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Axios
20 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
Light rail service to south Phoenix gets underway
Light rail in the Valley entered a new era over the weekend when the first train traversed the system's south Phoenix expansion. The big picture: A 5.5-mile extension that runs south along Central Avenue from downtown Phoenix opened Saturday. The extension has eight stations, with Central and Baseline Road marking the end of the line. The light rail system now has 35 miles of track. Federal funds covered about half the cost of the $1.3 billion project, with revenue from the Proposition 400 transportation tax and the city paying for much of the rest. Why it matters: About 44% of area residents have limited or no access to cars, according to Valley Metro. Jessica Mefford-Miller, CEO of Valley Metro, which runs the light rail system, noted the new line is a bridge across the Salt River, making it "a literal" and "symbolic connection" between south Phoenix and the rest of the metro area. Valley Metro expects the extension to add more than 8,000 daily riders to the system, which averages about 32,000 boardings per day. Driving the news: A large crowd gathered Saturday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. "I believe the expansion will do justice for the people out here. Providing opportunities to get downtown, and also for people downtown to come down here," an attendee named Lindsay told ABC15. Zoom in: The south Phoenix extension was not the only major change to the light rail over the weekend. The system is now separated into A and B lines, with the former running east to west from downtown Mesa to downtown Phoenix, and the latter north to south from Metro Parkway to south Phoenix. Riders can switch lines at the new downtown Phoenix transit hub, which also opened Saturday. There are 14 new trains, which will now arrive at stations every 12 minutes, down from 15. Catch up quick: Construction began in 2019 and was originally expected to be completed in 2023, but the pandemic and other factors meant delays. What they're saying: "This is us really growing up in the world," Mefford-Miller told Axios. The intrigue: When Republican lawmakers referred Proposition 479 — the renewal of the regional transportation tax — to the 2024 ballot, they included a provision prohibiting the money from being used to extend light rail. Yes, but: Cities can still use local and federal funds to lay more tracks. What's next: Valley Metro, which runs the light rail system, has grand expansion plans. The Capitol Extension will run along Washington and Jefferson streets to 15th Avenue next to the Arizona Supreme Court. An environmental review and design processes are underway. The I-10 West Extension will connect to the Capitol area and will largely run along the freeway median, ending at the Desert Sky Transit Center at Thomas Road and 79th Avenue. That project is still in the planning phase. Valley Metro is also looking to expand the Tempe streetcar system into Mesa.
New York Post
5 days ago
- New York Post
New bodycam video shows teen wanted out of group home before she was found dead, dismembered: ‘I hate it there'
A 14-year-old girl who was found dismembered on the side of a road in Arizona had previously told police that she hated the group home she had vanished from when she had run away years earlier, new body camera footage shows. Emily Pike was murdered after she disappeared on Jan. 27 from the Mesa group home, run by Sacred Journey Inc. — where she was reported missing three different times before in 2023, according to ABC 15. New bodycam footage of one of the previous incidents, dated Sept. 20, 2023, shows Emily walking along a canal when an officer calls her name repeatedly as he approaches her and asks her to stop. 'I don't want to go back,' she tells the officer, breaking down into tears and pleading to see her mom. Emily Pike's remains were found on the side of a dirt road in February. ABC15 The teen, whose family lives on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, insists that the facility is not her home, telling the cop she'd rather live with her grandmother instead, the video obtained by ABC 15 shows. At one point in the clip, she tells the officers no one understands her or is going to help her. 'I'm not going to go to that f–cking group home,' Emily says. 'I hate it there.' In each of the times Emily went missing in 2023, she was either returned to the home or taken to a behavioral health center within a matter of hours, the outlet reported. In another bodycam recording taken the day she went missing more than a year later, an officer receives a phone call from a group home employee claiming Emily was gone, which she relayed was something she'd done before. 'I looked under the bed and the closet,' the female staffer, who said she'd worked with the company for 11 years, told police. 'I looked outside. The gate was open. The screen door, the screen window was kicked out.' Emily's body was later found on the side of a dirt road off of US 60. It took authorities weeks to confirm the remains belonged to Emily. Her autopsy results showed she suffered visible face and head trauma. A head and torso were discovered in large bags with her legs in separate bags, but the girl's arms and hands were not found, the Gila County Sheriff's Office said after she was identified. The teen told police in 2023 that she hated living at the group home. ABC15 Police said in March they had identified three suspects in the savage slaying — however, no arrests have been made, according to ABC 15. The Mesa Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Indian Affairs have organized a task force to track down Emily's killer. 'She was just an innocent … she was a baby,' the girl's devastated mother, Steff Dosela, said after her death was confirmed. The Department of Child Safety told lawmakers at a legislative hearing on group home protocol last month that Emily was in the care of Tribal Social Services and was placed in the care of Sacred Journey Inc. by the tribe, according to ABC 15. San Carlos Apache Attorney General Alex Richie said the group home alerted police and Tribal Social Services, however, CPS was not convinced she was actually missing 'because of the child's past behaviors.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watch the 'American Idol' Top 7 2025 perform Sunday. Here's when 'American Idol' comes on
