In England, Surrey police arrested Vanessa Brown and held her in a cell for over seven hours on suspicion of theft after she took away her daughters' iPads to help them focus on schoolwork. She took the devices to her mother's house, where police tracked them following a report of concern for safety, treating the situation as a potential crime and even pulling one of Brown's daughters out of school for questioning. Brown described the ordeal as traumatic, criticizing the police for overreacting and treating her and her elderly mother like criminals. The next day, police confirmed the iPads belonged to Brown's daughters, dropped all charges, and lifted her bail conditions, admitting she had the right to take the devices.
Paul Chambers, an American academic, faces up to 15 years in prison for insulting Thailand's monarchy under the country's strict lèse-majesté laws. Chambers was detained and charged under Section 112 of the Thai criminal code and the Computer Crimes Act after a complaint from the Thai army. The complaint stemmed from Chambers' participation in a webinar—"Thailand's 2024 Military and Police Reshuffles: What Do They Mean?"—sponsored by a think tank based in Singapore. Authorities say an invitation to the webinar falsely claimed the king of Thailand has the authority to restructure the military or change its leadership; his attorneys say Chambers did not write the description, which has since been changed. Chambers was originally denied bail; an appeals court later reversed that decision, though his visa was revoked.
A federal jury has found Ivory Cousins guilty of three counts of depriving an inmate of his civil rights under color of law and one count of filing a false incident report. Cousins worked at Philadelphia's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Cousins failed to get medical help for an inmate assaulted by other inmates, used pepper spray on him without reason, and helped another inmate steal from the victim's cell. She also lied in her report, falsely claiming the inmate was combative and had a weapon. Cousins faces up to 41 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for August.
In Oakland, California's Chinatown neighborhood, business owners are facing thousands of dollars in fines from the city for graffiti on their properties. Shirley Luo, manager of Won Kee Supermarket, owes $3,000—including late fees—for not cleaning up graffiti fast enough. Despite efforts to paint over the tags, taggers keep returning, leaving merchants feeling unfairly penalized as victims of vandalism they can't control. The city requires property owners to remove graffiti quickly, calling it a public nuisance, but offers no financial help. Local leaders, including the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council, are pushing the city to focus on catching taggers instead of fining businesses.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter sharply criticized Los Angeles city officials for mismanaging billions of dollars spent on homelessness, calling it a "slow train wreck" during a hearing with top leaders like Mayor Karen Bass and City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson. Carter pointed to a recent audit showing the city couldn't track over $2 billion because the Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency failed to collect accurate data or hold contractors accountable, a problem consistently seen in audits of the agency. Carter demanded a new forensic audit to check for fraud and waste, giving officials until May to fix the issues, and warned he might appoint an outside receiver to take control of the city's homelessness funds if they don't improve transparency and accountability.
Samantha Hill, a former Devon and Cornwall Police officer, received a 20-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to 18 counts of misconduct for leaking sensitive information. Between January and November 2021, while working as a probationary officer, Hill shared confidential details with her friends and family, including information about a man's suicide, photos of a victim's injuries, and details of high-profile cases such as a shooting that left five people dead. The leaks were uncovered by the Devon and Cornwall Counter Corruption Unit, which later arrested her and seized her phone.
Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, said he plans to introduce national rent control if the NDP is in the majority of the next parliament. Singh's proposal includes a renter's bill of rights to tie federal housing funds to local rent control measures, banning practices such as "renovictions" and fixed-term leases that don't automatically renew, and stopping landlords from using AI to coordinate price hikes.
George Freeman, a Conservative Party member of the British Parliament, says the United Kingdom should become a global leader in regulating space activities, acting like a "watchdog" for satellite launches, space debris, and even lunar mining. Freeman says space is becoming a chaotic "wild west." He wants the United Kingdom to create rules to make space safer and more sustainable, like requiring satellites to be recyclable for easier access to licenses and financing.
