A Texas jury has found Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde guilty of official oppression and tampering with evidence for holding a man in jail longer than allowed by law. He faces up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for each charge. A judge suspended Lyde from office in February following unrelated allegations of sexual harassment by some female employees of the sheriff's office.
Police in the United Kingdom failed to solve any burglaries in almost half of the neighborhoods in England and Wales in the past three years. Last October, all of the chief constables in England and Wales promised to have an officer respond to every reported burglary. That promise turned out to exclude most burglaries in garages, sheds, and other outbuildings.
San Francisco officials agreed to pay up to $19.5 million to pay for damages caused by homeless people housed at the Hotel Whitcomb as part of the city's emergency shelter program during the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, officials say they expect to pay out some $26 million for damages to hotels caused by the program.
From March to May 2023, Christopher Volpe filed more than 200 complaints about New York Police Department vehicles illegally parked—that includes double-parked, parked on the sidewalk, and parked in bicycle lanes—outside the precinct house in his neighborhood. A University of California, Berkeley study has found that 70 of the city's 77 precinct houses regularly have vehicles illegally parked outside. Police officials say they have been working to correct the problem.
The U.S. Navy had the National Park Service remove two privately owned webcams from Cabrillo National Monument after those cameras captured two Navy ships almost colliding in San Diego Bay. In a statement, Navy officials cited security reasons, saying the 24-hour video feed from the cameras revealed "aircraft hangars and flight lines….and the tracking of military personnel." But the cameras' owner said they had been in place for almost 10 years, and the Navy never raised any security concerns before the embarrassing incident.
The Tennessee Comptroller's Office has found that then–Marion County Road Superintendent Jim Hawk allowed a county employee to use county equipment to haul loads of county-owned dirt, which the employee sold for $50 to $75 per load. At least one load was delivered to Hawk's home. Hawk contended that the dirt was free to the public but he could not provide any proof that the county ever advertised that the dirt was available to the public.
The number of gas boilers sold in Germany more than doubled in the first quarter of 2023 amid a proposed law that starting January 1, 2024, would require buildings to install heat pumps instead of boilers. Building owners say heat pumps are too expensive. Vonovia, Europe's largest landlord, said it has been unable to connect 70 percent of the heat pumps it has installed in Germany because the nation's electric grid is already strained.
A government official in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh was suspended after he ordered the Kherkatta dam reservoir drained so he could retrieve his phone. Food inspector Rajesh Vishwas dropped the phone into the water while taking a selfie. Workers pumped more than 2 million liters of water from the reservoir.
A Florida police officer was charged with credit card fraud of more than $100 and use of the identification of a dead person after officials said she used a dead man's credit card to make several purchases. Officials said that after responding to a medical call where a man died from cardiac arrest, she took photos of the man's credit card and used it to order fast food and buy eyelash extensions.
In Texas, the Lubbock Independent School District placed a police officer on administrative leave after a firearm was found in a faculty restroom. The officer reportedly left the gun in the restroom. The school system did not release the officer's name or say who found the gun.
Seattle's Community Police Commission has asked that Officer Daniel Auderer, the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, be placed on leave without pay while he is under investigation for remarks that appeared to make light of the death of a woman killed by another officer. Officer Kevin Dave reached speeds of up to 74 mph while responding to an overdose call, but he had "chirped" his siren instead of running it continuously. He struck graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk in an area where the speed limit is 25 mph, applying his brakes less than a second before hitting her. Auderer was caught by his own bodycam in a phone conversation with union President Mike Solan in which Auderer laughed and called Kandula a "regular person" whose life had "limited value." He said the city should just write a check for $11,000 to her family.
In Ohio, a Dayton Public Schools employee has resigned after being caught on video
In England, Northumbria Police has fired Police 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.
Canadian pastor Artur Pawlowski has been sentenced to 60 days in jail after being found guilty of criminal mischief for giving a speech to the trucker convoy that protested that nation's COVID-19 restrictions in 2022. The judge gave Pawlowski credit for the 78 days he was detained before the trial, so the pastor will serve no additional time. The government had asked for a sentence of eight to 10 months. The judge found Pawlowski played no role in planning the protest and his speech did not play a major role in the protest.
