the charge from a misdemeanor to a class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $10,245 in fines. The prosecutors' statement said that based on information provided by the Satanists, it would cost between $750 and $1,500 to repair or replace the statue.
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]]>A federal judge has ruled that Trumbull County, Ohio, officials violated the rights of Niki Frenchko, the only Republican member of the county Board of Commissioners, when they had her arrested during a commissioners' meeting. Frenchko was arrested for criticizing the sheriff, Paul Monroe, for a death in the jail. She was charged with trying to "prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting" under a law that prohibits speech that "outrages the sensibilities of the group." The charge was later dropped. The other commissioners, Monroe, and the deputies who arrested Frenchko were found personally liable. A hearing will be held later to determine damages.
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]]>For three years, the Bond family asked the city of Portland, Oregon, for permission to remove two Douglas firs that they believed looked dangerous. But the city's Urban Forestry division denied them a removal permit. "Removal will significantly affect neighborhood character, based on the tree's attributes, visibility of the tree to the public, or past removals of trees in the area," the agency said in a letter to the family. But during a recent storm, one of those trees fell onto their home, forcing them out. A city arborist advised the family that they will have to apply for a permit to remove the remains of the tree, and they will also have to pay to have a tree planted to replace it. The Bonds were also advised to go ahead and remove that second tree from their property and apply for a retroactive permit, but if that permit is denied, they could be fined for removing the tree.
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]]>Former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office Deputy Christopher Hernandez has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate the civil rights of skateboarder Jesus Alegria. Hernandez and now-former Deputy Miguel Vega
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]]>When Atlanta developer Jeff Raw had a water meter installed on a vacant lot he owned, he wasn't expecting to get a bill until he put a house on the property. But one month after the water meter was installed, before site prep had even started, he got an $8,899 bill for 305,184 gallons of water. Bills like that kept coming in for five months, totaling almost $30,000, and only fell to a reasonable amount after the house was finished. In the meantime, Raw kept complaining. An inspector sent by the city even verified there were no water lines and no leaks on the site, but officials insisted that Raw pay those bills. At one point the utility sent Raw an email admitting there was a leak in its part of the system. But he soon got a call saying that its legal department had gotten involved and he still had to pay. He then appealed to the Sewer and Water Appeals Board but was denied; FOX5 Atlanta reports that the board denies 80 percent of appeals. Raw must now decide whether to take the city to court.
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]]>The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $1.75 million to Louis Wright, who spent 35 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl. Wright's conviction was overturned after DNA results ruled him out as the suspect. Police targeted Wright for the crime after an off-duty police officer claimed to have seen him in the area around the time of the attack. They claim he confessed, but the interview was not recorded and he did not sign a confession. The girl was never asked to identify him. Wright pleaded no contest to the assault. He tried to withdraw that plea at sentencing but a judge refused to allow it.
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]]>An appeals court in Thailand has sentenced democracy activist Mongkol Thirakot to 50 years in prison for Facebook posts he made that were critical of the country's monarchy. A trial court had sentenced him to 28 years, but the appellate court found him guilty on 11 more counts during his appeal and gave him a longer sentence.
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]]>The owner of a house mistakenly raided by the police, resulting in an injury to a 17-month-old living in the house, said she has told police repeatedly that the man they were looking for did not live there and had never lived there. Shivani Tiwari of Medina, Ohio, said she first heard of the man when police approached her as she prepared the home for a new tenant to move in. She said she let the cops inside to see the place was empty and told them she didn't recognize any of the names they asked about. She later gave them contact information for previous tenants when they asked for it. She said police later returned when she called about threats from a neighbor and when the tenant filed a protective order. "On multiple occasions, police have visited that property. How could you not know who's living there?" she said. "They had the opportunity to verify the identity of people living in the property."
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]]>A civilian employee of the U.S. Army has been charged with stealing $100 million from the military. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said Janet Yamanaka Mello, who worked as a civilian financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston, "regularly" submitted fraudulent paperwork for funding for Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, an organization she controlled which she claimed "provided services to military members and their families." Prosecutors said she actually used that money to buy real estate, vehicles, and jewelry.