Lino Monteleone, a Montreal resident, is fighting a $186 ($134 U.S.) parking ticket after a bus stop sign was installed overnight in front of his house, replacing a legal parking spot where his daughter's car was parked. On April 1, 2025, Monteleone's doorbell camera showed city workers setting up the sign just before 8 a.m. A parking agent issued the ticket just minutes later at 8:05 a.m. The Société de transport de Montréal said the sign was added due to nearby construction and that it doesn't notify residents about new bus stops because there are 10,000 in the city. Monteleone, frustrated by the lack of warning, says he has seen no buses on his street and plans to contest the ticket in court. He is supported by lawyer Thierry Rassam, who argues it's unfair since there was no way to prevent the violation.
The California Assembly Transportation Committee has approved A.B. 435, which would require all children younger than 10 years old and shorter kids under 13 to sit on a booster seat. All children under 13 would be prohibited from sitting in the front seat, and teens up to 16 years old would also be banned from riding shotgun unless they meet the height requirements. Currently, children at least 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall do not have to use a booster seat. Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D–Suisun City), the bill's author, cited national statistics that show child injuries and fatalities in crashes have increased since the pandemic. "God forbid something happens; we want our children to be safe," said Wilson.
New York state Sen. Patricia Fahy (D–Albany) has introduced a bill to strip Tesla Motors of its permits for in-person sales in the state over CEO Elon Musk's actions in the Trump administration. "The bottom line is, Tesla has lost their right to promote these when they're part of an administration that wants to go backwards," said Fahy, who has previously been a supporter of electric vehicles. "Elon Musk was handed a privilege here." Tesla is the only dealer allowed direct in-person sales in the state. Meanwhile, Assemblymember Bobby Carroll (D–Brooklyn) said he wants to end all direct sales, forcing manufacturers to sell through franchises. "It allows for small businesspeople to be actors in this market," Carroll said. "They're not perfect, but they are clearly significantly better than the alternative. If we allowed the expansion of direct sales, what would happen is two or three people would control so much."
In England, anti-abortion activist Livia Tossici-Bolt has been found guilty of breaking a law banning protests near an abortion clinic in Bournemouth. She stood outside the clinic on two days in March 2023, holding a sign that said, "Here to talk, if you want," which violated the "safe zone" set up to protect women accessing the clinic from harassment. The court gave her a two-year conditional discharge and ordered her to pay £20,000 ($25,540) in legal costs. Tossici-Bolt argued she wasn't protesting or bothering anyone, but the judge ruled her presence could still upset clinic visitors.
José Felipe Alvergue, chairman of the English Department at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, was suspended after flipping over a table set up by the campus College Republicans on Election Day, as the group encouraged students to vote in a state Supreme Court race and on a voter ID amendment. The incident, caught on video, showed the professor disrupting the group's display. The university placed Alvergue on leave and launched an investigation with the Office of General Counsel, emphasizing the importance of peaceful engagement on campus.
Six U.K. police officers arrested Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine at their home in Hertfordshire after they complained about their disabled daughter's primary school in a WhatsApp group and through emails. The couple, upset over the school's headteacher recruitment process and their ban from the premises, were detained for 11 hours on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications, leaving their 3-year-old daughter crying as they were taken away. The school had reported their actions to the police, claiming the messages and emails were upsetting to staff, but after a 5-week investigation, Hertfordshire Police found insufficient evidence and took no further action.
A police officer in Miami, Florida has been suspended pending an investigation into an incident in which she sat in her patrol car while numerous bikers assaulted a man in front of her. Video shows the bikers not only beating the man but jumping on the hood and roof of his car and breaking his windshield, during which time the officer never left her car.
In 2023, Maryland lawmakers eliminated time limits on filing lawsuits against organizations for child sexual abuse. The change followed an investigation that detailed decades of sexual abuse against children in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. But now, the state finds itself facing around 6,000 claims under that law, with more expected. The claims are from people who say they were sexually abused in the state's youth detention centers. State leaders say they did not anticipate they'd be facing complaints under the law, and they are looking at changes to protect the government financially.