Following a public outcry, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce has asked the Peel school district to stop removing books from school libraries. Earlier this year, Lecce sent all school boards in the province a memo directing them to "evaluate books, media and all other resources currently in use for teaching and learning English, History and Social Sciences for the purpose of utilizing resources that are inclusive and culturally responsive, relevant and reflective of students, and the Board's broader school communities." According to several parents and students, Peel officials reacted by removing all books published before 2008 as well as numerous other books they believed were not inclusive.
An employee of Michigan's Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital, which is run by the state Department of Health and Human Services, alerted a local TV station that children being treated there had not been allowed outside in three months and that the windows to their classrooms had been covered up. The employee said that officials did not want adult patients at the hospital to see the children. When contacted about the claims, state officials told the station that "supply chain issues for fencing" had delayed the completion of a courtyard where the children could go outside. They also said they'd covered up the windows because supply chain issues had kept them from obtaining a reflective glaze to keep adult patients from seeing in the windows. But just hours after the station contacted state officials, the hospital began allowing the child patients to go outside.
Forty-eight years after he was convicted of rape, DNA evidence has exonerated Leonard Mack. Westchester, New York, District Attorney Mimi Rocah apologized to Mack, who spent seven years in prison, for the "incalculable damage and the collateral consequences" that the false conviction brought. The rape victim, and a friend who was with her but escaped, told police the attacker was a black man with an earring wearing a brimmed hat. Cops found Mack about five miles away from the crime scene and brought the victim's friend to him. They asked her if Mack, who was handcuffed and surrounded by cops, was the rapist, but she said his clothes didn't match what the rapist was wearing. So, they gave Mack different clothes, and she positively identified him. The victim said she did not clearly see her attacker, but the friend's identification reportedly helped persuade jurors of his guilt.
As part of what they say is an effort to curb smoking, French officials have proposed banning disposable vapes. "They create a reflex, a gesture, which children get used to, and then end up being drawn to tobacco," said Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne. Officials also said the ban would be good for the environment because the vapes would no longer be tossed away after they are used.
Two Transportation Security Administration officers at Miami International Airport have been charged with felony grand theft for stealing from travelers going through security at the airport. Josue Gonzalez and Labarrius Williams have been charged with stealing from only two victims, but they confessed numerous thefts and claimed to have stolen an average of $1,000 daily while working together. Gonzalez was accepted into a diversion program that will see the charges against him dropped if he pays $700 to the two victims involved and does 25 hours of community service in the next six months. He must also give up his airport security credentials. Williams will go to trial in October.
A federal judge has sentenced Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Eric Huxley to one year and one day in prison followed by six months home detention after Huxley pleaded guilty to felony deprivation of rights under color of law. Huxley stomped the face of Jermaine Vaughn, who was handcuffed and on the ground. Vaughn was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors, but those charges were later dropped.
Five former members of London's Metropolitan Police Service face up to six months in prison after pleading guilty to sharing racist jokes on a WhatsApp chat group called "Old Boys Beer Meet." None of the men were serving with the police department at the time they shared the jokes. The men made fun of, among others, Princess Catherine, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as black people, Chinese people, Muslims, and Romanians. While they face prison time, an attorney representing some of the men says he hopes they will only receive a fine. A sixth former officer who was a member of the chat group has denied the charges against him and will go to trial in November.
Milford, Massachusetts, police have charged Luis Loja-Caguana with keeping a disorderly home, gaming or betting, and keeping a place for registering bets. They've also charged Zoila Castro with selling liquor without permits. According to police, Loja-Caguana paved over the backyard at his home and installed two full volleyball courts. Police say he not only hosted volleyball games there but ran a betting operation on the games.
The Chinese government has proposed a law that 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 ($685 U.S.). The proposal comes 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.
Anthony Stevens, a British Conservative Party member of the Wellingborough council, is facing charges of distributing material to stir up hatred for several tweets he posted. Stevens retweeted a video critical of police for arresting street preacher Oluwole Ilisanmi, who was accused of being Islamophobic. Ilisanmi was later awarded £2,500 ($3,143) for wrongful arrest. Stevens was also questioned by police for tweeting his support of King Lawal, a fellow conservative council member who was suspended by the party after he responded to images of Pride parades by tweeting, "When did pride become a thing to celebrate. Because of pride, Satan fell as an archangel. Pride is not a virtue but a sin. Those who have pride should repent of their sins and return to Jesus Christ. He can save you."
