Latest news with #HouseBill395
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN: Superman star joins Trump team notorious for human rights abuses
A former Superman star is ditching his cape to play sidekick to Donald Trump's most notorious goon squad, Christopher Bucktin writes, turning his legacy into a publicity stunt Christopher Bucktin is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience, the majority of which he has spent at the Daily Mirror. A former Press Gazette Reporter of the Year, he has held senior roles including Head of Features, Head of Showbusiness, and Head of Content, before relocating to the United States in 2013 to become US Editor. Renowned for breaking agenda-setting exclusives, he has reported from the front lines of America's biggest news stories, led investigations into the Trump administration, and exposed key details in the Jeffrey Epstein case. His career highlights include securing the first interview with the Peru Two inside prison, becoming the first journalist to descend into drug lord El Chapo's escape tunnel, and spearheading coverage of Prince Andrew's ties to Epstein. He holds weekly columns in the Daily Mirror, Daily Star and Reach's regional titles. Former Superman turned fading TV actor Dean Cain is ditching his cape to play sidekick to Donald Trump's most notorious goon squad. The 1990s heartthrob announced he's joining ICE - the agency behind family separations, aggressive raids, and a long record of human rights abuses - after casually sharing one of its recruitment videos online. Once lauded for fighting fictional villains on prime-time television, Cain now seems eager to lend his name and face to a real-world operation widely condemned for terrorising immigrant communities. Where Superman stood for justice, Cain now appears to cheerlead for intimidation, turning his legacy into little more than a publicity stunt for a deeply polarising agency. Elsewhere, two Californian women allegedly tried to carjack a couple but stalled - literally - when they realised the getaway car had a manual gearbox. Unable to work the clutch, they solved the problem by kidnapping the husband to drive for them, accidentally turning their crime spree into a chauffeured tour. Over in Wisconsin, office pranks took a dark turn when 35-year-old Joseph Ralph Ross admitted to spiking his co-worker's Coke with Gorilla Super Glue. His plot was foiled when she hid a camera under her desk. The sticky scheme, caught in full HD, earned Ross a felony conviction for 'putting foreign objects in edibles.' The two shared an office at the Wisconsin Exposition Centre, though they clearly did not share a sense of humour. Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers want to shame job "ghosters." House Bill 395 would create an online registry of applicants who skip interviews without notice. The state says it'll protect employers and unemployment funds, but critics warn it could backfire on job seekers. Nearly 50,000 Ohioans filed for benefits last week, proving ghosting is alive and well. When most widows keep a locket or a photo, West Virginia nurse Angelica Radevski went for something… a little more dermal. After her husband TJ died suddenly at 55, the 35-year-old mum decided the best way to remember him wasn't flowers or ashes — but a framed patch of his actual tattooed skin. Instead of wearing her heart on her sleeve, she literally put her husband's sleeve on the wall. It's not everyone's idea of home décor. A 60-year-old man landed in hospital after following ChatGPT's "diet advice" to swap salt for sodium bromide - a pesticide ingredient. He used it for three months before paranoia and hallucinations set in, convinced his neighbour was poisoning him. Turns out, the culprit was his own cooking.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House GOP passes bill restricting Montana voters of "unsound mind"
Feb. 26—A House bill to impose new restrictions on voters of "unsound mind" could affect hundreds of patients in the Montana State Hospital and other state-run facilities. While Montana code has long prohibited citizens serving sentences in "penal institutions" and those of "unsound mind" from voting, the state has never clarified what these terms mean. Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, said the omission creates a work-around in the voting system for patients serving felony convictions in the Montana State Hospital. "This bill simply prevents convicted felons from exploiting a loophole that has allowed them to vote," said Mitchell in his opening remarks for House Bill 395. The Department of Justice requested the bill after a patient serving a felony conviction at the Montana State Hospital filed a lawsuit last fall, claiming Anaconda-Deer Lodge County had violated his voting rights. The case remains unresolved, but a district judge temporarily restored the plaintiff's voting rights for the 2024 election after the state Attorney General's Office admitted that the hospital did not fit the definition of a penal institution and that a court had not found the plaintiff to be of unsound mind. HB 395 targets similar cases by codifying new definitions for the terms "unsound mind" and "penal institution" in state voting laws and outlining a court process by which defendants may be declared of unsound mind. While Republicans supported the legislation as a simple solution to a long-term problem, Democrats likened the bill and its implications to Pandora's box. Of particular concern was the bill's definition of unsound mind. "'Unsound mind' means a person is incapable of normally managing affairs in a reasonable manner," reads the bill. "The condition exists when the intellectual powers of a person are fundamentally lacking or when a person is incapable of understanding and acting with discretion in the ordinary affairs of life." As currently written, the definition would only be applied to residents at state facilities like the Montana State Hospital. The bill also includes a provision automatically restoring voting rights upon release, but Democrats remained skeptical. "This gives a lot of power to the courts to decide who can and cannot vote," said Rep. Peter Strand, D-Bozeman. Strand questioned whether people with dementia and similar illnesses might be considered unfit to vote. Rep. James Reavis, D-Billings made similar observations in testimony, noting that the bill did not provide protections for patients in state facilities without criminal convictions and that the restoration provision could be easily rescinded in a future legislative session. "We could be on the path to permanent disenfranchisement of voting rights, and I don't think that's something we should do," said Reavis. Mitchell claimed other state laws had no issues implementing similar definitions. In email correspondence with the Daily Inter Lake, Mitchell cited Idaho and Utah as examples though neither state references individuals of unsound mind in state voting laws. He also mentioned Minnesota, which has a statue stating that individuals "found by a court of law to be legally incompetent" cannot vote, but Minnesota voting codes do not define the term "legally incompetent." Mitchell did not directly respond to an inquiry about possible amendments to the definition, though he maintained his assertion that the claims of opponents are unfounded. The bill passed the House in a 54 — 45 vote on Monday. A hearing in the Senate has not yet been announced. Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at hsmalley@ or 758-4433.