In England, London's Metropolitan Police is setting up its first permanent facial recognition cameras in Croydon, a suburb in South London, starting this summer to help fight crime. These cameras will be placed on buildings and lamp posts along North End and London Road. Privacy rights groups oppose the move. But the Labour Party government hopes to expand the use of facial recognition and is seeking bids to supply police departments with the cameras.
Officers Jorge Acosta, Benjamin Harris, and Kyle Sue from the Phoenix Police Department were suspended for 24 hours without pay, and two of them were also required to take de-escalation training, after violently arresting Tyron McAlpin. The officers were responding to a call that a white man allegedly assaulted a convenience store employee and was still inside the store. McAlpin—who is black, deaf, and has cerebral palsy—was outside the store. The incident, caught on body camera video, showed the officers punching and tasing McAlpin almost immediately after arriving. The district attorney dropped all charges against McAlpin, including assault and resisting arrest, citing lack of evidence.
According to a report by local news outlet Crosstown LA, the city of Los Angeles lost about $66 million in parking enforcement in the last fiscal year. The city handed out 2 million parking tickets and collected $110 million in fines in the fiscal year ending in June 2024, while it spent $88 million on direct parking enforcement expenses such as salaries and equipment. But pensions and other expenses brought the total cost of parking enforcement to more than $176 million.
Avery Richard Smith, a former corrections officer in Berkeley County, South Carolina, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison—the maximum—after pleading guilty to four counts of first-degree assault and battery, five counts of third-degree assault and battery, and two counts of misconduct in office. His victims included at least nine inmates under his supervision and at least one subordinate.
California's decision to expand Medi-Cal, its Medicaid program, to cover undocumented migrants has led to significantly higher costs than expected. The program's price tag has soared to $9.5 billion this year—way over the $6.4 billion estimate from just last year—with $8.4 billion coming from state taxpayers. Meanwhile, in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has proposed cutting $330 million from a similar healthcare expansion for the undocumented after a state audit showed costs ballooned to $1.6 billion since 2020, far exceeding the initial $220 million forecast. Both states are grappling with budget shortfalls, and while California's costs are driven by higher enrollment and expenses like pharmacy costs, Illinois faces issues with inaccurate projections and improper enrollment, with services for some groups exceeding initial projections by as much as 280 percent.
Ricardo Garcia, a former deputy with Arizona's Pima County Sheriff's Department, was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of probation after being found guilty of two counts of attempted sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse for trying to sexually assault a fellow deputy who was also his subordinate. The case was controversial because Sheriff Chris Nanos, who was close to Garcia, kept the investigation within the department, making some people question if he was protecting his friend. The Arizona Attorney General's office found no crimes in how Nanos handled it but noted the sheriff's team might have broken some internal rules.
Marvin Peavy, a homeowner in Walton County, Florida, won a lawsuit against the county after officials tried to fine him for hanging giant political banners on his house along Scenic Highway 30A. Peavy first put up signs in 2020 to support Donald Trump's first presidential reelection campaign, but the county said they violated property maintenance rules and started charging him $50 a day, totaling over $63,000 in fines. Peavy fought back, saying his right to free speech under the First Amendment allowed it, and after years of legal battles, a judge agreed, ruling that the county was infringing on his free speech. The judge also ordered the county to pay Peavy $42,000 to cover his legal fees.
New York's Northville Central School District has fired high school basketball coach Jim Zullo after video showed him yanking his star player's ponytail. The incident happened after the Northville girls' team lost the Class D state championship game. Hailey Monroe, Northville's all-time leading scorer, had already fouled out and was crying when Zullo grabbed her hair and yelled at her before a teammate stepped between them. Zullo, an 81-year-old Hall of Fame coach, claimed Monroe had cursed at him earlier.
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Joseph Benza III faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for beating a man who gave him the finger. Benza abandoned a domestic disturbance call when he saw Emmett Brock flip him off while driving by. He followed Brock for nearly two miles without ever attempting to stop him. When Brock stopped, Benza threw him to the ground and repeatedly punched him. Brock was charged with three felonies and, as a result, he lost his job as a teacher; the charges were later dropped when video of the encounter was made public. Several sergeants directed Benza not to include the real reason he stopped Brock in his incident report.