Responding to a series of shooting, many involving minors, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones has proposed banning AR-15s, AK-47s, and similar weapons from city streets. Jones has also called for banning celebratory gunfire and banning people convicted of insurrection and hate crimes from possessing firearms in the city.
An inmate in the Montgomery County, Tennessee, jail gave birth alone in her cell despite having called for help. The woman, who wasn't named by the media, called for help at 11:31 a.m., and a deputy notified medical staff. A licensed practical nurse examined her and left to consult with other medical staff. A registered nurse then came to examine her, but she left to order more tests. At 12:41 p.m., a deputy came back to check on the woman and found she'd given birth. The mother and her child were then taken to a hospital.
A court in Saudi Arabia has
When U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Morris, a Special Forces soldier, applied for a concealed carry permit, his local sheriff's office contacted him about several arrests on his record. Morris was confused: He's never been arrested. But his record showed he'd been arrested on several charges, most seriously aggravated sexual contact and negligent homicide and murder. His issues began in 2017, when he was stationed in Mali with several other members of various U.S. special operations forces. Four special operations forces members killed a fifth during that deployment. They were all convicted or pleaded guilty. Two of them claimed Morris authorized the hazing of the man who was killed. But their stories contradicted each other, and the others denied Morris had any involvement. That didn't stop the Army Criminal Investigation Division from "titling" Morris. That's a process where a soldier's record is flagged even if he is never charged. It shows up on criminal background checks as an arrest and usually ends a soldier's chances for promotion. A soldier is never even aware of it unless he applies for a concealed carry permit or job that requires a background check.
An official at the Mary L. Stephens Davis Library in Davis, California, shut down a presentation by Moms for Liberty after claiming that guest speaker and former collegiate soccer player Sophia Lorey misgendered trans athletes. In her presentation, Lorey said that it was unfair for men to compete against women, which led several people in the audience to object. Video appears to show the official telling Lorey that "We don't want any transgender females being called male in sporting events with females," adding that "if that happens, it's not following our code of conduct and we will ask the person who says it to leave immediately." Lorey attempted to adjust by referring to "biological girls" and "biological men," and an attorney spoke up to say Lorey's First Amendment rights were being violated. But the library official insisted she had to leave.
Senatobia, Mississippi, Police Chief Richard Chandler said an officer involved in detaining a 10-year-old boy who urinated in public is "no longer employed" by the department. He also said that other officers involved in the incident will face discipline. Chandler did not specify whether the officer quit or was fired, what discipline the other officers might receive, or what their names are. The boy urinated behind his mother's car while she was inside a lawyer's office. The officers gave the boy a citation for "child in need of services" and took him to the police station. It isn't clear if that citation has been rescinded.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell recently vetoed a bill that would order the owners of an apartment building to rent out a city-owned unit. After the city council overrode her veto, Cantrell said it is "shameful" that the city will not lease a suite in Caesars Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. The city-owned apartment was supposed to be used by visiting elected officials, but the city discovered last year that Cantrell had been using the apartment without paying rent.
The British Advertising Standards Authority found that the retailer Boots
The Los Angeles City Council has agreed to pay $60 million to buy the Mayfair Hotel in Westlake. That's on top of the $11.5 million the city previously paid the hotel's owners to
The Chicago Police Department said it is investigating an incident in which officers apprehended a man identified by witnesses as the person who attacked another man on the Magnificent Mile, then let him go without filing a report. A local media outlet reports that at least three people tried to file a report on the attack, but officers refused to take their report. An officer finally came to the hospital and took a report from the victim four days after the attack. The man died from his injuries days later.
Michael and Catherine Burke have filed a lawsuit against officials in the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and other state agencies after their application to become foster parents was denied because of their Catholic faith. According to a social worker's report, the two were asked how they would feel if a child in their care was LGBT. The two responded that they would still love the child, wouldn't kick the child out, and wouldn't subject the child to conversion therapy. But both opposed sex change treatments for those under 18 and expressed a reluctance to use pronouns that don't reflect someone's biological sex, and Catherine said it would be important for the child to remain chaste. The social worker recommended approval of their application with conditions for LGBT and religious issues, but DCF's Licensing Review Team rejected the application.
