Prosecutor says Michigan police officer who killed Black motorist won't face a second trial
DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan police officer who fatally shot a Black man in the back of the head after a tumultuous traffic stop will not face a second trial, a prosecutor said Thursday, two weeks after a trial ended without a unanimous verdict.
The decision by prosecutor Chris Becker is certain to anger civil rights activists and the family of Patrick Lyoya, the 26-year-old Congolese immigrant whose death in the front yard of a Grand Rapids home was recorded on video and played repeatedly at trial.
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Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Worker who leaked plans to build golf courses in Florida parks files whistleblower suit
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former worker who leaked information about plans by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration to build golf courses and hotels in Florida state parks has filed a whistleblower lawsuit. James Gaddis alleges that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection retaliated against him for sharing details of the proposals, which caused bipartisan outrage and sparked protests. Ultimately the plans were scuttled. A spokesperson for the department declined to comment, saying the agency does not do so with pending litigation. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Gaddis, who was a consultant in DEP's Office of Park Planning, says he was directed to draw up 'secret maps' to build golf courses, hotels and pickleball courts in nine parks. Park staffers were ordered not to talk to any colleagues about the proposals, which in Gaddis' view amounted to destroying 'globally significant' environments. The experience felt like 'mapping out a future crime scene,' according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Leon County. Gaddis copied documents onto a flash drive and shared it with an unnamed intermediary, the lawsuit says, and the next day the Tampa Bay Times wrote about the plans. Gaddis says he was called into a meeting by a supervisor and asked if he shared the documents, which he admitted to. He was put on administrative leave and later fired, and the suit says that amounted to disparate treatment and retaliation. The complaint seeks damages of at least $100,000. The Republican-dominated state Legislature has since passed a bill banning development in state parks, and DeSantis signed it into law. Gaddis started an online fundraiser to help cover expenses, with an initial goal of $10,000. As of June 11, it had brought in more than $258,000. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Consultant on trial for AI-generated robocalls mimicking Biden says he has no regrets
LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — A political consultant told a New Hampshire jury Wednesday that he doesn't regret sending voters robocalls that used artificial intelligence to mimic former President Joe Biden and that he's confident he didn't break the law. Steven Kramer, 56, of New Orleans, has long admitted to orchestrating a message sent to thousands of voters two days before New Hampshire's Jan. 23, 2024, presidential primary. Recipients heard an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president's that used his catchphrase 'What a bunch of malarkey' and, as prosecutors allege, suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November. 'It's important that you save your vote for the November election,' voters were told. 'Your votes make a difference in November, not this Tuesday.' Kramer, who faces decades in prison if convicted of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate, said his goal was to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of AI when he paid a New Orleans magician $150 to create the recording. He was getting frequent calls from people using AI in campaigns, and, worried about the lack of regulations, made it his New Year's resolution to take action. 'This is going to be my one good deed this year,' he recalled while testifying in Belknap County Superior Court. He said his goal wasn't to influence an election, because he didn't consider the primary a real election. At Biden's request, the Democratic National Committee dislodged New Hampshire from its traditional early spot in the 2024 nominating calendar but later dropped its threat not to seat the state's national convention delegates. Biden did not put his name on the ballot or campaign there but won as a write-in. Kramer, who owns a firm specializing in get-out-the-vote projects, argued that the primary was a meaningless straw poll unsanctioned by the DNC. At the time the calls went out, voters were disenfranchised, he said. Asked by his attorney, Tom Reid, whether he did anything illegal, Kramer said, 'I'm positive I did not.' Later, he said he had no regrets and that his actions likely spurred AI regulations in multiple states. Kramer, who will be questioned by prosecutors Thursday, also faces a $6 million fine by the Federal Communications Commission but told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he won't pay it. Lingo Telecom, the company that transmitted the calls, agreed to pay $1 million in a settlement in August. The robocalls appeared to come from a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair, Kathy Sullivan, and told voters to call her number to be removed from the call list. On the witness stand earlier Wednesday, Sullivan said she was confused and then outraged after speaking to one of the recipients and later hearing the message. 'I hung up the phone and said, 'There is something really crazy going on,'' she said. 'Someone is trying to suppress the vote for Biden. I can't believe this is happening.' Months later, she got a call from Kramer in which he said he used her number because he knew she would contact law enforcement and the media. He also described his motive — highlighting AI's potential dangers — but she didn't believe him, she testified. 'My sense was he was trying to convince me that he'd done this defensible, good thing,' she said. 'I'm listening to this thinking to myself, 'What does he thing I am, stupid?' He tried to suppress the vote.'
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
HAWORTH: Where is America's national conversation on antisemitism?
In this June 4, 2020 file photo a member of the California National Guard stands in front of a mural depicting George Floyd in Los Angeles. Photo by Jae C. Hong / AP When George Floyd died in 2020, the country — and even the world — erupted in both a figurative and literal explosion, as every element of our society forced us to have a nationwide reckoning about racism. George Floyd, we were told — make that ordered — was a symbol of the conscious, unconscious, implicit, explicit, institutional, systemic and systematic racism that continued to corrupt our civilization. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account It was time for a national conversation on race — no ifs, ands or buts. Black Lives Matter. When a gunman went on a rampage through Atlanta in 2021, killing eight people at three massage parlours, there was a widespread declaration that anti-Asian hate was out of control, particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19 when it was racist to suggest that communist China was to blame for the virus it unleashed on the world. It was time for a national conversation on anti-Asian hate. No ifs, ands or buts. Asian Lives Matter. In the aftermath of Oct. 7, 2023, shameless and rampant antisemitism has exploded across the country. Chants of 'resistance by any means necessary,' 'from the river to the sea' and 'globalize the intifada' have inevitably been obeyed. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In May, a Jewish woman and her Christian soon-to-be-fiancé were executed in Washington, D.C. In June, Jews were burned alive in Boulder, Colorado. In April, an arsonist attempted to murder Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family after setting the governor's mansion ablaze. In November 2023, a Jewish man was killed in Thousand Oaks, California, after being hit in the head with a megaphone. In October 2023, a Jewish community leader was stabbed to death in Detroit. In January 2022, Jews were taken hostage in a Texas synagogue. Every year, every month, every day, there are brazen acts of antisemitism committed across the country, let alone throughout Europe and the Muslim world. In the United States, Jews remain the most targeted religious group, according to FBI hate crime data, all while antisemitism rises year-on-year. In 2024, there was a 5% increase in antisemitic incidents in 2024 compared to 2023 and a 140% increase in 2023 compared to 2022. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Where is our national conversation? Where are the chants of Jewish Lives Matter, rather than the sudden renovation of All Lives Matter? Why can we not condemn antisemitism while also condemning so-called Islamophobia (real or imaginary), particularly when many antisemitic attacks are carried out by Muslims? Where is the usual brutal honesty regarding the race and religion of the perpetrators when the victims are Jews? Where is the national outcry against specific hate? Where is the condemnation of those who fuel the fires of this hate? When victims are Black or Asian or Hispanic or Muslim, people (correctly) have no qualms condemning violent hate and the media won't hesitate for a moment to delve into the identity or background of the perpetrator. But when Jews are victimized again and again and again? Well, they're Jews after all, so there must be an explanation. Sure, they were killed by someone screaming 'Free Palestine,' but perhaps the national conversation needs to be on the evil of Israel? Calling for the death of Jews is all about context, as the heads of our elite institutions would say. Give me a break. Ian Haworth is a political commentator Celebrity NHL Editorial Cartoons Toronto Maple Leafs Music