When Courtney Teague called Atlanta 311, a number for nonemergency city services, she did not know the person answering the call was working from home and livestreaming the call. She later got a call from a woman in Chicago who'd been watching the livestream and heard all of the personal information Teague provided to the city employee. A city spokesman said that the employee was removed from answering calls and no longer works for the city.
Natalie Walton got a ticket in the mail at her parents' home in Kent, England. The ticket assessed a 75 pound fine ($94) for littering after an officer saw her drop a cigarette in nearby Swanscombe. But Walton says she doesn't smoke, has never visited Swanscombe, and hasn't lived in Kent for three years. She appealed the ticket, producing bank records of the shopping she did that day in Staffordshire, over 150 miles away. On further review, officials said the woman who dropped the cigarette didn't look like Walton after all.
Kevin O'Rourke, a 64-year-old Canadian man, was sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates for possession of cannabis products. Authorities detained O'Rourke in Dubai International Airport after finding 118 grams of cannabis, CBD, and CBD oil. His wife says he suffers from Addison's disease and the products are prescribed by a doctor for controlling his pain.
(Illustration: Peter Bagge)
St. Louis residents say the city billed them for home repairs that they did not agree to and that, in many cases, don't appear to have been performed. One owner said he was billed for repairs to the second floor of a single-story commercial property he bought, plus a new roof that wasn't completely nailed down. The repairs are part of a federally funded effort to stabilize and rehabilitate privately owned buildings.
(Illustration: Peter Bagge)
Emergency dispatchers in parts of England were told to ask some people requesting ambulance service to come to the hospital on their own. An internal memo from the West Midlands Ambulance Service directed dispatchers to ask callers with severe abdominal pain, who have fallen, or who are vomiting to bring themselves to the emergency room; during periods of high demand, they should also ask those who may be having a stroke or heart attack, or those with major burns, to get to the hospital on their own.
(Illustration: Peter Bagge)
BeTreylin Elder, a teacher at Georgia's DeRenne Middle School, resigned after being caught on video tossing an 11-year-old student across the classroom. The boy reportedly confronted Elder after the teacher made sexual remarks about the student's mother.
Sacramento County officials have agreed to pay $755,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Salvador Garcia Jr., who was severely injured by a sheriff's office canine in September 2022. Garcia was riding his bike when Deputy Dylan Black stopped him, suspecting him of breaking his ex-girlfriend's window earlier that day. According to the lawsuit, Black ordered the dog to attack Garcia, and the dog bit his arm so badly that it tore muscles and tendons, requiring multiple surgeries and leaving permanent damage. The lawsuit says Garcia wasn't resisting when the deputy set the dog on him and that deputies allowed the dog to continue biting Garcia as they handcuffed him.
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that Measure 114, a gun control law approved by voters in November 2022, does not violate the state constitution, overturning a lower court's decision that had blocked it. This law aims to reduce gun violence by requiring permits to buy guns and banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The appeals court said it fits with Oregon's history of reasonable gun rules. Plaintiffs vowed to appeal the decision to the Oregon Supreme Court. In a separate federal case, a judge also upheld the law, saying it does not violate the Second Amendment. The plaintiffs in that case also plan to appeal.
Atlanta, Georgia resident Elisabeth Porter received a water bill for $20,545.27, even though she'd been telling the city's Department of Watershed Management (DWM) about a leak outside her home for months. The city did not respond to her complaints until a local TV station got involved. At that point, the DWM found and repaired a leak in the meter box and said it would review her bill for adjustments. But muddy water has since resumed flowing from the lines, which the DWM said it would return to fix.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been deleting her text messages, including those from Jan. 7-8, 2025, when she was flying back from a trip to Ghana while wildfires burned in Los Angeles. City policy says records should be kept for at least two years. And state law considers texts about government business as public records that must be saved. But a lawyer for the city says the rules don't apply to text messages, and Bass' phone is set to automatically delete them.