The Kenosha, Wisconsin, police department said it is investigating an incident in which officers were caught on video apparently striking a man inside a local Applebee's. The officers believed the man was one of three people involved in a hit-and-run crash. He was not. They later found the actual suspects in the Applebee's restroom. The man faces charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and obstructing an officer; a woman who was with him faces the same charges plus possession of marijuana.
The government of Victoria, Australia, has agreed to pay about $5 million (about $3.2 million U.S.) to settle a lawsuit brought by residents of Melbourne public housing who were forced into a hard 14-day COVID-19 lockdown with no warning in July 2020. Some 3,000 people may be eligible for compensation. Despite the settlement, the government still refuses to apologize to the residents. A report from the Victoria ombudsman said the rushed introduction of the lockdown was "not compatible with the residents' human rights" but defended the lockdown itself.
Chicago officials are refusing to release public records showing how they have spent more than $100 million caring for foreign migrants. The city has denied a Freedom of Information Act request from a local television station, saying there were no such records, as well as requests for the same records from the Illinois Attorney General's Office and at least one city council member.
A school bus driver in Douglas County, Colorado, has been charged with 30 misdemeanor counts of child abuse after abruptly stopping his bus, causing the elementary school students onboard to crash into the seats in front of them. Brian Fitzgerald reportedly told school officials he was trying to "educate" and "control" the child passengers.
A Washington, D.C., law that took effect this year bans the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The law, which carries a fine of up to $500, exempts the use of leaf blowers on federal property.
Yessenia Garcia called police in Scottsdale, Arizona, to report that her car had been vandalized while she was in a bar. Officers instead treated her as a suspect in a hit-and-run accident that had been reported nearby. When she asked for an attorney, bodycam video shows, an officer told her she was not entitled to one because she was under investigation. They then arrested her for possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of driving under the influence, and failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing injury or death. Security video showed her car was parked at the time of the hit-and-run. The charges were eventually dropped, and the city council unanimously agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a wrongful arrest lawsuit.
An employee at Carriage Hills Elementary School in Lawton, Oklahoma, has been charged with assault and battery for hitting a student with a dodgeball. He hit the student three times with the ball, including once on the face. The employee told police the student threw the ball at him and another employee, so he threw the ball at the student. The student claimed the ball bounced off another student and hit the employee.
The British government has proposed authorizing police to seize knives from individuals if they suspect the knives could be used in crime. It would also increase the number of types of prohibited "zombie knives"—ornate knives inspired by zombie movies and TV shows. The law currently bans knives that have words or markings indicating they might be used for violence; the new proposal would allow such knives to be banned even without such markings or writing.
The state of Missouri named an interstate overpass in Wentzville for U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, who was killed in a suicide bombing during the 2021 American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Then his parents received a $3,200 bill for the new signs. State lawmakers are now considering legislation that would stop billing families of military members and first responders for whom roads and bridges are named.
Cities across Australia are enacting—and enforcing—curfews on cats, hoping to cut down on the number of songbirds and other wildlife that cats kill. In Adelaide, for instance, it's illegal for a cat to leave its owner's property unaccompanied between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.
In Scotland, the ruling Scottish National Party has proposed a law that would allow local councils to charge double their normal tax rates on second homes, of which there are about 70,000. The proposed law could also increase tax rates on those who rent out their homes.
Officials at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville have agreed to pay $80,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Maggie DeJong, a graduate art therapy student, claiming the university violated her First Amendment rights. The school ordered DeJong to have no contact, even "indirect communication," with three students who complained that statements she posted on social media or made in classroom and informal discussions defending conservative or Christian positions were "harassment" or "discrimination." This included retweeting someone commenting on the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol who said "We cannot destroy this country like BLM riots!" The university also agreed that professors in the art therapy program would undergo First Amendment training and to revise the student handbook to reflect that students with varying religious and political views are welcome in the program.
West Yorkshire, England, police say they will take no further action against a 16-year-old autistic girl they arrested and held for suspicion of a homophobic offense. Officers had picked up the girl in Leeds for reportedly being intoxicated and returned her home. When she arrived home, the girl apparently said one of the officers "looked like her nana, who is a lesbian," according to the girl's mother. The officer took that as a homophobic remark and several officers entered the home and arrested the girl. The police department said its professional standards division is investigating the matter and that the girl would face no further actions from police.