The Top 7 will be performing Sunday, May 11, on "American Idol" Season 23. Last week, three contestants were eliminated as the competition gets tighter. The May 4 episode included the contestants singing songs from iconic women in music while country singer Miranda Lambert mentored them. Then on May 5, the Top 8 participate in the "Judge's Song Contest" where they needed to perform songs selected by Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie or Carrie Underwood. The new episode theme is "Disney Night" and will celebrate Mother's Day with guest Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Top 7 will go to the Disneyland Resort and perform Disney classics. America will vote live for the final five contestants to move forward. Here's when "American Idol" comes on, who is left and where to watch "American Idol" 2025. Abi Carter from Indio, California, won "American Idol" Season 22 at age 21. One contestant did not receive enough votes on Monday, May 5, to continue on "American Idol" 2025: Josh King. Here are the Top 7 on "American Idol" 2025: Gabby Samone Mattie Pruitt Thunderstorm Artis Slater Nalley Breanna Nix John Foster Jamal Roberts The next episodes of "American Idol" 2025 air Sunday and Monday, May 11-12. "American Idol" 2025 comes on Sunday, May 11, at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. MT/PT. The "American Idol" Season 23 finale will air Sunday, May 18. You can watch "American Idol" live on ABC15 in Arizona or on your local ABC network. If you're not able to watch live, "American Idol" Season 23 will be available to stream the next day on Hulu. A subscription to Hulu costs $9.99 a month (or $99.99/year) for the ad-supported plan. Students can get Hulu with ads for $1.99 a month, and Hulu with no ads costs $18.99 a month. There are three ways you can vote for your favorite "American Idol" 2025 contestants: Through the American Idol website. On the American Idol app, which you can download through the App Store or Google Play. By texting the promoted keyword for the contestant of your choice to 21523. Reach the reporter at Follow @dina_kaur on X, formerly known as Twitter, and on Bluesky @ Almost paradise ... Why is Hannah Brown on 'Bachelor in Paradise'? When will 'Bachelor in Paradise' air? Subscribe to today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who's left on 'American Idol' 2025? How to vote for the Top 5
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
This man was killed four years ago. His AI clone just spoke in court.
People just can't stop using generative AI tools in legal proceedings, despite repeated pushback from frustrated judges. While AI initially appeared in courtrooms through bogus 'hallucinated' cases the trend has taken a turn—driven by increasingly sophisticated AI video and audio tools. In some instances, AI is even being used to seemingly bring victims back from the dead. This week, a crime victim's family presented a brief video in an Arizona courtroom depicting an AI version of 37-year-old Chris Pelkey. Pelkey was shot and killed in 2021 in a road rage incident. Now, four years later, the AI-generated 'clone' appeared to address his alleged killer in court. The video, first reported by local outlet ABC15, appears to be the first known example of a generative AI deepfake used in a victim impact statement. 'To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,' the AI replica of Pelkey says in the video. 'In another life, we probably could have been friends.' The video shows the AI version of Pelkey—a burly, bearded Army veteran—wearing a green hoodie and gray baseball cap. Pelkey's family reportedly created the video by training an AI model on various clips of Pelkey. An 'old age' filter was then applied to simulate what Pelkey might look like today. In the end, the judge sentenced Horcasitas to 10.5 years in prison for manslaughter, a decision he said was at least partly influenced by the AI-generated impact statement. 'This is the best I can ever give you of what I would have looked like if I got the chance to grow old,' the Pelkey deepfake said. 'Remember, getting old is a gift that not everybody has, so embrace it and stop worrying about those wrinkles.' A New York man used an AI deepfake to help argue his case The AI-generated impact statement comes just a month after a defendant in New York State court, 74-year-old Jerome Dewald, used a deepfake video to assist in delivering his own legal defense. When Dewald appeared in court over a contract dispute with a former employer, he presented a video showing a man in a sweater and blue dress shirt speaking directly to the camera. The judge, confused by the video, asked Dewald if the person on screen was his attorney. In reality, it was an AI-generated deepfake. 'I generated that,' Dewald said according to The New York Times. 'That is not a real person.' The judge wasn't pleased and reprimanded Dewald for failing to disclose that he had used AI software to aid his defense. Speaking with the NYT after the hearing, Dewald claimed he hadn't intended to mislead the court but used the AI tool as a way to more clearly articulate his defense. He said he initially planned to have the deepfake resemble himself but switched to the version shown in court after encountering technical difficulties. 