Tennessee Rep. John Crawford (R–Bristol) has introduced a bill that would require law enforcement to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for a felony. Under the proposed law, the state must dispose of those samples if the defendant is acquitted or the charges are dropped as long as that person has no other charges pending. Crawford argues the law will make it easier to catch dangerous criminals and help solve cold cases.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has suggested adding a 20 percent service charge to restaurant bills to help struggling eateries cover rising costs like wages and rent, after more than 200 Colorado restaurants closed last year. The idea was to let restaurants keep the extra cash instead of raising prices, though Johnston admitted the service charge would be taxed. But critics, including restaurant owners and groups such as the Colorado Restaurant Association, say the end effect would still be increased costs to diners, which could drive customers away, hurt businesses even more, and confuse people about tipping.
During the Palisades fires earlier this year, private firefighting companies were credited with saving several structures. But some state lawmakers want to make it more difficult for them to do that in the future. The idea comes from California Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan (D–Culver City) and Tina McKinnor (D–Inglewood) and is supported by the California Professional Firefighters union, which says private crews aren't trained or equipped as well as public firefighters and shouldn't use public water. Businessman Rick Caruso used private firefighters to protect his shopping center while nearby areas burned, but his team says they didn't tap into city water.
California Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur (D–Los Angeles) has introduced a bill that would change the state's self-defense laws to require people outside their homes to try escaping safely before using deadly force, even if they're in danger. The bill also says people can't use lethal force just to protect property or homes and limits self-defense claims if someone starts a fight or uses too much force. Critics say the bill is an attack on people's right to protect themselves. Zbur says it's about deterring vigilantes.
The Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General says the city of Everett wrongly paid Mayor Carlo DeMaria $180,000 in bonuses between 2016 and 2021, claiming DeMaria and his team twisted a city rule to get the money and then kept it secret from the public and city council. The rule was meant to give the mayor $10,000 after each term, but a word change before it passed in 2016 instead gave mayors $10,000 for each term. The change allowed DeMaria—then in his fourth term—to pocket $40,000 every year instead of $10,000 every four years. After the council found out in 2022 and cut the payments to $1,700, the inspector general demanded the money back, saying no other elected official gets such huge bonuses. DeMaria's team calls the report unfair and defends his honesty.
The Colorado House of Representatives has passed a bill to raise the minimum age to buy ammunition to 21 from 18. It now moves to the state Senate, which is expected to pass it. Gov. Jared Polis is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill would require stores to stock ammunition so customers cannot access it without the help of employees. The Colorado State Shooting Association says it will challenge the bill in court if it becomes law.
Rajesh Motibhai Patel, a physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia, has been sentenced to two years in prison followed by 15 years probation after being convicted of violating a patient's constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under color of law and of abusive sexual contact. Prosecutors said that during a routine medical exam, Patel touched a patient's breasts and genitals without her consent and for no medical reason. Patel will be barred from practicing medicine while he is on probation.
Former New Orleans Police Department Sergeant Todd Morrell was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to six counts of wire fraud. Morrell admitted to a scheme where he got paid for hours he didn't work by submitting fake time sheets to both the police department and an off-duty job at the local fairgrounds. Sometimes, he billed both places for the same time, and in one case, he was even racing cars while claiming to be on duty. Morrell must also pay more than $5,000 in fines and penalties.
India's Supreme Court has barred YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia from leaving the country and ordered him to surrender his passport following a crass joke he made on his show. Allahbadia asked a guest whether he would rather watch his parents have sex every day for the rest of his life or join in once and stop it forever. That sparked a large public backlash. Allahbadia apologized and removed the entire show from his channel. But the government is now reportedly looking at new regulations on social media.
James Caban, the twin brother of then-New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban, impersonated his brother to trick police into going easy on nightclubs and bars that paid protection money, according to a federal complaint. James Caban reportedly used his brother's name at the 34th Precinct in Washington Heights to stop raids on businesses breaking the law. The complaint alleges the precinct commander, Inspector Aneudy Castillo, let officers think he was his brother and made sure these businesses avoided police action.