Tina Hight has sued the Columbia County, Arkansas, sheriff's office, Sheriff Mike Loe and Deputy Brian Williams after Williams shot her while trying to hit her Pomeranian dog.
New York City Council member Lincoln Restler has introduced a bill that would ban ice cream trucks from using fossil fuel generators to power their freezers and food equipment. Restler said moving to solar-powered generators and other alternative forms of energy will reduce air pollution and noise. Restler said he would eventually like to expand the ban on fossil-fuel generators to all food trucks.
First, the city of Atlanta
Eight police officers serving in a protection detail for South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile have been charged with assault, malicious damage to property, and firearms offenses after being caught on video kicking and stomping two army trainees by the side of a highway. Members of the police officers' unit, known as the "blue light brigade," reportedly have a reputation for driving at dangerously high speeds and for using force on people who don't get out of their way fast enough.
Frisco, Texas, Police Chief David Shilson has apologized to an
The governments of Denmark and Sweden are looking at legislation that would
Andy Malkinson spent 17 years in a British prison for rape before DNA evidence connected another man to the crime and a court freed Malkinson. But under British law, Malkinson would have to pay the government for housing and feeding him for 17 years. Under the Criminal Appeal Act of 1995, prisoners who are freed after being found to have been wrongfully convicted have to pay back such costs from any compensation they receive. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk later announced that the rule would be scrapped but would not commit to reimbursing any previous wrongfully-convicted Brits whose compensations had been reduced.
Prosecutors in Seattle are reportedly mulling charges against a police officer who struck and killed a pedestrian. Kevin Dave reached speeds of up to 74 mph while responding to a high priority call, but he had his siren "chirping" instead of running continuously. He struck Jaahnavi Kandula in a crosswalk in an area where the speed limit is 20 to 25 mph. Bodycam video shows Dave after the crash saying "I fucked up."
Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said that since 2000, 15.7 million trees have been felled on land managed by Forestry and Land Scotland to make way for wind farms. She said that represents about 7,858 hectares (19,417 acres) of trees. The government is looking to more than double the amount of electricity generated by wind in Scotland, and it is looking at legislation that would further weaken protection for wild lands and allow larger wind turbines of up to 850 feet tall.
The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has found the FBI improperly searched an intelligence database for information on a U.S. senator, a state senator, and a state judge. It did not release the names of those three. The U.S. senator and state senator were reportedly believed to be the targets of a foreign intelligence service. The judge had come to the FBI's attention by filing a civil rights complaint against a local police chief. An FBI official told ABC News that the agency has policies in place to prevent such searches but the agents who searched the database did not follow those policies.
An Egyptian court has sentenced human rights activist Patrick Zaki to three years in prison after finding him guilty of "spreading false news" in an article he wrote about his life as a Coptic Christian. Zaki has already spent 22 months in prison, where his lawyers said he was tortured.
A jury has found former Transylvania County, North Carolina, sheriff's deputy Joshua Kory Jones guilty of assault with a deadly weapon after a police canine attacked a suspect who was under control and being handcuffed by other officers. The incident happened after the conclusion of a high-speed chase through three counties. Dominique Lamar Fore, who was wanted for assault, was a passenger in the car being pursued. Fore was on the ground with multiple officers on top of him when Jones approached with the dog, which bit Fore on the neck and shoulder. Jones was given a 30-day suspended sentence and 12 months probation.
Several landlords of residential properties have sued the town of Monroe, New York, claiming the city is depriving them of their property rights without due process. A city ordinance passed earlier this year prohibits landlords from owning more than three residential rental properties in the city. They note that just happens to be the number of residential rental properties owned by Town Supervisor Anthony Cardone. The law also bars more than two people from occupying a one-bedroom apartment.
Several schools in London, England, are offering summer literacy lessons that are open only to black students to "accelerate progress in reading and writing whilst also developing the children's knowledge of black history and culture." They are not offering a similar program for white students even though educational achievement is lower for whites from a disadvantaged background than for students from other ethnic groups from a disadvantaged background.