'My intent was never to deceive but rather to present my arguments in the most efficient manner possible,' Dewald reportedly said in a letter to the judges. Related: [This AI chatbot will be playing attorney in a real US court] AI models have 'hallucinated' fake legal cases The two cases represent the latest examples of generative AI seeping into courtrooms, a trend that began gaining traction several years ago following the surge of public interest in popular chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Lawyers across the country have reportedly used these large language models to help draft legal filings and collect information. That has led to some embarrassing instances where models have 'hallucinated' entirely fabricated case names and facts that eventually make their way into legal proceedings. In 2023, two New York-based lawyers were sanctioned by a judge after they submitted a brief containing six fake case citations generated by ChatGPT. Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer of President Donald Trump, reportedly sent fake AI-generated legal cases to his attorney that ended up in a motion submitted to federal judges. Another lawyer in Colorado was suspended after reportedly submitting AI-generated legal cases. OpenAI has even been sued by a Georgia radio host who claimed a ChatGPT response accused him of being involved in a real embezzlement case he had nothing to do with. Get ready for more AI in courtrooms Though courts have punished attorneys and defendants for using AI in ways that appear deceptive, the rules around whether it's ever acceptable to use these tools remain murky. Just last week, a federal judicial panel voted 8–1 to seek public comment on a draft rule aimed at ensuring that AI-assisted evidence meets the same standards as evidence presented by human expert witnesses. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts also addressed the issue in his 2023 annual report, noting both the potential benefits and drawbacks of allowing more generative AI in the courtroom. On one hand, he observed, AI could make it easier for people with limited financial resources to defend themselves. At the same time, he warned that the technology risks 'invading privacy interests and dehumanizing the law.' One thing seems certain: We haven't seen the last of AI deepakes in courtrooms.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
How AI Allowed Road Rage Shooting Victim to Address His Killer from Beyond the Grave
The family of Christopher Pelkey, a 2021 road rage victim, used artificial intelligence to recreate his image and voice for a victim impact statement during the sentencing of his killer The AI-generated video featured Pelkey saying he forgave the man who shot him Pelkey's family described the experience as healing, saying the AI representation captured his true spirit and provided them with emotional closure by allowing them to see him one last time Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road rage incident in Arizona in 2021 — but last month, his family members saw him again thanks to artificial intelligence. This was the first time in Arizona judicial history that AI has been used to create a victim impact statement for someone who has already died, the Guardian and ABC15 reported. Pelkey's sister, Stacey Wales, and his brother-in-law, used AI technology to recreate his image and voice to talk about his life and the day he met the man who shot and killed him during a confrontation in Chandler. 'To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,' the AI video recording of Pelkey said. 'In another life, we probably could have been friends.' 'I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have, and I still do,' Pelkey's AI recording added. The AI video included real video clips of Pelkey, showcasing his personality and humor. It showed a real photo he once took with an 'old age' filter. "Remember, getting old is a gift that not everybody has, so embrace it and stop worrying about those wrinkles,' the AI version of Pelkey said. Authorities say that Pelkey was 37 years old when he was killed in November of 2021 while stopped at a red light, along with Horcasitas. When both vehicles were stopped at a red light, Horcasitas repeatedly honked at Pelkey, who got out of his truck, waved his arms and approached Horcasitas' car, according to an Arizona court memorandum. Horcasitas shot twice, killing Pelkey with one bullet — leading the state to hit Horcasitas with murder charges, the court memorandum said. Ultimately, Horcasitas was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years for manslaughter. The judge overseeing the case, Todd Lang, appeared to become emotional after the AI presentation. "As justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness, and I know Mr. Horcasitas appreciated it, but so did I," Lang said. "I feel that that was genuine, that his obvious forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about today." Pelkey was a veteran of the United States Army and devoutly religious, according to his obituary. He was involved in many church missions across the world. He was survived by various family members and friends and his 'beloved' cat Sausage. 'The list of names of people that were affected by his life will never fully be known on this side of heaven,' his obituary read. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Wales, Pelkey's sister, said everyone who knew him agreed that the AI video 'was a true representation of the spirit and soul of how Chris would have thought about his own sentencing as a murder victim,' Wales said to ABC 15. Pelkey's family told the outlet that they found peace in the process because they got to see him one last time. Pelkey's brother, John, said he felt 'waves of healing' from seeing his brother's face and believes Pelkey would have forgiven his killer. 'That was the man I knew,' John said. Read the original article on People