The Los Angeles Timesreports that the office of Mayor Karen Bass has been editing Q&A sessions from news conference videos posted to her Facebook page. Specifically, they have been cutting out parts where reporters press her about her handling of wildfires earlier this year. The newspaper asked Bass' office why the videos are being edited. It got no response.
A grand jury in Cullman County, Alabama, has indicted Hanceville Police Chief Jason Marlin for failure to report ethics violations and tampering with evidence. It also indicted three of the department's officers on multiple charges including computer tampering, using office for personal gain, tampering with evidence, and solicitation to commit a controlled substance crime. A fourth officer and his wife were charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance. In a report, the grand jury recommended the department be immediately disbanded, calling it "more of a criminal organization than a law enforcement agency."
Giuseppe Mandara, formerly an officer with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, has been sentenced to three years in state prison after pleading guilty to third-degree aggravated assault against a resident at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center's Special Treatment Unit. Mandara and his victim got into a dispute, and the man walked away. Mandara then left his post to pursue and attack the man, even as another officer tried to stop him. Under the terms of the plea deal, Mandara will be barred from future government employment.
Hinds County, Mississippi, Chancery Court Judge Crystal Wise Martin ordered the Clarksdale Press Register to remove an editorial criticizing city council members for holding a meeting on possible new taxes on alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco without sending it a public notice. Martin issued a temporary restraining order against the newspaper without holding a hearing. Mayor Chuck Espy contended the editorial was potentially libelous because it implies council members broke the law, which he contends they did not do. Officials also said it could hurt their efforts to win approval for the taxes from state lawmakers. But the Mississippi Press Association and other media groups said the judge's order violates the First Amendment.
In England, two police officers face a professional incompetence tribunal for waiting outside a woman's house while her partner killed her. They could hear the assault but were waiting for their supervisor to tell them it was okay to go inside. The day before the murder, the officers went to the house for a domestic abuse report and arrested Olobunmi Abodunde for assault, but he was let out on bail that night. The next day, the same officers came back to meet the woman and take her statement. While standing outside, they heard noises inside the house. They spent 35 minutes talking to their supervisor about whether they could go in. By the time they finally entered, the woman was already dead. Abodunde got a life sentence for the murder in May 2024. One of the officers and the supervisor are under investigation for incompetence. The other officer, who was serving in a probationary capacity, has left the force.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a vehicle's interior counts as a "public place" when it's driven on a public road. In May 2022, a Ramsey County sheriff's deputy stopped Kyaw Be Bee on suspicion of theft of a catalytic converter. When the deputy searched the car, he found a BB gun under the front seat and arrested Bee for carrying a gun in public without a permit. A district judge tossed out the charges, saying it wasn't clear the interior of a vehicle was a public place. The Supreme Court ruling supports the charge and sends the case back to district court.
Video from England shows West Midlands police telling Isabel Vaughan-Spruce she had to leave a public area where she was standing alone and praying silently. He accused her of violating a buffer zone within 150 meters of an abortion facility. Under English law, "intimidation," "harassment," or "influencing a person's decision to access" an abortion facility is illegal within such a buffer zone. The Crown Prosecution Service has ruled that silent prayer does "not necessarily" violate buffer zone laws unless it is accompanied by "overt" actions. But the officer said that because Vaughan-Spence is known to be pro-life her "mere presence" could constitute "harassment, alarm and distress."
In England, former West Mercia Police Constable Mark Cranfield has been sentenced to eight months in jail after being convicted on two counts of misconduct in public office and one count of accessing computer records without authorization. Cranfield reportedly saved intimate videos and nude photos that had been submitted as evidence in a revenge porn case, kept them on his phone, and forwarded the images to at least one person. Prosecutors also said he repeatedly contacted the victim in the case, discussing his sex life.
Nakedra Shannon, a former United States Postal Service employee in Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and to theft of government property. Prosecutors said Shannon and two accomplices stole $24 million in checks from the mail between April and July 2023 and sold the checks to others.