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]]>A jury has found former Puerto Rico House of Representatives member María Milagros "Tata" Charbonier and her husband Orlando Montes-Rivera guilty of conspiracy, theft, bribery, kickbacks concerning programs receiving federal funds, wire fraud, and money laundering. While in office, Charbonier increased the pay of her assistant, Frances Acevedo-Ceballos, from $800 to between $2,100 and $2,900 in each biweekly paycheck. But the assistant kicked back between $1,000 and $1,500 of each paycheck to Charbonier, her husband, and their son.
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]]>Alabama's Jefferson County school system suspended a 6-year-old for pointing his finger like a gun while playing cops and robbers. He initially received a class 3 violation, the same one given to students who bring actual weapons to school, later dropped to a class 2 violation. School officials later told local media that only a "discussion with the student" was needed, and not a suspension, but the boy's father said the class 2 violation remains on his son's record.
Milford, Massachusetts, police charged two people with keeping a disorderly home, gaming or betting, keeping a place for registering bets, and selling liquor without permits. According to police, Luis Loja-Caguana paved over the backyard at his home and installed two full volleyball courts, where police say he not only hosted volleyball games but ran a betting operation on the games. Police served a search warrant on the property and seized around $10,000 in cash.
A Maricopa County, Arizona, prosecutor fired for falsely charging protesters as gang members said before a State Bar disciplinary hearing that she did nothing wrong, even when she charged a bystander who was not part of the protest. April Sponsel said she still believes nurse Ryder Collins is part of a gang, despite video evidence from both police officers and bystanders showing Collins did not take part in the protest.
Police in Valence, France, ordered a Chamas Tacos restaurant franchise to turn off its sign or face an administrative closure order because the C in the sign is not working, so at night it appears to read "Hamas Tacos." The owner of the restaurant told local media that the C has not been working for months, well before the recent attacks on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Christopher Fujushin of Grantsville, Utah, put up a Halloween decoration of a pole-dancing skeleton outside his house. City officials posted on Facebook that the display, which was attached to a street sign, had to be removed. Fujushin then moved the display to his front yard and added lights, music, and more skeletons. His neighbors donated items to make the display even bigger.
Hachikosela Muchimba, a U.S. Postal Service carrier in Washington, D.C., has been charged with mail theft and bank fraud. Prosecutors said Muchimba stole $1,697,909 in mailed checks, erased the payees' names, and deposited them in his bank account. In a search of his house, authorities allegedly found an ATM receipt in which Muchimba deposited a Treasury check for $415,173. Prosecutors say he tried to flee to Zambia when discovered.
In England, Northumbria Police fired Constable Philip Aiston after a panel found he failed to notify a couple of the death of their son, as he was told to do, then lied about it for two years. Aiston reported going to deliver the news and finding no one home, but GPS data from his patrol car placed him five miles away from the couple's residence. The panel found that not notifying the parents didn't warrant disciplinary action but the multiple lies he told his superiors did.
A proposed Chinese law would ban wearing clothing or symbols that "undermine the spirit or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation." Those who violate the law could face up to 15 days in jail and a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($700). The proposal came after police in Suzhou detained a woman for wearing a Japanese kimono and after people wearing rainbow-print clothing were barred from attending a concert in Beijing.
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]]>The ACLU of Northern California reports it has uncovered a geofence warrant that stretched nearly two miles across San Francisco. The warrant would have allowed law enforcement to find active cellphones across an area that included numerous private homes as well as several government buildings. The ACLU said it isn't clear what law enforcement agency obtained the warrant or how long it was in effect.
The post Brickbat: Casting a Wide Net appeared first on Reason.com.
]]>Police Scotland has agreed to pay £5,500 ($6,967 U.S.) to settle a lawsuit brought by Angus Cameron, a street preacher who was handcuffed and detained for "homophobic language." The agency will also pay £9,400 ($11,907 U.S.) for Cameron's legal costs. The police also agreed to remove a "non-crime" hate incident report from Cameron's record. Last year, Police Scotland entered more non-crime hate reports into its records than the actual number of hate crimes it responded to.
The post Brickbat: Thought Crime appeared first on Reason.com.
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